“Astronomers announced today the discovery of the largest object in the solar system since Pluto was named the ninth planet in 1930. The object is half the size of Pluto, composed primarily of rock and ice, and circles the sun once every 288 years. ” —800-Mile-Wide “Object” Found in Solar SystemNat’l Geo)
NASA’s description of the stunning video is hardly enticing. “For the first time, a camera mounted to the space shuttle’s External Tank offered a view of the ride to orbit. In this video, the first two minutes of ascent show Space Shuttle Atlantis’ nose and belly, with one Solid Rocket Booster on the extreme left…
“Standing on the Earth at the base of this ‘beanstalk’ it would look unusual but simple, a cable attached to the ground and going straight up out of sight. Now even the youngest of you reading this manuscript will know that a rope can not simply hang in mid-air, it will fall. This is true…
“[T]he current epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes is very likely the result of low fat/high carbohydrate diets vigorously promoted by governmental health authorities over the past few decades. Under any circumstances it is abundantly clear that existing dietary recommendations have failed miserably and should be carefully reexamined in the light of these developments,…
Asphalt… lipstick… licorice… new car smell… Silly Putty. Where do they come from? —What’s That Stuff?Chem & Eng News)
Among the excesses of the French Revolution: “Churches were re-consecrated as ‘Temples of Reason’, and so-called ‘revolutionary marriages’ were presided over, where priests and nuns were tied together naked, and drowned. Few of these allegedly egalitarian initiatives lasted far into the nineteenth century. By a long chalk the most durable among them was the creation…
“An Australian study on bellybutton lint, a dog-to-person translation device and an inquiry into what arouses ostriches have been recognised with Ig Nobel prizes for dubious contributions to science. The Ig Nobels, awarded annually at Harvard University as a spoof of the Nobels, recognise achievements that ‘cannot or should not be reproduced’.” Jay Lindsay —Navel…
“Last Friday, several British newspapers reported that the World Health Organization had found in a study that blonds would become extinct within 200 years, because blondness was caused by a recessive gene that was dying out. The reports were repeated on Friday by anchors for the ABC News program ‘Good Morning America,’ and on Saturday…
“The purpose of NASA’s Visible Earth is to provide a consistently updated, central point of access to the superset of NASA’s Earth science-related images, animations, and data visualizations. These images are considered to be public domain and, as such, are freely available to the interested public-at-large, the media, scientists, and educators for re-use and/or re-publication.”…
“The last natural blondes will die out within 200 years, scientists believe. A study by experts in Germany suggests people with blonde hair are an endangered species and will become extinct by 2202.” —Blondes ‘to die out in 200 years’ (BBC) Two comments. First, this reminds me of the game theory scene in A Beautiful Mind,…
“He appeared to be able to manipulate atoms with amazing grace. He seemed to be able to force electricity to do seemingly impossible tricks, and claimed he’d found ways to make working molecule-sized electronic components.” Jan Hendrik Schön was also, apparently, a plagiarist. —The Undoing of a Star Scientist (AP/Wired) From this site: more about plagiarism
“The chromosome unique to men is a microscopic metaphor for those who bear it. For it is the most decayed, redundant and parasitic of the lot… From sperm count to social status, and from fertilisation to death, as civilisation advances those who bear Y chromosomes are in relative decline.” Steve Jones —End of Sperm ReportGuardian)
“Are any biotech companies or researchers putting animal DNA into human embryos? Nobody knows. But, unbelievable as it may sound, some bioethicists and philosophers explicitly endorse engineering animal DNA into human embryos as one method of producing the ‘post-human’ race.” Wesley J. Smith —The Transhumanists: The Next Great Threat to Human DignityNational Review)
Pacemakers: “Batteries must be replaced, at further risk and expense, every 5-10 years, and patients must avoid strong magnetic fields, such as metal detectors and some medical scanners. The new approach instead adds a gene that changes the flow of chemicals in and out of heart cells.” —Gene Therapy Could Replace PacemakersNature)
No charges will be filed against Buzz Aldrin for allegedly punching a man who called him a liar for claiming that he’d been on the moon. —Update: Moon Hoax Conspiracy Theorist Punched by Buzz Aldrin (Space.com)
“A Scottish chemistry lecturer believes she has discovered the scientific reason why cold, left-over pizza, tastes so good the morning after.” —Cold Pizza Passes the Taste Test (BBC)
“In the old days, it was magnetic stones, magnetized trees, and magnetized air. Today, it’s magnetic bracelets, magnetic necklaces, magnetic shoe inserts, and now, magnetic mattresses. What’s next? Magnetic jock straps? But I knew that Grandma wouldn’t listen to a history lesson or a science lecture, so I thought I’d try another approach. ” Nada…
“The planetarium show sped forward, and ticket holders’ seats literally shook as subwoofers installed under each chair created a rumbling lift-off effect. Tom Hanks’ voice filled the dome-shaped hall, and an image of the Orion Nebula burst into view overhead…. What are astronomers trying to do when they design planetariums?” Diana Michele Yap —Costs, F/X…
“An amateur astronomer may have found another moon of the Earth. Experts say it may have only just arrived…. It could be a passing chunk of rock captured by the Earth’s gravity, or it could be a discarded rocket casing coming back to our region of space.” —New ‘Moon’ Found Around EarthBBC) Did you know…
“The US State Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have granted TransOrbital, Inc. of La Jolla, California, permission to send its TrailBlazer probe to map the surface of the Moon and photograph Earth.” —First Commercial Moon Landing Gets Go-aheadNature) “He was a junkman with an extraordinary dream…to salvage the junk left on the…