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Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts

Breeding animals for violence and domesticity

Interesting article (and great photo gallery) at National Geographic about scientists breeding rats and foxes for violence and domesticity. (That's a angry rat, above.)

Portal 2 images/spoilers

The ARG seems to be a bit of a dud unless there's a true surprise waiting, but the game's tremendous. It has a strong feel of Bioshock, if Bioshock had a sense of humor (I hope someone puts together a video highlighting the dialog). Here's a few signs and other moments from Portal 2.

Safety first.

Test warning.

Repulsion gel.

Press to open.

In case of implosion, look directly at implosion. (Because implosions are awesome.)

GLaDOS emergency shutdown and cake dispensary.

Potatoes actually play a fairly large role in the game. Is it too late to make my son's science project a potato battery?

*Portal 2 is $35 at Amazon.

This hologram of a magnifying glass is awesome

Check out these holograms of a telescope and magnifying glass - - they seem to actually function/magnify. Via.

*Buy comics with hologram covers at eBay.

Albert Funkenstein and the Scientific Method

Today's $10 plus shipping Tee Fury t-shirt features Albert Funkenstein and the Scientific Method by miderock. But I prefer the seal by itself, which is available as sticker in miderock's RedBubble store:

Here's what happens when you fill an ant colony with concrete

Here's what happens when you fill an ant colony with concrete and then excavate the results. Apparently the segments is from this longer film about ants:

Via.

*Buy ant farms at Amazon.

Astronomer nesting dolls

Astronomer nesting dolls by Nate Bellegarde.

*Buy nesting dolls at eBay.

Inventables

Inventables calls itself the "the innovator’s hardware store":

We sell materials that designers, artists, and inventors use to develop new products and push the boundaries of what's possible.

Below are just a few items on sale - - translucent concrete and wood, bendable wood, temperature-sensitive color-change fabric, and photoluminescent tape:

It's all about picking gold coins up off the floor

Have you heard of algorithmic trading? Wikipedia explains:

In electronic financial markets, algorithmic trading or automated trading, also known as algo trading, black-box trading or robo trading, is the use of computer programs for entering trading orders with the computer algorithm deciding on aspects of the order such as the timing, price, or quantity of the order, or in many cases initiating the order without human intervention.

Speed is extremely important in such trading. The computer has to execute the trade at the right moment. "It's all about picking gold coins up off the floor - - only the fastest person is going to get the coins."

Spread Networks decided to stretch a fiber-cable between Chicago and New York to facilitate such trades, and since speed was the primary concern, the company spent (according to Forbes's estimate) $300 million to build the 825-mile route as straight as possible. Information travels 3 milliseconds quicker than the previous fastest route. Spread Networks built the line as quickly and quietly as possible to frustrate any competitors, and at one point had 125 construction crews working at the same time.

Video game where you control living organisms

"Stanford physicist Ingmar Riedel-Kruse has begun developing 'biotic games' involving paramecia and other living organisms. He hopes the games lead to advances in education and crowd-sourcing of laboratory research while helping to raise the level of public discourse on bio-related issues." Basically, the organisms are under magnification, and some sort of video game like screen is superimposed over the magnification. You control the game with a control pad that initiates releases electrical fields, which in turn make the organisms move. (If I understood it right.)

Creepy.

Via.

Video game where you control living organisms

Cyborg seal

Scientists are mapping the ocean floor in Antarctica by gluing sensors onto seals' heads.

*Buy mad scientist costumes at Amazon.

Inside the Outbreaks

Inside the Outbreaks: The Elite Medical Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service by Mark Pendergast:

Since its founding in 1951, the Epidemic Intelligence Service has waged war on every imaginable ailment. When an epidemic hits, the EIS will be there to crack the case, however mysterious or deadly, saving countless lives in the process. Over the years they have successfully battled polio, cholera, and smallpox, to name a few, and in recent years have turned to the epidemics killing us now--smoking, obesity, and gun violence among them.

The successful EIS model has spread internationally: former EIS officers on the staff of the Centers for Disease Control have helped to establish nearly thirty similar programs around the world. EIS veterans have gone on to become leaders in the world of public health in organizations such as the World Health Organization.Inside the Outbreaks takes readers on a riveting journey through the history of this remarkable organization, following Epidemic Intelligence Service officers on their globetrotting quest to eliminate the most lethal and widespread threats to the world's health.

Here's a positive review. The book is available at Amazon.

Windmills are scary

Horror movie-style teaser trailer for Windfall, a movie about the drawbacks of wind turbines. Via.

*Buy The Filmmaker's Book of the Dead: How to Make Your Own Heart-Racing Horror Movie at Amazon.

NASA joins Flickr's Commons

From the old to the new, NASA has added 180 photos to Flickr's Commons.

Full Description:

Dr. Robert H. Goddard observes the launch site from his launch control shack while standing by the firing control panel. From here he can fire, release, or stop testing if firing was unsatisfactory. The sandbags on the roof provide protection against possible accident.

Description:

A radio controlled model aircraft, acting as a miniature mothership, carries aloft a model of the X-33. Dryden engineer R. Dale Reed began using model drop tests in the early 1960s to test different lifting body shapes. This included the first tests of the M2-F1, and later the M2-F2, Hyper III, and X-38 designs. The X-33 model is mounted under the Mothership's right boom. After reaching the desired altitude, the X-33 model was released and glided back to a landing.

*Buy NASA patches at eBay.

Link roundup

1. The cost of helium to skyrocket?

2. A few great scans from Spider-Man manga by Ryoichi Ikegami. Via.

3. Bees turn a glass jar into a honeycomb. Via.

*Buy Spider-Man manga ta Amazon.

15 Most Wonderful Science Tattoos

The Tree of Life–carbon, glucose, light, DNA, and the golden rectangle

The Moon

Tesla – electric magnetic motor

LCD redux

The tree of life

Neuron

Jellyfish

Various stages of human evolution around a take of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian man

The blue atomic symbol

Illustration of DNA

The Five Kingdoms

Evolution

The Pioneer Plaque

Macroscope

12 health lies Cool cigarette ads

Mom, maybe you’d better light up a Marlboro

Hey, you. Yes, you. Look look like a real cool dude. Not a square! Squares just don’t understand what it’s like to be in the know and walk loose. That’s why you smoke. And you just don’t smoke any brand of tobacco, you smoke the kind your doctor recommends: Chestermarlbocamel. This three in one blend brings together the spirit of 1950s carte blanche advertising and throat cancer all under one filter. So go ahead, take a drag. You deserve it.
As Your Dentist I Would Recommend Viceroys