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By James Mitchell Crow
The economic downturn has claimed some pretty obvious casualties from the world of business. But as the recession bites deeper, what could be in store for academe? Are university-based researchers about to receive a huge windfall? Or could blue-skies research - which by its very nature needs a free reign from government funders - become the next victim?
By Phillip Broadwith
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) has announced how it will distribute its £8 billion of funding for UK public sector Universities and Further Education Colleges. This includes £1.6 billion for research, based on the outcome of the revamped Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).
David Eastwood, chief executive of Hefce revealed the details: 'In headline terms, the total grant comes to £7.99 billion, which is an increase of 4 per cent on last year. However, most of that increase has come in the form of research funding, which has increased 7.7 per cent to £1.57 billion, whereas the funding for teaching has increased 2.5 per cent to £4.78 billion.' The remaining £1.6 billion will be spent on improving infrastructure, with a small amount to smooth out the impact of any large funding changes.
By Phillip Broadwith
Funding for academic research should be directed towards projects most likely to benefit the country's economy, UK ministers have said. Government and research funding bodies setting out the framework for future public research investment are shifting funding towards projects with measurable societal and economic impact - triggering protests from many academics, who see the strategy as dangerously short sighted.
On 27 February, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared that while investment in science and engineering will be maintained, the research on which this money is spent should be more tightly controlled. 'Our approach is [to make a] clear strategic assessment of our future - based on the strengths and comparative advantages that Britain already has - to create a framework for prioritised long-term investment which allows the market to function effectively and prepares our country to emerge from the downturn in the strongest possible position.'
By Erica Westly
Gathering geographic and time-sensitive data from large populations can be difficult, complicated and extraordinarily expensive for researchers. But collecting massive amounts of sensitive information may be as easy—and cheap—as writing an iPhone app. When combined with a GPS signal and a Wi-Fi or 3G connection, mobile phones can gather data, organize it and send it to a server to be analyzed. These large amounts of cheaply gathered data come at the cost of the control and reliability enjoyed in a laboratory setting—a problem that has come to light in recent years with scientific research that has relied on the processing power of everyday home computers and gaming consoles. With smartphone-based research, participants lose their phones, batteries fail and phones moving in and out of people's pockets and handbags can obscure data collection. Even so, having people constantly collect real-word data with existing technology is appealing to researchers on a budget. With simple software and consent from smartphone users, researchers can save money while getting more data, follow individuals in real time and gather data in places out of sensor or satellite range. Here are three projects that look to make citizens with smartphones into data collectors for science.
By Rachel Ehrenberg
WASHINGTON — It could have been the brainy version of American Idol — bright lights, fancy clothes and fanfare introducing America’s next top scientist.
Eric Larson, 17, of Eugene, Ore., won first place in the Intel Science Talent Search at a gala held the evening of March 10. Larson will take home a $100,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation for his work exploring the mathematical concept of fusion categories. Fusion categories can have implications for string theory, quantum computation and knot theory.
By Ningthoujam Sandhyarani
In general, evolution is brought about by three major forces - mutation, natural selection and genetic drift. Genetic drift is a random alteration in the frequency of allele (an alternative form of a gene) that results a change in the genetic composition of the population. The changes take place slowly and become noticeable over a period of time. However, it is more rapid and significant in smaller populations, since an allele represents a large fraction in the genetic pool. Due to genetic drift, phenotypes (physical appearance) and genotypes (genetic constitution) of individuals change over time, resulting into variations in population.
By Buzzle Staff and Agencies
Some researchers and residents around Yellowstone are beginning to wonder if the hundreds of small earthquakes that have been happening in the area are a grim forecast of a disaster in the making. Simmering beneath the glorious majesty of the snow-capped mountains and lush green meadows of Yellowstone is one of the largest volcanoes in the world. Scientists say that millions of years ago, the volcano erupted with a blast a thousand times more powerful than the eruption at Mount St. Helens, with ash being catapulted as far away as Louisiana. However, geologists say that there is no risk of any eruption like that happening again, and even a minor eruption is not likely any time soon.
By Gaynor Borade
The role of proteins in living organisms and subsequent genetics is among the most important. The structure of protein strains helps us to understand how their presence actually affects us. This can only be appreciated by first understanding, the presence and need of proteins and why proteins are good for you.
Basic Composition
Proteins comprise elements like Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Carbon. Sometimes, there are visible traces of phosphorus and sulphur as well. The latter is a condition most commonly seen within the ‘R’ group. The R group is equipped to form active enzyme and related bonds with different molecules. The large protein molecules comprise monomers or amino acids.
By Manali Oak
In order to compare plasma TV with LCD, you need to understand the differences in their technologies. It is important to analyze your usage requirements before you make the buy. Following is a television-buying guide, which will help you come to a decision about whether to go for a plasma TV or get home an LCD. Here is an overview of both the technologies followed by their comparative study.
Plasma TV: It is a flat panel display, which is commonly used for large television screens. Plasma displays are bright and have a low-luminance level in relation to an LCD screen. Its power consumption depends largely on the picture content whereby brighter pictures draw more power than the darker ones.
By Noah Ewing
I'm sure you've herd of terms like alternative energy, or think green. The fact is that its never been a better time to start thinking of better ways to use, and conserve our natural resources. Even if you don't care much about conserving our resources. You can count on the fact that you can save money through some types of alternative energy. This will spark most peoples interest.
Geothermal energy is one way you can cute out on that ever rising power bill. If you've never heard the word geothermal before then that's ok. Its a new process in which contractors drill down deep into the earth to use thermal energy as a power source. Geothermal energy is a thermal based energy that is stored deep inside of the earth. The different types of thermal resources available give us different types of engineering and drilling challenges. Unlike fossil fuels there is almost unlimited amounts of clean energy available in the earths crust. There are several types of geothermal energy. They include:
Tidal power is using the tides to extract energy to convert into electricity. The tides are the result of the gravitational force between the Earth and Moon. On a daily basis this force pulls up tons of water, thus the tides. The tides are also brought back down, allowing for tidal power to be used twice daily, which would sum to about 10 hours. Tidal power is catching this water when it is at high tide and storing it in reservoir type structures until the time of low tide. During low tide, the water is released, allowing it to flow back out to sea through the turbines, and thus generating power. In order to create a tidal plant, we build a dam, called a barrage, at the bottom of a tidal basin. This includes a device called a sluice, which opens up allowing the tide to come in at high tide.
What is wind energy?
Wind energy is a converted form of solar energy. The sun's radiation heats different parts of the earth at different rates--most notably during the day and night, but also when different surfaces (for example, water and land) absorb or reflect at different rates. This in turn causes portions of the atmosphere to warm differently. Hot air rises, reducing the atmospheric pressure at the earth's surface, and cooler air is drawn in to replace it. The result is wind. Air has mass, and when it is in motion, it contains the energy of that motion -- "kinetic energy." Some portion of that energy can converted into other forms -- mechanical force or electricity -- that we can use to perform work. How does wind energy work?
