Oh no, it's not just the US...

encouraging imagination and curiosity in kids

For you parents and educators on the blog.

Storm: The Animated Movie

Via Boing Boing, via @donttrythis.

WHEN MICE ATTACK

Here's Adam Savage:

Portal is free! Portal 2 is cooperative!

JOY.

Even a Wilhelm scream. ^_^

Snarky post #2

A U.S. congressman is worried Guam may capsize.

I understand the reasoning, but....

Kind of a bad message to send after so many roadblocks to get this thing started.

NANOTREK MICRONERD

Hello, please see:

Best Electron Micrograph
Nanoscale soldiers in marching formation on the edge of a silicon substrate

Best Ion Micrograph:

Nano Space - The final frontier. The space ship Enterprise NCC-1701D of Star Trek was fabricated in one-billionth scale by 30 kV Ga+ focused-ion- beam CVD using phenanthrene gas. Length 8.8 µm.

- Dick

One for the doctors

It's long, but I think it's really worth watching.

Free energy harvesting

I've mentioned Vernor Vinge before, and I'm going to do it again (seriously, if you want to read one of the best authors of speculative fiction and technological forecasting, this is the dude). Anyway. In his book, A Deepness in the Sky, he writes about machines that resonate at the right frequencies of background radiation (sort of) to harvest free energy.

At the CES this year, it appears that RCA of all companies may get there first:

Quantum entanglement: ghost imaging

Via Futurismic: "Ghost-imaging" is creating a picture of an object using light that never interacted with the object, but which is pared to light that did through quantum entanglement. This image here seems to have been taken with a camera aimed not at the toy solder, but at the light source shining light on the toy solder.

The next step will be the loadstone resonators from The Dark Materials trilogy. Oh, and THIS:

Dr. Deacon said he believes ghost-imaging may enable a satellite to be equipped with a detector that would be coupled with a second camera that would take images of the sun. That combination of technologies could generate ghost images of the Earth's surface, even if there are obstructing atmospheric conditions.

Origami and its "real-life" applications

Since we are being infected by Japanese sex robots, I figured I'd try to find some sort of counterbalance. Superstar artist Corinne Kamiya posted this on facebook. I thought I'd re-post it here. It has a funny sort of parallel resonance to how the Europeans found ukiyo-e in their packing crates in the nineteenth century and went crazy.

Darwin's Interactive Tree of Life

This thing is everywhere, but I can't not post it. The video is clear and really beautiful, and the linked site has a sweet interactive cladogram, as well as swell resources for educators and scientists (and animators!). The project is at least a little creative commons and a little open source, too. All of it is downloadable, for classrooms with weak internet connections. All in all, this is a very good use of resources--not only is the content well-done and completely sharable; it's remixable, to boot. Great job, Wellcome Trust.

Mars Shit

There’s enough material here for Vaughan Oliver to do like ukumillion more ’80s era 4ad albums. See more lovely Mars pics here.

Teaching an Understanding of Science

As uncool as this may sound, I think I actually agree with Neil deGrasse Tyson here. Discuss.

Atomic Robo and I see eye to eye

I came across this today in Atomic Robo:

This reminded me of Ruby's post, when I tried to explain why time travel is impossible--with the same argument! But with less guns and dinosaurs. I think that's always been my problem. Anyway, maybe Brian Clevinger reads Pieces Of Things! Or maybe this just a common idea people come up with when they've got too much time on their hands and think about time too much...

Also in the news:

Conspiracy Theorist Convinces Neil Armstrong Moon Landing Was Faked

"I had been living a lie, " said a visibly emotional Armstrong, addressing reporters at his home. "It has become painfully clear to me that on July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module under the control of my crew did not in fact travel 250,000 miles over eight days, touch down on the moon, and perform various experiments, ushering in a new era for humanity. Instead, the entire thing was filmed on a soundstage, most likely in New Mexico."

And:

Mrs. Brisby vs Mrs. Frisby

From today’s Times

Editorial
Gene by Gene
Published: June 5, 2009

Over the years, scientists have developed many strains of genetically modified mice, many of which incorporate human versions of similar mouse genes. But there is something different in a recent experiment performed at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Scientists there have created a strain of mouse that contains the human variant of a gene, called FOXP2, associated with several critical tasks, including the human capacity for language.

What makes this different is how fundamentally human — and unmouse-like — language really is. Something essential to us, something defining in our species, has been implanted in a rodent.

FOXP2 happens to work pretty well in mice. Those with the new gene in place do in fact communicate differently with each other, by using slightly lower-pitched ultrasonic whistles. The nerve cells they grow in one region of the brain are also more complex than those in unaltered mice. These may sound like modest results, but they are striking. They help clarify the function of FOXP2, and, in doing so, they help scientists better understand what constellation of genes produces the capacity for language in humans and, thus, how we differ from our nearest primate relative, the chimpanzee.

What takes some getting used to is the idea of exploring what humanness really is — how complex and how little understood — by transplanting our genetic signatures, gene by gene, into other species. And there is another question hovering over this experiment: Just how alien to themselves do these transgenic mice become? To that question, scientists are bound to find no answers, until, perhaps, mice can speak for themselves.

Original article from Cell. A bit dryer and less enthusiastic about the possibility of a live action remake.

Wacky science on Oprah

Suzanne Somers promotes unique anti-aging techniques on Oprah, including injecting estrogen into her vagina.

Write to Oprah and Jenny McCarthy!

Hello, guys and gals!

If ya didn't know, Oprah has signed Jenny McCarthy for her own talk show! Fearing that there won't be much for Jenny to talk about, Oprah has opened it up to the world to write in with our own ideas. Here, not surprisingly, is mine:

Hello, Oprah!

Great idea! I've got a story I think would be perfect for her show.

I think it was about ten years ago that a group of scientists in England wrote a journal article that shook the developed world. In it, they presented research describing an unexpected intestinal lesion in 12 children. Here's the interesting bit! At a press conference one of the researchers mentioned that many of these children, who also had the MMR vaccine, also developed autism. He suggested that while their data didn't prove it, there may be a link.

Now the paper clearly states, "We did not prove an association between measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described." But! The media ignored this and gladly fueled a public hysteria against vaccinations in general, based off of research that didn't focus on this idea in the first place. Also, it is important to note that it is grossly unscientific to make an assumption about vaccinations for all the children in the world, based on research on only 12 children with other medical conditions! Needless to say, there was a huge drop in vaccinated children, and ten years later there is still a emotionally driven debate on this issue that almost rivals gay marriage and abortion.

And here's the other fascinating part: By 2004, 10 of the 13 original scientists retracted any presumed link between vaccination and autism, stating that "now is the appropriate time that we should together formally retract the interpretation placed upon these findings in the paper." And since then, more than 14 separate studies have clearly shown that there is no link whatsoever between vaccines and a risk for autism! Amongst scientists and medical professionals there hasn't been a real issue here for years, so where is the information coming from that Jenny is still relying on?

I think it would be great, if not completely necessary for Jenny's credibility, to bring all 13 of the original authors on the show for an _intelligent_ debate on what happened, and how we can educate the misinformed about this drawn out, irrational, public hysteria. Let me know what you think!

I know I'm not exactly original with this suggestion, so why don't you guys send in some of your own ideas!

Earth is growing! Do not believe the lies!

This was described by my friend Grodon as the "happiest conspiracy theory I've ever seen."

WARNING: It totally blows the whole continental drift theory out of the water!



At 7:25:

As we now go forward in time from 185 million years ago, please notice there is no subduction. No raising and lowering of land masses, there can't be! IT'S HELL IN THE FORM OF MAGMA DOWN THERE!