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Science and Space News Twitter
We have launched Twitter profiles for science news and for space news. Twitter is a microblogging service and communication tool that allows you to post short 140 character updates. To get our updates on Twitter you need to join Twitter and then follow our Twitter profile.
You can keep up with news about Twitter by reading BloggersBlog.com's Twitter news section or by
following the BloggersBlog.com Twitter. Examples of some of the other news Twitters available include
business news, celebrity gossip, sports news, tech
gadgets, jobs, green news, video game news, health news, tech news, fashion news, politics and virtual worlds.
Posted on June 10, 2007
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Huge Sinkhole in Guatemala City
CBS News reports that this giant sinkhole opened up in a neighborhood in Guatemala City a couple week ago. 3 people died in the 330-foot-deep sinkhole.
Emergency crews on Saturday found a third body in a 330-foot-deep sinkhole that had swallowed a dozen homes and forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people in a crowded Guatemala City neighborhood.
The body of Domingo Soyos, 53, was carried out of the enormous fissure and identified by family members, medical crews said.
Soyos was the father of teenagers Irma and David Soyos, whose bodies were found floating in a river of sewage soon after the sinkhole opened on Friday.
Residents said there were other people unaccounted for, but emergency crews could not confirm that.
Officials blamed recent rains and an underground sewage flow from a ruptured main for the tragedy. The pit emitted foul odors, loud noises and tremors, shaking the surrounding ground. A rush of water could be heard from its depths, and authorities feared it could widen or other sinkholes could open up.
You can see some large photographs of the sinkhole on this webpage. The webpage also says that the pit emitted "foul odors, loud noises and tremors." It is a very large and unusual looking sinkhole. The most recent article about the sinkhole says authorities are expecting the mouth of the hole to become larger and residents are leaving the area out of safety fears.
Posted on March 5, 2007
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IAEA Launches New Radiation Symbol
There's a new radiation symbol in town and it shows a person running away from dangerous radioactive waves. The red and black symbol also includes a skull and crossbones. The IAEA reported on their own launch of the symbol.
With radiating waves, a skull and crossbones and a running person, a new ionizing radiation warning symbol is being introduced to supplement the traditional international symbol for radiation, the three cornered trefoil.
The new symbol is being launched today by the IAEA and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to help reduce needless deaths and serious injuries from accidental exposure to large radioactive sources. It will serve as a supplementary warning to the trefoil, which has no intuitive meaning and little recognition beyond those educated in its significance.
"I believe the international recognition of the specific expertise of both organizations will ensure that the new standard will be accepted and applied by governments and industry to improve the safety of nuclear applications, protection of people and the environment," said Ms. Eliana Amaral, Director, Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety, IAEA.
The new symbol is aimed at alerting anyone, anywhere to the potential dangers of being close to a large source of ionizing radiation, the result of a five-year project conducted in 11 countries around the world. The symbol was tested with different population groups - mixed ages, varying educational backgrounds, male and female - to ensure that its message of "danger - stay away" was crystal clear and understood by all.
It is a scarier warning symbol than the old one.
Update 2-19-06: J-Walk has a funny explanation for the change: "My guess is that too many people were interpreting the old symbol to mean 'reel-to-reel tapes nearby.'"
Posted on February 17, 2007
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The Science of Beer Goggles
The BBC reports that researchers from the University of Manchester have come up with a formula to calculate the effect of beer goggles on vision.
Researchers at Manchester University say while beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder, the amount of alcohol consumed is not the only factor.
Additional factors include the level of light in the pub or club, the drinker's own eyesight and the room's smokiness.
The distance between two people is also a factor.
They all add up to make the aesthetically-challenged more attractive, according to the formula.
The formula can work out a final score, ranging from less than one - where there is no beer goggle effect - to more than 100.
Here is a breakdown of the formula:
An = number of units of alcohol consumed
S = smokiness of the room (graded from 0-10, where 0 clear air; 10 extremely smoky)
L = luminance of 'person of interest' (candelas per square metre; typically 1 pitch black; 150 as seen in normal room lighting)
Vo = Snellen visual acuity (6/6 normal; 6/12 just meets driving standard)
d = distance from 'person of interest' (metres; 0.5 to 3 metres)
There may be some other subtle factors but we still think it is the alcohol that plays the biggest role.
Posted on November 27, 2006
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Writers Write, Inc. Launches VideoNacho.com
Writers Write, Inc. announces the launch of VideoNacho.com. VideoNacho.com features the Web's hottest short videos and film clips. Video Nacho's editors find the best videos on the Web so you don't have to: music, comedy, pets antics, social commentary: it just has to be entertaining. Enjoy a delicious short new video snack every afternoon. Calorie-free, it's sure to give you a lift!
VideoNacho.com is the twentieth blog to join the Writers Write Lifestyle Network. It follows the launch in May, 2006 of WatchersWatch.com, a blog covering what's hot in movies and television.
