Bumblebee and honeybee populations have been declining quickly over the past couple of decades. This event has been dubbed the Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. Beekeepers and researchers have been baffled, unable to determine what causes this sudden declination.

But just last week, researchers at the University of Stirling, UK and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) conducted two separate studies that point to the culprit: commonly used pesticides, which have been proven to damage the bees’ central nervous systems and homing abilities (learning and memory skills for remember the paths to the plants) and affects the birth of queens for colony growth.

The decline is believed to have been caused specifically by neonitinoid insecticides (which is a class of chemicals), which have been used since the early 90s. The bees pick up the pesticide along with the pollen and transfer it to other plants and bring it home to their hives, making other bees susceptible to the poison.

“Some bumblebee species have declined hugely,” Dave Goulson of the University of Stirling in Stirling, U.K. says in the  AAAS news release. “For example in North America, several bumblebee species which used to be common have more or less disappeared from the entire continent. In the U.K., three species have gone extinct.”

The study at Stirling University worked with bumblebees, a couple colonies of which were exposed to low levels (low enough to not be fatal) of the chemical imidacloprid – which is found in many brands such as Gaucho, Conguard, and Xytect – while a couple more were not. The researchers weighed all of the hives separately to determine how much each would grow by the end of the experiment.

They placed the bumblebees in an enclosed space outdoors for six weeks so they could go about their business in natural conditions. It turned out the exposed colonies gained less weight. The hives were 8-12% smaller. The population decreased as wells the amount of honey/nectar. Also, these hives contained 85% fewer queens (2 queens compared to 14 produced by unexposed colonies) in comparison to the unexposed hives.

The researchers in Avignon, France worked with honeybees. They gave one colony nonlethal doses of thiamethoxam, another chemical found in pesticides. Next, they tagged honeybees with radio-frequency identification microchips to track them. Following the experiment, the researchers found out that the colonies with the infected bees were 2 to 3 times more likely to die than nonexposed colonies. The pesticides were believed to have greatly damaged the bees’ homing systems, reducing the amount of nectar brought the colonies.

The INRA researchers conducted a second study in which they produced a mathematical model of the dynamics of honeybee populations. When the failure of the homing abilities was incorporated, the model predicted honeybee colonies would be impossible to recover at a certain point.

In addition to the honeybees and bumblebees, all other kinds of bees pollinate major vegetable and fruit crops as well as flowers. Because of their waning populations, farms would face dilemmas for the lack of pollination, which would instigate a decrease in the development of crops.

“There are obviously big question marks as to whether the safety testing that was done on these was really adequate,” Goulson adds.

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Earlier this week, a group of scientists working at the VU Amsterdam University in the Netherlands conducted an experiment in which they learned how the Moon’s interior is truly structured: below the thin rocky surface (otherwise known as a lithosphere) churns a thick mantle of liquid magma.

The team was led by Mirjam van Parker and Wim van Westrenen and consisted of scientists from the Universities of Paris 6/CNRS, Lyon 1/CNRS, Edinburgh, and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. Using copies of 380 kilograms worth of lunar rock samples that were collected by the astronauts from the Apollo missions, the scientists melted them with a high electric current at a temperature of 1,500˚F, then compressed them at a pressure of 4,500 bar. The aforementioned temperature and pressure are thought to be at the same intensity as the ones underneath the Moon’s surface.

After this, the team measured the samples’ density with powerful x-ray beams emitted from a synchrotron, provided by the ESRF. They learned that the molten rock (the magma) was quite dense – much denser than they had assumed – and that it was liquid, filled with titanium.

These results have disproven a commonly referenced hypothesized cross-section that scientists constructed in the past: first is the thin crust, which is not uniform in thickness around the surface; below is a thick, solid mantle; following is a thinner mantle known as the moonquake zone, which is slightly less solid than the upper mantle, so that seismic waves can travel; and, finally, a solid iron-rich core lies in the center.

The Moon lacks current volcanic activity because the magma is too dense, or just a bit too firm; lighter liquid tends to be pushed up more, similar to the magma under the Earth, and there must be a difference in density between the magma and the surrounding solid material for any eruptions.

“Today, the Moon is still cooling down, as are the melts in its interior,” Wim van Westrenen, the chair of the Netherlands Platform for Planetary Science, states in the ESRF’s news release. “In the distant future, the cooler and therefore solidifying melt will change in composition, likely making it less dense than its surroundings.

This lighter magma could make its way again up to the surface forming an active volcano on the Moon – what a sight that would be! – but for the time being, this is just a hypothesis to stimulate more experiments.” He and Mirjam van Parker have published the findings of their experiment in the journal, ‘Nature Geosciences’, on February 19.

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Shogo Masaki of the Department of Physics at Nagoya University and Masataka Fukugita and Naoki Yoshida of the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IMPU) collaborated in an experiment to create a computer simulation that would hopefully figure out the location of dark matter. In late January, their experiment was successful.

