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New Frozen Smoke Aerogel Can Cover 3 Football Fields With A Single Ounce

New Frozen Smoke Aerogel Can Cover 3 Football Fields With A Single Ounce

Jan 12 2011 | comment(s)

Scientists are reporting the development of a new, ultra-light form of 'frozen smoke',  the world's lightest solid material, and the new kind has amazing strength and an incredibly large surface area. The new "multiwalled carbon nanotube (MCNT) aerogel" could be used in sensors to detect pollutants and toxic substances, chemical reactors, and electronics components. 
Politics Matters...

Politics Matters...

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)

... as depressing as that may be to hear. Some friends recently described their December trip to India, the first time they've visited in years. India's economy is on fire, unleashing some tremendous pent-up economic demand. What was striking, my friends related, was how strongly India's economic development is geared toward the future, towards not only catching up with wealthier, more developed nations, but also towards anticipating and meeting economic challenges that loom in the future. This is in stark contrast to the US, which seems, at best, focused on defending the status quo.
What have we learnt from Eyjafjallajökull

What have we learnt from Eyjafjallajökull

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)

The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (here is Wikipedia's handy pronunciation file) last summer was widely covered in the media, generating some stunning images (and perhaps the most beautiful video of the year).  From a scientific point of view
Music In A Rational Universe

Music In A Rational Universe

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)

Who interviewed who?  There's Scopes Monkey Choir-- the podcast interviewing me.  And there's 365 Days of Astronomy-- the podcast where I interview them.  Welcome to an irrational approach to "music in a rational universe".
Pictures From An Exhibition

Pictures From An Exhibition

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)



You may recognize the famous Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, whose best known work is “Pictures at an Exhibition”.  But the pictures that follow are from a totally different exhibition, that of the Association for Science Education Annual Conference 2011, held at the University of Reading from 5th to 8th January.
 
Wine 4,100 B.C. - World's Oldest Winery Discovered

Wine 4,100 B.C. - World's Oldest Winery Discovered

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)

A cave inside some remote mountains of Armenia contain what is being called the oldest winery yet discovered, dating back to around 4,100 B.C., 1,000 years earlier than previous finds.

The discovery was made in the same mysterious Armenian cave complex where ancient leather shoe was found last summer. 

This is the oldest complete wine production facility ever found, including grape seeds, withered grape vines, remains of pressed grapes, a rudimentary wine press, a clay vat apparently used for fermentation, wine-soaked potsherds, and even a cup and drinking bowl.
Thunderstorms - Terrestrial Particle Accelerators Create Antimatter

Thunderstorms - Terrestrial Particle Accelerators Create Antimatter

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected beams of antimatter launched by thunderstorms, which act like enormous particle accelerators and can emit gamma-ray flashes called TGFs - and also high-energy electrons and positrons.   TGFs are produced inside thunderstorms  and shown to be associated with lightning.  It is estimated that about 500 such flashes occur daily worldwide, but most go undetected. 

Scientists now think that most TGFs produce particle beams and antimatter.
Battle-Weary and Worn: Huffington Post Capitalizing on Autism and Wakefield

Battle-Weary and Worn: Huffington Post Capitalizing on Autism and Wakefield

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)

Wakefield and the vaccine wars suck up the air. So much attention on one man. On hammering away at each other over whether Wakefield's the saint or Deer. Or who's the greatest sinner. There can be little doubt regarding Wakefield; the GMC ruling and revocation of his medical license last year clearly indicates that Wakefield acted dishonestly and unethically. I know, if you're a Waker's fan you believe it's all a governmental/industrial plot to silence the maverick doctor willing to stand up to vaccine companies, except you keep backtracking and insisting now it wasn't about autism and it wasn't even about vaccines; it was about gastro issues. And folks insisting it wasn't a fabrication and we should all go Andy's support site.
Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. syn. B. frondosa Koenig ex Roxb. jungle fire has great medicinal potential

Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. syn. B. frondosa Koenig ex Roxb. jungle fire has great medicinal potential

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)

Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. syn. B. frondosa Koenig ex Roxb. Family Fabaceae (Papilionaceae ) Used Part Fruit pieces Distribution Area It is common throughout the greater part of India, ascending the Himalayas up to 900 m and in peninsular India up to 1,200 m.
Hanny's Voorwerp: One Of The Strangest Space Objects In Space Gets The Hubble Treatment

Hanny's Voorwerp: One Of The Strangest Space Objects In Space Gets The Hubble Treatment

Jan 11 2011 | comment(s)

Hanny's Voorwerp, a strange, glowing green cloud of gas that has mystified astronomers since its discovery in 2007, has gotten a better look by Hubble. The cloud of gas is lit up by the bright light of a nearby quasar and shows signs of ongoing star formation.

Hanny's Voorwerp (Hanny's Object in Dutch) is a mysterious, glowing green blob of gas is floating in space near a spiral galaxy - the size of the Milky Way.
25 Years Of Successes!

25 Years Of Successes!

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)

Thanks to the Tevatron Facebook account manager, R.M. (Ron, tell me if I can disclose your identity here), I can offer to you today an exceptional plot of historical significance.

