Friday, 25 May, 2012

As high-tech giants buy patents and launch lawsuits. How does the patent system work? Why does it fail? What does it mean to be “new, non-obvious and useful”? What will be the impact of the new patent law — the biggest change in 60 years? Why should we care?

How do homing pigeons find their way on their amazing migrations? For a decade, scientists thought iron-bearing nerve cells in the beak can detect Earth’s magnetic field. But those iron granules are in immune cells. So how do the birds do it?

Returning to the site of a classic “first forest” site, New York scientists have found extra complexity: three fossilized trees-like species aged almost 400 million years. One find, a vine-like monster, may be a direct descendant of all seed-bearing trees!

Leap day approaches. But could a smart calendar finally drive a stake through the heart of Feb. 29? Could a “permanent” calendar place Christmas and New Year’s Day on Sunday, and simplify life for people who make schedules? It’s possible — but only if the new calendar gains acceptance…

If (gasp!) the subject is too big for a Whyfile, hit the books. Here, we review four great science books, on evolution, environment, fighting nature, and discovering motherly love.

In African savannas, cattle graze the same grass as zebras, elephants and gazelles. Obviously, wildlife are stealing food from the mouths of cattle, and from the people who depend on cattle. But new data show that in the wet season, grazing wildlife actually benefit cattle!

As southwestern forests go up in smoke, we look at the long-term picture. Fighting fires has made fire the remaining fires more intense, but controlled burns have their own hazards. Are we already seeing the effect of climate change on forest fires?

Experiment finds Earth “dragging” spacetime, as Einstein predicted. Einstein knew his physics. Bending light, gravity lenses, shifting spacetime, spinning neutron stars: he called them all.

A report that people were in Texas 15,500 years ago settles a long dispute: The Americans who made Clovis-style spear-points were not the first Americans — despite heavy archeological skepticism. Pre-Clovis rules! But who were the pre-Clovis people, and why are scientists so dismissive of contrary evidence?

Must scientific literature be so darn murky? Do we really need clinkers like “biomedicine” and “astrolicism”? What if they just wrote English for a change? Join us for an entertaining tour of the dark side of the scientific enterprise!