“Last-resort” antibiotic beaten by resistant bugs globally.
New Scientist doesn’t usually hype the headline too much, so one gets concerned when they say that germs can now resist another “last-resort” antibiotic: Bacteria […]
Science Art: Figs. 1315-1333 (Various rotary piston engines), 1890.
This is a page of figures from (deep breath) The engineer’s sketch-book of mechanical movements, devices, appli…
Read moreScience Art: Mirounga leonina 01, by H. Zell
This is a southern elephant seal, the largest marine mammal that isn’t a whale. They’re about twice as weighty …
Read moreScience Art: What can make any tape recorder sound a little more like an Ampex?, 1963.
This is an ad for Ampex tape from the August 1963 edition of Electronics Australia, a magazine (which I found o…
Read moreScience Art: Cygnus region in emission lines, 2025
This is a photo of space with a bit of color amplification so we can tell what we’re looking at. Nebulas on the…
Read moreScience Art: Heart apical two-chamber view myocardial regions, by Patrick Lynch
This is an illustration of a particular perspective in a cardiac echocardiogram. An “apical view” is one of the…
Read moreScience Art: From Legal Chemistry: A Guide to the Detection of Poisons, Examination of Tea, Stains, Etc., 1884.
I found this elegant (if obscure) glassware at the public domain image repository at Reusable Art. I’m guessing it was used to detect poisons more […]
Chickens that lay medicine are here.
Nature reveals the existence of transgenic chickens, modified to produce drugs in their eggs: The drug, Kanuma (sebelipase alfa), is a recombinant human enzyme marketed […]
Bike helmets save lives. Bike helmet *laws* hurt people.
Outside has an interesting look at unintended consequences, examining a University of Colorado study into why bike-helmet laws increase injuries: Studies show that the laws […]
The less educated the mother, the shorter the newborn’s telomeres.
MedXpress details the chromosome damage that seems to be caused by economic inequality; in other words, the more educated you are, the more protected your […]
Running a marathon on the International Space Station.
Sport Illustrated has some great science news today, reporting on the British astronaut who’s running the London Marathon in orbit (on a treadmill): [Tim] Peake […]
Science Art: Space Launch System Takes Flight
Click to embiggen The Space Launch System (SLS) is the rocket that NASA plans to send to asteroids and, eventually, to Mars. It’s a big […]
Be a better gift-giver – with psychological research.
Scientific American recently published a gift guide with no stuff it – just research showing how to be a better gift-giver: A 2009 study in […]
Long-distance runners’ brains shrink.
Not that New Scientist wants you to worry about what your exercise routine could be doing to your memory. Just that researchers have found ultra-marathoners’ […]
Dinosaurs walked in Scotland
National Geographic marvels at a huge number of very large footprints on the Scottish coast: The footprints form the largest dinosaur site ever found in […]
Don’t worry about global warming flooding! Worry about suffocation.
Science Daily has more on the threat climate change poses to our oxygen supply: A study led by Sergei Petrovskii, Professor in Applied Mathematics from […]
Searching the brain for reasons for suicide – using ketamine.
Nature looks at a new ketamine study of the brains of people who attempted suicide: Fewer than 10% of people with depression attempt suicide, and […]
Science Art: Ecphora gardnerae, by J.C. McConnell
Click to embiggen A shellfish that was around when megalodons swam and the first crows flew. It was drawn by J.C. McConnell, a doctor who […]
Thanksgiving Theremin: Carolina talks Theremin – An overview for composers and music lovers
In which the virtuoso discusses the techniques, range and aesthetics of the instrument. And, you know, plays a little.
Thanksgiving Theremin: Theremin and Synths (Improvisation) by Carolina Eyck and Marius Leicht
Straight into the hearts of space with this one. Hope your Thanksgiving weekend (if you’re celebrating) is, like, totally cosmic.