Space Cats
What are “space cats”? You’ve probably never heard of them, thanks to heroes like Brant Widgeon. All that #spaceporn on your dash, cleaned up of this astronomical photobombing feline scourge.
Purring their way through the dark reaches of space, ruining the photographic majesty of the universe with their cute, furry little faces.
What would we do without him?
(by andyfreeberg)
The Tissue Series are a collection of anatomical cross sections using quilled paper, created by Lisa Nilsson
Today’s theme is turning into paper-based science art, it looks like. First it’s computational origami, now it’s anatomy lessons via quilled paper.
I’m ok with that.
More at Lisa Nilsson’s website.
GRAIL Mission Returns First Video of Moon’s Far Side
The twin GRAIL satellites have sent back this first video of the far side of the moon, taken with the awesomely named “MoonKAM”. Quite a view of something we don’t ever get to see (unless you’re an Apollo astronaut or a space probe).
(by JPLnews)
Erik and Martin Demaine are a father-son team exploring the mathematical mysteries in folded paper. When circular sheets are crinkled along concentric circumferences, it results in exotic projections like the ones seen above.
This is a form of paper art that has been explored since the 1920’s, but the Demaines are using modern computation to unravel the complex algorithms behind the shapes. Starting with different curvatures and rotations in flat paper, they don’t always know what will come out the other end.
More of their curved-crease sculpture here, and their book.
(via Brain Pickings)
Navigate the brain in a way that was never before possible; fly through major brain pathways, compare essential circuits, zoom into a region to explore the cells that comprise it, and the functions that depend on it.
The Human Connectome Project aims to provide an unparalleled compilation of neural data, an interface to graphically navigate this data and the opportunity to achieve never before realized conclusions about the living human brain.
(via theatlantic)
You Say Tomato, Prostate Cancer Cells Say “Oh, HELL No”
Lycopene is a nutrient found in tomatoes, long adored for its antioxidant properties, has been shown to thwart prostate cancer cell growth in test tube experiments.
When tumors reach a certain size, they need to reach out for help by attaching to a blood supply. When cooked lycopene was put in the petri dish with these cells, this process was intercepted. The researchers were quick to point out that this wasn’t in a living body, but more work is planned to see if it works in an actual tumor.
Random fact: Heinz sponsored part of this work.
(via Telegraph)
Spider Silk Is Strong Because It’s Smart
Spider silk, and the intricate shapes of webs, demonstrate how knowing when to be soft and when to be rigid is at the core of its many functions: house, hunting tool, transportation aid.
A spider web provides its occupant with a home and a way to catch prey. It needs to stand up to pesky attackers and sometimes withstand hurricane-force winds. Using computer models of spider silk and experiments on the webs of common European garden spiders (Araneus diadematus), Buehler and his team found a web’s unique skills come from its ability to react differently to different stress levels.
A light wind, for instance, softens the web, allowing it to lengthen but retain its overall structure. If a larger force is applied at a specific location, such as when a particular thread is poked, the silk becomes rigid and breaks.
Studying both the patterns of these webs and the molecular nature of what they are made of could aid everything from redundant network design to super-strong reactive materials like bullet-proof fabric.
Previously: Goat’s milk meets spider silk.
(via Wired Science)
Lego Sorting Plant contains 28 motors, 7 processors, 37,500 bricks
In addition to science, I have a few other addictions that I address on this blog. These include time-lapse videos and LEGOs.
Take it from a maniac, this is probably the greatest LEGO creation I have ever seen.
(via Wired UK)
Climate Scientists' editorial rebuttal published in the WSJ!
A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal published an anti-climate change op-ed signed by 16 scientists. None of the authors are climate scientists, nor do peer review research in the field.
No matter, it got published anyway. And shortly after the piece was published, real climate scientists came out off the woodwork to condemn the WSJ and the so-called scientists that wrote it. Andrew Revkin of the NYTimes has been tracking the pushback, here.
I’m happy to say that the WSJ published a rebuttal from real climate scientists and researchers, and it is epic. A taste:
Check With Climate Scientists for Views on Climate
Do you consult your dentist about your heart condition? In science, as in any area, reputations are based on knowledge and expertise in a field and on published, peer-reviewed work. If you need surgery, you want a highly experienced expert in the field who has done a large number of the proposed operations.
You published “No Need to Panic About Global Warming” (op-ed, Jan. 27) on climate change by the climate-science equivalent of dentists practicing cardiology. While accomplished in their own fields, most of these authors have no expertise in climate science. The few authors who have such expertise are known to have extreme views that are out of step with nearly every other climate expert. This happens in nearly every field of science. For example, there is a retrovirus expert who does not accept that HIV causes AIDS. And it is instructive to recall that a few scientists continued to state that smoking did not cause cancer, long after that was settled science.
Climate experts know that the long-term warming trend has not abated in the past decade. In fact, it was the warmest decade on record. Observations show unequivocally that our planet is getting hotter.
Via Revkin
2012 Shorty Award Nominations Are Open
I love MythBusters as much as the next guy, but I don’t think we should let them win the Shorty Award for Science again this year. WE CAN DO THIS.
Why? I mean, come on, they already have a TV show. And I’m stuck here, still waiting for my offer.
Why should you? I’m inspired by social blogging’s ability to both educate and entertain, to provide wonder, entertainment and information in real-time. I think it is already transforming the way we communicate science, among other things, and I’m happy to be at least close to the front edge of that wave. And you’re all joining me. It’s more than Twitter, it’s more than Tumblr, it’s more than Facebook. It’s about connecting to information on your terms, at your pace, through a network that filters the best and most interesting information right onto your unique retinas.
Click below to vote for me for the Shorty Awards Best Microblog category! Do it for science, Carl Sagan would want you to.
Tumblr Staff: There's still time to nominate your Tumblr blog for The Shorty Awards Tumblr Blog of the Year!
The Shorty Awards, honoring the top content producers on the social web, are once again presenting the 2nd annual Tumblr of the Year Shorty Award. The winner will be honored at their ceremony in March in NYC. This year the Shorty’s are also honoring the best Tumblr Brand Presence.
Last…
You guys ready to do this? I think we should take over the science category in the name of Tumblr. Who’s with me?
Full post with nomination links coming up. But you can click here now if you want.
(via thenextweb)
This Antarctic Weddell seal’s call is part techno synth and part robotic beatbox. How long until they are backing underground remix albums?
Nature, you sound funky as hell.
(via io9)
Hubble videos reveal what it would really be like to fly into a nebula
New 3-D imaging of nebulas demonstrate that they are more than just flat blobs of pretty gas and debris that you can’t stop clicking on your dashboard. More at the Hubble site, plus a “how it’s made”!
(via io9, above is the Helix Nebula)
Q:How does that lost sock disappear and where does it go?
Don’t do laundry while drinking. Easiest solution.
Remember the law of conservation of sock energy: One of a spin-pair of socks may spontaneously change its quantum arrangement, ceasing to exist in our dimension, instead becoming stuck in the 5th dimension where they are worn as gloves by a race of infinitely skinny aliens who reside in black holes and eat only dark matter.
Every time I answer an Ask, I get three new ones. If my inbox was an ecosystem, it would be unsustainable.
I hope you all know that I read every question and comment, I simply can’t get to all of them. But I’ll keep trying.
Certified Science Ninja - Member Since 2010