ACED Magazine Science and Technology

As schools gear up for statewide testing of mathematics skills this spring, some students will be helping to fine-tune a computer-based, emotionally perceptive math tutoring software developed by University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientist Beverly Woolf, Ivon Arroyo and colleagues, which can help certain students improve standardized test scores. Yes, because the girls WANT the computer program to UNDERSTAND why they just don't understand. It needs to feel their pain...so they can cry together...sniff.

As if there weren't enough things that are bad for you -- Daylight Saving Time can be hazardous for your health too. On average, people go to work or school on the first Monday of Daylight Saving after sleeping 40 fewer minutes than normal. Recent studies have found there's a higher risk of heart attacks, traffic accidents and workplace injuries on the first Monday of Daylight Saving. Maybe we should all just stay home!

Consider this T-shirt: It can monitor your heart rate and breathing, analyze your sweat and even cool you off on a hot summer’s day. What about a pillow that monitors your brain waves, or a solar-powered dress that can charge your phone or MP3 player? This is not science fiction – this is cotton in 2010. Can we say Holy Cotton Balls Batman?

Many people ask themselves -- how did life begin ... where did we come from? Scientists take this one step further and ask -- how did non-living molecules come together in that primordial ooze to form the polymers of life? Yea, probably not exactly the type of question most would think to ask, but it is pertinent all the same. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered that small molecules could have acted as...

And you thought they were just stingy little bug-aholics. A study from the University of Haifa reveals bees prefer nectar with small amounts of nicotine and caffeine over nectar that does not comprise these substances at all. "This could be an evolutionary development intended, as in humans, to make the bee addicted," states Prof. Ido Izhaki, one of the researchers who conducted the study. Flower nectar is primarily comprised of sugars, which provide energy for the potential pollinators. But the floral nectar...

superflourFaster than a growing wheat grain, more powerful than a third generation synchrotron, and able to leap diet deficiency in a single bound ... it's Healthy Flour! Pioneering research combining plant breeding and high-intensity x-rays is being used by scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to explore the possibility of developing wheat which could be used to make potentially life-saving mineral enriched flour. The research is highlighted in the latest issue...

Building microscopic materials known as superlattices on the surface of gold may lead to a treasure for researchers interested in faster, smaller, and more energy efficient computing devices, say researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). Dr. Jay A. Switzer and his colleagues at Missouri S&T report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that they have constructed a type of superlattice that shows "unique low-to-high and high-to-low resistance switching that may...

earthtalk_iceag_Donna_ThomasMODISOceanGroupDear EarthTalk: It has been said that global warming will bring a new ice age. Is this true or only fiction? -- Nitisha Jain, Delhi, India While no one can be sure what and how severe the effects of global warming will be, it is entirely possible that one outcome of our profligate use of fossil fuels could be an ice age. The theory goes that a warming-induced influx of cold, fresh water into the...

earthtalk_fashion_MartinLaBaFlickrDear EarthTalk: Can you enlighten on the environmental impact of the fashion industry? As I understand it, the industry overall is no friend to the environment. -- Tan Cheng Li, Malaysia According to the non-profit Earth Pledge, today some 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used throughout the world to turn raw materials into textiles. Domestically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that one-quarter of all pesticides used nationwide go toward growing cotton, primarily for the...

mtrian ICS Mobile has this nifty new iPhone app out called M-Train. Yes, it's another fitness app. However, this one is awesome because: a) you get to make your own playlist for your workout, as opposed to listening to whatever elevator techno musaak the developers picked for you, and b) you get your own personal trainer for $1.99, as opposed to having to figure out what in the world a squat thrust is on your...