22617550
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An anonymous reader writes:
For those opposed to natural gas drilling in the United States, fracking is a dirty word. But the public needs to have a serious discussion about whether the costs and risks (like methane contamination) outweigh the considerable benefit of reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil and turning the US into an energy exporter. In “The End of Country” Seamus McGraw aims to jump start the debate by examining the issues at ground level, describing what happens when Big Energy comes to small town USA.
21584006
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swellconvivialguy writes:
Looking at a picture of the world’s largest container ship it’s easy to visualize how 10,000 containers fall overboard from these vessels every year. Now scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute are undertaking the Lost Container Cruise, an attempt to gauge the effects of shipping containers lost at sea by studying a tire-filled container, which marine biologists discovered in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. ( The research is being funded by a multi-million dollar settlement with the operators of the Med Taipei, the ship that lost the cargo.) The work is not unlike studying a deep water shipwreck: Use robotic submarine to take pictures and collect sediment samples; repeat.
21318678
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An anonymous reader writes:
Can humans live up to 150 years by eating a “calorie restricted” (CR) diet? Lab animals of all kinds live up to 50 percent longer on CR diets. And human studies (like CALERIE) seem to indicate that CR extends life in humans too, though it’s too soon to tell by how much. Question is: Would you want to live 150 years? Brian M. Delaney, president of Calorie Restriction Society International, says yes, though the weight loss that goes along with CR is an unfortunate consequence.
17620230
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swellconvivialguy writes:
Next year marks the bicentennial of the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes, with earthquake drills and disaster tourism events planned across the Midwest, including the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut. But despite the fact that Earthquake Hazard Maps equate the New Madrid seismic zone with California, geologist Seth Stein says new science (especially GPS data) tells us the hazard has been significantly overestimated and that we should not spend billions on earthquake preparations in the Midwest.
14178710
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NoMeansYes writes:
An interview with James Tabor, author of the new best-selling book “Blind Descent,” reveals that it's a pair of accomplished scientists — American Bill Stone and Ukranian geologist Alexander Klimchouk — that are the two most prominent figures in extreme caving, and both have figured prominently in the ongoing quest to discover the deepest cave on earth. Tabor describes what conditions are like inside supercaves like Cheve (-4,869 feet) and Krubera (-7,188 feet), before discussing Stone and his far-reaching technological innovations, which include The Posideon Discovery Rebreather and NASA’s ENDURANCE. Extreme caving probably won't remain underground (so to speak) much longer, however. The article notes that James Cameron is planning to release a 3D film next year about extreme cave divers.
10685670
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EagleHasLanded writes:
Who speaks for humankind if ET calls on us? Paul Davies, chairman of the SETI Post-Detection Taskgroup , is a likely ambassador. But Allen Tough founded the Invitation to ETI Web site, which encourages ET to make contact via email (and also strongly discourages humans from impersonating ET). But an individual in the UK got over some of the hurdles designed to weed out hoaxers, before finally throwing in the towel.
10448962
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EagleHasLanded writes:
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is 50 years old next month, and still no sign of intelligent alien life. Paul Davies of the Beyond Center (also Chairman of the SETI Post-Detection Taskgroup ) says it’s time to re-think and expand the search for ET.
10322894
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swellconvivialguy writes:
Bent Skovmand was an under-appreciated scientist—who devoted his life to protecting the world’s food supply (and played a role in the development of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, or “Doomsday Vault”—and deserves wider recognition. That’s the message of Susan Dworkin’s book The Viking in the Wheat Field. But the most compelling aspect of the book—which Dworkin discusses in this interview — is the race to develop wheat resistant to Ug99, a form of stem rust so virulent that the U.S. has a fully developed action plan in the event Ug99 comes to the U.S.
10322592
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jfruhlinger writes:
They may not be as high profile as Apple vs. Android, but all of these lawsuits reveal something about our weird and broken tech patent system. From a case squabbling over damages for a patent that expired years ago to a move to use patents the way the Feds used tax evasion against Capone, here are seven patent lawsuits of interest.
10037488
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swellconvivialguy writes:
Anil Ananthaswamy of New Scientist took what might be described as a physicist’s dream ‘around the world’ trip – visiting scientists conducting cutting-edge experiments ( Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, for example) in the most remote and extreme environments on Earth. Interviewed about his new book 'The Edge of Physics' (released March 2), he says he aims to not only introduce the physicists and cosmologists doing the work and explain the cutting-edge experiments they're doing, but at the same time “engender feeling about the amazing scientific journey we’re on.” With link to slide shows from all the sites/experiments visited.
8812548
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EagleHasLanded writes:
Did scientists “predict” the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake? Not exactly. How close are researchers to being able to predict big earthquakes? Not very. Will we ever be able to predict earthquakes? Not likely. Southern California Earthquake Center seismologist Susan Hough interviewed about the science of earthquake prediction. Includes link to the U.S. Geological Survey's 'Did You Feel It?' page — a must-visit for seismologists in the wake of a quake.
7954782
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EagleHasLanded writes:
Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman doesn't talk to journalists. Actually, he doesn't talk to anyone anymore. So we'll have to settle for insights via his biographer, Masha Gessen, who, strangely enough, has never talked to him either. But she has spoken with just about everyone who has ever had any significant interaction with Perelman, and the result is the book 'Perfect Rigor,' which more than adequately explains why Perelman has gone into self-imposed exile, and why he hasn't collected the million dollars owed him for solving the Poincare Conjecture.
7877172
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EagleHasLanded writes:
In the recent book “Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel,” author Steve Hodel advises that in 1990 his father registered a star in his own name (using International Star Registry) in Zodiacal constellation Aquila. Why is this compelling? Because in the book, Steve claims that his dad was the Zodiac killer, and that his father would have gotten a kick out of creating a "heavenly memorial to his crimes," not to mention that he would have enjoyed leaving behind this clue that he was responsible for the Zodiac murders. But the book's claims are so far-reaching (not only was George Hill the Zodiac, but also the Lipstick Killer and the Jigsaw Murderer) that it seems almost inconceivable that it's all true.
