Clipmarks | Big science Clips

High-Speed Crash Makes Hot, 'Sterile' Galaxies

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:37:46 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Oct. 9, 2008 -- A new wider view of two very well-known galaxies has revealed a big surprise: They are connected by faint, starless filaments of hydrogen gas which trace back to a very high-speed intergalactic collision.

The smash-up between galaxies M86 and NGC4438 not been suspected before, and may explain why M86, which is visible to the naked eye, is unable to give birth to new stars.

Tags: space, universe, galaxies, science

Geek Store

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:54:08 GMT

clipped by: alexandrina
clipper's remarks: The strange part is that the scroll wheel works and the right mouse button will bring up the normal right click menu that you would get when you right click on the desktop.

Clip Source: news.cnet.com

Verizon bets big on network infrastructure

Tags: science

Artist Builds Temple of Science

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:25:58 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

At a time when the gulf between religion and science is growing ever greater, an artist has erected a temple for scientific worship.

Jonathon Keats, designer of the petri dish God, built The Atheon to get people thinking about what a scientific religion (or religious science?) would look and feel like.

Keats' conception of that idea took shape as a two-story building complete with stained-glass windows patterned after cosmic microwave background radiation and a liturgy based on the sounds of the Big Bang. The Atheon opened Sept. 27 at the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, California.

But, could science replace religion?

The question has intrigued both rationalists frustrated at the persistence of what they see as superstitious dogma, and religious believers — as well as all-purpose skeptics — unwilling to promote science, with its mixed and messy history, to a position of absolute authority.

Tags: science, art, religion

"People have found other ways to be cooperative – without God."

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:39:27 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: The study also points out that in today's world religion has no monopoly on kind and generous behaviour. In many findings, non-believers acted as prosocially as believers. The last several hundred years has seen the rise of non-religious institutional mechanisms that include effective policing, courts and social surveillance.

Very interesting read, on the social function of god.
maybe we can say that JC, Moses and the like are history social workers

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Religion Makes People Helpful And Generous -- Under Certain Conditions

"The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality" appears in the October 3, 2008 issue of the journal Science.

explore how religion, by encouraging cooperation, became a factor in making possible the rise of large and stable societies made of genetically unrelated individuals.

The investigators found complementary results across the disciplines:

Empirical data within anthropology suggests there is more cooperation among religious societies than the non-religious, especially when group survival is under threat

Economic experiments indicate that religiosity increases levels of trust among participants

Psychology experiments show that thoughts of an omniscient, morally concerned God reduce levels of cheating and selfish behaviour

notion of an all-powerful, morally concerned "Big God" usually begat "Big groups" –large-scale, stable societies that successfully passed on their cultural beliefs.

Tags: religion, society, cooperation

Sowing the seas

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:37:00 GMT

clipped by: infopunk
clipper's remarks: The Independent recognized Carl Hodges of the Seawater Foundation as one of the top environmentalists in 2007.

Clip Source: www.seawaterfoundation.org

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Atmospheric physicist Carl Hodges founded the Seawater Foundation in 1977 in an attempt to alleviate some of the world's most complex ecological problems. Hodges' unique approach draws seawater inland, irrigating otherwise barren coastal desert regions and turning them green.

Clip Source: www.seawaterfoundation.org

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

The results are spectacular, with seawater-tolerant plants (including the biofuel crop salicornia) providing a new home for wildlife as well as creating food, jobs and prosperity for previously poverty-stricken areas. In Eritrea, Africa, the Seawater Foundation has created the world's first integrated sea farm for shrimp, fish and halophytes covering over 1000 hectares.

Clip Source: www.eritreaembassy.co.za

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

CNN: What did you learn from the sea farm venture you set up in Eritrea in 1999?

The thing I learned that was most strong was what people really need is purpose and hope...and the sea.

CNN: This is a big vision. Just how realistic is your solution?

CH: I think 100%.

We started sea water agriculture.

Clip Source: www.seawaterfoundation.org

Seawater Farming

e interviews

Tags: science, environment, technology, seawater, ecology

Telling A 15 Billion Year Story In 3 1/2 Minutes

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:54:09 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: www.ponderabout.com

in the video below, astronomer Carl Sagan, traces events

from the time of the Big Bang to the formation of Life

and he manages to do so, with his brand of poetry,

in only 3 1/2 minutes

[Video]

the above is an excerpt from Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,

first broadcast by in 1980, the 13-episode Cosmos was

American public television's most watched series

it remained so for a decade, and today is regarded

as one of the all time geat science documentaries

Tags: cosmology, carl sagan, big bang, history

Couric Hides Embarrassing Palin Tape

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:05:27 GMT

clipped by: spirithiker
clipper's remarks: CBS is getting a little too cozy with Republican candidates in exchange for exclusivity.

