Study: Internet Users Aren't Isolated (Thank Facebook)

From PCWorld:

Internet users are not as isolated as sociologists thought, but we've known that all along. Rather than isolating Americans, a new study finds the Internet broadens our social circle, and Facebook gets particular credit.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that "Americans are not as isolated as has been previously reported. People's use of the mobile phone and the Internet is associated with larger and more diverse discussion networks."

Read more ....

Early Scents Really Do Get 'Etched' In The Brain

Common experience tells us that particular scents of childhood can leave quite an impression, for better or for worse. Now, researchers reporting the results of a brain imaging study show that first scents really do enjoy a "privileged" status in the brain. (Credit: iStockphoto/Olga Solovei)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Nov. 6, 2009) — Common experience tells us that particular scents of childhood can leave quite an impression, for better or for worse. Now, researchers reporting the results of a brain imaging study online on November 5th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, show that first scents really do enjoy a "privileged" status in the brain.

Read more ....

Horror Movies: Why People Love Them

From Live Science:

This time of year, screens big and small entertain our basest instincts with horrifying gore, monsters, insanity and the supernatural. Although considered a mostly niche genre, horror films enjoy an avid following and rake in plenty of bucks at the box office.

Yet, as horror buffs come down from their Halloween rush, many are ready to do it again. Being scared out of their wits, it seems, is fun. Audiences get another chance this weekend as the "based-on-true-events" alien-abduction thriller "The Fourth Kind" (Universal) opens nationwide.

Read more ....

Masturbation In The Animal Kingdom.

From Slate.com:

Isn't it wonderful when science and religion come together? My Slate colleague William Saletan points out that a recent paper has laid the groundwork for a pro-life defense of onanism. According to obstetrician David Greening, a rigorous program of daily masturbation can actually improve sperm quality in men with fertility problems. (Samples collected at the end of the program showed less DNA damage and higher sperm motility than samples from control subjects.) Since masturbation can help you have babies, Saletan argues, it must also serve the "procreative and unitive purposes" described in the Catechism.

Read more ....

Report: Cyber Attacks Caused Power Outages in Brazil

From Threat Level:

Electrical blackouts impacting millions of people in Brazil in 2005 and 2007 were caused by hackers targeting control systems, according to the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes.

In a show set to air Sunday night, CBS blames a two-day outage in Espirito Santo in 2007 on a hack attack. The blackout affected three million people. Another, smaller blackout north of Rio de Janeiro in January 2005 was also triggered by computer intruders, the network claims.

Read more ....

My Comment: I am sure there are now more safeguards to prevent such occurrences from happening, but it is an excellent example to use in revealing how easy it is to put down a power grid.

Electric SUVs: A Smaller Footprint For Big Vehicles

(Dan Vasconcellos)

From The Christian Science Monitor:

Converting existing gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs into hybrid and electric vehicles gains traction.

Tom Reid likes his ride big – a 2000 Ford Explorer SUV with plenty of interior room and all the amenities. None of those prissy little hybrid vehicles will do for him.

But after gas hit $4 a gallon last year, Mr. Reid had a big fuel bill, too – and an epiphany: convert his gas guzzler to an all-electric vehicle.

So he did. Now Reid’s bright idea has become a sideline business for his shop, HTC Racing, which produces specialized protective coating for automotive and other metal parts in Whitman, Mass. He offers kits to convert any 1995-2004 gas-sucking Ford Explorer into a cheap-to-keep, no fuel, little maintenance all-electric SUV. Cost: $15,000.

Read more ....

Vision Of The Future: Custom Corneas

Super Sight: The same technology used in the Hubble telescope could offer LASIK patients better sight. Ophthalmologists can use this technology to perform "custom" surgery to correspond to the patient's lifestyle. Getty Images

From Discovery News:

NASA technology that allows the Hubble telescope to focus on distant stars now offers LASIK eye surgery patients customized options for fine-tuned night vision, superior image contrast and sight even beyond 20/20.

Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2001, wavefront technology is the newest LASIK innovation that ophthalmologists are using not only to correct eyesight, but also to peer into the physical structure of patients' eyes and locate the exact sources of their vision problems.

Read more ....

How Much Power Does The Human Brain Require To Operate?