Posted on October 18, 2006
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College Libraries Have Books Bound With Human Skin
A LiveScience.com article says a number of U.S. college and university libraries are carrying books bound in human skin including Harvard.
rown University's library boasts an anatomy book that combines form and function in macabre fashion. Its cover--tanned and polished to a smooth golden brown, like fine leather--is made of human skin.
In fact, a number of the nation's finest libraries, including Harvard's, have such books in their collections. The practice of binding books in human skin was not uncommon in centuries past, even if it was not always discussed in polite society.
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Brown's John Hay Library has three books bound in human skin--the 1568 anatomy text by the Belgian surgeon Andreas Vesalius, and two 19th-century editions of "The Dance of Death," a medieval morality tale.
One copy of "The Dance of Death" was rebound in 1893 by Joseph Zaehnsdorf, a master binder in London. A note to his client reports that he did not have enough skin and had to split it. The front cover, bound in the outer layer of skin, has a slightly bumpy texture, like soft sandpaper. The spine and back cover, made from the inner layer, feel like suede.
Don't worry if a library has one of these books they keep them in the special collections area -- seperate from the other books in the library.
Posted on January 10, 2006
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Bodies Exhibit Starting in Houston
John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science in Houston, Texas has announced that it will be hosting Premier's exhibit that features real human bodies. The exhibit, called Bodies, features 20 whole-body specimens and more than 250 organs and partial body specimens.
The Exhibition will utilize approximately 20,000-square-foot of exhibit space, showcasing the eye-opening effects of obesity on the human body through authentic human bodies of those who damaged their organs due to over- eating and lack of exercise. The exhibition also features a healthy lung and a black lung ravaged by smoking side by side in a vivid comparison that is undeniably more powerful than any textbook image. In addition to providing an up-close look inside our skeletal, muscular, respiratory and circulatory systems, the exhibition encourages healthy lifestyle choices by serving as a wake-up call demonstrating how our own choices directly affect our health. The exhibition will change the way people see themselves. It is designed to enlighten, empower, fascinate and inspire.
The human body specimens in the exhibition are preserved through a revolutionary technique called polymer preservation. In this process, human tissue is permanently preserved using liquid silicone rubber that is treated and hardened. The end result is a rubberized specimen, preserved to the cellular level, showcasing the complexity of the body's many bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels and organs. The full-body specimens can take more than a year to prepare. After undergoing the polymer preservation process, they become impervious to decomposition.
The exhibit sounds both interesting and creepy. More information about the Bodies exhibit can by found at the Bodies the Exhibition website on the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science website.
Posted on January 4, 2006
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Planetary Society Holds Fundraising Auction
The Planetary Society is hosting a fundraising auction on eBay.
Private space museum tours, celebrity lunches, a desert field trip with
planetary scientists, autographed books and more will be offered in The
Planetary Society's on-line auction, November 2-12, 2005, on eBay. Tours
and memorabilia connected with Buzz Aldrin, Star Trek's Robert Picardo,
Bill Nye the Science Guy, Neil deGrasse Tyson, David Brin, and more. The
last hour of the auction coincides with Society's 25th anniversary dinner,
honoring James Cameron and Ray Bradbury.
Some very interesting items are being auctioned off including a Mars Science Trip in the Mojave Desert w/2 Space Scientists; autographed Star Trek Voyager DVD complete seasons 1-7 and a Celebrity Lunch w/ Bill Nye and Star Trek's Bob Picardo. The auction ends on November 12th, 2005.
Posted on November 9, 2005
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Science News Roundup
Some birds are imitating cell phone ringtones.
StarTrek.com has a great roundup of science 36 years after Apollo.
Alzheimer's damage may be reversible.
Dark chocolate is good for you. But not milk chocolate or white chocolate.
This video shows 30 hornets vs. 30,000 bees and it isn't good for the bees.
This giant
dust devil disturbed a soccer game.
U.S. babies are being born polluted.
LiveScience.com reports that a new futures market
will try and predict where hurricanes will hit.
The foul smelling corpse flower is blooming at the University of California, Berkeley's
Botanical Garden.
2005 has been increased by one leap second.
Both bitter and sweet taste may reside in the same taste buds.
A newly discovered caterpillar in Hawaii eats snails.
Are newly discovered bones the ancestors of pygmies or another human species?
Scientists are conducting studies to see if people can control machines with their
minds.
A man has built an armored car to chase tornadoes.
Sir Isaac Newton's notes on alchemy have been found.
New panda cub growing up quickly.
Scientists have finally found the hangover gene.
Posted on July 25, 2005
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Science News Roundup 6-26-05
Archaeologists have solved the mysetery of Stonehenge bluestones.
In your brain you have a single neuron for each celebrity according to a
new study.
A shark has killed a young girl off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. It was described as a very unusual and aggressive attack.
The fossil of a venomous mammal has been found.
