Apollo Astronaut Recommends Ending NASA And Starting From Scratch

Photo: Schmitt (NASA)

Apollo Astronaut: End NASA, Start From Scratch -- Houston Chronicle

Not everyone is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s decision to go to the moon with best wishes for another century of NASA.

Harrison Schmitt, the 12th astronaut to walk on the moon and a former U.S. senator, has called for dismantling NASA and replacing it with a new agency devoted solely to deep-space exploration.

Its charter, he believes, should simply be:

Provide the People of the United States of America, as national security and economic interests demand, with the necessary infrastructure, entrepreneurial partnerships, and human and robotic operational capability to settle the Moon, utilize lunar resources, scientifically explore and settle Mars and other deep space destinations, and, if necessary, divert significant Earth-impacting objects.

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My Comment: He makes some salient points. What is my take .... a new start and direction is definitely need (both psychologically and structurally) for the U.S. space program.

Searching For Cleopatra

The Search for Cleopatra Continues -- Past Horizons

A radar survey of the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria in Egypt, was completed last month as part of the ongoing search for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. The expedition excavating the temple and its surrounding area is headed by Dr. Zahi Hawass and Dr. Kathleen Martinez from the Dominican Republic.

The recent radar survey is a significant step forward and was carried out by an Egyptian team, with American expert Dr. Roger Vickers serving as a consultant. The radar revealed three possible areas of interest where a tomb may be located. These locations have been passed to the archaeological team who received the results of the survey with great interest, and will begin excavation of the targets next week.

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Tsunamis Buried Greece's Ancient Olympics Site

The ruined Temple of Zeus at Olympia. Photo: Karta24/Wikimedia Commons

Tsunamis Buried Ancient Olympics Site -- Discovery News

A series of devastating tsunamis -- not an earthquake -- might have swept away the birthplace of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece nearly 1500 years ago, according to new findings.

Scholars have long assumed that Olympia, located at the confluence of the Kladeos and Alpheios rivers in the western Peloponnese, was destroyed by an earthquake in 551 AD and later covered by flood deposits of the Kladeos river.

Indeed the site where the first Olympic Games took place in 776 BC, was rediscovered only some 250 years ago, buried under 26 feet of sand and debris.

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Picture 1 Million Robots

Foxconn Facility. Wikimedia Commons

Foxconn Plans To Replace Its Gadget-Building Unhappy Human Workforce With 1 Million Robots -- Popular Science

For some people, this story about robot workers taking human jobs may be good news.
Foxconn, the Taiwan-based factory firm that makes nearly half the world’s electronics, aims to replace 1 million of its workers with robots within in the next three years, the company announced over the weekend. The factory bots will reduce labor costs and improve efficiencies, the company’s founder, Terry Gou, told the Xinhua news agency. And they will be unable to take their own lives.

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Are Internet Explorer Users Stupid?

Internet Explorer Users Are Stupid And Have An Average IQ Of Just 80, Aptitude Study Claims -- Daily Mail

Survey claims average IQ of browser's users is just 80

They have long had to grapple with a catalogue of bugs and viruses.
But now users of Internet Explorer have another reason to feel humiliated - they are more stupid too.

A study has found that those with Internet Explorer 6 installed on their computer typically have an IQ barely higher than 80 - which by some rankings makes them almost retarded.

This compares to those who used Firefox or Google’s Chrome who came in at around 110.

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My Comment: I prefer Firefox.

Will We One Day Be Able To Treat Aging?

Middle-aged and elderly people exercise during “Respect for the Aged Day” in Tokyo in 2005. Japan’s population is aging particularly quickly. The ratio of people younger than 20 compared to those older than 65 is shifting, from 9.3 in 1950 to a predicted 0.59 in 2025. If scientists succeed at slowing aging, this trend may well accelerate. Issei Kato/Reuters/Corbis

Aging: To Treat, Or Not To Treat? -- American Scientist

The possibility of treating aging is not just an idle fantasy.

The 20th century brought both profound suffering and profound relief to people around the world. On the one hand, it produced political lunacy, war and mass murder on an unprecedented scale. But there were also extraordinary gains—not least in public health, medicine and food production. In the developed world, we no longer live in constant fear of infectious disease. Furthermore, a Malthusian catastrophe of global population growth exceeding food production—a terrifying prospect predicted first in the 18th century—did not materialize. This is largely due to a steep decline in birth rates, for which we can thank the education, emancipation and rationality of women. Most people in the developed world can now expect to live long lives.

