Smart Helmets
As if American football players don’t get enough flack from rugby-playing nations, Wired is reporting that their helmets are going electronic:
… Read the rest “Smart Helmets”Now, according to The Washington
Science
Cousin planet.
Astronomers have finally confirmed, NPR reports, the discovery of the very first Earth-like planet somewhere else in space:
… Read the rest “Cousin planet.”Astronomers have found hundreds of planets outside our solar
Following leatherbacks.
The Guardian knows where the world’s largest sea turtles go:
… Read the rest “Following leatherbacks.”Matthew Witt, a researcher at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, led the project. “Despite
Scent of tears.
It’s a real turn-off, according to PhysOrg.com. They found that a chemical in women’s tears kills the mood for men – even if the crying woman is nowhere to be found:
… Read the rest “Scent of tears.”But
Science Art: Alligator and Snake by Maria Sibylla Merian
An illustration by Maria Sibylla Graff Merian, daughter of an engraver, step-daughter of a painter and careful observer of the natural world. She carefully documented the steps through… Read the rest “Science Art: Alligator and Snake by Maria Sibylla Merian”
Hungry season.
Amid all the fish kills and rising gas prices, here’s a feel-good story for the season from the kindly folks at Scientific American. It seems that thanks to freaky weather, we’ll… Read the rest “Hungry season.”
Combat wings
Beaks, sure. Talons? Terrifying. But how about Eurekalert.org’s report on prehistoric birds using their wings as clubs:
… Read the rest “Combat wings”“No animal has ever evolved anything quite like
Look inside.
This isn’t a discovery so much as a great resource (and wonderful source of visuals), but you should really look inside The Cell Image Library… and look inside your cells.
Really.… Read the rest “Look inside.”
Subatomic sound.
NPR takes us on an audio tour of the Large Hadron Collider with a physicist who’s translating subatomic particles into sounds:
… Read the rest “Subatomic sound.”“I have some musician friends that I was talking
Art as science.
RISD president John Maeda, writing in Seed Magazine, makes the case for including art education in our quest for better science:
… Read the rest “Art as science.”Public commitments to STEM—science, technology, engineering,
Science Art: Ion Engine Test Firing, NASA-JPL
From the Wikimedia Commons description:
… Read the rest “Science Art: Ion Engine Test Firing, NASA-JPL”This image of a xenon ion engine, photographed through a port of the vacuum chamber where it was being tested at NASA’s Jet
Stop your engines (for just a second).
CleanTechnica announces some fuel-saving technology that’s making its way from hybrids to standard automobiles:
… Read the rest “Stop your engines (for just a second).”Start-stop is a fuel saving approach mainly associated with
Conservative amygdalas are concerned.
The Telegraph reports on new brain studies that find a difference between “liberal” brains and “conservative” brains, equating the old-ways-are-best mindset… Read the rest “Conservative amygdalas are concerned.”
Gene weapon vs. bee killers
Varroa mites, the BBC reminds us, are one of the worst enemies honeybees face in these difficult days. But now, there’s a genetic front opening in the war to save the hives:
… Read the rest “Gene weapon vs. bee killers”To tackle
80 percent of America’s antibiotics go to livestock.
Wired examines the economy of our antibiotic culture:
… Read the rest “80 percent of America’s antibiotics go to livestock.”Two weeks ago, I broke the news of a new FDA report that estimated for the first time the amount of antibiotics sold in the United States