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Obesity Promotes Global Warming...?
2008-05-19 05:46:00
As if those of us who are overweight needed another reason to feel bad about that fact, it seems that we're also helping cause global warming. How? According to an article quoted by John Tierney over at the New York Times the obese population consumes 18% more calories than the general population. And because we weigh more, it takes more energy to transport us in vehicles. Thus global warming. That's all I'm going to write about that for now. I have to go do some sit-ups....
More About: Global Warming , Obesity , Global

Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Breast Cancer Risk
2008-05-16 20:25:00
From the L.A. Times and Mount Sinai Hospital comes a report that breast cancer patients who had below-normal levels of vitamin D when diagnosed were a staggering 94% more likely to have their cancer metastasize, and 73% more likely to die within 10 years of diagnosis. These results are preliminary and it is far too early for doctors to begin advising women to take vitamin D to help combat cancer. That said, striving for 100% of the daily recommended amount would be wise anyway. Vitamin D has a number of beneficial effects on the body, although taking too much can also cause problems. The best form of vitamin D, D3, is produced naturally in the body due to exposure to sunlight, and is considered the most useful form. So spending more time in the sunlight may have beneficial effects for helping fight breast cancer or preventing its spread. But be careful not to get skin cancer from over-exposure!
More About: Cancer , Breast Cancer , Breast , Risk

Robotic Exoskeletons
2008-05-16 19:09:00
From CNN comes news of a robotic exoskeleton being developed for the military. This isn't the first time I've seen reports about the military's plans for this sort of thing, but it is the first time I've seen an advanced demonstration and up-to-date information. Technology like this could go a long way toward keeping our soldiers alive in dangerous situations, but it could also do more. Imagine if a group of a hundred or a thousand relief workers equipped with this technology could be deployed following a major disaster, such as the recent earthquake in China. Combing through the rubble in a powered exoskeleton would be much faster, and could save a large number of lives by getting to trapped people sooner.
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Happy Birthday, Laser
2008-05-16 18:47:00
Forty-eight years ago today, Theodore Maiman used a synthetic ruby to create the world's first laser. Maiman didn't invent the theory, but he did build the first working laser. A number of brilliant minds have worked on laser technology over the past half-century, and without them we wouldn't have such things as DVD players, laser eye surgery, laser range-finders, laser welding, or optical computer mice. Sometimes it still amazes me how a single scientific or technological advance can lead to such great advances in our understanding of the universe and our quality of life.
More About: Laser , Happy , Birthday , Happy Birthday

Blog Purpose
2008-05-13 16:28:00
When I first launched this blog a couple of years ago, I began by compiling daily science/tech/future/space/medical news and summarizing them here. Then I discovered that there were other blogs that were doing the same thing, often better. So I shifted the focus of this blog to have fewer, higher-quality (in my mind) posts of original, often educational, content. But over the past several months, a couple of the blogs that were aggregating the latest cool news seem to have disappeared. I keep waiting for them to come back, but they haven't. So I'm wondering, should I start doing that again, or is that a service that's even in demand? Is it beneficial to you to go to a blog that aggregates that kind of stuff so you don't have to go look for it in a hundred places yourself? Please let me know your opinion as to what you think this blog should focus on going forward.
More About: Blog , Purpose

WorldWide Telescope
2008-05-13 16:25:00
In case you missed it, Microsoft released its WorldWide Telescope software for free yesterday. This is an application that combines their Photosynth technology with astronomy images and data to create an interactive view of the universe around us. It's a pretty cool application, and even cooler that they released it for free. Check it out.
More About: Worldwide

Answering Fermi
2008-05-12 21:43:00
In a post last year, I talked about the Drake Equation (for predicting the number of intelligent species in the galaxy). In that post, I also mentioned the Fermi paradox, which begs the question, if there are as many intelligent species in the galaxy as the Drake Equation seems to predict, then where are they all? Theoretical answers to the question have been proposed and, in many cases, explored through science fiction, and I'm going to discuss them further here. Really, the possible answers to the Fermi paradox fall into one of two categories: There is no other intelligent life in the universe They're out there, but we haven't found them yet Each of these two categories has several sub-examples that might be applicable. In the first case, the most obvious answer might be that we are, in fact, the only intelligent life in the universe. Scientifically this answer is both unplausible and unpalatable. We know that conditions in our universe are right for the formation of l...

