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In the theoretical and absurd case of a pigeon going on a police identification line, do you think it would use the same processes you’d use ? If your answer is “yes”, you may seem a bit strange… but you’re right. A study published by researchers from the University of Iowa found that pigeons recognize […]
DNA nanotechnology is one of the most exciting branches of nanotechnologies, especially because it uses the ability of natural DNA strains to self assembly. Prof. Alexander Heckel and his doctoral student Thorsten Schmidt of Goethe University set out with exactly that thought in mind when they created two DNA rings with the size of only […]
Today, we celebrate 50 years since Yuri Gagarin went into outer space, thus becoming the first human being to do this. But there’s more to him than just that. Here’s a list of some of the things that make him awesome: 1. He was the first man to go into outer space, of course. 2. […]
Yuri Gagarin, a soviet astronaut was the first man to ever go into outer space, exactly 50 years ago, when his shuttle, Vostok, went into outer space and completed an orbit around the planet. Interestingly enough, Vostok 1 marked his only spaceflight, but what a spaceflight it was ! Many milestones were reached since spatial […]
The topic of modification of data in scientific research is definitely a hot one; the frequency at which researchers fabricate or falsify data is extremely hard to quantify and make a statistic from it. Many different studies or surveys have tried to do this, but the results varied greatly and were difficult to compare and […]
In a recent act that just baffles my mind, Tennesee, not one of the US brightest states, has passed a bill that makes it easier for virtually any creationist teacher to include religion in science class. They did this by including mythology in science classes to promote critical thinking. Now I wonder, do you think […]
The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project was launched by physics professor Richard Muller, a long time critic of studies led by the government regarding global warming. So he and a team of physicists and statisticians set out to challenge the general consensus on global warming, and prove that skeptics have good reasons to doubt. But […]
Tuesday will mark the 50th year since human space flight, since the day Yuri Gagarin left Russia and became the first man to go in outer space, as well as the 30th anniversary of the launch of the shuttle Discovery, the legendary but already retired space shuttle. This is the day when NASA will announce […]
In a surprising move that didn’t get quite a lot of attention, the FBI released an online document archive they’re calling the Vault, in which they openly address, among other things, the alleged aliens and flying saucers found at Roswell. Yes, it’s about little green men, like the ones who are usually portrayed in movies. […]
It’s not that uncommon for two stars to dance, but when three of them get together, and dance without singing, now that’s something uncommon. What do I mean ? Well, binary star systems are not really only in Star Wars, they’re quite common throughout the galaxy, but as it turns out, trinary systems might not […]
NASA engineers and technicians are making the last adjustments to the Mars Rover, which is about the size of a small SUV; the rover is set to be sent to Florida for launch later this year, so everybody’s in a hurry and trying to make everything as fast as they can, without making any mistake […]
Volcanoes have fascinated human beings since the dawn of time; thankfully, now we know enough not to think of them as powerful earth/fire gods, but to understand them as the magnificent phenomena they are. However, there are still many things we still haven’t been able to figure out them, and even if we would have, […]
The Draco constellation (which is Latin for Dragon) is located at about 3.8 billion light years from Earth; just like every dragon that has at least some common sense, it breathes fire, especially after carelessly eating a nearby star. Rewind. A mysterious cosmic blast in the Draco constellation is causing waves that continue to […]
I recently came into the possession of a book called ‘Visions of the Multiverse’, which I had the pleasure of reading, finishing it just a few days ago. This is not a paid post in any way, it reflects my opinions on the book, and anything positive or negative regarding it is just my opinion. […]
I was quite pleasantly surprised by Universe in a Sandbox. It is one of the best pieces of software I’ve come across lately; you get the ultimate power, create and destroy galaxies, run virtually any astronomic simulation you want, but most of all, you get to explore and learn about the very universe you live […]
Researchers and astronomy amateurs alike should leave a few days open in their November calendar and prepare for something awesome; one of the major and potentially perilous (in time) asteroids will be making a flyby this year. The asteroid, 2005 YU55 is a round small world with a diameter of 400 meters. The asteroid will […]
The number of elephant poaching in Africa has increased dramatically, as well as the Chinese demand for ivory, and according to most, this is not a coincidence at all. The growing demand for ivory in China, combined with the country’s growing influence on the dark continent work together and are leading to the tragic decline […]