Lots of people fear the dentist.
A study suggests that the smell of grapefruit makes men think women are
six years younger than they really are.
Monks are using hypersectral imaging to retrieve ancient texts.
Live Science describes ways global warming is changing life in the animal kingdom.
A Da Vinci masterpiece may be hidden in a hollow space behind an Italian palazzo's murals.
The only sunblock that really works is illegal in the U.S.
A New Scientist article says there is no paradox for time travellers.
Chinese and European scientists have found Anti-SARS medicine.
The coast of Louisiana and Texas might be sinking.
Having great friends can make you live longer. Friends had more of an impact than being close to family members according to the study.
Posted on June 26, 2005
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A Scientific Look at Fads
New Scientist reports that scientists have recently discovered
that fads appear to follow one the laws of magnetism. Using
this law researchers might be able to predict changes in public
opinion using algorithms and computer models. As a few people turn
away from a trend others start to follow and a trend come come to
a rapid end.
To model the consequences of imitation, the researchers turned to the
physics of magnets. An applied magnetic field will coerce the spins
of atoms in a magnetic material to point in a certain direction. And
often an atom's spin direction pushes the spins of neighbouring
atoms to point in a similar direction. And even if an applied field
changes direction slowly, the spins sometimes flip all together and
quite abruptly.
The physicists modified the model such that the atoms represented
people and the direction of the spin indicated a person's behaviour,
and used it to predict shifts in public opinion.
In the case of cellphones, for example, it is clear that as more
people realised how useful they were, and as their price dropped,
more people would buy them. But how quickly the trend took off
depended on how strongly people influenced each other. The magnetic
model predicts that when people have a strong tendency to imitate
others, shifts in behaviour will be faster, and there may even be
discontinuous jumps, with many people adopting cellphones virtually
overnight.
Posted on June 22, 2005
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Science News Roundup
The New Scientist offers eleven steps to a better brain.
BloggersBlog.com reports that Nature has created a fictional blog that shows the terrifying impact of a future bird flu epidemic.
Could scientists create computers with a conscience by 2020?
This Forbes.com article attempts to explain the science of Star Wars.
The New York Times has an article about the SARS virus and where
it has gone.
Is ghost hunting really a booming business opportunity?
MSNBC.com offers a look at what humans will look like millions
of years in the future.
A London hospital is testing robot doctors and nurses. They are
not complete robots but video monitors on top of mobile robots.
CNN reports that a study has found that the death risk from obesity was overstated.
Posted on May 30, 2005
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Writers Write, Inc. Launches PleasantMorningBuzz.com
Writers Write, Inc., the parent company of ScienceNewsBlog.com, has announced the launch of the newest Blog in our Network: Pleasant Morning Buzz. Pleasant Morning Buzz features light-hearted commentary about current events and items of interest.
Posted on May 12, 2005
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Slime-Mold Beetle Named After President George W. Bush
Cornell news reports that a new species of slime-mold beetle has named been after President George W. Bush. The beetle's scientific name is now Agathidium bushi. Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney have slime-mold beetles named after them too. Rumsfeld's beetle is the Agathidium rumsfeldi and Cheney's is the Agathidium cheneyi. The two entomologists who named
the beetles said the names were an honor and that it "didn't
have anything to do with physical features." We are eagerly
awaiting comments from Bush, Rumsfeld or Cheney about this
new honor bestowed upon them.
Posted on April 14, 2005
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Scientific American Promises
It looks like the gig is up at Scientific American. The editors are finally admitting that they have been deceived by scientists' fancy fossils and radiocarbon dating for far too long.
In retrospect, this magazine's coverage of so-called evolution has been hideously one-sided. For decades, we published articles in every issue that endorsed the ideas of Charles Darwin and his cronies. True, the theory of common descent through natural selection has been called the unifying concept for all of biology and one of the greatest scientific ideas of all time, but that was no excuse to be fanatics about it. Where were the answering articles presenting the powerful case for scientific creationism? Why were we so unwilling to suggest that dinosaurs lived 6,000 years ago or that a cataclysmic flood carved the Grand Canyon? Blame the scientists. They dazzled us with their fancy fossils, their radiocarbon dating and their tens of thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles.
The editors promise readers to mend their ways--starting on April 1st: Get ready for a new Scientific American. No more discussions of how science should inform policy. If the government commits blindly to building an anti-ICBM defense system that can't work as promised, that will waste tens of billions of taxpayers' dollars and imperil national security, you won't hear about it from us. If studies suggest that the administration's antipollution measures would actually increase the dangerous particulates that people breathe during the next two decades, that's not our concern. No more discussions of how policies affect science either -- so what if the budget for the National Science Foundation is slashed? This magazine will be dedicated purely to science, fair and balanced science, and not just the science that scientists say is science. And it will start on April Fools' Day.
First reported by: BoingBoing.net and Too Much and Too Little
Posted on March 29, 2005
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