I haven’t posted anything Star Trek-related in, oh, days, so here’s something: Science fiction may soon become science fact. Astronomers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have recently concluded that the upcoming planet-finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest, would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around the star 40 Eridani, a planet familiar to “Star Trek” fans …
According to a new study, asking people how often they are likely to engage in a negative behavior actually increases the likelihood they will engage in it. Which got me wondering…if a preacher emphasizes the dangers of sin over the rewards of righteousness, so that he gets people constantly thinking about sin and temptation and …
…the next frontier in medicine! Seriously, this is neat stuff. If you can make bacteria go where you want them to go, you can use them like little tiny pack animals to deliver drugs, clean up pollutants, and other Good Things.
Actually, this sounds like a great idea: Bluetooth-capable vital signs monitors that keep in touch with a central computer via your cellphone, so you can carry on with your life while resting assured that those pesky symptoms that tend to crop up and then vanish before you can see a doctor–and never seem to reoccur …
Better get started on The Encyclopedia of Life now, because it’s going to take a while: In a whale-sized project, the world’s scientists plan to compile everything they know about all of Earth’s 1.8 million known species and put it all on one Web site, open to everyone. The effort, called the Encyclopedia of Life, …
This might be useful down near Weyburn, where they’re using CO2 injection in the oilfields. The CO2 currently comes by pipeline from Beulah, North Dakota: …the new device captures carbon dioxide molecules that are already in the air and releases them as a pure carbon dioxide stream. This stream can be sequestered or used to …
The next time you’re talking to someone with keeps looking from side to side as you talk instead of right at you, don’t write them off as untrustworthy. They may just be trying to remember your name. Dr. Andrew Parker, a psychologist specializing in cognitive neuroscience at Manchester Metropolitan University in the U.K., recently presented …
Bloggasm has an excellent retrospective of International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day.
Praise for bad books from The New York Times: Bad books are an essential part of life, as entertaining and indispensable as bad clothing (ironic polyester shirts), bad music (John Tesh at Red Rocks, Phil Collins anywhere), bad trends (metrosexuality, not using toilet paper for a year in order to “help” the environment) and bad …
I spent the last week or so writing three “audition” chapters for a book packager looking for an author for a new kids’ fantasy series. They provided a detailed outline, I provided the words. It was a lot of fun, actually, and I really got into it…so much so that, now that my three chapters …
That was my first reaction on seeing the EnergyPod: It’s actually, though (according to Metronaps–great company name, eh?–its manufacturer): …designed for powernapping at work. A beautiful addition to the workplace, the EnergyPod improves employee morale while boosting the bottom line. Uh-huh.
Solid light? Apparently: “Solid light photons repel each other as electrons do. This means we can control photons, opening the door to new kinds of faster computers,” says Dr Greentree. “Many real-world problems in quantum physics are too hard to solve with today’s computers. Our discovery shows how to replicate these hard problems in a …
