According to a new study by scientists at the University of Texas, the East Antarctic ice sheet, once thought to be unaffected by global warming, is melting fast.  Estimates using satellite observations place ice loss in the East Antarctic at 5 to 109 gigatons per year from April 2002 to January 2009.  But, estimates also suggest that the rate of melt sped up after 2006.  This loss is seen most in coastal regions such as Wilkes Land and Victoria Land.  Previous estimates of the East Antarctic ice sheets ranged between a 4 gigaton per year loss and a 22 gigaton per year gain.

Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) from East Timor. Photo credit: Nick Hobgood/Wikipedia

The Census of Marine Life, a network of researchers in 80 countries spanning 10 years, released preliminary results this week, although final results are not due until October 2010.  Results announced included a recorded 5,722 species living in the extreme ocean depths, waters deeper than 3,280 feet.  Of those deep ocean dwellers, scientists documented 17,650 species living below 656 feet, the point where sunlight ceases.  Researchers have found approximately 5,600 new marine species in addition to the previously 230,000 known species.  Several thousand more species could be added before the final results are released.

The KAMS Office will be closed for Fall Break tomorrow & Friday, November 26th & 27th.

French doctors announced last week that they had used human embryonic stem cells to grow skin that may one day be used as potentially life-saving skin grafts for badly burned patients.  Currently when someone suffers a severe burn, their own skin cells are grown in the laboratory to provide replacement skin. But this process takes weeks and, while patients wait for skin grafts, they can suffer from a variety of complications.  Human testing of this skin has yet to occur, with mice the only test subjects so far.

The endcap of the Compact Muon Solenoid at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Photo credit: Arpad Horvath

Restarted this past weekend, CERN announced yesterday that physicists used the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to smash protons together for the first time.  The collision occurred at low energy with each proton beam supplying 450 billion electron volts (GeV) creating a total of 900 GeV.  The next stage for the LHC will be to accelerate the proton beams to 1.2 teraelectron volts (TeV) each and collide the beam’s protons.  If achieved, this would be the highest energy level yet achieved by any particle accelerator.  European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) expects this next stage to occur sometime in the next few days before a planned winter break.

The 1859 cover of the Origin of Species

Today marks the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s seminal work, On the Origin of Species.  Published on November 24, 1859, Darwin’s book introduced the theory that populations evolve over generations through a process of natural selection.  Darwin wrote the book to be read by non-specialists and On the Origin of Species garnered widespread attention from the general public after its publication.

Mammoth skelton located in the Southeast Bavarian Natural History and Mammoth Museum. Image credit: Lou.gruber/Wikipedia

A new study by University of Wisconsin – Madison researchers sheds new light on why large North American mammals, like the Mammoth, became extinct.  Published in Science, this study focuses on fossil pollen, charcoal and fungus spores found in fossil dung.  The study illustrates that the decline of these large mammals started about 14,800 years ago.  This decline was essentially complete a thousand years later.  This study seems to rule out a mass extinction caused by a meteor strike about 12,900 years ago since the decline was well underway by then.  Other previously theories suggested that Clovis hunters created the extinction via over-hunting, but, again, the die off predates the arrival of Clovis hunters in North America.  Finally, this study contradicts the theory that significant changes in climate caused the extinction because it suggests that the extinction of these major species actually helped create the change in climate.  By losing these major plant-eaters, trees were able to become widespread.

While you are on your Thanksgiving Break this week, take a break from the food, football and family to work on your KAMS application.  The February 1st deadline may seem far away now, but it will quickly sneak up on you.  For those of you taking the SAT on December 5th or the ACT on December 12th, use this Break to prepare for those exams so that you will do your best!

Specimen: Daphnia atkinsoni (Water Flea) Technique: Confocal laser scanning microscopy. Image copyright: Dr. Jan Michels

The Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition, the world’s foremost forum for showcasing photos and movies on the microscopic level, announced its 2009 winners.  Winner of the top prize is a photograph by Dr. Jan Michels from the Christian-Albrechts-University, Institute of Zoology, Kiel, Germany of a water flea.  You can check out all the winners at the Olympus BioScapes 2009 Winners Gallery.

