Submarines have been much in the news lately. Not only has world attention has been riveted on the tragic sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, but Canada is in the process of getting new submarines and, in the U.S., the Civil War submarine that was the first to sink another ship has just been …
Tag: science
Olympic technology 2000
“Faster, higher, stronger” are the oft-stated goals of Olympic athletes. Increasingly, science and technology are helping them to achieve those goals. This year, the technological focus is on swimming. Until recently, the goal of swimmers seemed to be to wear bathing suits that preserved the illusion of modesty with as little material as possible, the …
Barbecuing II
There are still a few good weeks of summer left, and that means there’s still plenty of time for the ultimate summer activity, barbecuing. Technically, what we call barbecuing around here is not true barbecuing, which involves the long, slow cooking of meat, often over hours, at relatively low temperatures in the presence of lots …
Alzheimer’s Disease
There are few diseases as frightening as Alzheimer’s. Most diseases, even if they ravage your body, leave your mind intact. Alzheimer’s leaves the body intact but robs victims of their memories and personality. No wonder it is sometimes called “dying by inches.” There is neither a cure nor an effective treatment –but there is hope. …
Mars in the Arctic
A unique construction project finally overcame delays and disaster last week to take shape in the Arctic. It looks more or less like an oil tank, but in fact it’s a model of the kind of habitat humans may one day live in when they visit Mars. The two-story fiberglass structure is the brainchild of …
Waves
One of the summer’s hottest movies has been The Perfect Storm, based on the best-selling book by Sebastian Junger about a massive storm off the Grand Banks in 1991 that resulted in the loss of the swordfishing boat Andrea Gail with all hands. The book is better than the movie, but the movie does let …
Sunglasses
Sunglasses that are inherently cool. But unlike other things considered cool–body piercing, tattoos and platform shoes, for instance–wearing sunglasses not only makes good fashion sense, it makes good scientific sense. That’s because good sunglasses protect against long-term eye damage caused by the ultraviolet radiation contained in sunlight, the same ultraviolet radiation that causes sunburn …
The 2000 Discover Awards
Each year, the folks at Discover Magazine honor a number of scientists with Innovation Awards, which spotlight inventions and discoveries with the potential to change our lives. This year, 19 scientists were honored. I’ve chosen a few from the list to highlight this week, to give you a taste of the remarkable discoveries that are occurring now–and …
First names
“What’s in a name?” asked Shakespeare. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That may be; but would a boy named Rose ever get a job as a professional wrestler? That (or something like that) was the question Ohio University psychologist James Bruning set out to answer with …
Migraines
Few afflictions are more common than headaches. Statistics (themselves the cause of many headaches) show that in the U.S., up to 50 million people go to the doctor for headaches annually. Among headaches, however, migraines hold a special place. The pounding pain can last for hours or even days. Movement makes it worse. Nausea …
The Eden Project
Right now, in an abandoned clay pit in England, 15-story-high geodesic domes large enough to swallow the Tower of London are rapidly taking shape. When these giant domes are finished next year, their interiors will recreate two of the world’s great climatic regions, the tropics and the warm temperate zone, and they’ll be filled with …
The Lost City of Hamoukar
These days, when the world is covered by cities, we can be forgiven for thinking that there’s nothing much special about them. You get a bunch of people together, you put them in houses, you add a few businesses, and presto! Instant city. But in fact cities are a relatively recent invention. Modern humans have …
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