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ET: Anybody Home?

ET: Anybody Home?

Feb 08 2010 | comment(s)

There is a presumption among many people that extraterrestrial life is a foregone conclusion and that it is only awaiting our discovery.  The Drake equation is usually highlighted as many astronomers suggest that with the billions of worlds available, that life is all but inevitable1.

Equally there is a sense that life couldn't possibly be unique to a single planet, so there is a strong belief that there must be other planets on which life flourishes.  However, we need to consider what the basis for these assumptions actually is.
An Afternoon of Dressage

An Afternoon of Dressage

Feb 08 2010 | comment(s)

I just spent the afternoon watching an equine competition called dressage, which I believe is from the French meaning "having one's teeth drilled" (I could be wrong).  

In higher levels of competition, the rider moves through the various patterns and "tests" to demonstrate the smoothness of movement between the horse and rider.  At the lower levels of competition you can have someone call out the pattern moves, which makes it a bit like slow-motion square dancing without the music.
The Price Of Arctic Ice

The Price Of Arctic Ice

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

The Price Of Arctic Ice

Putting an economic value on the loss of the Arctic's climate regulating abilities

A report by the Pew Environment Group entitled An Initial Estimate of the Cost of Lost Climate Regulation Services Due to Changes in the Arctic Cryosphere is an attempt by scientists to put a dollar value on the climate regulating services of the Arctic Cryosphere.

The report states:
In economic terms, estimated costs in 2010 from the decline in albedo and increase in methane emissions range from $61 billion to $371 billion.  By 2050, this number rises to a cumulative range of $2.4 trillion to $24.1 trillion.

From the Pew Trusts Newsroom:
The Age Of Stupid -- Movie Review

The Age Of Stupid -- Movie Review

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

"The Age of Stupid," a 2009 docudrama set in 2055, asks why didn't we save Earth when we had the chance.

"Stupid" was first conceived by Director Franny Armstrong as a documentary integrating themes of excessive consumption, war and climate change. Armstrong began developing the idea in 2002 and began shooting in 2004. Armstrong and Producer Lizzie Gillett sought out the main characters from seven countries: India airline founder Jeh Wadia; French mountain guide Fernand Pareau; New Orleans Shell Oil Company paleontologist Alvin Duvernay; English wind farm developer Piers Guy, Nigerian Layefa Malemi who wants to be a famous doctor; and Iraqi refugee children Jamila and Adnan Bayyoud who repair American's discarded shoes to sell on the streets of Jordan.
Arctic Melt 2010 Is Faster Than Models Predicted

Arctic Melt 2010 Is Faster Than Models Predicted

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

Arctic Melt 2010 Is Faster Than Models Predicted

The National Snow And Ice Data Center - NSISC - reports:
Despite cool temperatures over most of the Arctic Ocean in January, Arctic sea ice extent continued to track below normal. By the end of January, ice extent dropped below the extent observed in January 2007.
...
While temperatures over much of the central Arctic Ocean were 1 to 3 degrees Celsius (2 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit) below normal, temperatures in the Kara and Barents seas were 3 to 5 degrees Celsius (5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal. Ice extent was far below normal in the Kara and Barents seas, keeping the total Arctic sea ice extent below average.
...
Love CO2

Love CO2

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

Love CO2




If you like this crazy gag enough to want to copy it then please credit me by using this link:

http://www.scientificblogging.com/chatter_box
And CMS, In The Meantime...

And CMS, In The Meantime...

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

Earlier today I reported about the publication of a paper by a non-professional physicist, Carl Brannen. Now I have to do the same for a paper -the first one in a long and groundbreaking series, you can bet- from the CMS collaboration, one of the two main experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.
How Can Ice Work Like A Horse?

How Can Ice Work Like A Horse?

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

How Can Ice Work Like A Horse?

In this short series of articles about coal, engines and energy I am trying to show something of  the history behind our current knowledge of heat, energy and thermodynamics.  As discoveries were made about the nature of heat, improvements were made in the efficiency of engines.  Investigations into the theoretical maximum efficiency of any heat engine led ultimately to the discovery of the laws of thermodynamics. 

The laws of thermodynamics are of wide applicability to the understanding of how, through our profligate use of energy, we humans are having such a dramatic effect on our global environment.
Administration Support for Biofuels is Part of a Bigger Policy Need

Administration Support for Biofuels is Part of a Bigger Policy Need

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

Administration Support for Biofuels is Part of a Bigger Policy Need February 4th, 2010 Goto comments Leave a comment President Obama and members of his Biofuels Interagency Working Group are to be applauded for actions announced this week that will reinforce the vital role that biofuels will play in our nation’s energy future. The administration unveiled on Wednesday steps they say will boost the development of biofuels and generate billions of dollars in additional revenue for rural America.
When Amateurs Get Published

When Amateurs Get Published

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

This just in: Carl Brannen (here his blog) got a paper on gravitation published in a scientific magazine. Carl, who is the typical amateur who many "established scientists" in the blogosphere have labeled a crackpot in the last few years, does not actually fit the bill very well: he is a deep thinker who knows the literature of what he studies, and the fact that he is not salaried by a research institute means as little as this: he does it for Science, and not for a pay.
Humboldt Squid Are Still Not Giant Squid

Humboldt Squid Are Still Not Giant Squid

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

Oh criminy, are we still confused? Didn't we go over this like a zillion times? Wasn't Deep-Sea News' excellent primer on how Humboldt Squid are Not The Same Thing as Giant Squid clear enough?