This goes against journalistic ethics and just plain good common sense.

There have been several other signs of favoritism by Couric and CBS towards the McCain campaign which smacks of CBS becoming a media machine for the Republican party.

Palin is reported to be unable to name another Supreme Court ruling aside from Roe v Wade; and she floundered on simple American political history questions taught to middle school students.

The fact that Palin somehow graduated from University of Idaho with a minor in political science makes these flounderings and blunders unacceptable as a Vice Presidential candidate. The Republican Party should hang its head in shame.

I wonder how she would do on the TV show "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?"

Clip Source: www.bluetidalwave.com

In Monday's column from Howard Kurtz about Sarah Palin's disastrous interview with Katie Couric, he mentions more embarrassing footage of Palin was not released by CBS

"And the worst may be yet to come for Palin; sources say CBS has two more responses on tape that will likely prove embarrassing

CBS Evening News insiders say the censoring of the Palin interview was orchestrated by CBS News heads and Couric in an effort to show the McCain campaign that they should choose the struggling nightly news program for their exclusive interviews

With the McCain campaign's public crusade against NBC and MSNBC, CBS and Couric saw an opening to shore up her last place ratings among the big three nightly news programs. Speculation had swirled for months around Couric's future as a news anchor.

This summer CBS News was caught editing an interview with John McCain to correct his wrong answers to questions posed by Couric over the basic facts of the surge.

Tags: politics

R4R - Resources for Rethinking

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:15:08 GMT

clipped by: egsnyder
clipper's remarks: Nice collection of useful resources... not just useful for teachers.

Clip Source: www.resources4rethinking.ca

The Resources for Rethinking database provides teachers with access to materials that integrate ecological, social and economic spheres through active, relevant, interdisciplinary learning.

Tags: environment, rethinking

Text RSS on PSP?

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:54:03 GMT

clipped by: teacherstevenson
clipper's remarks: If true, the text RSS feature could allow for greater intergration of news, weather and 'this day in...' updates. History Teachers could have students update the RSS feed so they can find out and discuss events in the past that occured in that day in History. History teachers might use the information to spark off debate or as a opening to a lesson. There are many This Day in... sites for all sorts of topics ranging from Maths to Science. I will definately be exploring the possibilities when this comes to pass.

The screen capture could be a great asset to a teacher trying to sell the idea of PSP use in the classroom, as they could show actual usage alongside proposals.

Clip Source: www.pspfanboy.com

Rumor: Firmware 5.0 = PS Store, new RSS, screen capture

Posted Sep 30th 2008 6:30PM by Majed Athab
Filed under: Downloads

It wasn't too long ago that firmware 4.0 (and higher) dropped on our laps, and we're already hearing about the next major revision to hit the handheld: the big five-o. The word on the street (and by street we mean French website PSPGen) is that firmware 5.0 is currently in the hands of an unknown French dev studio and it will include several key features such as that direct-to-PS Store functionality we've heard so much about.

Other features like a revamped RSS reader would (*gasp*) be able to read text files. The inclusion of a screen capture tool echoes another rumor which is also said to be available in the upcoming PS3 Firmware 2.5. Regarding this, parallel development for screen grabs does seem to make a whole lot of sense.

[Via PSPWorld]

Tags: psp firmware, psp, pspteacher

Artist Builds Temple of Science

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:17:40 GMT

clipped by: einbar

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Artist Builds Temple of Science

At a time when the gulf between religion and science is growing ever greater, an artist has erected a temple for scientific worship

Jonathon Keats, designer of the petri dish God, built The Atheon to get people thinking about what a scientific religion (or religious science?)

Wired.com: Do you actually take the worship of the science seriously, or is it a parody?

he just wants to give people a chance to think. In December, he'll host a public discussion at the Atheon, with people invited to bring their own models.

I'm much more attracted to science for its questioning quality, and this overlaps with a respect for mystery in religion

Atomic Prose

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:46:10 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "On the whole, the best writing about physics for a general audience seems to come from physicists, not journalists. This isn't due to the fact that physicists understand the subject matter better—if anything, people who spend all day in the lab are often the worst at explaining the big picture. Rather, they're better at writing about physics because they don't try so hard to make you care. They don't believe their readers must be seduced with colorful wordplay or end-of-the-world melodramas. Journalists writing popular treatments of subatomic physics could take a lesson from the scientists: Tell it straight and have a little faith that the subject matter itself—a major advance in our understanding of the cosmos—can generate its own wonder and excitement".

Clip Source: www.slate.com

Why can't science journalists just tell it like it is when it comes to particle physics?

