Power from space.
It’s nice to see this idea is still being kicked around – and taken more seriously now that oil prices are rising so dramatically. It wouldn’t take that much, the folks… Read the rest “Power from space.”
Science Art: Earth's Shadow and Penumbra in Sections, 1898.
This delightful diagram appears on a page of A New Astronomy For Beginners that also has an almanac of “Importa…
Read moreScience Art: Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon Boie), 1898
The word “halcyon,” meaning “calm, idyllic, happy times” came from the Greek name for these little guys, who we…
Read moreScience Art: Andromeda Galaxy, by Isaac Roberts, 1888.
It was this photograph’s anniversary today, or so said Robert McNees, posting on Bluesky’s science-communicatio…
Read moreSONG: Two Wolves Inside Us
SONG: “Two Wolves Inside Us” . (OGG version here.)
ARTIST: grant.
SOURCE: Based on Ecology, 14 Nov 2024, …
Read moreScience Art: Cross Section of a Young Root, by Roman Vishniac, c. 1978.
This is an image from “the birth of photomicrography.” It’s also an image from the fondly remembered Omni magaz…
Read moreScience Art: 10,000 convex and nonconvex regular polygons, by Arthur Baelde.
This is from the “Posters about Mathematics” section of Wikimedia Commons.
The description says: “For a you…
Read moreOne word: Plastics.
PopSci reports on why one man thinks the petroleum industry wants him dead. Frank Pringle has figured out a way to turn plastics back into oil and natural gas:
… Read the rest “One word: Plastics.”Petroleum is composed of strings
Go well, Voyager.
Welcome to interstellar space. Nature reports that Voyager 2 has left the solar system. And, as NASA emphasizes, it did so while discovering our solar system is a little bit squished. From… Read the rest “Go well, Voyager.”
Be nice. It’s in your DNA.
Israeli researchers believe they’ve found a genetic basis for generosity, according to PhysOrg.com:
… Read the rest “Be nice. It’s in your DNA.”Through an online task involving making a choice whether or not to give away
Science art: Hazardous, by Jean Lapointe
Click for larger image
Submitted by Jean Lapointe to the annual micrography contest of the International Conference on Electron, Ion, and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication … Read the rest “Science art: Hazardous, by Jean Lapointe”
The Thummer
Video game controllers are compact and efficient little things (although I always find the button-heavy X-box ones a little confusing to use). They’re also the inspiration for … Read the rest “The Thummer”
Zombie roaches.
National Geographic reveals how parasitic wasps transform cockroaches into zombie slaves:
… Read the rest “Zombie roaches.”he parasitic jewel wasp uses a venom injected directly into a cockroach’s brain to inhibit
Keeping the “C” in OLPC.
The BBC has a field report on the XO, the laptop distributed by the One Laptop Per Child project. It’s a field report by one of the XO’s intended users (sort of) – an actual… Read the rest “Keeping the “C” in OLPC.”
Endangered words.
Natural History magazine sounds a warning for words. University of Michigan linguist Sarah Grey Thomason, a specialist in the Salish–Pend d’Oreille language of Montana’s Native… Read the rest “Endangered words.”
Dinosaur meat.
Palaeontologists in North Dakota have found a first-of-a-kind duck-billed dinosaur fossil, the BBC reports, containing not just hadrosaur bones, but the remains of skin, ligaments … Read the rest “Dinosaur meat.”
One chimp, two chimp.
Science Daily continues to make me feel inadequate by pointing out that even chimpanzees are better at math:
… Read the rest “One chimp, two chimp.”“There are still many people, including many biologists, who believe
Science Art: Rust and Dirt
No, this isn’t an orbital photo of Mars or a microscopic image of crystallography. It’s a photo of good old iron oxide, taken by Roger McLassus.
Etienne-Jules Marey, Fusil Photographique
Picture borrowed from the Étienne-Jules Marey biography in the Hargrave Aviation History pages.
In the 1800s, Étienne-Jules Marey made a name for himself studying human anatomy, particularly… Read the rest “Etienne-Jules Marey, Fusil Photographique”
Babies know who’s helpful.
New Scientist reports on the wisdom of babes. Six-month-olds are able to recognize who’s really on their side and who’s trying to do them wrong, even though you might think … Read the rest “Babies know who’s helpful.”
Making a brain.
For a few years now, computer engineers have been building a virtual brain – using computers to replicate every neural connection in a mammal’s gray matter. The question they’re… Read the rest “Making a brain.”