The Mystery of Global Warming's Missing Heat

Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them.

This is puzzling in part because here on the surface of the Earth, the years since 2003 have been some of the hottest on record. But Josh Willis at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the oceans are what really matter when it comes to global warming.

In fact, 80 percent to 90 percent of global warming involves heating up ocean waters. They hold much more heat than the atmosphere can. So Willis has been studying the ocean with a fleet of robotic instruments called the Argo system. The buoys can dive 3,000 feet down and measure ocean temperature. Since the system was fully deployed in 2003, it has recorded no warming of the global oceans.

Read more from NPR!

Blue is not the colour - it's red

The success of football teams wearing red shirts - including Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal - is no coincidence, academics have revealed.

Scientists at universities in Plymouth and Durham analysed data on all English league clubs since World War II and found home teams in red won more often.

Players in yellow or orange shirts had the worst record but performances away from home did not show any differences.

Researchers believe there could be a psychological boost in wearing red.

They said the crimson shade is often associated with male aggression and dominance.

Professor Robert Barton, from Durham University, said: "We see a couple of possible explanations.

"Firstly, over time supporters may have been subconsciously more attracted to a club wearing red, so the club has developed an increasing resource base within its community.

"Secondly, there may be a positive psychological boost from wearing red that is reflected on the field of play.

"Competing against a team in red could also impair performance."

The warmest winter in Finnish measurement history

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, this winter's mean temperature in most parts of Finland was the highest ever measured. Temperatures have been measured in Finland for over a century. The high temperatures resulted from mild southern and southwestern air currents that continued all winter, and from climate change.

The winter has been also exceptionally rainy. Precipitation measured in all of Finland between December and February was higher than average. The number of days with rain and sleet was clearly more than usual. In large areas of westernmost Finland and in Oulu Province, the sum of precipitation for the winter was over 1.5 times the long-term average. If all that rain had come down as snow, we would have about 2 meters of snow here...

Read more from FMI News.

P.S. Global warming is sure one reason for this weather. But I believe that La Niña is the motor that pushes warm weather here. Let's wait few years and see how's the winter when El Niño rules the world.

Nanomagnets 'could target cancer'

Tiny magnets made by bacteria could be used to kill tumours, say researchers.

A team at the University of Edinburgh has developed a method of making the nanomagnets stronger, opening the way for their use in cancer treatment.

The bacteria-produced magnets are better than man-made versions because of their uniform size and shape, the Nature Nanotechnology study reported. It is hoped one day the magnets could be guided to tumour sites and then activated to destroy cancerous cells.

The bacteria take up iron from their surroundings and turn it into a string of magnetic particles. They use the chains of particles like a needle of a compass to orient themselves and search for oxygen-rich environments.

There has been a lot of interest in their potential application in medicine, but how useful they could be will depend on the strength of the magnets.

Scientists at Edinburgh University grew the bacteria in a mixture that contained more cobalt than iron. The addition of cobalt in the nanomagnets made them 36-45% stronger. This meant they stayed magnetised longer when taken out of a magnetic field.

Read more from BBC Science News