Measures to Ensure Accuracy, Accessibility in Presidential Election
Experts say four relatively simple and inexpensive steps can be taken to ensure that voting procedures in this fall's presidential election are as accurate and reliable as possible.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12557.html
San Andreas Earthquakes Have Almost Always Been Big Ones
A common-sense notion among many Californians is that frequent small earthquakes relieve accumulating strain, thereby making large earthquakes less likely. Now, new research shows that about 95 percent of the slippage at a site on the San Andreas fault occurs only in rare but large earthquakes.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12558.html
New Way to Control Prosthetic Device with Brain Signals
Neuroscientists have been successful in getting monkeys to move a cursor on a computer screen by merely thinking. The research holds significant promise for neural prosthetic devices that will use brain signals to one day permit paralyzed patients to operate computers, robots, motorized wheelchairs—and perhaps even automobiles.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12553.html
Unexpected Changes in Earth's Climate Observed on the Dark Side of the Moon
Scientists who monitor Earth's reflectance by measuring the moon's "earthshine" have found a gradual decline that became sharper in the last part of the 1990s, perhaps associated with accelerated global warming. Surprisingly, though, the declining reflectance reversed completely in the past three years.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12540.html
The Brain Can Make Errors in Reassembling the Color and Motion of Objects
New research suggests that initial perceptions in the brain can contain misassigned colors. Because different parts of the brain are responsible for dealing with motion and color perception, mistakes in "binding" can occur, where the motion from one object is combined with the color of another object.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12537.html
Physicists Successful in Trapping Ultracold Neutrons
Free neutrons buzz along at a significant fraction of the speed of light. But physicists have created a new process to slow neutrons down to about 15 miles per hour, which could lead to breakthroughs in understanding the physical universe at its most fundamental level.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12529.html
"Minis" Have Mega Impact in the Brain
"Minis," miniature excitatory synaptic events, may play an important role in regulating protein synthesis in the brain. Further, the research suggests the brain is a much more sensitive organ than originally perceived, sensitive to the tiniest of chemical signals.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12551.html
How the Brain Implements Movement
Neuroscientists have long puzzled how the brain translates two different "languages" into action: the sensory cues that come from our vision system, and the motor execution, the movement of bone and tissue that, for example, actually allows us to grasp an object. The answer may be geometry--a transitional, geometric stage between sensory perception and motor actions, in which the brain simulates a task such as grasping without actually moving the arm and hand.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12542.html
New Class of Reagents Developed for Protein Tracking
One of the big problems in biology is keeping track of the proteins a cell makes, without having to kill the cell. Now, researchers have developed a general approach that measures protein production in living cells. This work should have great impact on both cell biology and the new field of proteomics, which is the study of all the proteins that act in living systems.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12561.html
Observatory Receives Funds for Public Education Program and Exhibits
The National Science Foundation has announced a $5 million agreement to establish an Educational Outreach Center at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Louisiana. The center will support programs that communicate LIGO-related science concepts to the public, strengthen science teaching, and reach a broad audience of students in Louisiana and beyond.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12548.html
Caltech Student to Launch Photography Project with 5th Graders
Fifth-grade students from Pasadena will use photography to document their lives, thanks to a $10,000 scholarship to a Caltech student. Andrea Vasconcellos's project will allow children to create an art display of their daily lives. Vasconcellos's goal is to help the children--who come from low-income homes--cope with their environments and experience success in their lives.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12546.html
White House Names Three as Presidential Early Career Award Winners
The three recent winners of the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers are Babak Hassibi, who studies data transmission and wireless communications systems; Mark Simons, who researches the mechanical behavior of Earth, and Brian Stoltz, who specializes in the synthesis of structurally complex, biologically active molecules.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12528.html
Four Named to National Academy of Sciences
Caltech's newest members are geologist Donald Helmberger, physicist professor Andrew Lange, biologist Stephen Mayo, and planetary scientist David Stevenson, who was named as a foreign associate.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12525.html
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