Better bottles.
The Guardian looks forward to a time when our plastic bottles will be replaced with plant-based containers that turn into, essentially, mulch in a year:
… Read the rest “Better bottles.”The plans, devised by renewable
Science
Science Art: Devonian Marine Organisms, by Aleksandra Arkhipova, 2015
Click to embiggen vastly
From the “Scientific Illustration” collection on Wikimedia Commons, where this image of trilobites and prehistoric shellfish has the following… Read the rest “Science Art: Devonian Marine Organisms, by Aleksandra Arkhipova, 2015”
One fatty meal can reduce your ability to focus.
Science Daily reports on Ohio State University research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that finds a single meal high in saturated fats, while comforting, totally… Read the rest “One fatty meal can reduce your ability to focus.”
Music of a pulsing star reveals its inner structure.
Nature looks inside pulsing stars – not pulsars, but a group called “δ Scuti stars” – that flicker in a regular enough pattern that astronomers can use the frequency… Read the rest “Music of a pulsing star reveals its inner structure.”
Pluto (probably) got whacked on one side so hard it jiggled on the other, thanks to a (partially) liquid center.
Scientific American shows how the dwarf planet at the fringes of our solar system was partially shaped by a cartoonish reaction to a major collision:
… Read the rest “Pluto (probably) got whacked on one side so hard it jiggled on the other, thanks to a (partially) liquid center.”Its elliptical western lobe, the 1,240-mile-long
Science Art: Albumasar De magnis coniunctionibus, 1515
Click to embiggenJa’far ibn Muḥammad Abū Ma’shar wrote a book – and published it in Venice. It was the place to be, and to see the sky, in the 1500s. He was famous. A star … Read the rest “Science Art: Albumasar De magnis coniunctionibus, 1515”
A llama antibody.
I’m trying to keep COVID-19 research to a minimum here, just because there’s so much of it everywhere, but I couldn’t resist this piece from Reuters. There’s … Read the rest “A llama antibody.”
How your snack bags can give you away.
Scientific American is doing a deep, multi-story dive on privacy issues, and this one’s a doozy. Researchers have used an irregularly shaped shiny object, like a metal bowl or a bag… Read the rest “How your snack bags can give you away.”
Spinosaurs were swimmers: “the only known aquatic dinosaur.”
Nature has a video up with paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim, who discusses tailbones from the Sahara that indicate this gigantic, prehistoric bird relative swam for its supper:
… Read the rest “Spinosaurs were swimmers: “the only known aquatic dinosaur.””A new fossil
Science Art: Gradus Peas, Petoskey or Paul Rose Musk Melon, 1899
Click to embiggenFrom the D.M. Ferry & Co. Seed Annual, via the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Fresh vegetables, fresh muskmelon. Mmm. I do love a muskmelon.
Oldest known cave paintings show modern human thoughts – as a story.
Scientific American marvels over paintings found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi – 44,000-year-old images of fantastic beast-men that bear signs of modern human ways of understanding… Read the rest “Oldest known cave paintings show modern human thoughts – as a story.”
Insects are dying off – except those living in fresh water.
The Guardian has grim news for bugs (which include critters like the bees that pollinate our crops) with a little flash of hope. Insect populations have dropped by 25% over the last 30 years,… Read the rest “Insects are dying off – except those living in fresh water.”
Science Art: Cosmic Reef, by the Hubble Space Telescope
Astronomers are marking the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope with a “ portrait of a firestorm of starbirth in a neighboring galaxy” –… Read the rest “Science Art: Cosmic Reef, by the Hubble Space Telescope”
Flattening the curve of misinformation.
Nature takes time out from COVID-19 news to inveigh against another kind of epidemic – of online viral content that’s, shall we say, too often less than accurate:
… Read the rest “Flattening the curve of misinformation.”In times of
On behalf of America’s southeastern quadrant: Oh, GREAT! Early hurricane predictions are in. And big.
It’s going to be a rough season again, Science News lets us know. Tropical weather forecasters are predicting 18 named storms and at least four major hurricanes for the 2020 season… Read the rest “On behalf of America’s southeastern quadrant: Oh, GREAT! Early hurricane predictions are in. And big.”