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After the successful docking of the first private space shuttle, China announced it is preparing its next step in the ambitious space flight project: the country’s first manned space docking. The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft will dock with the Tiangong 1 orbital module “sometime in mid-June,” according to official statements. However, the government didn’t announce how […]
Remember the late Mesozoic? Dinosaurs ruled the planet, there was no ice at the poles, plants were huge, and so were insects; and if we don’t see any giant insects on the planet – we have the early birds to thank. In the oxygen-rich atmosphere that prevailed at the moment, giant insects thrived in the […]
Yesterday marked the 40th Global Environment day, and this year’s theme was ‘Green economy’ – a sector in which, by far, Europe leads the way. When it comes to green energy and reducing the impact industry has on the environment, Denmark and Scotland stand out, by far – just think about Samso, the world’s ‘greenest […]
Bulgarian archaeologists have unearthed centuries-old skeletons treated for vampirism: pinned through their chests with iron rods, a practice thought to keep vampires away. Vampires and mythology If you thought vampires are only creatures of legend, only to be found in myths, folklore and Hollywood movies, then you might disagree with medieval Bulgarians (and not only). […]
I recently came across this delicious post, written when NASA celebrated 50 years of age, in 2008; it has some great insights, and I honestly recommend reading it. But a few ideas really stood out to me. Because of NASA, Armstrong said: “Our knowledge of the universe around us has increased a thousand fold and […]
The Governor of the Honolulu county signed the law passed by the local council, banning plastic bags altogether – thus making Hawaii the first state ever to do so. There are four counties in Hawaii – and all of them set a great example together; the thing is, this was not done by state legislature, […]
The big money out there is invested in climate change denial, as major oil companies fight to eliminate climate protection laws or intentionally fund studies which deny climate change; and it’s been a tough few weeks for them. More and more independent studies are highlighting the amount of damage human-caused global warming is caused, and […]
While a definite cure for cancer is still miles away, researchers and doctors are using more and more tactics to successfully corner the disease, and as a result, more and more cancer drugs are being developed and produced. As we have a better understanding of the molecular makeup of the disease, novel techniques and treatments […]
Typically, in the tundras, tree growth is hindered by very low temperatures, and usually, in the tundra, vegetation comprises of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, lichens, etc. However, according to a recent study, plants and shrubs which colonized the Arctic tundra are starting to turn into small trees, a process which will accelerate global warming […]
Effective quantum computers are still far away, but researchers are already showing more and more advantages these devices would bring to the table. A trio of theorists have shown one more talent of a quantum computer: it would be powerful enough to study the inner workings of the universe in ways that are far beyond […]
As you may or may not know, on the 5th of June, we will be able to witness a once in a lifetime event, which occurred only seven times since the age of Galileo Galilei; the next time Venus will pass in front of the Sun will be 105 years from now, in 2117. Th&e […]
A stash of 300 year-old jewelry was unearthed by archaeologists near the biblical, ancient city of Megiddo, where the New Testament predicts the final battle of Armageddon. Firstly, archaeologists unearthed a jug which didn’t seem to have anything special – but after they were able to clean it, and safely open it, they found pieces […]
Some 250 million years ago, life on Earth passed through its toughest time so far, as 96% of all marine species and over three quarters of land vertebrates went extinct. According to British researchers, the mass extinction was so severe that it took life 10 million years to recover. With less than 10 percent of […]
A male birth control might not be so far away as most people thought – especially as Scottish scientists have uncovered a key gene essential for sperm development. The gene, which for some reason was named called Katnal1, is critical for sperm production, as it enables the little guys to mature; thus, if a pill […]
A new study conducted by NASA indicates that large molecules containing carbon came to Earth from Mars – molecules which are a key ingredient for life as we know it. Studying meteorites that landed on Earth and originated on Mars, the Carnegie Institution for Science alongside NASA researchers concluded that the reduced carbon – carbon […]
As promised, we’ll be keeping you posted with what the Dragon capsule is doing, on its remarkable way to the International Space Station (ISS). The private capsule, owned by SpaceX, was launched from the Falcon rocket and is now right on track to deliver a half-ton of supplies and become the first commercial vessel to […]
Analysis of crystal formed in the molten rocks of a volcano might predict volcanic eruptions with as much as a year in advance, researchers claim. Mixing Seismology and Petrology Drawing data from the volcanic activity of Mount Helens from 1980 through 1986, geologists found that iron- and magnesium-rich crystals grow before an eruption, and by […]