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iCloud.com Goes Live (But Only For Developers)

iCloud is Apple's new "sync" service. The website is only available to developers right now

iCloud.com Goes Live, Prices Revealed -- CNN

(WIRED) -- Apple's iCloud.com website has gone live, allowing developers to test out the online version of MobileMe's replacement.
At the same time, beta versions of the iWork suite for iOS and iPhoto have also been made available. And inevitably, many details have already leaked to the web.
iCloud is Apple's new "sync" service. When you create or edit a photo or document on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Windows PC, it is automatically pushed to any other device you have chosen.

Thus, you can snap photos on your iPhone and have them ready to edit on your iPad in seconds, along with a safe backup on your home Mac.

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What Makes Guinness A Great Beer To Drink

The Fizzics Of Guinness -- The Guardian

Look closely at a pint of Guinness and tell me: do the bubbles go up, or do the bubbles go down? Why is the head coloured the way it is? Is foam a gas, liquid or solid? An Irish physicist discusses.

Last Friday, Andy Connelly published the wonderful guest blog essay, "The science and magic of beer". His piece reminds me of some of the discussions I had with my beer-brewing physicist and engineer friends when I was a grad student. For example, look closely at a pint of Guinness and tell me: do the bubbles go up, or do the bubbles go down? Why is the head coloured the way it is? Is beer foam a gas, liquid or solid? I thought you might enjoy this little video as a follow up, where an Irish physicist discusses the "fizzics" of bubble formation in Guinness beer:

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Skype Now On The iPad

Skype For iPad Makes Its Debut -- Mashable

Skype has released its official iPad app to the iOS App Store, bringing its live video service to both 3G and Wi-Fi data connections.

Skype for iPad expands upon the iPhone app’s features, thanks to the iPad’s larger screen real estate. The iPad app includes all of the features you’d expect: video chat, instant messaging, phone calls and quick access to your contacts. Unlike the iPhone app, instant messaging can be used during video calls.

The Skype app works with both the iPad 1 and the iPad 2, although the iPad 1 only can receive video. The Skype iPad app can call anybody using Skype, whether it’s on the desktop or an iOS device. It requires iOS 4.0 or above.

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Oxygen Spotted In Space

"Hidden" oxygen may be released from dust grains and ice in star-forming regions

Oxygen Finally Spotted In Space -- BBC

One of astronomy's longest-running "missing persons" investigations has concluded: astronomers have found molecular oxygen in space.

While single atoms of oxygen have been found alone or incorporated into other molecules, the oxygen molecule - the one we breathe - had never been seen.

The Herschel space telescope spotted the molecules in a star-forming region in the constellation of Orion.

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iPhone To Be Released In September Or October

When will the follow-up to the iPhone 4 actually debut? (Credit: Apple)

iPhone 5 slated for September or October? -- CNET News

Dueling rumors about the iPhone 5 now point to a new edition of Apple's flagship as launching either in late September or in October, take your pick.

Rumor No. 1 is calling for the iPhone's debut in late September, according to Gizmodo, which cited an e-mail allegedly from an AT&T employee.

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New Information About Sony Tablets

New information has emerged about Sony's S1 tablet. (Credit: Sony)

Exclusive: New Information About Sony Tablets -- CNET

CNET has learned some new details on Sony's upcoming S1 and S2 tablets.
A source familiar with the company's plans for the Android devices tells us that four versions of the S1 will be available at launch: 16GB Wi-Fi only; 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G; 32GB Wi-Fi; and 32GB Wi-Fi and 3G. The S2 will come in 16GB and 32GB models that have both Wi-Fi and 3G, but no separate Wi-Fi-only variant like the S1, the source says. Those desiring more capacity will be pleased to know that the S1 tablet has a full-size SD memory card reader onboard for additional storage.

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The Big Bang In Pictures

Explosions in the sky: These images track the movement of particles during experiments at CERN, and could give some idea of how the Big Bang may have looked

The Big Bang In Pictures: Scientists Produce Computer Images Of Particle Explosions Similar to The Greatest Ever Galactic Light Show -- Daily Mail

It may look like a firework display in the night sky but these explosive images could be the closest we have yet come to snapshot from the birth of the universe itself.
The computer generated images are the result of the 'big bang' experiments performed by scientists at CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider, in Geneva, Switzerland.
In trying to determine exactly how the universe came into existence, scientists have been recreating sub-atomic explosions - like the one that may have happened around the time of the big bang - using atom-sized particles of lead.

