Bloggerific Bloggification -- A Blog: March 2006

Life waxes and wanes with bobbing of the Solar System

New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - Life waxes and wanes with bobbing of the Solar System

I've been pondering these periodic extinctions (that occur roughly every 60 million years) for about 25 years .. and this is the best explanation I have ever heard ....

Companies unveil online data storage item

AP Wire | 03/30/2006 | Companies unveil online data storage item

A very needed concept, with several different players moving in, with different takes on the subject ..

Study: Himalayas Far Older than Thought

Discovery Channel :: News :: Study: Himalayas Far Older than Thought

Looks like parts of the Himalayas, might be 10 - 20 times older than conventional wisdom states ....

Bacteria Make Styrofoam Earth-Friendly

Discovery Channel :: News : Bacteria Make Styrofoam Earth-Friendly

Feeding bacteria plastic to make 100% biodegradeable plastic ...

Clues to immune system in a possum's pouch

Clues to immune system in a possum's pouch - National - smh.com.au

Because the Opossum's genome is to be decoded in the year 2006 ... I think we Southerners should take a page from the Chinese, and officially declare 2006 to be ...
... THE YEAR OF THE OPOSSUM ..... :)

Oz duckbills, but US dollar bills

Oz duckbills, but US dollar bills - National - smh.com.au

Lengthy, but quite interesting article ...

I'm quite eager to see what scientists discover, when the full genome for this little creature is revealed. It is probably going to tell us quite a bit about the relationships among various species.

Strawberries by design

Strawberries by design

I knew that increased ploidy, was usually a good thing in plants, but I was unaware that commercial strawberries were actually octoploids ... :)
Let the James Bond comments begin ... ;-)

DNA breakthrough promises crispier and tastier apples

DNA breakthrough promises crispier and tastier apples

I do like a good Crisp apple myself .... :)

An Ointment in the Fly

An Ointment in the Fly -- Schirber 2006 (323): 2 -- ScienceNOW

It now appears that scientists have found the first animal, that uses RNA interference (RNAi) to destroy harmful viruses within itself. It is the lowly fruit fly, Drosophila Melanogaster ....
Since viruses mutate constantly to avoid body defenses .. the scientists were able to find the three main RNAi genes, by looking for sections in the DNA that were evolving the most rapidly. Actually, faster than 97% of the other fruit fly DNA.

Wine Grape Genome Sequence

Discovery Channel :: News :: Wine Grape Genome Sequence

I assume the guy from the movie Sideways is real excited about this ... ;-)

Comets Posing as Asteroids Might be Source of Earth's Water

SPACE.com -- Comets Posing as Asteroids Might be Source of Earth's Water

Poser Comets ... interesting ... ;-)

Personally, I wonder why, when the dust clumped together to form the Sun and the Earth ... there couldn't have been frozen water ice mixed in the dust grains, that migrated upward as pressures increased, and the iron and rock melted and migrated to the core. The magnetosphere would eventually form, and protect the atmosphere and trapped water vapor from being blown away by the solar wind ... water would condense and rain down on the lava-covered surface for eons. Why would you need a multitude of massive 10-mile wide comets crashing in, as the only scenario for ocean-building?

Scientists find skull of human ancestor

USATODAY.com - Scientists find skull of human ancestor

This cranium is between 250,000 and 500,000 years old ..

Scientists Hold Out Hope for Diabetes Cure

Scientists Hold Out Hope for Diabetes Cure - Forbes.com

We hold out hope too ...

More HERE.

Testicle cells may aid research

BBC NEWS | Health | Testicle cells may aid research

A less controversial source of stem cells perhaps ...

More HERE.

Rice lab gets a leg up on joint replacement

Chron.com | Rice lab gets a leg up on joint replacement

My joints feel better already ... :)

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter sends test images

USATODAY.com - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter sends test images

Sweet! .. Can't wait 'til November ...

Climate Model Predicts Greater Melting, Submerged Cities

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Climate Model Predicts Greater Melting, Submerged Cities

This could also greatly affect London, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, etc. ...

'Sterile' neutrinos may solve cosmic conundrums

New Scientist Breaking News - 'Sterile' neutrinos may solve cosmic conundrums

Could "sterile" neutrinos figure into the elusive dark matter? ... Stay tuned ...

Warbling Whales Speak a Language All Their Own

HHMI News: Warbling Whales Speak a Language All Their Own

Never heard whale song refered to, as "warbling" before ... :)

IBM researchers claim nanotube first

IBM researchers claim nanotube first | CNET News.com

Potentially, very interesting development ...

Stealth regulation: IRS plan to allow tax preparers to peddle income tax data if clients approve threatens Americans' privacy

Chron.com | Stealth regulation: IRS plan to allow tax preparers to peddle income tax data if clients approve threatens Americans' privacy

Tax preparers have been able to disclose your personal tax returns (if you signed consent) to affiliates for over 30 years. Now the IRS wants to change the law to drop the affiliate part. This will allow them to sell ENTIRE copies of your tax returns to different companies.