Dd the Earth Move for You, Baby?
2008-04-18 15:23:00
When I woke up at 4:37 CDT this morning, I knew instantly what was going on in spite of the facts that (a) I had just woken up from a deep sleep; (b) We don't get a lot of earthquakes in Indiana; and (c) that was the strongest earthquake I've ever personally experienced. So I hopped out of bed while the doors were still rattling and went downstairs to my computer, where I immediately went to the USGS' Earth quakes site. It took a while for their data and map to catch up, but I eventually got confirmation of a 5.2 earthquake, the strongest we've had in this area in about 40 years. If you've read this blog in the past or if you look back through the archives, you'll know that I spend a lot of time harping on people to contribute to science in whatever way they can. Well, I had forgotten about this until today, but the USGS has a way you can contribute in events like this. On the Earthquakes site, there is a link called "Did You Feel It?" which you can click on to report how ...
More About: Baby , Move

Virgle
2008-04-03 05:52:00
Every year on April's Fools Day, there are a number of great jokes that appear on the internet, but Google usually has some of the best. And this year was no exception. In case you missed it, one of their "announcements" yesterday involved a joint venture with Richard Branson's Virgin Group called Virgle. Virgle's goal? The colonization of Mars! It's pretty entertaining. My favorite part is the application to be a "Virgle Pioneer."

A Giant Loss
2008-03-19 16:25:00
The world lost one if its true giants today. I'm talking, of course, about Arthur C. Clarke: author, futurist, scientist, and inventor. And it's safe to say that he will be not only missed but celebrated for his contributions to our modern world. After World War II, Clarke authored a series of scientific articles proposing the use of geosynchronous orbit (GEO = 36,000 km above the equator) for telecommunications satellites. As a result, this orbit is commonly called the "Clarke Orbit," and the communications satellites there have allowed such things as international calling, satellite television, and satellite radio. Without those satellites (still the most profitable business in space) the Internet would be a very different place. Best known for his writings, Clarke believed that his true legacy would be popularizing the concept of the space elevator. And, of course, the title of this blog comes from one of his sayings (see above). His contributions to society were great,...
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Endeavour Launches Tonight
2008-03-10 22:40:00
Space Shuttle Endeavour launches tonight or early tomorrow morning, depending on what time zone you live in. The launch is scheduled for 2:28 AM EDT (1:28 AM here in the Central time zone) which means this will be the first launch in quite a while I have not watched live online. This is a major mission, the longest duration flight to the ISS so far at 16 days. Over the course of the mission, the Japanese Kibo laboratory module will be added to the space station, along with a newer, improved robotic arm system (with two arms and fine manipulator "hands") from the Canadian Space Agency. Additionally, Endeavour will be delivering Garrett Reisman for a stay aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 16 and will bring European astronaut Leopold Eyharts home from the space station. Forecasters are projecting a ninety percent chance of good weather, and no problems have been indicated as of now, nine hours before the launch.
More About: Tonight

Grand Challenges Revisited
2008-02-27 22:55:00
A while back, I posted about the National Academy of Engineering's quest to decide what the Grand Engineering Challenges for the 21st century are. As a refresher, users were asked to submit their ideas, and a panel of experts would consider the suggestions and pick the ones they believe were the truly great challenges that need to be resolved. Well, the experts have spoken, and the list has been narrowed to fourteen challenges: Make solar energy economical Provide energy from fusion Develop carbon sequestration methods Manage the nitrogen cycle Provide access to clean water Restore and improve urban infrastructure Advance health informatics Engineer better medicines Reverse-engineer the brain Prevent nuclear terror Secure cyberspace Enhance virtual reality Advance personalized learning Engineer the tools of scientific discovery The Grand Challenges site has lots of great information about each of these challenges, and I urge you to take a look for yourself.

Is Science Faith-Based?
2008-02-19 15:53:00
Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, has a new post highlighting the differences between science and faith. And he does a much better job, in my opinon, than I did.
More About: Science , Faith

Atlantis Reaches Space
2008-02-07 20:51:00
The weather turned out to be benign (at least at Cape Canaveral) and the fuel sensors worked successfully, allowing Atlantis to launch on-time at 2:45 PM EST. The shuttle reached space several minutes later and is on its way to the International Space Station carrying the Columbus science laboratory (Europe's single largest contribution to the station). Columbus is about 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 "racks" of experiments, each approximately the size of a phone booth. Five NASA racks will be added to the laboratory once it is in orbit. Each rack provides independent controls for power and cooling, as well as communication links to earthbound controllers and researchers. These links will allow scientists all over Europe to participate in their own experiments in space from several user centers and, in some cases, even from their own work locations.

