Storing an entire image on a single photon

It gets into that whole wave/particle quantum thing: a team led by associate professor John Howell at the University of Rochester passed a single photon through a stencil bearing the letters UR. But since a photon is both a particle and a wave, as a wave, it passed through the entire stencil and thus captured …

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Why talking on a cellphone while driving is stupid:

Neural Bottleneck Found That Thwarts Multi-tasking. A couple of excerpts: “While we are driving, we are bombarded with visual information. We might also be talking to passengers or talking on the phone,” Marois said. “Our new research offers neurological evidence that the brain cannot effectively do two things at once. People think if they are …

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Now that I’m a house owner…

…stories like this get my attention: Homeowners could see their electric bills reduced considerably with Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s integrated heat pump. It says they hope to have a commercial manufacturer by 2008.

Photo of the Day: Potash Mine

The Mosaic Potash Belle Plaine solution-process potash mine at (where else) Belle Plaine, Saskatchewan, on a January morning. More photos here.

A review of my bio of Orson Scott Card

I came across the first review I’ve seen so far of my children’s biography Orson Scott Card: Architect of Alternate Worlds today at Barnes & Noble. It’s by Kristin Anderson and comes from School Libary Journal: This solid and well-researched biography does an able job of balancing information on the subject’s numerous publications with the …

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Sometimes when they say "It’ll never work," they’re wrong…

…but sometimes, they’re right. Behold The Museum of Unworkable Devices.

Here’s the kind of headline you like to see:

Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers. Of course, so far it’s only killed them outside of the body, but keep your fingers crossed.

Vitalogy

Due to a mix-up, the Regina Leader Post failed to run my science column last week. Which means they’re running it this week. Which means I didn’t write a new one this week. Instead, I offer a blast from the past (five years ago) that came to mind because I’ve been poking around the amazing …

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How to add two years to your lifespan:

It’s easy. All you have to do is win a Nobel Prize. OK, maybe not that easy…

Yes, it’s a silly way to spend $15,000…

…but if you don’t think this Star Trek-themed home theatre is cool, you have no poetry in your soul. Uh-oh, did I just let my inner geek out in public again? Darn.

Cooking by numbers

Are you cooking-challenged? Then Philips’s new invention may be for you (if it ever becomes a real product). From New Scientist‘s invention blog: The secret is to measure the amount of water released while the food cooks, whether it is baking, frying or being cooked in a microwave. Apparently, this accurately reveals the food’s dryness …

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Presumably you select landscape format in print setup…

…to print a house. And no, “print” is not a typo for “paint.”