More HERE.

Samsung unveils 32GB Flash hard drive

Samsung unveils 32GB Flash hard drive - ZDNet UK News

I'm not yet ready to spend $1000 USD on a 32GB HD .. doubt I EVER will be ...

StopBadware.org's First Report Targets Kazaa

InformationWeek | Malware And Spyware | StopBadware.org's First Report Targets Kazaa | March 22, 2006

Fantastic! .. Now keep chopping away at them ...

Babies Can Learn Words as Early as 10 Months

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Babies Can Learn Words as Early as 10 Months

Intriguing ...

Gene discovery offers hope for eczema and asthma sufferers

The Australian: Gene discovery offers hope for eczema and asthma sufferers [March 21, 2006]

Hopefully, these gene discoveries will keep pouring in ....

Nano Technologists Demonstrate Artificial Muscles Powered By Highly Energetic Fuels

ScienceDaily: Nano Technologists Demonstrate Artificial Muscles Powered By Highly Energetic Fuels

Tons of applications for this ...

More details HERE.

Earth rocks could have taken life to Titan

New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - Earth rocks could have taken life to Titan

Interesting ... verifies an idea I've had for a while ...

Memorex First to Introduce Flash-based USB Storage Media Affordable Enough to Share

Memorex First to Introduce Flash-based USB Storage Media Affordable Enough to Share

... And for only about $6.66 USD a piece .. they are >>> SOME <<< kind of bargain .... ;-)
... Faustian, perhaps? .... :)

US spends its way to 28 Eiffel towers: made out of pure gold

America, United States, Times Online, The Times, Sunday Times

Hmmm ...

"A 330 mpg car for everyone"

"A 330 mpg car for everyone" - Autoblog

Definitely aerodynamic ...

It's Official: Intel Macs Running Windows

Today @ PC World - It's Official: Intel Macs Running Windows

Nice ...

Big Bang unfolded in the blink of an eye

USATODAY.com - Big Bang unfolded in the blink of an eye

Actually .. I seem to recall, the blink of an eye occurs in about 1/90th to 1/200th of a second .. say .. 1/100th for simplicity ... then this would mean that the Universe expanded to billions of light years across .. in .. >>> one-ten-billionth <<< of the blink of an eye ......... ;-) wink wink ...

From the article:
The findings indicate that the universe is vastly larger than the sphere — 13.7 billion light years in radius — that can be observed from Earth.
................
WMAP "is telling us that the universe is vastly bigger than we ever imagined — so big that we no longer have any reason to believe that our tiny patch of it is representative of the whole thing," said Stanford University physicist Leonard Susskind via e-mail.

"We, and all we can see, are at most a tiny dot in an unimaginably large sea of space and time," Susskind said.

More HERE.

Volunteer speaks of "horror" effects in drug trial

Volunteer speaks of "horror" effects in drug trial | 24dash.com - Health

Good Lord!! .... A new experimental drug, never before tried in humans, leads to massive inflamatory responses and a sequence of symptoms never before seen. The girlfriend of one of the six victims, says his head looks like the Elephant Man.
If this wasn't caused by human error, then this is extremely scary, as regards our current phased testing procedures.

More HERE. .... and HERE.

Saved by 'sand' poured into the wounds

New Scientist Technology - Saved by 'sand' poured into the wounds

Outstanding ...

Schmidt's Google Buys 3-D Tool Maker @Last Software

Schmidt's Google Buys 3-D Tool Maker @Last Software - Forbes.com

I hope this leads to some great free 3-D software, along the lines of their Picasa product! .. :)

More HERE.

Chinese claim world's first ultrasonic frog

Chinese claim world's first ultrasonic frog | The Register

Ribbit .. Can You Ultrasonically Hear Me Now? ... :)Ribbit........

Brown dwarfs weighed directly for first time

New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - Brown dwarfs weighed directly for first time

I'm all for more Rosetta Stones ....

Double helix nebula revealed near Milky Way's heart

New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - Double helix nebula revealed near Milky Way's heart

Didn't they already know the heart contains a multitude of double helices .... ;-)

'DNA origami' creates map of the Americas

New Scientist Breaking News - 'DNA origami' creates map of the Americas

I imagine this will lead to all sorts of innovations...

Chillies 'make cancer cells commit suicide'

Chillies 'make cancer cells commit suicide' | the Daily Mail

Bear in mind .. one should not Pepper-Spray one's prostrate .. should one? .... ;-)
Leave that to the professionals ...

More HERE.

Building Better Bones With Ice

Wired News:

Strong and lightweight ... good deal ....

