Millions of years ago, the planet was warmer than it is now. There weren't polar ice caps and North America was a tropical forest. But after several hundred thousand years of global cooling, the climate in North America changed and reptiles and amphibians underwent changes (in most cases becoming smaller) or they perished.   Mammals were relatively unchanged because of a mammal's ability to regulate its own body temperature.  This is an interesting article and points out that we don't know what the correct temperature for our planet is, so how can we know that the warming trend now is bad?

There is a link in this article to facts about global warming.  The debate rages on. And I will continue to follow it with interest and concern and in the meantime try to do my part to be more planet friendly.

There are researchers that are using new technology to transform a volcano's behavior into sound waves. They say that different melodies represent various stages of volcanic activity and they are hoping to detect which melody leads to volcanic eruptions.  Watch out Beethoven...move over Mozart, there's a new composer in town!

Am I the only one that didn't know that what I learned about the tongue when I was in school was incorrect?  Please, say it isn't so? Well, it probably isn't so since today's textbooks still show the map of the taste buds the way they were set up 100 years ago and that was incorrect! Read more for the truth about our tastebuds and stop the ignorance!

If you watch Star Trek, you are well aware of the Borg and how they strive for perfection by blending organic components with mechanical ones.  They are pretty terrifying as they take over ever species they run into and bring them into the 'collective' where everyone becomes a drone (except the Queen) and they all share one consciousness.  Their tag line is, "Resistance is Futile!" 

Well, now some scientists have yoked bacteria to power rotary motors. These are the first microscopic mechanical devices to successfully incoporate living microbes together with inorganic parts.

 

Uh-oh...this is the third article I have seen today that reminds me of science fiction that I have seen...does this mean I watch too much tv?

Wow...how's that for a title? Just a few posts ago, I was talking about science fiction becomes fact. Here are some people who are working on inventing a portable way for blind people to 'see' where they are going! If you ever watched Star Trek The Next Generation you are familiar with Jordi LeForge and his eye visor that helped him perceive things around him. He was the chief engineer!

Well, now we are beginning our journey towards that eventuality. Way to go guys! Keep up the good work!

I don't know if you have seen the Jim Carrey movie called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  It is supposed to be a comedy according to the movie poster, but is really pretty sad and has some interesting science fiction in it. There is a procedure people can undergo to erase their memories when their relationships turn sour. A similar feat is seen in Total Recall with Arnold Schwarzenegger.  In this movie, one of the neat things is that if you want to take a vacation to Mars, and you don't have the money to go, they can implant you with the memories so you will feel like you have been there (they can even provide someone for you to meet or put you in the role of a spy, etc).

At any rate, we all know that science fiction often ends up becoming reality (after all, we all know our cell phones resemble early Star Trek communicators).  Scientists have long been trying to understand the hippocampus and how memories can be augmented (for example in diseases that affect memory, like Alzheimer's).  Well, they have made a tremendous breakthrough by being able to erase memories in rat brains (now don't get too upset for the rats, the lost memories can be replaced by new memories and short-term memory is not affected). They did this by inhibiting synaptic strengthening in the hippocampus.  For complete understanding, here is the link to the rest of the article.

Now, I ask you, which vacation trip do you want implanted? And what memories do you want erased?

One of my favorite sites to visit is www.livescience.com. They have tons of interesting information there and they have recently started a new column called Life's Little Mysteries. Do you want to know how they decaffeinate coffee? How about why detectives are called 'private eyes?' Maybe you wonder why we have State Fairs? These and many other fascinating answers can be found at Life's Little Mysteries.

Caution...this site is full of fascinating information and links. Go prepared to spend some time, to learn some things and there is even a link you can click on to ask your own questions! Okay, you've been warned

I have heard of pets that you have to make provisions in your will for due to their longevity (some birds, alligator snapping turtles...), but I didn't realize there are scientifc experiments that have been in progress for 100 years or more. The pitch drop experiment is one such example.

When he set up the pitch drop experiment at Australia's University of Queensland in 1927, physicist Thomas Parnell had to know he would expire long before his test did. Examining the viscosity of the tar-like substance by the speed at which it flows from a funnel into a jar, the experiment has seen just eight drops fall in the eight decades since it began.

 

Parnell died in 1948, just two drops in.

 

Now these are some dedicated scientists! Read the rest of the article for some great links and more information on other long running experiments!

