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Sirius Stargazing

post from Bad Astronomy on 20 November 2009 04:00:31 PM. © Bad Astronomy

I have few regrets in life, but if there’s one, it’s that I didn’t have access to all this amazing technology when I was a teenager and figuring out just how I was going to tackle my love for astronomy. How I would have loved podcasts,[...]

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the invader zim syndrome

post from weird things on 20 November 2009 03:50:32 PM. © weird things

Admit it, even if you’re an adult, you still watch cartoons and might remember Invader Zim, a bitter indie satire about humanity as seen through the eyes of an incompetent alien invader exiled to Earth under the pretense that he was going on a top[...]

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http://worldofweirdthings.com/2009/11/20/the-invader-zim-syndrome/

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The hacked climate science email scandal that
wasn't

post from The Island of Doubt on 20 November 2009 02:51:16 PM. © The Island of Doubt

Much is being made by those who really, really believe that there's a global conspiracy among climatologists of the emails and other documents stolen from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit. According to such bloggers, thousands of "embarrassing" pieces of correspondence between some of the leading climate researchers in the world now lay bare the scheme to mislead humanity about the nature of climate change.

I downloaded the 62 MB file and took a quick look at a random selection of what are mostly dull little missives bereft of the context required to understand them in any meaningful way. Just as you'd expect from bits and piece of correspondence never intended for public consumption. Next.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

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e_science_ema.php

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for all your doomsday information needs

post from weird things on 20 November 2009 01:51:53 PM. © weird things

No matter how many times scientists and science writers who’ve done their homework explain why 2012 will not be the end of the world by any means, the myth persists. There’s just too much money to be made from selling doomsday guides, books[...]

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http://worldofweirdthings.com/2009/11/20/for-all-your-doomsday-information-needs/

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NASA wants your junk

post from Bad Astronomy on 20 November 2009 01:31:17 PM. © Bad Astronomy

While driving in Los Angeles recently, I was surprised to see this out my passenger window:Wow. I know NASA’s budget is small, but this seems a bit unnecessary. I wonder if Harry Broderick was driving?[...]

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Physicists move one step closer to quantum
computing

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 November 2009 01:03:04 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have made an important advance in electrically controlling quantum states of electrons, a step that could help in the development of quantum computing. The work is published online today on the Science Express web site.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/physicists-move-one-step-closer-quantum-computing

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Intel: Chips in brains will control computers by
2020

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 November 2009 12:58:51 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

By the year 2020, you won't need a keyboard and mouse to control your computer, say Intel Corp. researchers. Instead, users will open documents and surf the Web using nothing more than their brain waves.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/intel-chips-brains-will-control-computers-2020

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Scientists identify tumor growth gene

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 November 2009 12:53:56 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis. Scientists hope the finding could lead to an effective therapy to target and inhibit the expression of this gene resulting in inhibition of cancer growth.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/scientists-identify-tumor-growth-gene

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How the first bits of genetic information may
have been created

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 November 2009 12:50:01 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

A key question in the origin of biological molecules like RNA and DNA is how they first came together billions of years ago from simple precursors. Now, in a study appearing in this week's JBC, researchers in Italy have reconstructed one of the earliest evolutionary steps yet: generating long chains of RNA from individual subunits using nothing but warm water.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/how-first-bits-genetic-information-may-have-been-c
reated

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Show your school spirit! (of innovation)

If you're a high school student, teacher, or parent, this post is for you. The deadline is coming up to register and submit project plans for the Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Awards. Now, I'll admit to being a pretty massive geek in high school—Math Bowl, Science Bowl, Academic Decathlon. I pretty much signed up for every extra-curricular activity guaranteed to cement my status as a social pariah. But if the Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Awards had been around in my day, I needn't have sacrificed cool for school. From a look around their website, it kind of seems like the X-prize for teenagers.

The competition is definitely about science, problem-solving, and technology, but there's a strong entrepreneurial aspect. The idea is to use your smarts to develop a product that's actually needed: good ideas get a $1000 grant, and winning teams get a $5,000 grant to develop their product further. There are four project themes that a team can work within: aerospace exploration, green schools, renewable energy, and space nutrition. Sounds like pretty hot stuff for up-and-coming tech entrepreneurs to think about.

Aerospace exploration
This category is wide open. Think tools for a future moon rover, an instrument on an unmanned spacecraft, a spacesuit for an astronaut landing on Mars, or a device that piggy-backs on satellites. How about an exercise machine for a lunar base, a plan for a lunar greenhouse, or a health monitor? Health-related tech could snag you a special award:

$5,000 National Space Biomedical Research Institute Prize for Innovation in Space Exploration Health Care will be awarded to one team for the best aerospace-related human health product.

Green schools
This one's in partnership with the United States Green Building Council. According to the EPA, 35 percent of waste generated in the US comes from schools. How green is yours? Projects could include assessing your school's carbon footprint or use of water, devising a plan to help your school save energy, or even just coming up with ways to make school a healthier, more pleasant place to learn.

Renewable energy
This category should need no introduction. Take a cue from William Kamkwamba who, as a teenager in rural Malawi, taught himself to build an electricity-generating windmill using outdated physics textbooks in the village library. Come up with a device that makes an everyday task run entirely on water, wind, solar power, or grass.

Space nutrition
Because the goal of this project is to produce a tasty, uber-fattening space treat, it's definitely my favorite. Will you go for the Power-bar-esque extruded recipe, bake your bar a la Cliff Bars, or whip up some old-fashioned granola staying power? Whatever recipe you decide to go with, make sure all the water molecules in your nutrition bar are bound to food, and not free to provide a growing environment for bacteria, yeasts, and molds. Winning bars must pack a whopping 375 calories into a paltry 100 grams of goodness, minimize crumbliness, and rate at least "6 or higher when tested using a 9-pointed hedonic scale"—actual astronauts might eat this stuff! I think it would be fascinating to be one of the judges.

Looks like today is the deadline to submit your spacebar recipe, but you can still register and sign on to one of the other challenges. That gives you a little less than a month to put together a technical concept and business plan.

These challenges may sound daunting, but the foundation's websites provides plenty of resources to help you along. There's an online forum for those 3 AM questions, and a searchable database to help you find experts on your topic. Simply turning in your paper ideas for a product could earn you a $1000 grant for R&D.

Looking for inspiration? Last year's winners came up with concepts for producing oxygen on the moon with algae, mining helium-3 on the moon, and a railgun launch system to replace rocket-powered travel from low earth to lunar orbit.

Today's happens to be the perfect day for coming up with bright ideas: mull over possibilities as you wait for the LHC to start up again.Thinking about product design? Check out these gorgeous photos of the LHC from the Boston Globe. Now that's some fine technology.

Read The Full Article:
http://physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2009/11/show-your-school-spirit-of-innovati
on.html

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