Viking DNA
LiveScience reports on the tantalizing possibility of creating a Jurassic Park for bearded boat-warriors:
… Read the rest “Viking DNA”Jorgen Dissing of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues say they retrieved
Month: May 2008
Hairy Frog Breaks Own Bones to Create Claws.
Well, I’d certainly be terrified. Not only does this amphibian have hair, but New Scientist reports, it also snaps its own bones to create claws – by pushing the fragments through… Read the rest “Hairy Frog Breaks Own Bones to Create Claws.”
No dengue fever, please. We’re British mosquitoes.
Nature (subscribers only) has announced that the plan to release sterile mosquitoes into the wild (mentioned months ago in this free Wired report) is going forward:
… Read the rest “No dengue fever, please. We’re British mosquitoes.”Nature:
Malaysia is
Science Art: “Rosetta Stone”
There it is – the key that unlocked ancient Egypt. One message in three alphabets.
From the Library of Christian Theological Seminary, found on Wikimedia Commons.
SONG: Mesonychoteuthis Hamiltonii
SONG: “Mesonychoteuthis Hamiltonii” (To download: right-click & “Save As”)
ARTIST: grant.
SOURCE: “Colossal Squid Comes Out Of Ice”… Read the rest “SONG: Mesonychoteuthis Hamiltonii”
Three Red Spots.
New Scientist on the third-largest hurricane in the solar system:
… Read the rest “Three Red Spots.”Now, a third red spot, about half the size of Red Spot Junior, has broken out on the giant gaseous planet. The spot, previously
Nanotube Trouble.
Rice University researchers – some of the pioneers of nanotechnology – have declared that carbon nanotubes may be… may be… as dangerous as asbestos:
… Read the rest “Nanotube Trouble.”…[T]he
Don’t Tell Me You Love Me.
Scientific American ruins my naive illusions about love with their expose of the orgasmic mind:
… Read the rest “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me.”Neuroscientist Gert Holstege of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and his
My Sister, My Stomach.
Well. LiveScience shares the news of a 9-year-old girl in Greece discovering that she actually had a twin sister… growing inside her stomach:
… Read the rest “My Sister, My Stomach.”“They could see on the right side
Science Art: “Acherontia atropos,” Nordisk familjebok
The Death’s Head Hawkmoth.
There’s a more recent photograph of one here; the first time I remember learning this beauty’s name was in a brilliantly illustrated version… Read the rest “Science Art: “Acherontia atropos,” Nordisk familjebok”
The Sanity-Shattering Glass Armonica.
They say this instrument will drive listeners insane.
Insane with beauty, say I. It creates the most haunting tones ever heard.
Invented by Ben Franklin, scientific genius and master aesthete.… Read the rest “The Sanity-Shattering Glass Armonica.”
The Little Green Men and the Heavenly Host.
New Scientist reports on the Vatican’s public acceptance of extraterrestrial life:
… Read the rest “The Little Green Men and the Heavenly Host.”In the interview, headlined “The extraterrestrial is my brother,” [Reverend
California’s Fast Future.
They’re one step closer to Burbank to San Francisco in less than 3 hours. Besides being fast, high-speed rail’s other touted benefits do sound pretty impressive:
… Read the rest “California’s Fast Future.”
- Reduce CO2
Seismologists, look to the skies.
What with earthquakes being in the news recently, it might be reassuring to look at a recent New Scientist piece on a potential early warning sign that a tremor is on its way. Maybe. Chinese… Read the rest “Seismologists, look to the skies.”
A Southern Man Don’t Need This Spider Around.
The CBC reports on a newly discovered trapdoor spider named for Mr. Neil Young:
… Read the rest “A Southern Man Don’t Need This Spider Around.”East Carolina University biologist Jason Bond calls the new species Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi.
“There