Optic nerve regrown with a nanofibre scaffold

New Scientist Breaking News - Optic nerve regrown with a nanofibre scaffold

Promising technique ...

Super Earths Might Be Common

Universe Today - Super Earths Might Be Common

They estimate that there may be three times as many Super Earths, as there are gas giant planets.

Can you imagine a lush jungle-like Super Earth, with a circumference of say ... 50,000 to 80,000 miles? ...

The mind wobbles ... ;-) ... OK .. boggles, perhaps ..

Google Mars Launched

Google Mars Launched - Digital-Lifestyles.info

I'm sure this will improve drastically, with time ...

Click to go to Google Mars.

Comets 'are born of fire and ice'

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Comets 'are born of fire and ice'

So .. the magic question is: How did some of these dust grains --- that formed at temperatures of between 1800 and 3600 degrees Fahrenheit --- manage to get encapsulated within an icy comet ??

Were they melted by our newly formed sun? .. OR were they remnants from a sun that existed long before our sun formed?

More HERE.

NASA Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Mars

CBS News | NASA Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Mars

This bodes well, for some spectacular data ...

More HERE.

"Western Institute of Nanoelectronics Established"

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Western Institute of Nanoelectronics Established"

Spintronics ... here we come! ...

Rat-squirrel back after 11-million-year absence

CNN.com - Rat-squirrel back after 11-million-year absence - Mar 9, 2006

From the article:
"To reappear after 11 million years is more exciting than if the rodent really had been a new species", said George Schaller, a naturalist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which unveiled the creature's existence last year.

I have to agree ....

NASA Cassini Images of Enceladus Suggest Geysers Erupt Liquid Water at the Moon's South Pole

NASA Cassini Images of Enceladus Suggest Geysers Erupt Liquid Water at the Moon's South Pole | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

Water, water everywhere .....

Actually, if you tilt your head to the right, I think you can plainly see, that is an image of the HyperSonic Space Bull, out to battle Space Ghost ... ;-)

Largest Image Online: 86,400 x 43,200 Pixels

Largest Image Online: 86,400 x 43,200 Pixels @ Alice Hill�s Real Tech News - Independent Tech

Now THAT's my kind of picture! .. :) Print this 86,400 X 43,200 pixel image at 300 dpi ... and the resulting image is 24 by 12 ft.

Hairy, blind, blonde lobster discovered

Hairy, blind, blonde lobster discovered - The World - Breaking News 24/7 - NEWS.com.au

Yeti Lobster ... "Furry Lobster" sounds like something that B52's would sing about ... Amazing looking creature ....

Remains of World's Oldest Ships Found in Egypt

Remains of World's Oldest Ships Found in Egypt - Yahoo! News

Remarkable ...

Complexity causes 50% of product returns: scientist

Complexity causes 50% of product returns: scientist - Yahoo! News

As the population continues to age, ... this is going to become more of a problem ...

Jupiter opens a second red eye

New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - Jupiter opens a second red eye

As long as we don't start spotting black rectangles, ... we're OK ... ;-)

Vesuvius has been saving biggest bang for the future

Vesuvius has been saving biggest bang for the future - World - Times Online

Geologists have found evidence of eight different eruptions of Vesusvius. They happen about every 2000 to 3000 years, and it has been 2000 years since the last one. The one from 3800 years ago dropped ash and pumice, equivalent to four Mt. St. Helens eruptions....

More HERE. Nice Picture HERE.

Scan of Human Genome Reveals More than 700 Recently Evolving Genes

Newswise | Scan of Human Genome Reveals More than 700 Recently Evolving Genes

We're still trying to fit in ... niche-wise that is ... ;-)

Huge Crater Found in Egypt

SPACE.com -- Huge Crater Found in Egypt

Easy to see how erosion has disquised some of the more obvious crater features ....

Robotic 'pack mule' displays stunning reflexes

New Scientist Breaking News - Robotic 'pack mule' displays stunning reflexes

I'll never be your (robotic) beast of burden ..... ;-)

This picture reminds me of a spaceship from an Aliens-type movie. I keep thinking that it should be firing projectiles from the front end...

Supervolcano Raises Yellowstone, Fuels Geysers, Study Says

Supervolcano Raises Yellowstone, Fuels Geysers, Study Says

Scary to contemplate ...

Distributed computing cracks Enigma code

Distributed computing cracks Enigma code | Tech News on ZDNet

Wonderous how the "impossible" falls by the wayside, in less than the span of a human lifetime ...

Hubble spies Pinwheel galaxy in pin-sharp detail

Hubble spies Pinwheel galaxy in pin-sharp detail | The Register

Unprecedented detail, is almost an understatement ... 16,000 X 12,000 resolution! ... That would be a print, over 4 ft wide, at 300 dpi! ...

More HERE.

Bloggerific Bloggification -- A Blog

Friday, March 31, 2006