Atlantis Passes Fuel Sensor Checks; to Launch at 2:45 PM EST
2008-02-07 20:36:00
Space Shuttle Atlantis passed all checks on the low-fuel sensors that failed in December, prompting NASA's two-month delay. The shuttle is due to launch in just a few minutes, at 2:45 PM EST, if the weather holds.
More About: Fuel , Launch , Sensor

PlanetQuest Update
2008-01-25 14:59:00
Laurence Doyle posted a new update early this morning on PlanetQuest , saying: I applied for the NASA Kepler Science Team and included PlanetQuest as the educational component of the proposal. I proposed to find planets in the multiple star systems that Kepler observes and won the proposal. So, there will be NASA Kepler spacecraft data in the PlanetQuest Collaboratory (we'll divvy it up evenly) to look for planets in. What is amazing about these data is that the precision will be 100 times anything achieved on Earth -- that is, the detection of Earth-sized planets around Sunlike stars will be possible. So this seems like good news for both Dr. Doyle's PlanetQuest efforts and the Kepler Mission, both of which are projects that I've been interested in for a very long time. Now, if PlanetQuest can just get their software out the door and into my grubby little hands....
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Launch Postponed
2007-12-07 00:13:00
So the weather was perfect, but the shuttle wasn't. Two of four low-level fuel sensors on the Atlantis' external fuel tank malfunctioned, prompting a delay of at least 24 hours. Hopefully they'll get things fixed and launch the shuttle tomorrow. 12/07/2007 8:09 AM - UPDATE: It's not going to be today, either. NASA is going to spend a little time trying to figure out how to fix the wiring to the sensors. If they can't come up with a solution quickly, they may just launch tomorrow, anyway. These sensors are redundant systems, so not having them won't impact the launch unless the primary systems fail.
More About: Launch

Shuttle Launch Tomorrow
2007-12-05 23:37:00
So you probably know by now, but Atlantis is due to launch tomorrow at 4:31 pm EST (3:31 pm here in the Midwest) carrying the European Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. The weather looks good, so barring any unforseen complications, the next step in space-borne science should be getting underway pretty soon.
More About: Launch , Tomorrow , Shuttle , Morrow , Tomo

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grade Chimp?
2007-12-04 15:45:00
Researchers from Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute created a working memory task that involved displaying a series of numbers on the screen for a fraction of a second then covering them with boxes. The subjects (chimps and university students) were tasked to touch the white squares in the correct numerical order. What they discovered was that the nine university students performed progressively worse as the time the numbers were visible decreased from 0.6 seconds to 0.21 seconds, as they had expected. The explanation is that humans cannot scan the screen fast enough to see and mentally record all of the numbers. One of the two chimps in the study, Ai, demonstrated the same results. The other chimp, seven-year-old Ayumu, however, demonstrated no decreased ability as the time interval shrank. In other words, Ayumu actually performed better on this task than any of the students. The students' performance was on par with Ai, the older chimp. Is it possible that ...

Recent Inactivity
2007-11-15 20:16:00
Okay, I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I've been extremely busy with work and a new business venture, but I am going to make an attempt to pick up the activity on this blog. I've been trying to write more feature-type entries and do less of just re-posting other people's news. Hopefully, I can put pressure on myself to write more by doing things like signing up for a Technorati Profile.
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Failed Predictions
2007-11-03 16:00:00
"Difficult to see... always in motion is the future." - Yoda, Empire Strikes Back The future is hard to predict accurately. Some of the smartest people who've ever lived have tried their hands at it and failed miserably. To illustrate that, a poster on The List Universe recently posted a list of the Top 30 Failed Technology Predict ions . It's pretty interesting to see some of the predictions that have been proven wrong over the years.

Occam's Razor
2007-10-03 17:18:00
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem For those of you who don't read Latin, that translates as "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity," and it's one of the most important concepts of logical thinking - Occam's Razor . Occam's Razor (also known as Ockham's Razor, since it was named after William of Ockham, the 14th century Franciscan monk who first postulated it) is more commonly phrased as, "all other things being equal, the simplest answer tends to be the right one." This is usually applied when multiple theories are used to describe a situation; the theory that makes the fewest assumptions and the fewest entities tends to be the most accurate theory. One of the main reasons we prefer simpler theories (according to philosopher Sir Karl Popper) is because simpler theories apply more broadly than complext theories, and thus they are more easily tested (and refuted). Since valid scientific theories can never be proven, only disproven, a theory that c...

Hey Buddy, Wanna Be an Astronomy Researcher (Again)?
2007-09-17 21:51:00
Back in January, I posted my first Hey Buddy ... post, introducing a service called systemic that allowed amateurs (like you and me) to contribute to astronomical research. I bring this up now to introduce a new program that will allow amateurs and school children to participate in a project to help map star visibility. The program, known as the Great World Wide Star Count, allows citizen scientists and school children to record their observations of various constellations during the period of October 1-15. The event, which is free and open to everyone who wants to participate, is organized by the Windows to the Universe project at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), in conjunction with planetariums and scientific societies across the country and abroad. Funding is provided by the National Science Foundation. Bright outdoor lighting at night is a growing problem for astronomical observing programs around the world. By searching for the same constellations,...
More About: Astronomy

