A Better Map Of The Ocean Floor Has Been Produced

The new gravity data gives us our clearest view yet of the shape of the ocean floor

Satellites Detect 'Thousands' Of New Ocean-Bottom Mountains -- BBC

It is not every day you can announce the discovery of thousands of new mountains on Earth, but that is what a US-European research team has done.

What is more, these peaks are all at least 1.5km high.

The reason they have gone unrecognised until now is because they are at the bottom of the ocean.
Dave Sandwell and colleagues used radar satellites to discern the mountains' presence under water and report their findings in Science Magazine.

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My Comment: The oceans are still a mystery .... but more is being discovered about the oceans everyday.

Security Officials: Ebola Pandemic Should Be Treated 'The Same Way' As Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons

Ebola Virus: Pandemic Should Be Treated 'The Same Way' As Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons, Security Officials Say -- The Independent

Special report: The Government has admitted that the virus spreading across Africa will 'get worse'

The Ebola virus spreading exponentially across Africa and killing thousands of people “will get worse”, the Government has admitted, amid calls for the full involvement of the international military to contain the disease.

Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, said that ministers had been shocked by a prediction from the US public health institute that 1.4 million people may be infected by the virus by January if it continues unchecked.

As ministers, diplomats and humanitarian organisations from 20 different countries pledged a further £79 million to control the outbreak, which has already killed more than 3,000 people, a group of 35 European security officials issued a joint declaration suggesting that Ebola should be treated in the same way as the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

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My Comment: Is it me .... or am I starting to sense panic among our government officials?

UN's Ebola Response Chief Warns Of A 'Global Nightmare' On The Prospect Of The Virus Mutating And Becoming Airborne

A burial team remove a Ebola victim's body from isolation in Sierra Leone

Doomsday Warning: UN Ebola Chief Raises 'Nightmare' Prospect That Virus Could Mutate And Become Airborne - Making It Much More Infectious -- Daily Mail

* UN warns Ebola virus currently plaguing West Africa could become airborne
* The longer it moves between human hosts the greater possibility of mutation
* The risk grows the longer virus is living within the human 'melting pot'
* NGOs have said the Ebola virus is currently infecting five people every hour
* More than 3,300 people have died from Ebola since the outbreak first began
* Officials call for 1,000 new Sierra Leone isolation centres to contain virus
* British survivor says 'horror' of children dying from disease must be avoided
* Will Pooley was first Briton to contract virus after working in Sierra Leone
* Thomas Eric Duncan is the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S.
* He flew into Texas from Liberia, touching down in Brussels and Washington
* Up to 100 people in Texas are feared to have come into contact with him
* Doctors at the hospital in Texas said he was in a serious but stable condition

The longer the Ebola epidemic continues infecting people unabated, the higher the chances it will mutate and become airborne, the UN's Ebola response chief has warned.

Anthony Banbury, the Secretary General's Special Representative, has said there is a 'nightmare' prospect the deadly disease will become airborne if it continues infecting new hosts.

His comments come as organisations battling the crisis in West Africa warned the international community has just four weeks to stop its spread before it spirals 'completely out of control'.

And the British nurse who survived the disease said the 'horror and misery' of watching young children die from the disease must be avoided 'at all costs'.

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My Comment: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is giving the world has only four weeks to stop the crisis from spiraling out of control .... 1 month to stop Ebola before it's 'totally out of control' - global aid NGO -- RT

A New Way To Store Oxygen

Photo: The Oxygen-Absorbing Material. U. of Southern Denmark

Weird Crystal Can Absorb All The Oxygen In A Room -- And Then Release It Later -- Popular Science

This could potentially make fuel cells, space travel, and scuba diving a lot more efficient.

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark say they’ve invented a crystal that pulls oxygen out of the air and even water. Apparently, just a spoonful of the stuff can suck up all the oxygen in a room.

The crystal is a salt made from cobalt*, and it appears to be capable of holding oxygen at a concentration that is 160 times higher than the air we breathe. The paper notes that "an excess" of the substance would bind up to 99 percent of the oxygen in a room.

But what’s more remarkable is that the crystal can later release the oxygen when exposed to heat or low-oxygen conditions. In a press release, study author Christine McKenzie likens it to the hemoglobin in our blood, which uses iron to bind and release oxygen in the human body.

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My Comment: Space travel, underwater use, energy systems/fuel cells, the applications are endless.

A Blast From The Past: A 1981 News Report On The Internet

1981 News Report On The Internet is Now Hilarious -- Neatorama

There are so many amusing things in this 1981 television report about getting newspaper content from the Internet that it's hard to keep track. The smirk and smug tone of voice of the reporter, as if she's informing the public of a quaint yet ridiculous idea that stands no chance of ever being embraced by the public. The opening line: "Imagine if you will, sitting down to your morning coffee and turning on your home computer to read the day's newspaper." Mind boggling! The CRT screens, dial-up connections using a phone receiver and hours of download time for a text file.

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My Comment: We have certainly gone a long way in 33 years.

The Real Story Of The U.S. President's 'Nuclear Football'

From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the nuclear "football." (Jamie Chung)

The Real Story of the "Football" That Follows the President Everywhere -- Michael Dobbs, Smithsonian Magazine

Take a peek at the mysterious black briefcase that has accompanied every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy

It is the closest modern-day equivalent of the medieval crown and scepter—a symbol of supreme authority. Accompanying the commander in chief wherever he goes, the innocuous-looking briefcase is touted in movies and spy novels as the ultimate power accessory, a doomsday machine that could destroy the entire world.

Officially known as the “president’s emergency satchel,” the so-called nuclear “Football”—portable and hand-carried—is built around a sturdy aluminum frame, encased in black leather. A retired Football, emptied of its top-secret inner contents, is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. “We were looking for something that would demonstrate the incredible military power and responsibilities of the president, and we struck upon this iconic object,” says curator Harry Rubenstein.

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WNU Editor: The below video describes how important the 'nuclear football' is.

This Is The Greatest Paper Map Of The United States

Left: Imus map of Cincinnati. Right: National Geographic map of Cincinnati

The Greatest Paper Map Of The United States You’ll Ever See -- Seth Stevenson

Made by one guy in Oregon.

American mapmaking’s most prestigious honor is the “Best of Show” award at the annual competition of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society. The five most recent winners were all maps designed by large, well-known institutions: National Geographic (three times), the Central Intelligence Agency Cartography Center, and the U.S. Census Bureau. But earlier this year, the 38^th annual Best of Show award went to a map created by Imus Geographics—which is basically one dude named David Imus working in a farmhouse outside Eugene, Ore.

At first glance, Imus’ “The Essential Geography of the United States of America” may look like any other U.S. wall map. It’s about 4 feet by 3 feet. It uses a standard, two-dimensional conic projection. It has place names. Political boundaries. Lakes, rivers, highways.

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My Comment: Yup ... this is proof that you can always make something better .... even a better map.