HERE’S TO THE IGGIES!
IG NOBEL Prizes for 2013 have been announced. These annual honors are organized by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine and co-sponsored by the Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students and … Continue reading
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST (MAYBE)
EVERY SO often, even the blind pig finds a truffle. And so it is with this website. One way or the other, items in the past resonate with the latest news. … Continue reading
NEED ENERGY? MORE OIL? BETTER SOLAR?
TWO RECENT articles in Science magazine, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, give indications of energy research in two contrasting areas: How to form hydrocarbons; and … Continue reading
YOUR CHEATIN’ BUILDING
TALL BUILDINGS are evidently of the “guy” gender, because so many of them lie about their height. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (http://www.ctbuh.org) has reported that the … Continue reading
IDENTIFYING NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS
A GOAL of the B612 Foundation is to save the world. Named for asteroid B-612 in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s 1943 book The Little Prince, the B612 Foundation plans to do … Continue reading
NEW ARTISANS
LUDDITES FEARED technology would destroy their livelihoods 200 years ago. Today, some researchers claim that we may be losing the “race against the machine” yet again. However, others foresee a … Continue reading
FROM POND SCUM TO RICHES
THE IDEA of turning algae, a smart version of pond scum, into automotive fuel is a tantalizing one. In its production of synthetic hydrocarbons, the process can use non-arable land … Continue reading
WHY ANIMALS LINK UP
HUMANS AND some other mammals practice social monogamy; one guy, one gal, more or less for life. Researchers have done lots of work seeking clues about the evolutionary benefits of … Continue reading
ADAPTIVE OPTICS FROM THE PERSEIDS
ASTRONOMERS CAN benefit from air pollution—provided it’s cleverly exploited in what’s called “adaptive optics.” The topic is most appropriate at this time, as we’re at the high point of the … Continue reading
AFOOT WITH ARCHEOLOGY
SHERLOCK HOLMES was a master at identifying what his chronicler Dr. John H. Watson preferred to call “footsteps.” And, according to Science magazine, 26 July 2013, the San people of … Continue reading