I  honestly don't know if amoebas have blood flow. My thoughts would be no, but I don't want to state it as fact. I do know that I have long heard the saying that "blood is thicker than water" meaning that people will stick by blood relatives before they will stick by anyone else. Well, it turns out that even the simplest creature, the amoeba, will turn to family in times of trouble and will sacrifice themselves for other family members! So assuming that a single-cell organism doesn't have a circulatory system (where would it have room for it?), then I think the saying needs to be changed..."Family Ties are Stronger than Friendships"...hmmm, not quite as catchy is it? Feel free to make your own suggestions!

I read this interesting article with mixed emotions. I can see the good applications for such a discovery, but I also have concerns.

There is thought that if they could find testicles of Wooly Mammoths that it is possible to revive the species or to at least produce a hybrid. This is the thought that concerns me. Yes, it would be fascinating to see a Wooly Mammoth, but do they belong in this time. Does this put us too close to the trap of  'playing God'? Everything they know about Wooly Mammoths is based on archaeological finds, these may or may not be accurate. Mammoths may be too dangerous to humans and today's environment to be alive now.  I really believe we need to be careful about reintroducing extinct species. Already, we see evidence of how things can go wrong when species are introduced into foreign environments (pythons in the Everglades for example). 

On the other side, if this would give us a way to keep alive species that are currently dying out that would be terrific. As they do belong to this time and climate and it would be nice if our science could undo some of the damage we have done.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts.

Recently, Game Master brought home a book on unusual things that people are able to do. One of them was walking on fire. He and I both agreed that we weren't too keen on trying it, but after reading this article about a physics professor who walks on fire regularly and learning more about how it is accomplished, I might be willing to give it a try!

Don't you hate it when you go to the store, pick what looks to be the perfect peach or tomato, you bring it home, cut into it and discover it is not ripe! Or that it is too ripe!  Well, a University of Arizona professor has created a RediRipe sticker that will be available to growers this coming year and we should see in the stores on our fruits in a couple of years.  These stickers measure the amount of ethylene gas which is released as fruits ripen. They will become darker and darker blue as the fruit gets riper and riper! What will they think of next?

In April I blogged about the fault line in Kentucky that could bring disastrous consequences to the Eastern third of the country.

Today, a new article caught my eye. The good news, it may be hundreds of years before the New Madrid Fault rumbles again. The bad news, there may be other sleeping faults that we are not even aware of.

A bacteria known as Ralstonia metallidurans may play a key role in creating gold nuggets and grains. You have to read this article for the rest of the story, it's fascinating! But I warn you, infusing your backyard with these bacteria will not produce gold nuggets, unless gold already exists there! 

I realize that man has had an impact on the earth and that all of our factories and car emissions cause the temperature to rise (I would really like a cooling trend with more snow, but I don't always get what I want).

At any rate, a finding of elephant seals in an area where they would not be without much warmer conditions points to the fact that the earth has natural warming and cooling cycles. For more information, read the article. It is interesting!

Earlier this month on June 3rd, this lovely rainbow was seen in Idaho. I had seen this picture before, but National Geographic explains how it occurred. So for your educational enhancement, I am posting it here for you to read and learn.

June 19, 2006—It looks like a rainbow that's been set on fire, but this phenomenon is as cold as ice.

 

Known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc, this rare sight was caught on film on June 3 as it hung over northern Idaho near the Washington State border (map of Idaho).

The arc isn't a rainbow in the traditional sense—it is caused by light passing through wispy, high-altitude cirrus clouds. The sight occurs only when the sun is very high in the sky (more than 58° above the horizon). What's more, the hexagonal ice crystals that make up cirrus clouds must be shaped like thick plates with their faces parallel to the ground.

 

When light enters through a vertical side face of such an ice crystal and leaves from the bottom face, it refracts, or bends, in the same way that light passes through a prism. If a cirrus's crystals are aligned just right, the whole cloud lights up in a spectrum of colors.

 

This particular arc spanned several hundred square miles of sky and lasted for about an hour, according to the London Daily Mail.

 

—Victoria Gilman  

When I think of Bigfoot, or Sasquatch as I prefer to call him, I think of the Pacific Northwest. But it turns out that there have been Bigfoot sightings in every state of the union except for Hawaii.

I have always been fascinated with things like the Bermuda Triangle, Sasquatch, The Loch Ness Monster, and UFO's. I love a good mystery and this also helps me remember that as much as we know...there is soooooooo much we don't know.

Be sure to check out the interesting article and embedded in the article a video on this mysterious biped we call Bigfoot!

