CROSCI - Science Portal
Welcome to Croatian Science Portal. The main mission of our organisation is to promote and advance scientific work and inspire young generations towards a wide range of careers available in academic and research work.
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Periodic table adds heavy element
Via CSIRO Education
A new super-heavy element was officially added to the periodic table last week, after a decade of research. Element 112 is now the heaviest element in the periodic table and is about 277 times heavier than hydrogen, the lightest element.
Element 112 was first detected in 1996, by a team of scientists from the Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany. In order to have the element officially recognised by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, they were required to repeat experiments and perform new ones in order to provide more evidence for the element’s existence.
Element 112 is not found in nature – it is made in particle accelerators. To make the element, scientists fire accelerated zinc atoms with 30 protons towards lead atoms with 82 protons. The collision can result in this new element with 112 protons.
Now don’t throw out your chemistry textbook just yet! Element 112 has not yet received its final name, which will be revealed later in the year.
News: Rules to protect reefs
Via Science by Email 29 May 2009
Coral reefs are rich, complex and diverse ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef, for example, is actually a network of more than 2900 reefs and is home to thousands of species including brightly-coloured fish, sharks, many different types of whales, dolphins, hard corals in lots of different shapes, molluscs, sponges, starfish, worms and turtles.
The Great Barrier Reef and other coral ecosystems around the world are suffering due to climate change, overfishing and water pollution.
Climate change can impact reefs in a number of ways, most noticeably by coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is caused by sustained high water temperatures and causes the coral to lose its colour and turn white. Coral bleaching has already killed reefs in the Maldives, Seychelles and Palau. Five per cent of the reefs in the Great Barrier Reef were severely damaged in 1998 and 2002. The good news is that the coral can recover from bleaching.
Overfishing is also a major concern in reef management. The Great Barrier Reef's fish stocks have been depleted by commercial fishing, so there are strict rules in place. Grey reef sharks are one of the worst hit populations, with numbers declining to three per cent of unfished levels in 2006.
Water pollution such as farm run-off – including sediment, fertilizer and pesticides – also has a devastating impact on reefs. It is estimated that nitrogen pollution in the Great Barrier Reef is now 300 times higher than before European farming practices arrived in Australia. This pollution encourages the growth of the crown-of-thorns starfish, which can destroy coral.
At the World Ocean Conference earlier this month, researchers proposed six rules to help protect coral ecosystems around the world. These recommendations are based on the results of research carried out in the Great Barrier Reef, as well as the Bohol Sea in the Philippines and Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea.
Dr Laurence McCook of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority suggests that the key to saving threatened coral ecosystems is to maintain the links (connectivity) between reefs allowing larvae to flow between them and re-stock depleted areas.
“Ecological connectivity is critically important to the resilience of coral reefs and other ecosystems to which they are linked,” says Laurence.
“The ability of reefs to recover after disturbances or resist new stresses depends critically on the supply of larvae available to reseed populations of key organisms, such as fish and corals. For reefs to survive and prosper they must in turn be linked with other healthy reefs.”
Featured Science Video: Beautiful Science
Science is not the hottest topic among the young generations today. Passive media such as TV, radio and music still dominate the midnset.
This video demonstrates how a cleverly orchestrated campaign can steer the interest of the young generations in the right directions in the same interactive way a new video game would or an interactive feature on the net such as social media or YouTube.
Essentially, Beautiful Science is a three part British Council project in ten countries bringing together scientists from Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Israel, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and the UK.
The three parts are: Visualise, Debates & FameLab.
Quotes:
- "It's a great way of celebrating British science"
- "...and the feedback we've had was fantastic"
Featured Articles
How Businesses Can Save Thousands By Sourcing Local Products Rather Than Made in Asia
In recent years many businesses went off-shore to have their new product or invention taken from concept to manufacturing, as a way to cut costs. With the crash of the Australian dollar affecting imports and the increase in local know-how, smart businesses are taking a fresh look at local suppliers as a way of cutting costs.
Robots are part of our future!
There is no doubt about it; human evolution and performance are limited. Our intelligence and physical abilities are restricted and we cannot survive without vital nutrients, air and other elements, necessary for our frail human nature. Therefore it is vitally important we improve and protect our abilities, and what better way to do so, then with mechanically engineered devices.
Croatia: Aiming High
Was it a scheduling error that put Croatia on a panel yesterday afternoon with scientific powerhouses USA and Britain for a session on what governments can do to spur innovation and compete globally? It seems that way at first -- until Dragan Primorac, Croatia's science chief, begins to unveil his grand strategy.
Featured Scientist
Professor Mladen Vranic
Professor Mladen Vranic is distinguished researcher and educator in medical sciences (endocrinology and metabolism) and former chair of physiology, where 85 years ago insulin was discovered. More
Featured Event
4th International Symposium on Food Packaging - Scientific Developments Supporting Safety and Quality
19-21 November 2008, Prague, Czech Republic
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Staff Updates
22-04-09: I am proude to present you our new forum. So login and comment, discuss...
04-02-09: Alex has just returned from a rather exciting trip to Val Gardena - no broken legs or ribs. Thanks for the wonderful photos. We all wish we could have joined you. Our next destination will be Munich.
02-02-09: We've just ordered 100 promotional wristbands from http://24hourwristbands.com/ for all our staff and partners. Wait till you see the message, very geeky indeed.
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