science Archives - Page 6 of 10

The Future of Space Exploration

Jupiter and Europa The 15th to 18th centuries were a time of unprecedented exploration of our world. Europeans, with a healthy sense of curiosity, and driven by a desire to conquer new worlds, were the primary instigators. Today, we live in a similar time of exploration as countries and private corporations turn their eyes to…

Aedes aegypti mosquito

Photo credit: Alex Wild[1] (Click on the photo to get a larger image.) This terrifying picture shows an Aedes aegypti mosquito rising out of the water immediately after it has metamorphosed from its larval stage. Without a sense of scale this creature looks like some dragon from a Peter Jackson film. Despite the fact that it…

Denisovan DNA

A recent article in the journal Science[1] gives further confirmation of the mixed heritage of the human species. Researchers compared the DNA of 35 Melanesians from the Bismarck Archipelago in Papua New Guinea to the DNA of ancient Denisovan DNA from a 40,000-year-old partially fossilized sample. They also compared DNA from other non-Melanesian populations and…

ExoMars

ExoMars is a “Programme to investigate the Martian environment and to demonstrate new technologies paving the way for future Mars sample return missions.”[1] The European Space Agency successfully launched their two craft on March 14 on a Russian Proton M rocket and has received signals indicating that the launch was successful. The two craft will…

A Great Disturbance in the Force

There may actually be a ninth planet in our solar system after all. Astronomers at Caltech recently presented evidence for a large, gas-giant, planet in a 20,000 year orbit around our sun. They have been quoted as saying, “We have felt a great disturbance in the force.” This only adds to the crazy nature of…

“Yesterday I missed my exit, on my way to Sears” – Joe Diffie

Have you ever had one of those days where you missed your freeway exit and had to take an alternative route? The process can be quite time consuming and often adds several minutes to the anticipated travel time. It is hard not to get frustrated. Of course, such emotions only complicate things and make the…

Results of Tardigrade Paper Questioned

It only took a few days for the results of a new Tardigrade study to be called into question. No one questions the hardiness of Tardigrades, aka Water Bears; but are they the great scavengers of DNA that the Cambridge Researchers suggested? (See the paper by Eyres, et al.) A paper published by researchers at…

Science is Stranger than Screenplays

With Batman and Superman preparing to do battle in our movie theatres[1], perhaps you have wondered, “What is the most invulnerable creature on our planet?” The armadillo? The Blue Whale? Lions? Elephants? No, there is one creature that is much more durable than all of these. It can survive being boiled and frozen; in fact…

Artificial Intelligence

“What does it mean to be alive? To think, to feel, to love and to envy? André Alexis explores all of this and more in the extraordinary Fifteen Dogs, an insightful and philosophical meditation on the nature of consciousness. It’s a novel filled with balancing acts: humour juxtaposed with savagery, solitude with the desperate need…

We’re Just Here To . . .

Previously I have recommended the Christopher Nolan film Interstellar (here and here) and I will continue to sing its praises even while encouraging us to see it for all it is and look discerningly at its message. As the main character, Cooper, says his good-byes to his family and prepares to leave the galaxy, he…