April 10, 2008
Firefox Nebula!
Tho Hubble is creeping on the last legs of its position as top eye in the galaxy, but the venerable telescope still manages to eek out some amazing photographs. Take for example the V838 Monocerotis nebula. Looks like something else don't it?
via Newlaunches
Posted by tranism at 2:48 PM | Permalink
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March 29, 2008
Japanese Want To Launch Origami Space Shuttle
Japanese scientists believe origami airplanes could make it back to Earth without burning up. A prototype shuttle built from folded paper and coated to withstand stress was able to survive durability tests in wind tunnels.
If this all sounds nutty to you, consider this is from a country that has a culture of alien creatures sodomizing school girls, Mount Doom sized buildings, and food delicacies that guarantee a 99.9% chance of death if prepared incorrectly. So why are you surprised? I'm not. Hell, I'm sitting here wondering why the entire Japanese airforce isn't made of origami planes.
Posted by tranism at 4:06 PM | Permalink
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March 26, 2008
Better Than Your Weatherman
Science is humorous. We spend so much money and time inventing machines to do things nature already figured out millions of years ago. Take a shark for instance. Researchers at Aberdeen University concluded they're much better and forecasting weather. Their super sensory organs pick up everything from temperature shifts to changes in air pressure.
So maybe sometime in the feature, bimbo-like weather ladies (sorry I call them like I see 'em) will be replaced by more competent sharks.
Posted by tranism at 6:20 PM | Permalink
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February 28, 2008
Robot Will Learn To Speak
In 4 years time, that robot dubbed iCub (seriously tho) will reach some level of cognitive intelligence. At least that's what A.I. researchers at the University of Plymouth hope. The 3 foot tall humanoid baby (not a bear) will develop language and basic motor skills. They promise nothing sinister; just another study on how babies learn language.
via Ubergizmo
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February 15, 2008
Heart Caught In A Web
Pretty interesting invention by scientists at Leeds University. It's synthetic webbing designed to wrap around the heart. It detects when the heart is about to pump and triggers a series of miniature motors to assist, causing the entire web to contract.
Posted by tranism at 1:10 PM | Permalink
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Robots Replacing Rabbits
A lot of our modern conveniences owe thanks to rabbits since they are the "guinea pigs" for all sorts of medical, chemical, and biological testing. Thankfully the National Institute of Health and the EPA are instigating a new research program by where robots could take the place of rabbits. It's still a good 5 years away from fruition but hippity hops all around should rejoice since this a total win for rabbit rights, or is that wabbit wights?
Posted by tranism at 11:46 AM | Permalink
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January 25, 2008
Man Creates Artifical Life
See that man there? Dr. Craig Venter has successfully created the first man-made DNA strand thus taking him only one step away from creating artificial life. Pundits will say scientists are trying to play God but the opposite camp would argue our new understanding of organic molecular architecture can open up doors to new fields of medicine.
Posted by tranism at 12:13 PM | Permalink
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January 22, 2008
Touch The Invisible Sky
NASA has this incredible book called "Touch The Invisible Sky" written in braille; photo braille that is.
Every photo has brail embedded into the image. It would be amazing to feel what the universe. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the book is for sale. You'd have to go to your local library to see it. I personally would love to add it to my collection.
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January 9, 2008
Parkinsons Linked To Pollution
After years of debate, some scientists are finally agreeing there's a link between parkinsons and pollutants, particularly TCE which is found in many cleaning solvents. To a lesser extent, there's also a connection to pesticides. Both pollutants destroy mitochondria which has been identified as the precursor to degenerative diseases.
The research is based on a 25 year study on workers who had contact with TCE now mostly only found in industrial areas.
Posted by tranism at 1:37 PM | Permalink
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January 7, 2008
Begging To Be In A Daft Punk Video
The Kamioka Observatory in Japan is perhaps one of the most stunning pieces of architecture designed for scientific research. Located 1,000 meters underground, a cylindrical tube houses 50,000 tons of ultra-purified water. The walls are completely sheathed in photomultiplier tubes able to detect neutrinos, proton decay and cosmic rays.
Not open to the public but I can only imagine. Seen it at New Launches. More pictures after the jump.
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