Science Extra Geeky Bits from David Bradley
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The latest science extra Geeky Bits news from Sciencebase's David Bradley. The most recent 30 days of news snippets, worthies and oddities, as well as other items of interest that didn't make it on to the Sciencebase Science Blog homepage because I was (a) too busy to do a full write-up (b) too lazy to do a full write-up (c) too bored to do a full write-up. Visit the Science Extra Geeky Bits Archive for all items posted during the last year.
- Pain-free injections - November 28, 2007 → When shooting up is not an option, an array of tiny pin pricks could deliver a drug
- Vacation logoff - November 27, 2007 → You might as well be in jail if you take your Blackberry or other comms device on vacation with you, according to Dov Eden, an organizational psychologist from Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Management.
- Eating Healthy? No you’re not! - November 26, 2007 → Some of those so-called healthy options, like low-fat salad dressing and nutritious oat bars, may be low in fat but often compensate by stacking up the simple carbs
- Cool underground data centre - November 23, 2007 → Sun Microsystems is lowering its BlackBox into a coal mine in Japan that will keep it cool, and save on energy.
- Terror suspect banned from science class - November 22, 2007 → An Iraqi national living in the UK has been banned from attending chemistry and biology classes because he might use information gleaned on the AS level course to commit terrorist acts. Of course, all of the content of the classes he would otherwise be taking is in the public domain.
- Rare Interview with Sciencebase’s David Bradley on RyanShamus.Com → Apparently, I’m ever so clever and friendly!
- Safe water and great blogs - November 20. 2007 → If I can read 100 blogs, which ones should I read to be most up to date? Finding the answer could keep drinking water safe from impurities, strangely enough
- Plasma antenna - November 19, 2007 → A radio antenna made of plasma (ionized gas) could be used in the battlefield without risk of detection once switched off. Also, perfect for hiding from TV detector vans if you haven’t paid your licence.
- Worm vulva hints at new evolutionary perspective - November 19, 2007 → Researchers have examined the copulatory organs of 50 species of roundworm and have concluded that evolution is not random, but deterministic. The finding is likely to drag the ID crowd between a rock and a hard place.
- Creating a buzz on the net - November 16, 2007 → According to new research, the swarm intelligence of honeybees can be adapted to improve the efficiency of Internet servers faced with similar challenges. A bee dance-inspired communications system developed by Georgia Tech helps Internet servers that would normally be devoted solely to one task move between tasks as needed, reducing the chances that a Web site could be overwhelmed with requests and lock out potential users and customers.
- Computational evolution - November 16, 2007 → 300 new genes discovered in a computer
- Surf dude’s GUT feeling - November 15, 2007 → Could a surfer have come up with an 8-dimensional mathematical theory of everything that pulls together all the forces of nature, including gravity, into a single model?
- What Makes This Blog Tick? - November 14, 2007 → A look behind the scenes at the plugins that keep Sciencebase running.
- Double slit hydrogen - November 13, 2007 → A new physics double slit experiment may bridge the gap between the everyday world of “solid” objects, such as hydrogen atoms and the wave-particle world of quantum mechanics
- Shrinking chips - November 12, 2007 → Hafnium-based silicon chips, on which I reported in Chemistry & Industry magazine earlier in the year have now been launched as the Penryn range of processors.
- DNA Lava lamp - November 12, 2007 → The $10 DNA duplicator is apparently with us and it runs on nothing but a couple of AA batteries, at least according to Globally Connected blog. I’m not any funding body will take you seriously if your project equipment costs come to less thatn $20 with a few spare batteries.
- Emergency response - November 12, 2007 → Researchers say federal and state support must be given to programs that prepare people for coming disasters.
- Emergency response - November 12, 2007 → Researchers say federal and state support must be given to programs that prepare people for coming disasters.
- Overweight And Obesity Cause 6,000 Cancers A Year In UK Women - November 10, 2007 → So, when did the word overweight change from being an adjective describing someone’s physical mass to a noun? Moreover, when does offering people a full English breakfast to raise awareness of cancer become a sensible charity concept…?
- Wired telekinesis - November 9, 2007 → People unable to move or control their limbs could benefit from new technology that taps into electrical signals from the brain to control a computer and thence robotic plugins. Once the system goes wireless such technology will provide enormous new freedoms.
- Nanotation, nano annotation - November 8, 2007 → American Chemical Society launches online forum for all things nano, linked up with ACS nano related journals
- Star Trek extras - November 8, 2007 → Not getting a date? Otherworldy looks? Peculariarly long neck or point ears? You could be perfect for the next generation of Star Trek extras. Producers of the new Star Trek movie are to hold an open casting session for people with “unique” features to appear as extras in the film. Auditions are Saturday 10, California
- Tiger, Tiger - November 6, 2007 → Has Science magazine been duped by a paper tiger in China? Nature blogger Andrew Sun is convinced the paper tiger doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny.
- Genes, breastfeeding, and IQ - November 6, 2007 → Unfortunate revelations for those of us who were not breast fed
- Warming Leads to Cooling - November 5, 2007 → New evidence suggests that global warming might lead to a reduction in heat-trapping cirrus clouds…leading to cooling…could Gaia be self-regulating truly?
- Surgeon butchered woman - November 2, 2007 → Dontcha just love the BBC? What a headline! You couldn’t not read on… Apparently, the woman wasn’t actually chopped into topside, sirloin and mince, but left with (admittedly) nasty, disfiguring scars following breast reconstructive surgery. Very unfortunate, of course, and the surgeon rightly faces a disciplinary hearing. But, “butchered”?
- Face Beats Phone, Beats IM, Beats Email - November 1, 2007 → Precendence is all in personal communication etiquette
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