The seismological events near Japan are far from reaching an equilibrium; a 7.4 or 7.5 earthquake on the Richter scale struck apan’s Miyagi Prefecture and its vicinity in northeastern Japan at 23:32 p.m. (1432 GMT) local Time Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The area is not so far away from the major 9.0, […]
NASA is going through one of it’s hardest periods ever, but that doesn’t mean that the space research and industry is too; take a look at SpaceX, a private company that already successfully launched a rocket, Falcon, into outer space last year. Now, they’re planning something even bigger. Falcon Heavy has about twice as […]
As Japan struggles to control the situation at the Fukushima power plant, an even more complicated question arises; where will Japan get its energy ? If they completely give up on nuclear power, which is not the most inspired of ideas if you ask me, they will face some very limited options. As it turns […]
The ozone layer in the arctic regions has suffered unprecedented damage this winter due to cold weather in the upper atmosphere. By the end of March 40% of the ozone in the stratosphere had been destroyed, compared to the previous record of 30%. The European Space Agency, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as well […]
The death of medical marijuana is drawing closer and closer, as researchers find out that the cannabinoid THC, the primary active ingredient, is only responsible for the ‘high’, not for the pain relief. The study indicates that at least some of the painkilling effects are mediated via a receptor that wasn’t previously known to interact […]
The brains of adults can grow significantly in a staggeringly short amount of time if you just start learning like children do, according to research that had the purpose of treating braind disorders; they seem to have stumbled into something different, but extremely interesting. The researchers unexpectedly discovered that adult brains can grow in only […]
Our solar system appears to exist inside a “bubble”, inside a network of cavities inside the interstellar medium, which was probably created by massive star explosions millions billions of years ago. Interstellar medium (ISM) is a term coined for the matter that exists in galaxies, between solar systems. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, […]
I had no idea IBM was doing this kind of thing too, but I recently found out that they developed a technology that could revolutionize the treatment of drug resistant bacteria. A whole team of engineers and researchers headed by Dr. James Hedrick at IBM Inc. has worked on this technology, which relies on a […]
It’s a pretty busy period for the people over at the International Space Station (ISS). Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome last night paid tribute to Yuri Gagarin as the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft named after the first man to walk into space blasted off towards the ISS. A week from now, on April 12, we will be celebrating […]
The LHC isn’t the only particle accelerator doing serious business these days; scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island working at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have managed to achieve something that was previously thought to be impossible. In that way, the title is a bit misleading – you cannot really break a […]
After Discovery, another legendary orbited is heading towards retirement – Endeavour is only one mission away from a lifetime of well deserved rest. But until that, the astronauts which will ride Endeavour on its last trip are preparing intensely for it; after all, they have to prepare a major astrophysics experiment, as well as deliver […]
The unfortunate floods in Pakistan haven’t affected only humans, they also had a truly fascinating “side effect”: millions and millions of spiders have climbed the trees in a desperate attempt to escape the flooding water. Because of the scale of the event and the fact that the water has taken so long to recede, they […]
Take a look at your town; take a look at the people around you, at the streets, and the garbage cans. How much of the garbage do you think is recycled ? After that, think about how much trash gets labeled as “non-recyclable” by the recycling facility and will end up in a dump somwhere. […]
It gives me great pleasure to see some points of view the governor of California has; here’s what he had to say about solar panels, simple and short: “Asking whether large solar power plants are appropriate in the Mojave desert is like wondering whether subways make sense in New York City.” This is hands down […]
The planet closest to the sun is very hot, yet very cold at the same time. It may even be a bit icy. The Mercury Messenger spacecraft entered the planet’s orbit on March 17, and since then, NASA has showed some of the pictures taken by it, which are absolutely amazing. The visit to Mercury […]
The Japanese seem to have not lost one inch of the determination to push science forward after the major earthquake, the tsunamis it generated, and the colateral damage that comes with such a tragic event (power shortages, infrastructure damage, and most of all, radiation danger from nuclear plants). They are now trying to trim the […]
