500 injured by blasts as meteor falls in Russia

The Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that the meteor over the Chelyabinsk region entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of at least 54,000 kph (33,000 mph) and shattered about 30-50 kilometers (18-32 miles) above ground.

The fall caused explosions that broke glass over a wide area. The Emergency Ministry says more than 500 people sought treatment after the blasts and that 34 of them were hospitalized.  http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/2013/02/15/injured-blasts-meteor-falls-russia/3AmzS7cxfntDkpWrCo8i7I/story.html

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Jim Heintz of the Associated Press

Durham speed limit change decision due

DECISION DUE: Councillors are set to decide whether to reduce the speed limit on a road where a teenager died next month. Durham County Council consulted the public on cutting the speed limit on the A690 between Durham City and the A1(M) at Carrville last year, after 13-year-old Brandon Nugent, of Gilesgate, was hit by a car as he crossed the road in March 2011. Brandon was knocked over on a crossing point on the busy dual carriageway. A council highways committee is set to discuss proposals to reduce the speed limit from 70mph to 50mph during a meeting at County Hall, Durham, on Friday, March 8, at 10am. http://www.durhamtimes.co.uk/news/10229941.Durham_speed_limit_change_decision_due/

Article courtesy of Durham Times by Mark Tellentire

NJ Transit customers' days of getting dollar coins back as change to end

New Jersey Transit customers won't need to worry about getting a pocket full of dollar coins back when they buy their transit tickets.

The agency is installing bank note recycler technology starting with its ticket vending machines at Newark's Penn Station that will dispense change in paper bill form. It will be available at all 674 terminals system wide by the end of the year.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/nj_transit_customers_days_of_g.html#incart_river

Article courtesy of New Jersey News by Associated Press by The Star Ledger

USC research on cold sensitivity could help control pain in future

Researchers at USC have made mice insensitive to near-freezing temperatures by deactivating select neurons, a development that could one day lead to new treatments for pain in humans.

In a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers used a bacterial toxin to kill neurons equipped with so-called TRPM8 channels, cellular structures that help relay sensations of cold. (The pathway is also responsible for sensing menthol, the cooling component of mint.) Neurons that sense heat and mechanical pain were left intact, however

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-cold-sensation-20130212,0,5137235.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angels Times-Science Now by Monte Morin

Some plastics should be classified as hazardous, scientists say

Less than half of the 280 million metric tons of plastic produced each year ends up in the landfill.  A fair bit of the rest ends up littering the landscape, blown by the wind or washed down streams and rivers into the sea.

So far Americans spend $520 million a year to clean up plastic litter washing up on West Coast beaches and shorelines. Efforts to clean up the oceans' enormous swirling gyres of garbage has an incalculable cost. Thus, much of the focus has been on how to stop the river of trash from entering the ocean. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-some-plastics-should-be-classified-as-hazardous-scientists-say-20130212,0,7219100.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times-Science Now by Kenneth R. Weiss

A Silver Lining

A bold transit experiment over at Logan International Airport seems to be working.

Starting last June, the MBTA stopped collecting fares from arriving air passengers boarding Silver Line buses at the airport. The change had two positive impacts at Logan:  Passengers could board buses at the airport much more quickly and they could get to South Station and other points on the MBTA system for free. As a result, ridership on Silver Line buses traveling from the airport to Boston is up about 18 percent.

Article courtesy of Commonwealth Magazine

Sunlight stimulates release of carbon dioxide in melting permafrost

Ancient plant and animal matter trapped within Arctic permafrost can be converted rapidly into climate-warming carbon dioxide when melted and exposed to sunlight, according to a new study. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-carbon-sunlight-permafrost-20130211,0,5550833.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times –Science Now by Monte Morin