Before I paste below the plot in question, let me discuss what it is about. The Tevatron collider has operated since October 1985 -about a couple of geological eras back, in particle physics terms. The W and Z bosons were newborn babies back then, the top quark was thought to have a mass in the 30-50 GeV ballpark, and, to paraphrase the Rolling Stones, "Carlo Rubbia raged and the bodies stunk".
Nrf2 - Antioxidant Protein Also Promotes Clogging Of Arteries

Nrf2 - Antioxidant Protein Also Promotes Clogging Of Arteries

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)

Why haven't antioxidant therapies yielded more positive results?   The answer may be that Nrf2, a protein that plays an important role in some antioxidant therapies, may not be as effective due to additional mechanisms that cause it to promote atherosclerosis - clogging of the arteries.

Nrf2 has been thought to be an important drug-therapy target for diseases such as cancer because it can induce chemopreventive activity by attaching to specific sequences of DNA, leading to the release of numerous antioxidant and anti-inflammatory genes and enzymes that can decrease or inhibit the effects of carcinogens. 
Less Hype - Debunking Solar Energy Efficiency Measurements

Less Hype - Debunking Solar Energy Efficiency Measurements

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)

Without question nanotechnology is a key component in our energy future.   In recent years, developers have been investigating light-harvesting thin film solar panels made from nanotechnology and promoting efficiency metrics which they say make the technology marketable but a researcher has challenged recent "charge" measurements for increasing solar panel efficiency.

While we need to invest in the future, we need to make sure there is no hype that promises to increase efficiencies in thin film panels.

Tevatron Will Shut Down in FY2011

Tevatron Will Shut Down in FY2011

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)

This just in. The Tevatron collider, proud and glory of Fermilab, the leading high-energy lab in the US, will stop collider operations for good at the end of FY2011. This means that CDF and DZERO will collect roughly 1800 additional inverse picobarns, reaching a total of about 10 inverse femtobarns of collected data (the delivered and acquired integrated luminosities differ due to downtimes as well as voluntary dead time of the triggering system).
Neocortex Neurons Behave Like People In Social Networks

Neocortex Neurons Behave Like People In Social Networks

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)

Neurons within the brain's neocortex behave much like people in social networks, with a small population of highly active members who give and receive more information than the majority of other members, says Alison Barth, associate professor of biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon in new research. By identifying these neurons, scientists could increase understanding of the neocortex, thought to be the brain's center of higher learning. 
Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) Hook ex Don (=V.roxburghii R.BR.) :Lasona a medicinal plant of great value

Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) Hook ex Don (=V.roxburghii R.BR.) :Lasona a medicinal plant of great value

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)

Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) Hook ex Don (=V.roxburghii R.BR.) Family Orchidaceaae Used Part Root. Distribution Area An epiphytic orchid, 30-60 cm. high, found from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal, extending southwards to Kerala. . Common Uses . The root is a bitter heating alexiteric, antipyretic, useful in dyspepsia, bronchitis in lammations, rheumatic pains, diseases of the abdomen, hiccough, tremors. In Yunani system root is used as tonic to the liver and brain ; good for bronchitis, piles, lumbago toothache, boils of the scalp; lessens inflammation; heals fractures. The root is said to be fragrant, bitter and useful in rheumatism and allied disorder, in which it is prescribed in a variety of forms.
Ratzinger Against Sexual Education

Ratzinger Against Sexual Education

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)

That's too bad. Pope Benedict XVI just let go with a very unfortunate judgement, which betrays just how much the catholic church would like to force a control on our society.

In a new-year speech he gave in front of diplomats, Benedict touched the subject of the way sexual education is taught in Europe:

"Proseguendo la mia riflessione, non posso passare sotto silenzio un'altra minaccia alla libertà religiosa delle famiglie in alcuni Paesi europei, là dove è imposta la partecipazione a corsi di educazione sessuale o civile che trasmettono concezioni della persona e della vita presunte neutre, ma che in realtà riflettono un'antropologia contraria alla fede e alla retta ragione."

Quick-and-dirty translation:
Wood Angle Falls Faster Than Rubber Ball

Wood Angle Falls Faster Than Rubber Ball

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)

The following is a neat little experiment, the result of which may be counter-intuitive to some of those who embrace the “all bodies fall the same way inside earth’s gravity” doctrine.

Cosmic Embryo #2: Quitting Imported Oil Cold Turkey

Cosmic Embryo #2: Quitting Imported Oil Cold Turkey

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)


Icon for Cosmic Embryo: Erupting star V838 Monocerotis
5 Greatest Palaeontology Fakes Of All Time #5: The Linxia Cheetah

5 Greatest Palaeontology Fakes Of All Time #5: The Linxia Cheetah

Jan 10 2011 | comment(s)


In a piece by Richard Stone in this week’s Science, it was pointed out that in Chinese Museums, it is likely that up to 80% of the marine reptiles on display have been altered or artificially combined to some degree. This seems like a shocking figure, but it is more understandable when it is considered that few of these museums have palaeontologists as staff, and that many of these fossils are unearthed by Chinese farmers that dress their finds up so that a museum is more likely to buy them. Of late there has been a boom, both in the numbers of museums, but also in the acquisition funds set aside for accessioning fossils; this, coupled with prizes for the best specimens, means that finding (or fabricating) a complete fossil can prove to be quite lucrative.