Remember the Heartland Institute advertising campaign? The one climate scientists to criminals and terrorist? If you don’t let’s just refresh a little: they displayed this kind of ads in Chicago, displaying criminals supporting climate change, suggesting that all those who support climate change are criminals. Of course, this raised outrage throughout the entire world, and […]
Well the title may be a little over the top, but Loyola University psychologist concluded that people with a taste for organics are more likely to be insufferable, and that a type of diet might make you more judgmental. The new study by Kendall Eskine claims that people who ate foods declared as organic tended […]
You too can get a genetic test kit for your samples! A new university-based project seeks to investigate cryptic species, such as yeti for example, in an attempt to show if these species can actually exist or not; and they want to do this through DNA research. Researchers from Oxford University and the Lausanne Museum […]
Another breakthrough in biology and medicine was reported, as scientists were able, for the first time, to take skin cells from patients who had suffered heart failure and make them repair the cardiac muscle. The technique had been tested only on rats and it seemed decades could pass until it would become suitable for humans, […]
As we already told you, after the first launch attempt was stopped with just one second to go, SpaceX finally managed to send its Falcon 9 rocket to the ISS – and to the history books. But for NASA, this is not necessarily a good thing, because for the first time in history, instead of […]
If you live anywhere in the area between Texas and Hong Kong, than you could have seen the shadow of the Moon sweeping across the Earth, as it passed in front of the Sun, leaving behind only a ring of fire. The eclipse started in China, but sadly, heavy clouds obscured most of Hong Kong and […]
I’ve recently been bombarded with e-mails regarding a recent study which seemed to conclude that coffee consumption can be linked with longevity. The study was not funded by the coffee industry, and was published in the highly regarded New England Journal of Medicine – so everything seemed to be fine. However, going for an extra […]
I’ve studied geology for four years – and I still haven’t had the chance to see a T-Rex skeleton; this is just one of the reasons why I believe such valuable fossils belong in museums, where they could serve the higher purpose of education, and not in some personal collection, where they serve only the […]
It doesn’t only happen in the movies: the launch of the SpaceX Falcon rocket, destined to hit the International Space Station and the history books was delayed, when there was less than a second to go. Like any dramatic James Bond movie, the clock showed 3 seconds, then 2 seconds, then 1 and then… Cancel […]
If an asteroid hits earth it could very well be the end of days. We will not have Bruce Willis ready to give his life to save humanity and the human race may not recover. Doom and gloom? If an asteroid attack is keeping you up at night, you should know that the earth has […]
Researchers from New Zealand working in remote Cambodian mountains are shedding new light on the lost history of an enigmatic unidentified tribe by studying their eerie burial rituals. The University of Otago scientists have been working since 2003 to geo-locate and survey 10 interment sites and to used radiocarbon dating on samples of coffin wood, […]
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed yet another surprising fact about our red neighbor: movement in sand dunes occurs on a large scale, about the same as in dune fields here on Earth. This is totally unexpected because Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than our planet, and high speed winds are much less common […]
The first study of this kind concluded that the very early musical training of children, even before they can walk, has some remarkable benefits. Researchers at the McMaster University found that one year babies who participate in interactive music classes are happier, communicate better and have earlier and more sophisticated brain responses to music. “Many […]
You may call them ‘healers’, you may call them ‘quacks’, but a scientific study conducted in Spain has shown many of these people display a neuropsychological phenomenon known as “synesthesia” (specifically, “emotional synesthesia”), giving a valuable explanation of their ‘abilities’. The name ‘synesthesia’ explains the condition pretty good: in Green, ‘syn‘ means ‘together‘ and ‘aisthesys‘ […]
Plants are flowering much, much faster than scientists predicted in response to climate change, United States research shows, which could have absolutely devastating effects on food chains and ecosystems. Global warming is having a significant, indirect impact on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing breeding, migratory and feeding patterns. This is […]
Energy and sports drink do give you a quick rush when you might feel like nothing else can do the trick for you – but at a huge cost. Aside from all the other downsides, which include heart and stomach issues, researchers have now shown that people who drink this kind of drinks are essentially […]