Neurogrid 65,536 artificial neurons packed onto just
one of Neurogrid's chips Rodrigo Alvarez 2009

From Popular Science:

Simulating the brain with traditional chips would require impractical megawatts of power. One scientist has an alternative.

According to Kwabena Boahen, a computer scientist at Stanford University, a robot with a processor as smart as the human brain would require at least 10 megawatts to operate. That's the amount of energy produced by a small hydroelectric plant. But a small group of computer scientists may have hit on a new neural supercomputer that could someday emulate the human brain's low energy requirements of just 20 watts--barely enough to run a dim light bulb.

Read more ....

Drinking Eight Cups Of Tea A Day 'Reduces Heart Attack And Stroke Risk'

Regular tea drinking could help lead to "reduced mortality, a lower risk of
heart attack and lower cholesterol." Photo: GETTY

From The Telegraph:

Drinking up to eight cups of tea a day offers "significant health benefits", including a lower risk of heart attack and stroke, according to research.

Caffeinated drinks including tea, coffee and cocoa have a positive effect on mental function, increasing alertness, wellbeing and short-term memory, according to the study.

Dr Carrie Ruxton, a dietician who conducted a review of 47 published studies, found that an intake of 400mg of caffeine a day – or eight cups of tea – delivered "key benefits in terms of mental function and heart health" without any adverse consequences.

Read more ....

The Future Of Nuclear Power

From MIT:

Introduction

An interdisciplinary MIT faculty group decided to study the future of nuclear power because of a belief that this technology is an important option for the United States and the world to meet future energy needs without emitting carbon dioxide and other atmospheric pollutants. Other options include increased efficiency, renewables, and carbon sequestration, and all may be needed for a successful greenhouse gas management strategy. This study, addressed to government, industry, and academic leaders, discusses the interrelated technical, economic, environmental, and political challenges facing a significant increase in global nuclear power utilization over the next half century and what might be done to overcome those challenges.

This study was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and by MIT's Office of the Provost and Laboratory for Energy and the Environment.

Read more ....

Simply Astronomical – The Square Kilometre Array

Low-frequency receiving tiles will be surrounded by high-frequency receiving dishes
(Image: SKA Project Office/Xilostudios)

From NOVA:

ustralia is playing a leading part in plans to build the world’s largest radio telescope.

Australia is in the running to host a giant new radio telescope, the astronomical equivalent to the Large Hadron Collider which has been called the biggest science experiment in history.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope will be too complex and costly (A$2.9 billion) to be built by any one country. Instead an international consortium of 19 countries has been formed to plan and build it. In October 2006, the consortium announced that two countries had been short listed to host the SKA – Australia and South Africa.

Read more ....

Heads Up! Space Station Flyby Sunday Evening

From The Baltimore Sun:

The International Space Station is back in our evening skies, and on Sunday evening the big contraption will be flying up the East Coast and almost directly over Baltimore. (And even more directly over Ocean City.)

The weather forecast is quite promising for this pass, and the station will appear especially bright, even in badly light-polluted urban settings. It's also a convenient early-evening pass, so sky watchers will have no excuse not to step outside with the kids and get a look at your (and their) tax dollars at play.

Read more ....

15 Awesome Ultramodern Fireplaces

From Multifuel Stoves:

The following 15 fireplaces are at the cutting-edge of modern fireplace design.


1. Fireplace In a Can

We have managed to put everything else in a can, so why can’t we do the same thing with fire? Designer Camillo Vanacore must have been thinking the very same thing when he dreamed up this portable, encapsulated fireplace.

The concept involves a form of magical ceramic from outer space. It starts out opaque, and then becomes transparent when it is exposed to heat generated by a flame. The fireplace in a can is also small enough to fit in just one hand. It’s an interesting design that is great when on a camping trip or in an emergency, but I don’t expect to go to the grocery store to pick up a six-pack of fire anytime soon.

Read more ....

Abiotic Synthesis Of Methane: New Evidence Supports 19th-Century Idea On Formation Of Oil And Gas

An oil pump taps deposits of petroleum deep beneath the Earth. Scientists are reporting new evidence that oil may have originated from processes other that the decay of prehistoric plants. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2009) — Scientists in Washington, D.C. are reporting laboratory evidence supporting the possibility that some of Earth's oil and natural gas may have formed in a way much different than the traditional process described in science textbooks.