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Magnetic Waves Help Make Sun’s Atmosphere Hotter

Powerful Magnetic Waves Help Make Sun’s Atmosphere Hotter Than Sun Itself -- Discover Magazine

What’s the News: An international team of researchers, led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, has learned that large magnetic waves are partly to blame for the Sun’s immensely hot corona. The study, published in the journal Nature, also suggests that the waves could be the driving force behind the solar wind.

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James Webb Space Telescope To be Scrapped

Revolutionary, yet costly - will NASA budget cuts kill the James Webb Space Telescope - already funded to the tune of US$3 billion but expected to cost double the amount by the time it is launched? Credit: NASA

Will Cost Kill Hubble’s Successor? -- Cosmos

A plan to scrap the James Webb Space Telescope, the long-awaited and costly heir to NASA’s Hubble telescope.

TOUTED AS NASA'S replacement for the ageing Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, if deployed, would be 100 times more powerful than its iconic predecessor.

"It will have incredible sensitivity and spatial resolution, making it able to look back to the very earliest times in the universe," says Warrick Couch, an astronomer at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.

Yet funding cuts now seriously threaten the telescope's future, already over budget and years behind schedule, with bleak implications for future U.S. investment in astronomy projects of this scale.

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Tasting Scotch Whisky

Dave Arnold and his Rotary Evaporator. Courtesy The Glenlivet

Tasting Scotch Whisky, Note By Vacuum-Distilled Note -- Popular Science

Laboratory separation techniques pull out the various flavors in a single glass of whisky for individual study and/or enjoyment.

As I write this, I'm sipping three aged Scotches that have been fractionated into some nine glasses. It's mid-afternoon. Yes, I am at the Tales of the Cocktail convention in New Orleans again -- one part learning and one part drinking, served straight up. Some people prefer to vary the proportions slightly.

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My Comment: Hmmm ... I feel thirsty.

Sitting Is Deadly

Sititng. CREDIT: Dreamstime

Sitting Is Deadly, Mounting Research Reveals -- Live Science

Did you hit the gym today? If so, you probably feel like you deserve a pat on the back. But your efforts may be in vain if you spend the rest of the day sitting down.

A growing body of research suggests sitting down for most of the day can be lethal. It has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and death from any cause. And a daily jog may do little to negate the deleterious effects of too much time in a chair.

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'Brain Cap' Technology Turns Thought Into Motion

University of Maryland associate professor of kinesiology Jose "Pepe" Contreras-Vidal wears his Brain Cap, a noninvasive, sensor-lined cap with neural interface software that soon could be used to control computers, robotic prosthetic limbs, motorized wheelchairs and even digital avatars. (Credit: John Consoli, University of Maryland)

'Brain Cap' Technology Turns Thought Into Motion; Mind-Machine Interface Could Lead to New Life-Changing Technologies for Millions of People

"Brain cap" technology being developed at the University of Maryland allows users to turn their thoughts into motion. Associate Professor of Kinesiology José 'Pepe' L. Contreras-Vidal and his team have created a non-invasive, sensor-lined cap with neural interface software that soon could be used to control computers, robotic prosthetic limbs, motorized wheelchairs and even digital avatars.

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Fall Of The Neanderthals

Map of the migration of modern man out of Africa. Triangles represent Aurignacian (considered the first modern humans) split-base points. (Credit: Dora Kemp, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research)

Fall of the Neanderthals: Volume of Modern Humans Infiltrating Europe Cited as Critical Factor -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (July 29, 2011) — New research sheds light on why, after 300,000 years of domination, European Neanderthals abruptly disappeared. Researchers from the University of Cambridge have discovered that modern humans coming from Africa swarmed the region, arriving with over ten times the population as the Neanderthal inhabitants.

The reasons for the relatively sudden disappearance of the European Neanderthal populations across the continent around 40,000 years ago has for long remained one of the great mysteries of human evolution.

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Rate Of Species Disappearance Is Accelerating

History's Normal Rate Of Species Disappearance Is Accelerating, Scientists Say -- McClatchy News

PHILADELPHIA — Biologist E.O. Wilson once pondered whether many of our fellow living things were doomed once evolution gave rise to an intelligent, technological creature that also happened to be a rapacious carnivore, fiercely territorial and prone to short-term thinking.

We humans can be so destructive that some scientists believe we've now triggered a mass extinction - one that in several hundred years will rival the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs.

In some places, a mass extinction is already under way. Haiti, a "hotspot" for plant and animal diversity, may be closest to ecological collapse.

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