Thursday, 9 February, 2012

Earth’s orbit subtly changes over thousands of years, in complex cycles that affect the timing and delivery of sunlight to various regions of the globe. Climatologists have said that when this “Milankovitch cycle” warms the Arctic, it somehow warms the Antarctic. A new study finds that the cycle acts more directly.

People have been controlling fermentation for at least 9,000 years. What were the ancients brewing, and how did alcohol change society?

Fraud happens. In a 2009 survey, 2 percent of scientists admitted faking data; 14 percent said colleagues have done it. Problems worst in drug and other medical studies.

A stone tool discovered in Polynesia came from Hawaii — 2500 miles away. Modern analytical techniques show that Polynesians did sail thousands of miles across the ocean — without a compass.

Obama: “…promoting science isn’t just about providing resources—it’s about protecting free and open inquiry. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient—especially when it’s inconvenient.” What science issues face his administration?

Did red rain in India carry alien bacteria? One Indian scientist thinks so. Others say it was just spores of a common alga. Pay your money, take your choice!

People pray for the health of friends and family. Can science prove these prayers work? Should it try? Random, double-blind studies tread the natural-supernatural schism.

A new year is a chance to bring sanity to our medical, scientific and environmental disasters. Here’s our wish-list for a better New Year!

Bush proposes mission to moon and Mars, but how great are the scientific payoffs of this expensive, risky adventure? Would it be smarter – and cheaper – to send robots?

This Why File surveys the latest in forensic anthropology, with a visit to the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee, AKA The Body Farm.