So much for reasoned debate and scientific discussions: a controversial group bent on discrediting climate science revealed several billboards that compared people interested in climate change with terrorists. The Heartland Institute, a Chicago based group posted these billboards which displayed Ted Kaczynski, a terrorist whose bombing campaign lasted almost 20 years, killing three people and […]
As I was telling you in a post just a few days ago, there’s a supermoon on the rise, and it will reach us today, Saturday, on the 5th of May. It marks the period when the moon is closest to the Earth (perigee), and this period will coincide with a full moon, making it […]
An astrobiology mission to three of Jupiter’s moons topped two rival astrophysics proposals to win European Space Agency (ESA) funding for the next big space mission. While NASA has all its eyes set on Mars, Europe seems to be keeping its cool and wants to understand three of Jupiter’s most interesting moons: Callisto, Europa and […]
Several studies performed in the last decade have shown Mars used to be warmer and wetter, but scientists still haven’t figured out exactly why we are seeing these clues and how our red neighbor used to look like ages ago. Now, a new study concluded that Mars was much, much wetter than previously believed and […]
I recently came across a piece of paper which described how the city of Seattle will (probably) look like in 2012; the message was hidden in a time capsule which was buried 50 years ago, in 1962. The first tackled problems are mortgages and loans: Conventional bank loans—Up to 75% appraisal and up to 25 […]
Supermoon comes on the 5th of May; why is it a ‘super’ Moon? Well, because the period when the Moon becomes full coincides with the Moon’s perigee – its closest approach to Earth. It could be a weekend to remember for amateur astronomers, especially considering that Venus will also be at its brightest these days, […]
After two decades of careful breeding and examining, scientists have declared a microscopic algae-eater to be one of the world’s oldest living organisms, and human’s most distant relative. The elusive creature evolved about a billion years ago and, as far as researchers can tell after twenty years of studying, it doesn’t belong to any of […]
Large wind farms might have a warming effect on the local climate, a research conducted in the US claims, casting a shadow on the long term sustainability of this type of renewable energy. Wind farms and warming Wind farms have quite an unusual way of heating the surrounding environment: by drawing the hotter air from […]
A new source of methane, a gas which is many times more destructive for the environment than CO2 has been identified by scientists over vast areas of the Arctic, especially over the areas where the sea has melted. Researchers found massive amounts of methane being released in the atmosphere from the ocean through cracks in […]
In another sci-fi accomplishment, Swiss scientists have demonstrated how a partially paralyzed person can control a robot using only thought power, a step which promises to one day allow immobile people to interact with their surroundings through so-called avatars. Similar projects have already taken place in the US or Germany, but they involved either able-bodied […]
There’s gold in the asteroids – and there’s also platinum, cobalt, iridium, and many, many other precious or industrial metals; for this reason, they have been irresistible for a long time not only for scientists, but also for engineers, futurists, and more recently – tech billionaires. Who wants to mine the solar system’s asteroids People […]
In a knitted spacesuit and a tight fitting helmet, Camilla, the rubber chicken bravely flew towards the edge of the atmosphere as the Sun unleashed the most intense radiation storm since 2003. The mascot of Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory lofted towards the stratosphere on a helium balloon that also carried a thermometer, two GPS trackers […]
As temperature continues to increase, and the prognosis seems dire for the next decades, researchers worry about the unexpected side effects this could have on our society; the rise of the price of corn, especially under the latest biofuel mandates, is one of these effects. Biodiesel and corn ethanol are just two of the ways […]
The mystery of how the most powerful cosmic rays in the Universe are created deepens, as new clues showed that gamma ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the Universe, are most likely not the culprits. Cosmic rays are basically charged subatomic particles that streak to Earth from deep in outer space. Every once in […]
In the past 3 months, over 3000 dead dolphins have been washed ashore on the coasts of Peru, and this worrying trend continues to grow. So far, the average is about 30 per day, but a significant growth has been reported in the past few days. While dead dolphins washing up are not entirely uncommon, […]
I don’t smoke – and I’m grateful for that every day. But 2 billion people do smoke, and face the problems associated with this vice. I wasn’t able to find out how many of them smoke menthol, but judging from the people I know, I can guess there are a lot; according to a Canadian […]
Mexico, one of the biggest countries in the world, has followed suit with neighboring California and wants to adopt the green climate law, which already passed the chamber of deputies by an overwhelming 128-10 vote, and is heading towards the Senate with excellent chances. Having a country like Mexico, with some 120 million people, of […]