The term intergalactic refers to the physical space between galaxies where matter is hardly distributed. Scientists previously thought that intergalactic space comprised of nothing, being only empty, and that galaxies, in contrast, have the highest concentration of matter. Masaki, Fukugita, and Yoshida, however, have discovered that these intergalactic zones are packed with clumps of dark matter.

In addition, they also learned that galaxies do not have clear, defined edges; instead, they “have long outskirts of dark matter that extend to their nearby galaxies” according to IMPU’s press release. These “outskirts” contain much of the matter – and dark matter – in the universe.

The existence of dark matter was proposed by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in the 1930s. Since then, there have been numerous experiments around the globe involving dark matter. Dark matter’s nature is still enigmatic: it is an invisible, dense substance, and it cannot even be detected by instruments. Scientists do know that dark matter takes up about 23% of the Universe, with dark energy taking up 72% and the rest (planets and stars, for example) only 4%.

Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, dark matter is not random – it is uniform and organized. Masaki and his colleagues gathered recent observational data of 24 million galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and created a large simulation of matter distribution. With their knowledge of the large density of dark matter, they used gravitational lensing to find the substance’s location.

Because dark matter is so dense, it causes space and light from stars, galaxies, and other light-emitting objects to bend, making these celestial objects appear bigger and brighter. With gravitational lensing, Masaki and his colleagues measured how the galaxies’ light was bent, allowing them to locate dark matter.

Dark matter remains as elusive as ever: although we have found exactly where dark matter is, we still do not know what it is, but scientists are closer than ever to understanding the mysterious substance’s nature. Masaki, Fukugita, and Yoshida have published a paper describing details of their experiment in The Astrophysical Journal. A PDF of the preprint version is found here.

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Last week, particle physicists at CERN came closer to finding the Higgs boson (otherwise inaptly known as “the god particle”), a hypothetical elementary particle that would explain the origin of mass.

Named after British physicist, Peter Higgs, who first hypothesized that mass came from elementary particles, the Higgs boson is believed to have existed during the few seconds after the Big Bang when particles first obtained mass. Not only is it the missing piece of the Standard Model, which explains how subatomic particles and the universal forces are related and how they interact with one other, but it will be able to fill in some of the inconsistencies within the model.

Located between the border of Switzerland and France, CERN – Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or European Council for Nuclear Research – is a particle physics laboratory composed of particle accelerators. One of these particle accelerators is the largest in the world, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and consists of an underground circular tunnel.

The LHC’s purpose is to figure out what the universe was like on a subatomic level one second after the Big Bang by smashing together protons – a type of subatomic particle – at nearly the speed of light. ATLAS and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) are two of the six major experiments at the LHC that are simultaneously, yet separately, determining the existence of the Higgs boson.

Proving the existence of the Higgs boson would be tricky. Because it is a hypothetical particle, the Higgs has to be created, which is also difficult. For one, its life span would be short because of its rapid decay, and it could only be detected by special instruments. ATLAS and CMS are looking to detect the Higgs, not by the state of it existing, but rather, by its decaying state.

To do so, these two experiments have to create the particle. Thereafter, they look for the Higgs by detecting the energy it has released upon its decay. The energy, which should ideally read around 116-130 GeV, is then recorded on graphs. While recording the data of the energy from the decaying, ATLAS and CMS have seen spikes at similar energies on their respective graphs at like times. However, some particle physicists believe that these spikes may be energy fluctuations.

“The excess is most compatible with a Standard Model Higgs in the vicinity of 124 GeV and below,” says Guido Tonelli, a particle physicist working as the spokesperson for CMS, “but the statistical significance is not large enough to say anything conclusive. As of today, what we see is consistent either with a background fluctuation or with the presence of the boson.”

To actually confirm the Higgs’ existence, ATLAS and CMS have to find more spikes in the same places at even greater energies to make sure that they are not merely fluctuations.

If scientists were truly able to confirm the Higgs’ existence, they would essentially discover a new basic understanding of the foundation of the universe and its origin – and possibly explain the elusive nature of dark matter and dark energy. Results, however, will have to wait. Tonelli further states, “Refined analyses and additional data delivered in 2012 by this magnificent machine will definitely give an answer.”

homeros / Shutterstock.com

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Project Nim tells the story of Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who was a part of an experiment about the capabilities animals have to communicate with humans. Through the well-meaning misunderstandings of the humans that cared for him, Nim experienced many trials and tribulations in his lifetime.

Nim’s story begins in 1973 when he was just two weeks old. He is ripped from his mother and transported to New York to live with a bohemian, hippie family. Stephanie LaFarge becomes his surrogate mother, and she quickly grows attached to him. She even chooses to breast feed him for several months.

