My computer ate my homework….At least 70 per cent of university students’ excuses for missed assignments are lies, a study at Chicago’s DePaul University has found. The study also found professors almost always accept their students’ excuses at face value, thereby reinforcing chronic procrastinating behaviour.Among the most popular excuses are health and computer problems, but the death of grandparents is also high on the list. Most of the 224 students surveyed reported feeling guilty about lying, but none of them said the guilt would prevent them from making similar excuses in the future. Source: Psychology Today-Joanne TangNanoparticlessave paperPiero Baglioni and his colleagues at the University of Florence have found that a sprinkling of tiny particles of a strong alkali like slaked lime helps conserve historical documents. Paper turns deep brown in hot, moist environments over an extended period of time if left untreated. Acids slowly break down the cellulose fibres in paper, which makes it yellow, brittle and weak. Baglioni’s team has successfully treated manuscripts dating back to the fourteenth century with calcium hydroxide grains just 200 millionths of a millimetre across. The nanoparticles of this slaked lime penetrate the paper’s fibers. Once stuck to the cellulose fibers of the paper, the particles react slowly with carbon dioxide in the air to form calcium carbonate (fine powdered chalk). The alkali then neutralizes the acids without altering the document’s appearance. Source: www.nature.com–Habiba NayyerStar magnet
The most powerful magnet in the universe has been identified as the neutron star SGR 1806-20. Classified as a magnetar, these rare stars are thought to be a billion times more magnetic than the strongest magnet on Earth. Using NASA’s Rossi X-ray Explorer satellite, scientists determined the star’s magnetic field to be approximately one hundred billion Tesla. For perspective, our Sun’s magnetic field is only a few ten thousandths (10-4) of a Tesla. Scientists working on the project predict that if SGR 1806-20 were as close to the Earth as the moon is, it would have the ability to force a steel train to slow down or rearrange the molecules in our bodies. Fortunately, the magnetar is about 40,000 light-years from Earth. Source: www.nasa.gov–Sri Chaudhuri