Flocks Of Birds - Flying Like A Pair

Flocks Of Birds - Flying Like A Pair

Can a subject be too remote from the domain of traditional physics for physicists to dare applying their methods of research to it? Unlikely. If the objects under investigation in some remote area of…
The Say Of The Week

The Say Of The Week

"There is no such thing as a theoretical uncertainty. All there is is theoretical stupidity" Guido Altarelli
On Rats, Anxiety, Exercise & Animal Welfare

On Rats, Anxiety, Exercise & Animal Welfare

The NY Times headline on Nov 18, 2009, read: “Why Exercise Makes you Less Anxious” I exercise (training for the Paris marathon next April. Woo hoo!) and I’ve been known to dabble in anxiety, so I…
Lots of "Lively" Squid Are No Longer Alive

Lots of "Lively" Squid Are No Longer Alive

Humboldt squid are apparently still swarming off the coast of northern California, according to this account from Marin: The fishing began roughly 30 miles from shore when captain Rick Powers killed…
Galaxy Zoo vs John Henry

Galaxy Zoo vs John Henry

'Many eyes' is a better approach to image recognition than algorithms.  When looking at real-universe galaxy merger remnants, and comparing them with simulations, it's better to just have lots…
Lovers’ credit?

Lovers’ credit?

One of the beauties of spiral galaxies is bursts of blue-and-red hydrogen light from newly-born clusters of stars.  In the 19th century a poetically similar outburst of creativity occurred in…
Weird Cephalopod Slang

Weird Cephalopod Slang

Today, I learned from the Wall Street Journal that "frying cuttlefish" is Cantonese slang for being fired. As a result, cuttlefish fishing trips are deliberately misnamed squid fishing trips, to…
Environmental factors  limit crop productivity

Environmental factors limit crop productivity

An environmental factor that limits crop productivity or destroys biomass is referred to as stress or disturbance. Salinity in soil or water is one of the major stresses and especailly in arid and…
Morality and the Scientific Method

Morality and the Scientific Method

Why science is a better way to explore morality.We think of science as a noun, in reality it is a verb, a process. The scientific method is a codification of a specific technique of handling and…
Morality and the Scientific Method

Morality and the Scientific Method

We think of science as a noun, in reality it is a verb, aprocess. The scientific method is a codification of a specific technique ofhandling and processing information. This method involves…
Robot Airplane on Mars!!!

Robot Airplane on Mars!!!

Since budget cuts and the inability to overcome problems like boredom and high radiation doses have ruled out any manned mission to Mars in the foreseeable future, NASA has shifted gears back…