Wednesday: Time for SCIENCE

Well it's still Wednesday where I am, and every time this particular day of the week rolls around, I try to catch up on any Science news that I may have missed (either since last week to long before). And I thought, hey, maybe you guys will appreciate some of the interesting things I find.

After all, we're all sci-fi fans here, right?

Well, I hope you guys find the following couple of articles interesting. I sure did!



-Newfound Planet Might Be Near Death
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090826-strange-planet.html

So. Basically, an extrasolar planet (planet that orbits a star outside our solar system) about 10 times the mass of Jupiter (fitting nicely between the boundaries of the largest planets and the smallest stars) orbits a star at a rapid pace. Basically, this massive planet circles it's star in less than one earth day.

The weird part is that, technically, if we were to adhere rigidly to our understanding of orbital rotations and astrophysics, this should not be possible for us to witness, as the planet should have been destroyed millions of years ago.

Article goes further indepth.


-Perseverance Is Paying Off for a Test of Relativity in Space
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/science/17gravity.html?_r=1

An older article, but still interesting all the same. Since I'd have an otherwise hard time explaining this, those of you familiar with the two theories of Relativity should find this interesting. (Not to mention that they have been since proven via methods in space.)


-NASA's New Spaceships Could Tag-Team Asteroid
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/090902-orion-asteroid-mission.html

Quote :

Orion missions to asteroids would be useful to characterize and sample them. This would be important as early preparation to use some yet undetermined system if the need ever arose to divert an asteroid to save Earth from a devastating impact. Some asteroids are solid bodies, while others are rubble piles of loose rock, making samples and close up characterization useful for diversion studies that would differ depending upon the type of asteroid threatening Earth.

I LOVE SCIENCE WEDNESDAYS!!!

I just got access to a subscription-only pharmacy website with so much information that it could blow up a small moon. But I'm serious, if you guys have any questions about anything (diseases, drugs, side effects, herbal supplements, etc etc), I can look it up for you. For Science Wednesdays. Or I could do Drug Thursdays.

Anyway, now back to our regularly scheduled programming. :3 Great idea to share the knowledge Anekin!

Please please please do a Drug Thursdays thread. I'm all for self-treatments and self-educational options when things go wrong but not as serious as to have to go to the friggin' hospital. I got questions for ya Catika! And that would benefit all around me as well.

Anecdote, I may have told you this before but your brain is shag-worthy, as a famous British author would say, and thanks so much for those links. The more science people ingest, the better. I'm gonna dig deep into that Relativity thing for next Wednesday!

http://www.ted.com/talks/elaine_morgan_says_we_evolved_from_aquatic_apes.html

I think the URL says it all.

That's the most awesome evolution theory I've heard in a long time... actually since the Jurassic Park time when it was settled that birds descend from dinosaurs, and not lizards according to popular belief.

Let me throw my geneticist lab coat on.

The whole nakedness and ability to swim like a fish really makes sense. Morgan really hit the spot with her "back to common sense" speech and we have to stop thinking that homo sapiens is the result of some blessed metamorphosis and improbable genetic mutation (Chimpanzees have 48 chromosomes while we have 46... there is NO such thing as the fusion of "2n ch" because that's just not how cellular mitosis works).

So if I got this right, we're not of ape descent, but evolved aquatic apes which would explain similarities with dolphins, in brain size for instance.

Another fascinating video below! :O

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

Philip Zimbardo shows how people become monsters ... or heroes

He speaks fast and runs short of breath a lot, but listen to what he has to say. If you've been wondering about social behaviors, unexpected reactions in the face of danger, preparing yourself to someday become a hero... Then I highly suggest that you listen to this talk.


More science!

What the Bleep Do We Know is a scientific, sociologic, biologic and also theological study on perception. What is reality, how we place ourselves in the middle of that huge concept and how quantum physics can help us deal with the ordinary day-to-day reality.

> Official site www.whatthebleep.com

I know I've missed a few weeks, but TED.com should keep all of you occupied anyway!

Also, a video I want to rec:

James Balog: Time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss




Al Gore's new thinking on the climate crisis

Pay close attention to the Venus vs Earth vs Mercury section. And do me a favor, pass these two videos on to any nay-sayers you know who STILL believe that Global Warming is a debatable argument.