This week paleontologists Paul Sereno and Hans Larsson revealed the discovery of the remains of five ancient African crocodyliforms, early ancestors of crocodiles.  Three of the crocodyliforms are new discoveries while the other two were previously identified.  The three new discoveries are:

• Kaprosuchus saharicus, nicknamed BoarCroc, was 20 feet long and sported vicious fangs.
• Araripesuchus rattoides, nicknamed, RatCroc, was three feet and was likely a plant and grub eater.
• Laganosuchus thaumastos, nicknamed PancakeCroc, was 20 feet long with a three-foot long head.

The remaining two discoveries are:

• Anatosuchus minor, nicknamed DuckCroc, was small with an overhanging snout.
• Araripesuchus wegeneri, nicknamed DogCroc, had lanky legs and a dog-like snout.

These discoveries are exciting because they offer insight into a world of crocodyliforms that was previously unknown.

In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions California has set tough new energy efficiency standards for televisions under 58 inches.  The new rules mandate that, starting in 2011, televisions sold in California consume 33% less electricity than current models.  Efficiency standards toughen even further in 2013 with a 49% reduction in electricity usage mandated.  These new standards are motivated by the fact that flat-screen TVs use, on average, 40% more energy than the old-style cathode ray tube TV sets they replaced.  Typically, TVs account for 10% of home energy use, so a these regulations have the potential for significant savings for a typical household.


We are currently in the planning stages for Spring 2010 Information Sessions across Kansas and we would love your help!  Fill out this short 10 question survey & help KAMS plan our Spring Information Sessions!  It will only take a few minutes of your time and it will help us decide if we come near your hometown this spring.

The Kansas Wetlands Education Center has not had any reports of whooping cranes at Cheyenne Bottoms since Monday.  They believe the migration through the Cheyenne Bottoms to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge has ended.  While the whoopers may be gone, the goose and duck numbers are still very impressive with around 200,000 geese and about 50,000 ducks using the Bottoms.  One of the best times to watching is in the evening as geese return to the Bottoms to roost after feeding in the fields.  So, come, bring your camera and enjoy the show!

IBM researchers, working with researchers at Stanford University, announced that they have made progress toward simulating the human brain.  These scientists have been able to create a computer that is the equivalent of a cat’s brain.  This simulation of a cat’s cerebral cortex created by IBM requires a supercomputer with 147,456 processors and 143 terabytes of RAM.  Most modern PCs have one or two processors and a few gigs of RAM. Even with all this power, the computer still runs about 100 times slower than an actual cat brain.  This creation is equivalent to approximately 4.5% of a human brain.  Nonetheless, researchers predict that computers equivalent to the human brain are about 10 years from reality.

After over a year of repairs the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has announced that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is expected to restart this weekend.  The restart has been delayed several times.  The last delay was due to problems with the LHC’s magnets.  The Large Hadron Collider was built by CERN with the intention of testing a variety of predictions within physics.  Such predictions include the existence of the hypothesized Higgs boson.

KAMS Class of 2011.

Want to learn more about projects the students are working on at KAMS?  Check out an interview with Tyler & Ben about their artificial tree project on KSN-TV tonight.  A short segment will run at 6pm and a longer segment will be on the 10pm newscast.

The Second Annual FHSU Regional Science & Engineering Fair is scheduled for February 27, 2010.  Last year’s Fair was a tremendous success with the State Champs in both Division I (9th – 12th grade) and Division II (4th – 8th grade) originating from the FHSU Regional Fair.  We’re sure that we’ll be able to send a winner to the International Science & Engineering Fair again in 2010!  The entry deadline is February 1, 2010.  Look for more information in the coming weeks and months on the Science and Mathematics Education Institute website.

We hope everyone who attended Preview Day had a great time.  You can check out photos of the day on the KAMS Facebook page.  For those of you who attended, and those who were unable to attend, the KAMS application is available online on the KAMS website.  Here’s a sample of the photos:

Dr. Buffington introduces the Physics Department.

Dr. Donnelly give a tour of the Chemistry labs.

Round-Robin with the Geosciences Department.

Space shuttle Atlantis with it crew of six astronauts on board awaits launch on the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/TV

The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off on-time today at 1:28 pm CST from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  The shuttle and its crew of six astronauts have an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.  They also are carrying an interesting experiment for K-12 students, Butterflies in Space.