Dr. Herbert Terrace started the experiment to disprove Noam Chomsky’s theory that animals are incapable of learning language, and he decided to do this by teaching Nim American Sign Language. The debate about whether or not animals have self-awareness, and can communicate that awareness to others, began around this time. But even today 40 years later, the debate continues. Terrace felt so strongly about this project that he even mocked Chomsky’s name by giving Nim a very similar name.

Part of the reason it is easy to forget that chimps are animals and still have wild instincts, is because they can do things that look so human. The conflict between a human’s love for an animal that results in the desire to transform that animal into a furry human and the animal stubbornly staying true to its natural instincts is the basis for much of the heartbreak and misery that occurs.

Director, James Marsh commented in an interview with Lauren Wisscot on globalcomment.com that part of his inspiration for Project Nim came from the documentary Grizzly Man, a story of a man whose love affair with grizzly bears ended fatally. Both films discuss the topic of turning the love for an animal into a belief that the animal is imbued with human characteristics that it simply does not possess.

The first hiccup occurs with Dr. Terrace’s choice of surrogate family. No one in the family knew very much sign language and LaFarge was more intent on developing a mother-child bond than recording scientific data. Dr. Terrace grew frustrated with the lax recording and moved Nim to an island owned by Columbia University. A young and talented undergraduate student named Laura-Ann Petittio took over the experiment at that point.

Over the next several years Nim’s signing improved dramatically and he even managed to make up some of his own signs. As he entered adolescence his animal nature began to show, and he grew more and more violent. One time he bit one of his handlers so badly that she had to be hospitalized for several months. A number of different caretakers came in and out of his life as a result of the difficult nature of handling a large, sometimes violent anima.

Once the experiment ended, no one was sure what to do with him, and he ended up in a number of places, including being subjected to various animal experiments at New York University’s medical research facility.

Nim’s story is not the only one of an animal that is subjected to the fickle will and whim of humans, but it could certainly be one of the most moving. James Marsh has been praised for his ability to make this documentary more than just a history lesson. Told through a series of narrators who were involved with Nim and enhanced by archival footage and images, it creates an amazing story that draws the viewer into Nim’s almost surreal life.

For anyone interested in what defines people and animals, or even those just wanting to watch a good—and true—story should consider either making it to one of the limited screenings this summer, or renting it when it comes out  later this year.

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With Jaws came blockbusters. In 1975, Steven Spielberg had become the forefather of the big summer films, but with the release of Life in a Day, arises the genre of cinematic experiment. Life in a Day is a collaboration between Scott Free, Ridley Scott’s production company, and Youtube. On July 24, 2010, people filmed a portion of their lives on camera and then uploaded it via Youtube to Scott Free Productions. About 80,000 people submitted their pieces, amounting to 4,500 hours of video. These submissions were done all around the globe from 192 different nations.

The film was announced just weeks before the mass filming on July 24. In order to achieve many different perspectives in the movie, Against All Odds Productions distributed over 500 digital cameras around the world. After filming finished, every user uploaded his or her footage onto Youtube where it was then reviewed and edited. The editing was done by director Kevin MacDonald, Joe Walker and 25 helpers, and primarily used a trial and error process of eliminating and finding the footage MacDonald felt would make it in the film. Rummaging through the videos took about 6 months. It was then given to Sundance for its world premiere on January 27, while Youtube streamed it over its website in order for the world to see what it made.

After the premiere at Sundance, there was a Q&A session with MacDonald, Walker, Liza Marshall (co-producer), Tim Partridge (co-producer) and 26 of the filmmakers that shot some of the footage. At the Q&A session everyone talked about his or her experiences on the project. One of the questions toward MacDonald was what the intended message was in the film. He responded, “I suppose it sounds like a cliché…[but] the message is about connection, and that we are all connected.” The main obstacle the creators had was the editing. Liza Marshall had said, “…the original cut we saw was 3 hours, and we wanted to keep everything in the 3 hour cut, so we had a really difficult decision process to basically to half of the movie.” Because there was so much footage, another obstacle MacDonald found hard was making these bits and pieces of film into a logical narrative.

This movie hits home with just about everyone.  It makes you feel small. It makes you tear with joy, then shutter with a sea of overwhelming.  It shows the audience that there are other people in the world that are just like them. When watching the movie, you realize that no matter how disagreeable the day is getting, no matter how rainy the sky looks, there is always someone parachuting out of a plane, or eating a juicy watermelon. MacDonald was right, and not in a clichéd way, because what he said is, in fact, true. It connects us by making us realize that people we have never met before do the same things that we do. It does not point out to one person as an individual. It points out everyone as a collective. It is releasing on July 27, 2011. A whole year will have passed since all the events were caught on film. Even if you do not like documentaries, even if you do not like MacDonald or Ridley Scott, see this movie. It opens your eyes to what life is– beautiful. And the best part is that it is not in 3-D.

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