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg once summed up his feeling about people who saw evidence of the divine in the laws of physics like so: "I don't know why they use words like 'designer' or 'God,' except perhaps as a form of protective coloration."

God was mostly off the table in recent weeks—except in His particle form—as the Large Hadron Collider revved up for a massive series of experiments in subatomic physics. But among science journalists, there was plenty of protective coloration of another variety. Much of the prose from the hundreds of stories heralding the event arced decidedly toward the purple.

CNN, would provide scientists the opportunity for a "religious experience"; the BBC agreed, pointing out helpfully that "scientific study is often mundane but can occasionally slip into the ecstatic."

flowing toward oblivion

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:52:38 GMT

clipped by: doodleicious
clipper's remarks: wow

Clip Source: sciencenow.sciencemag.org

Flowing Toward Oblivion?

By Phil Berardelli
ScienceNOW Daily News
26 September 2008

Shortly after the big bang occurred some 13.7 billion years ago, cosmologists think, the universe underwent a brief period that defied current physical laws. The theory goes that during this time, called inflation, space itself expanded at a rate much, much faster than the speed of light. As a result, some of the matter formed with the big bang was pulled more than 13.7 billion light-years away--so far that its light hasn't reached us yet. As a result, that matter can't be observed--or at least, so cosmologists thought.

Flowin' out? Hundreds of galaxy clusters are rapidly moving toward one specific part of the sky (purple egg).

Tags: astronomy

Diatoms - The Glass Forest

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:31:49 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: www.sciencemag.org

Diatoms are tiny creatures, but they playa big role in creating breathable air; they produce as much as 40% of the world's oxygen. They can also possess an ethereal beauty, as the winning entry, "The Glass Forest" by Mario De Stefano of The Second University of Naples, Italy, shows. De Stefano used a scanning electron microscope to capture these images of the diatom Licmophora ehrenbergii from the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Italy.

The title refers to the fact that diatoms are unique in using silica to build their cell walls and to the interactions between the diatom and its host, which echo the interplay of a forest. Each green, triangle-shaped diatom measures about 30 micrometers across. There are about 100,000 species of diatoms, the largest of which can reach up to 2 millimeters in length.

Clip Source: www.sciencemag.org

Tags: photography, science

Dark Flow

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:13:21 GMT

clipped by: motrous
clipper's remarks: God damn I love unfathomable science

Clip Source: richarddawkins.net

Mysterious New 'Dark Flow' Discovered in Space

By Clara Moskowitz

Patches of matter in the universe seem to be moving at very high speeds and in a uniform direction that can't be explained by any of the known gravitational forces in the observable universe. Astronomers are calling the phenomenon "dark flow."

The stuff that's pulling this matter must be outside the observable universe, researchers conclude.

When scientists talk about the observable universe, they don't just mean as far out as the eye, or even the most powerful telescope, can see.

The universe is thought to have formed about 13.7 billion years ago. So even if light started travelling toward us immediately after the Big Bang, the farthest it could ever get is 13.7 billion light-years in distance. There may be parts of the universe that are farther away (we can't know how big the whole universe is), but we can't see farther than light could travel over the entire age of the universe.

Tags: science, dark flow, astronomy

RFK Jr. on Palin's Big Oil infatuation

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:58:15 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Now John McCain has chosen as his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a diligent student of Big Oil's crib sheets. She's something of a flat-earther who shares the current administration's contempt for science. Palin has expressed skepticism about evolution (which is like not believing in gravity), putting it on par with "creationism," which posits that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago.

She used to insist that human activities have nothing to do with climate change. "I'm not one ... who would attribute it to being man-made," she said in August. After she joined the GOP ticket, she magically reversed herself, to a point. "Man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming," she told Charles Gibson two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Alaska is melting before our eyes; entire villages erode as sea ice vanishes, glaciers are disappearing at a frightening clip, and "dancing forests" caused by disappearing permafrost astonish residents and tourists. Palin had to

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil and its carbon cronies continue to pour money into think tanks whose purpose is to deceive the American public into believing that global warming is a fantasy. In 1998, these companies plotted to deceive American citizens about climate science. Their goal, according to a meeting memo, was to orchestrate information so that "recognition of uncertainties become part of the conventional wisdom" and that "those promoting the Kyoto treaty ... appear to be out of touch with reality."

Since that meeting, Exxon has funneled $23 million into the climate-denial industry, according to Greenpeace, which combs the company's annual report each year. Since 2006, Exxon has cut off some of the worst offenders, but 28 climate-denial groups will still get funding this year.

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, John Stossel and Glenn Beck -- to shamelessly mouth skepticism about man-made climate change and give political cover to the oil industry's indentured servants on Capitol Hill.