Sigh. Just let a few fishermen catch a few hundred Humboldt squid, and suddenly the headlines are blaring: GIANT SQUID INVADE CALIFORNIA ZOMG!1!!
The Economist's new Schumpeter column continues to disappoint.

The Economist's new Schumpeter column continues to disappoint.

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)

I wrote this letter in response to his1 December 19 column. The letter sank without a trace, despite that it was admirably concise and pithy - if I do say so myself.
Blueberries On The Brain

Blueberries On The Brain

Feb 07 2010 | comment(s)


Toward a Naturally Sweetened Energy Policy

Toward a Naturally Sweetened Energy Policy

Feb 06 2010 | comment(s)

Here is an idea for a new energy policy: teach people what energy is and where it comes from.

Whether or not you think human activity is effecting global climate change, whether we should drill-baby-drill or hug a tree, a nature-based perspective of the challengingly intangible concept of ‘energy’ may help you better understand your political position.

First of all, what is ‘energy?’

The answer may depend on
Morning Science Quote

Morning Science Quote

Feb 06 2010 | comment(s)

I am convinced that we can discover, by means of purely mathematical constructions, those concepts and those lawful connections between them which furnish the key to the understanding of natural phenomena. Experience may suggest the appropriate mathematical concepts, but they most certainly cannot be deduced from it. Experience remains, of course, the sole criterion of physical utility of a mathematical construction. But the creative principle resides in mathematics. In a certain sense therefore, I hold it true that pure thought can grasp reality, as the ancients dreamed.


- Albert Einstein, quote in Einstein, Jeremy Bernstein, p. 127 (Penguin, 1978)




Ground work on cultivation of Jatropha reported earlier has to be basis of any future development

Ground work on cultivation of Jatropha reported earlier has to be basis of any future development

Feb 06 2010 | comment(s)

Any 600 million productrion of Jatropha would need involvement of all those who have worked for years in DBT projects and developed accessions and high yielding plants. (Kumar 2008)
Dirty Coal And Boring Science

Dirty Coal And Boring Science

Feb 06 2010 | comment(s)

Dirty Coal And Boring Science


There was a time when, through the proliferation of steam power, coal extraction in vast quantities became economically viable.  Throughout the U.K. coal was burned to make steam for locomotives, factories and ships.  It was the domestic fuel of choice.  The price of cheap coal was pollution: the skies over many cities were black with soot when coal was king.
... nothing surely was ever more dirty, inelegant, and disgusting than a common coal fire.
2000 Years Ago Cicero Knew It, Do You ?

2000 Years Ago Cicero Knew It, Do You ?

Feb 05 2010 | comment(s)

"Quidquid oritur, qualecumque est, causam habet a natura. Cum autem res nova et admirabilis fieri videtur, causam invetigato, si poteris, ratione confisus. Si nullam causam reperis, illud tamen certum habeto, nihil fieri potuisse sine causa naturali. Repelle igitur terrorem quem res nova tibi attulit et semper verbis sapientium confidere aude: sapiens enim facta, quae prodigiosa videntur , numquam fortuito evenisse dicet, quod nihil fieri sine causa potest, nec quicquam fit quod fieri non potest: nulla igitur portenta sunt. Nam si portentum putare debemus id quod raro fit, sapientem esse portentum est: facilius esse enim mulam parere arbitror quam sapientem esse."

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Quick and dirty translation:
Da Vinci Resume Advice

Da Vinci Resume Advice

Feb 05 2010 | comment(s)

Marc Cenedella has excavated an old resume of da Vinci, the very definition of 'renaissance man' and  'genius'.  At the time, da Vinci was applying to work for the Duke of Milan.

Wired UK looks at his resume (Was Da Vinci the right man for the job?) and (being Wired) come to exactly the wrong conclusions.
The fight to block your arteries

The fight to block your arteries

Feb 05 2010 | comment(s)

Clogged arteries everywhere are taking sides in the sure-to-be epic battle for your cholesterol-induced death.

The Phoenix Sun Times opens the article with the following paragraph: "A battle of the bulge has broken out between two restaurants that feature sexy 'nurses' as waitresses, heart-attack-themed ambiance and towering burgers that would make a vegan vomit." Mmm, a heart-attack themed ambiance? Sign me up!

Several years ago, a guy opened up a restaurant called the "Heart Attack Grill" in Arizona. The HAG's site is jaw-dropping - they have burgers from single through quadruple bypass, flatliner fries, etc. People over 350 pounds eat for free. And the slogan? Yep, "a taste worth dying for."