Their study is scheduled for Nov./Dec. issue of ACS' Energy & Fuels, a bi-monthly publication. Anurag Sharma and colleagues note that the traditional process involves biology: Prehistoric plants died and changed into oil and gas while sandwiched between layers of rock in the hot, high-pressure environment deep below Earth's surface. Some scientists, however, believe that oil and gas originated in other ways, including chemical reactions between carbon dioxide and hydrogen below Earth' surface.

Read more ....

Music Improves Brain Function

From Live Science:

WASHINGTON (ISNS) -- For most people music is an enjoyable, although momentary, form of entertainment. But for those who seriously practiced a musical instrument when they were young, perhaps when they played in a school orchestra or even a rock band, the musical experience can be something more. Recent research shows that a strong correlation exists between musical training for children and certain other mental abilities.

The research was discussed at a session at a recent gathering of acoustics experts in Austin, Texas.


Read more ....

Skunks: From A Continuing Series On Revolting Creatures.

From Slate:

A mother skunk trailed by six little striped kits is a sight at least as charming as ducklings following their mother. Skunks themselves are not revolting. It's the pungent, oily, yellow-green liquid that streams out of nozzles on either side of a skunk's anus that is revolting. Lovable though the creatures are, there will never be a children's book called Make Way for Skunks.

Read more ....

Sesame Street Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Premiere on November 10th

From Geek Dad:

COOKIE!!!

Cookie Monster is no doubt the least good-for-you part of Sesame Street but it was always my favorite. And then there’s Oscar the Grouch, who’s already been the subject of a Geek Dad post.

One of us.

Likely the Cookie Monster is the favorite of many others too, since Google placed him on their homepage to celebrate the show’s 40th anniversary, which is Tuesday, November 10, as new segments will begin airing on PBS stations. There are preview clips available at the official website linked above but, be warned, there is video that turns on instantly, so if you’re not in the mood for Ernie, you might want to hit the mute button.

Read more ....

How Much Would You Pay To See Your Future?

Image: Whole-genome sequencing could be affordable and accurate enough to perform on every newborn with a simple heel-prick blood test in a matter of years.
(Credit: Elizabeth Armstrong Moore/CNET)

From CNET:

My dad used to say technology is advancing so quickly that, by the time a product reaches market, it is already obsolete. Moreover, if you wait just a little longer, you can pay a lot less. The sequencing of the human genome takes the advancement of technology, and its fast reduction in cost, to an entirely new level.

Read more ....

How Astronomers Fill In Uncharted Areas Of The Universe

This image of the remnants of an exploded star was taken by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers. By studying it, astronomers gained a better understanding of new details about the role of supernova remnants as the Milky Way's super-efficient particle accelerators. (NASA/CXC/University of Ultrech/J.Vink/AFP)

From The Christian Science Monitor:

Thanks to new tools, scientists are quickly mapping the stars.

Astronomers are filling in the blank spaces on their 3-D map of our universe thanks to their ability to sense almost every conceivable form of electromagnetic radiation. Those blanks include remote regions of space and time when the first stars formed and when young galaxies began to group themselves into gravitationally bound clusters.

Read more ....

Aluminum Fuel Could Power Future Space Trips

Powered by Powdered Aluminum: This test rocket soared 1300 feet into the air using seven inches of a new, environmentally friendly fuel made of nanoaluminum and ice. Purdue University/Steven Son

From Discovery News:

Aluminum and water is usually a boring combination, but light a mixture of nanoaluminum and ice and the results are explosive.

Scientists from Purdue University have created a new, environmentally friendly solid rocket fuel that recently sent a rocket screaming 1300 feet into the air using seven inches of nanoaluminum and ice. The new fuel could power missions to the moon or Mars while dramatically reducing the amount of on-board fuel.

"Theoretically you can get very high temperatures using aluminum and water, but the kinetics would be so slow and it would be so hard to ignite that it's very hard to actually make the rocket work," said Steven Son, a professor at Purdue University in Indiana who helped develop the new fuel.

Read more ....