I ran across this interesting article that discusses some reasons why women outlive men. It is a phenomenon found across species, not just among humans.  Now I know most men would say it is because we nag them to death! I have also heard that women live longer because they tend to let their emotions show and don't try to bottle things up inside. Maybe it is God's way of making up for the pain of childbirth and with the pains of raising children and husband;)

At any rate, this article feels that males engage in riskier behavior mostly to attract females or to maintain their role as top dog...er..human.  And even though our life expectancies are longer now, and they don't have to do the same daring things they used to do to grab a gal's attention, their immunity system is genetically not as good as ours, because over the years, they haven't lived as long as us.

Interesting to think about.

Yahoo! Some scientists are working on the genetics of grass to develop grass that grows very little and stays green all the time! Did I ever mention that scientists were my heros???

A 20 day study took place last month in one of the most mysterious places on earth. I have always been fasicnated with the plane and boat disappearances in the Bermuda triangle. Well, now they are finding life there never before seen anywhere else!

Go here for the complete article! And go here to see some lovely photos not only of these findings, but other neat natural phenomenon!

I grew up with two parents working for the Nuclear Power Industry. It began being Babcock and Wilcox, then McDermott, then Framtome, now Areva (and I probably forgot a name change or two in their somewhere).  So I grew up with a bit of a different perspective on Nuclear Power than many. I still think Nuclear Power is a viable option for energy. The safe guards are numerous, the plants security would make Fort Knox look like a child's piggy bank in comparison, and we all know that oil is going to run out. It is just a matter of time.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl explosion. This explosion released 400 times more radiation into the atmosphere than the bomb at Hiroshima.  People died, there is a huge area that people are told to stay out of without special permission. The other night, I watched a news reporter who was there five minutes, and said, it is now time to leave as he looked at his radiation monitor.  Here are a few photos of what it looks like now in Chernobyl.

But, live does survive in this radiation filled land.  No, Mothra and Godzilla haven't been seen, but wildlife does roam the otherwise empty streets and some species are doing better now that man is no longer around, even though radiation fills the air. However, some scientists are not very optimistic about this seeming surge in wildlife.   Only time will tell whether we can call this the silver lining of a cloud or not.

And for more information on Nuclear Power, you might want to check out the April 2006 edition of National Geographic or visit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Website. They even have a student/teacher section, which can help us non technical people to get a better understanding of nuclear power.

When we think of Earthquakes in the United States, we mostly think of California. However, California is prepared with reinforced buildings, awareness and they have the saving grace of more fluid soil that helps dissipate the shock waves.

But sleeping in the middle of the country, surrounded by granite and other hard rocks is the New Madrid Fault. The last big shake from it occurred in 1811-1812.  And was felt all the way to  Massachusetts! This if from a fault that runs through Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee! 

Now there is not a lot we can do about this, and maybe you have enough things to have nightmares over already, but I was stunned to find out about this a few years ago when I read a novel which I have been trying to find this morning to tell you the name...10.2 or 10.4 or something like that. At any rate, like any good disaster movie, it tells what happens when this monster hits. 

But without the novel, reality is scary enough and here is the link to the article where scientists are warning that the clock is ticking.

A couple of weeks ago DH and I were surfing through the channels and came across a underwear makeover show! There were three women who were getting advice on how to improve their underwear purchases to make themselves look better. There was a lot of conversation about how to determine the correct bra size and not one of these ladies was wearing the bra for her. If you are interested in getting information on how to do measurements, go here. BTW, the reason we stopped to watch this show is that with the weight I have lost, my bras were becoming uncomfortable and I was looking for tips.

Sooo..today I enjoyed reading an article on the physics of bras. I had never really thought about it, but do you know that scientists aren't sure why women's breasts develop the way they do...we are unlike all other mammals who only have breasts when lactating.  I would be happy to tell them it is God's grand design, but I don't think they want to hear that.

Anyway...as we grow larger (weigh more) our breasts also weigh more. A woman who wears size D cup, is carrying around 15-23 pounds in front of them! WOW!  As breast size increases across the population, women are clamoring for better bras! And rightfully so, I might add!  There are some researchers using sophisticated technology trying to help. Read here for the rest of the article!

A giant turkey-like dinosaur has been found in Utah.  At approximately 7 foot tall, the drumstick could have been shared by the whole family!

"Only fragments of the animal were discovered—a fearsomely clawed hand and foot. But the dinosaur probably stood seven feet (two meters) tall and ran as fast as an ostrich, according to paleontologists Lindsay Zanno and Scott Sampson. "

Read here for the rest of the article.

Technology and Photography come together in this interesting National Geographic Video to tell us something about the T-rex and it's eating habits!