Currently, there are two operational (hopefully) NASA rovers located on Mars; the first one, Opportunity, is exceeding all expectations, and is functioning better than anyone would have predicted. The second one however, Spirit, has been silent for more than a year. It seems like a really long shot, but NASA is going to make one […]
Now that’s a taste of politics from the land down under; some Australian officials are condemning carbon and pollution taxes, argueing that since it will make a difference only after a thousand years, we shouldn’t bother at all. Here’s their statement: “It will not make a difference for 1000 years,” the Opposition Leader told parliament. […]
Let’s face it, China overtaking US in science should no longer shock anyone, but if this were to happen just two years from now, in 2013, it would be a major surprise. The study, dubbed Knowledge, Networks and Nations, charts the challenge addresed by China to the traditional scientific leaders, US, Europe, and even Japan. […]
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN has started doing some serious business. This time, an extremely rare particle containing equal parts of matter and antimatter popped up during experiments at the world’s largest and hottest particle accelerator. The particle, named a B meson is made out of one quark (the building blocks of protons […]
Time is growing shorter and shorter for the people working on the development of the Mars exploration program, and as we are getting closer to the launch date, some plans are continued, while others are scraped. Such was the case with the 3D camera for the next robotic rover that will be sent to Mars, […]
Tiger populations throughout the world are facing a dramatic decline, and are faced more and more with extinction; the future looks pretty dire for these amazing creatures, but maybe there is still hope for these magnificent creatures. A recent census conducted in India showed 295 more tigers than last year, which can only be good […]
When we think about money today, bills or coins pop up in an average mind, maybe even credit cards; even the concept of some different objects used as currency (not as trade items) seems outrageous. However, this is exactly the case with the Chinese knife money, introduced between 600 to 200 B.C. during the Zhou […]
A 2500 year old British skull is not a major surprise for archaeologists, but a brain inside it, now that’s not your average Kinder surprise. The fact that shrunken fragile organ still exists raises some serious questions about organ preservation and how often researchers can expect to find this kind of things. What’s interesting is […]
According to more than half of all Americans, God is in complete control of everything that happens on our planet. Slightly fewer people, 44 percent, believe natural disasters, such as the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan are caused by an omnipotent power; but hey, it gets a little better – only 29 percent of Americans […]
The discovery of a new black hole is always an interesting event; this time, researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) have managed to get the first spectroscopic data from the binary system in case, and found that it contains a black hole, which is quite rare, at least according to out […]
Ever since the 9.0 earthquake in Japan, there has been a growing mainstream interest for earthquakes, which will probably fade away as time passes, only to be revived when the next big temblor strikes. However, the good news is that, even for a brief period of time, seismologic studies are given the attention they […]
I’m not a big fan of Internet slang myself, though I use it, just like millions and millions of other users. However, OMG, LOL or FYI seem appropriate on a Facebook window, or a beer conversation at most, not in a dictionary. Still, as of March 2011, that’s where they’ll be. Laugh Out Loud, Oh […]
In a world where the king words are ‘buy low, sell high’, speed is of upmost importance. Stock trading has become more and more reliant on modern ways of transmitting and processing information, and in this process, fiber optic plays a crucial role. While fiber optic does work at 90 percent the speed of light, […]
Amoebas are the first eukaryotic creatures, they’re about 1.000.000.000 years old, and still exist today, with a myriad of forms and evolutionary tweaks, interspersed with familiar lineages like animals and plants. The general consensus regarding them was that they are asexual, meaning that they just divide on their own and not engage in sexual […]
Quantum computers – closer thank you think The microprocessors used today are absolutely amazing on their own; it seemed, and for good reason, that there was little we could do to improve them. If anything was to top microprocessors, it would have to be something from a totally different league, which is just down […]
Religion is nowadays an extremely touchy subject; if you ask religious people about non religious people there’s a good chance you will get a pretty nasty response, something involving a kind of hell and divine punishment, while if you ask the other group, probably some bad words will probably come up. If you ask me, […]
I don’t know about you, but when I think about reporters, newscasters, I always get the feeling there are more women than men. But that’s just not right, at least according to a recent study conducted by the International Women’s Media Foundation. The research in case found that 73 percent of the jobs in top […]