Garage Researcher Makes Possible Breakthrough Discovery
2007-09-12 15:37:00
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I try to highlight opportunities for amateurs to help make advances in science and technology. A lot of people may think that the days of amateurs working on research in their basements or garages and making major discoveries is long past. Those people would apparently be wrong. John Kanzius was trying to find a way to use radio frequencies to de-salinate saltwater more efficiently when he stumbled upon something rather surprising: the right combination of radio frequencies applied to the water caused the molecular bonds between the hydrogen and oxygen to weaken, releasing hydrogen gas. In other words, Kanzius found a way to allow salt water to become flammable. The results were confirmed by Rustum Roy, a Penn State University chemist, and now Roy is seeking funding for the Department of Defense to conduct research into the possibility of using saltwater--one of the most abundant and easily accessible resources on th...
More About: Garage , Discovery , Discover , Disc , Ossi

We're Here... Where are They?
2007-08-20 20:12:00
If, as some science-fiction novels and movies would have us believe, the universe is teeming with intelligent aliens, that begs the question: where are they? If they're out there, why haven't they come to visit us yet (and please, for the love of God, don't refer me to stories of alien abductions and UFOs)? That question has been pondered many times over the years (most famously by Enrico Fermi in 1950), by many scientists far smarter than a lowly computer geek like me. The heart of the matter comes down to one question: just how common is intelligent life? In 1960, Dr. Frank Drake proposed a method for estimating the number of intelligent species present in the galaxy by use of a mathematical equation, as follows: N = R* x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L Okay, you're saying, but what the heck does that mean? Well, N is the number of intelligent alien species currently in our galaxy with which we might hope to be able to communicate. R* is the average rate of star formation i...

PlanetQuest Update
2007-08-09 15:07:00
Another update from Dr. Laurance Doyle on the status of the PlanetQuest group: ...Our lack of progress at the moment is a funding issue which we feel could be solved if we can get initial funding to a point where we can finish the alpha test version of the software and thereafter sign folks up to be supporting-founding members of PlanetQuest. We do have sufficient astronomical data (stellar light curves) at present for a thorough test of the system and could accommodate perhaps up to 100,000 users for a year. This was previously my main concern. We have also carried the problem through from data acquisition to light curve model fitting (the transit detection algorithm) and therefore see no technical issues in the way of proceeding. Most of our personnel, however, are also extremely busy people working in other businesses and on other projects, and so PlanetQuest has not received the attention lately that it needs to move forward as quickly as it could, because it i...
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A Perfect Launch
2007-08-09 15:04:00
Endeavour's launch last night went off on-time and without any problems, which apparently only happens about 40% of the time for space shuttles.
More About: Launch , Perfect

Endeavour Launches Tonight
2007-08-08 16:13:00
NASA's space shuttle Endeavour launches tonight at 6:36:36 PM EDT. Unfortunately, that will be 5:36 my time, and I will be at the gym, so I won't be able to watch it like I usually do. If you want to watch the launch, however, you can see it at Space.com. Since the last time it launched, Endeavour has undergone a major overhaul replacing most of the key systems and updating the shuttle with the latest technology. When it launches, it will be the most advanced shuttle NASA has ever sent into orbit.
More About: Tonight , Toni

The Scientific Method
2007-08-02 20:35:00
You wouldn't think someone would have to define science, but in recent years, we've seen many things that pretend to be science which are not. Case in point: Intelligent Design. Supporters of ID think that ID should be taught in science classrooms alongside (or in place of) evolution. There's only one problem: evolution is science, and Intelligent Design is religion. My favorite definition of science comes from Merriam-Webster: a : knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method b : such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena The important part of that definition is the words "scientific method." If you're not familiar with the scientific method, it is this: Research (or Observation) Description of the Problem Hypothesis Expermintation Conclusion In other words, you observe something about the universe that puzzles...
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Clues to Why Exercise Helps You Live a Longer, Healthier Life
2007-07-20 15:49:00
Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have uncovered clues to suggest why living a healthier lifestyle will help you live longer. The answer, they say, is less insulin in the brain. In their experiments, the researchers sought to understand the role of the insulin-like signaling pathway in extending lifespan. This pathway governs growth and metabolic processes in cells throughout the body. The pathway is activated when insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 switch on proteins inside the cell called insulin receptor substrates (Irs). In earlier work, the researchers had found that knocking out both copies of one of the Irs genes, Irs2, in mice reduces brain growth and produces diabetes due to pancreatic beta cell failure. However, in the new study, when the researchers knocked out only one copy of the gene, they found the mice lived 18 percent longer than normal mice. Because reducing insulin-like signaling in the neurons of roundworms and fruitflies extends their ...
More About: Life , Exercise , Live , Clues , Heal