The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

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Month: December 2014

NASA breaks scientific boundaries… in ballooning.

31 December 2014 grant 0

Nature profiles the amazing new high-atmosphere vehicle for exploring space from Antarctica:

If all continues smoothly, experts expect the flight to last for 100 days or longer. The current

… Read the rest “NASA breaks scientific boundaries… in ballooning.”

The oldest harmony. (Well, polyphony.)

30 December 2014 grant 0

University of Cambridge researchers have gotten to the root of the chord. (See, that’s a music theory joke.) No, really, they’ve found was seems to be the oldest written music… Read the rest “The oldest harmony. (Well, polyphony.)”

Science Art: Nest of the Honey-Wasp Attacked by Jaguar, 1916

28 December 2014 grant 0

Honey Wasp Attacked by Jaguar, Marvels of Insect Life, 1916
Click to embiggen

From Marvels of Insect Life: A Popular Account of Structure and Habit, edited by Edward Step, found in the BioDiversity Library.

This is probably not exactly the book Dylan… Read the rest “Science Art: Nest of the Honey-Wasp Attacked by Jaguar, 1916”

SONG: Not Even Dancing Works

27 December 2014 grant 0

SONG: “Not Even Dancing Works.”

ARTIST: grant.

SOURCE: Based on “Zoologger: Dancing in time makes crabs sexual failures“, New Scientist, 4 December 2014, … Read the rest “SONG: Not Even Dancing Works”

A new road to Mars

26 December 2014 grant 0

Popular Science charts a course to Mars that’s easier and cheaper… in a roundabout way:

Spacecraft usually enter orbit around planets via Hohmann transfer, which requires

… Read the rest “A new road to Mars”

DIY warp drive. He’s folding space in his garage.

24 December 2014 grant 0

Omaha World-Herald wants the world to know about this guy who’s building a warp drive in his garage:

[David] Pares’ garage is exactly as it sounds. This is not some converted hangar

… Read the rest “DIY warp drive. He’s folding space in his garage.”

No song today.

23 December 2014 grant 0

It’s been a season, this holiday has.

Mea maxima culpa. One verse and an arrangement sans guitar does not a song make. It’ll be posted soon, as will a penitential cover. (I still… Read the rest “No song today.”

Life-extension wonder-drug: Advil. In multiple species.

22 December 2014 grant 0

Science Daily reveals a bizarre hidden power of one of the world’s most common over-the-counter analgesics:

Regular doses of ibuprofen extended the lifespan of multiple species,

… Read the rest “Life-extension wonder-drug: Advil. In multiple species.”

Science Art: Astronauts Clown Around In Space

21 December 2014 grant 0

AstronautsClownAroundInSpace_8451229
Click to embiggen

In 1984, astronauts had to ride out in the Space Shuttle Discovery to retrieve two broken-down satellites, and decided to have a little fun with their mission.

I found this… Read the rest “Science Art: Astronauts Clown Around In Space”

Honeybee stuff makes your hair grow.

19 December 2014 grant 0

Science Daily takes a look at propolis, the sticky putty-like stuff honeybees use to seal up their hives. There are all kinds of health claims made about it, but one study shows that it can … Read the rest “Honeybee stuff makes your hair grow.”

The mighty (tiny, but mighty) primate ancestor… waaay bigger than expected.

18 December 2014 grant 0

New Scientist tries to keep some perspective about our great-great-etc. grandfather, Ursolestes, a prehistoric primate who might seem to us, a squirrel monkey. To dinosaurs, a giant… Read the rest “The mighty (tiny, but mighty) primate ancestor… waaay bigger than expected.”

Dumb chemicals drop babies’ IQs.

17 December 2014 grant 0

Science Daily reveals that two kinds of phthalates – chemicals found in ordinary stuff like dryer sheets, soap, lipstick and vinyl fabrics – can drop IQ points off developing… Read the rest “Dumb chemicals drop babies’ IQs.”

Once in the ocean, where does the plastic *go*?

16 December 2014 grant 0

Nature surveys the plastic in the seas, expects to see things like detergent bottles and Barbies breaking up into tiny “microplastic” particles, and doesn’t. So the… Read the rest “Once in the ocean, where does the plastic *go*?”

Sugar (especially the kind in fruit juice) is replacing salt as blood pressure enemy No. 1.

15 December 2014 grant 0

MedPage Today is among the sources spreading the determination (with no mincing of words) that sugar is just as bad as salt – if not worse – for your blood pressure:

In a research

… Read the rest “Sugar (especially the kind in fruit juice) is replacing salt as blood pressure enemy No. 1.”

Science Art: Fig 114 – July normal sea-level pressure, Southern Hemisphere.

14 December 2014 grant 0

Fig114GenMeteorology
Click to embiggen

Making the invisible visible – the air over the South Pole, Australia, Tierra del Fuego, Cape Town and beyond.

From General Meteorology (Published Formerly Under… Read the rest “Science Art: Fig 114 – July normal sea-level pressure, Southern Hemisphere.”

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GRANT: something to believe in

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Honorary Troubadours
  • Jonathan Coulton, Contributing Troubadour for Popular Science.
  • Laura Veirs, who knows her way around a polysyllable.
  • Thomas Dolby, godfather of scientific pop.
  • Squeaky, fact-based rock about fusion containment & rocket science.
  • Cosmos II, a.k.a. Boston University astronomer Alan Marscher.
  • Dr. Fiorella Terenzi, astrophysicist who makes music from cosmic radio sources.
  • Dr. Jim Webb, astronomy professor and acoustic guitarist.
  • Artichoke, the band behind 26 Scientists, Vols. I and II.
  • They Might Be Giants, unrelenting proponents of scientific popular song.
  • Symphonies of Science, the people who make Carl Sagan and others sing.
  • Giant Squid, doom metal about the sublime horrors of marine biology.
  • Gethan Dick,6 scientists, 6 musicians, 1 great album
Related Projects
  • Squid Pro Crow
  • Grant Bandcamp
  • Grant Soundcloud
  • Penitential Originals Playlist
https://guildofscientifictroubadours.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/01-gravity-song.mp3

 
"Is it a fact—or have I dreamt it—that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time?"
— Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, 1851

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