In the quarterly lamentation about the need for science outreach in the U.S., what often gets lost is that not everyone will be good at science. Lack of science knowledge is regarded as some sort of defect, but it is never an issue with the child, instead it is society or schools. We need more funding for cartoon characters and flashy animation to explain science because that is what today's kids 'need', we are told. If you are in that camp,
the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress will make you happy.
Can olive oil prevent mental illness?
A new study says the ingestion of trans-fats and saturated fats increases the risk of suffering depression and that olive oil protects against this mental illness.
The study by researchers from Navarra and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria used 12,059 SUN Project volunteers over the course of six years; the volunteers had their diet, lifestyle and ailments analyzed at the beginning of the project, over its course and at the end of the project. The researchers say none of the volunteers reported depression at the beginning of the study but, at the end, 657 new cases had been detected.
Astronomers at the Hubble Space Telescope believe they have found the most distant object ever seen in the universe, 13.2 billion light years away, some 3% of the age of universe, making it roughly 150 million light years more distant than the previous record holder, says the report in Nature.
This newly found object, named UDFj-39546284, is a compact galaxy made of blue stars that existed only 480 million years after the Big Bang - and it's tiny. Over one hundred such mini galaxies would be needed to make up our Milky Way.
This morning, as I walked out of home headed to work, the sky was clear and still dark. As I looked up, I immediately noticed the bright light of Venus above the houses of Venice. Have you ever watched Venus on a clear morning sky ? It is a marvelous sight! No wonder the planet was named after the most beautiful of all goddesses.
My trip to the University, in Padova, begins with a 7-minute walk to the Venice train station, followed by a 40 minute ride and then a further 15-minute walk in Padova to reach the Physics Department. While on the train I usually busy myself with document editing on my laptop, but on my walks I use to try and put to work the other main CPU I have got - my brain.
