"Non ho mai chiesto di occuparmi di mafia. Ci sono entrato per caso. E poi ci sono rimasto per un problema morale. La gente mi moriva attorno" (I never asked to work on mafia. I got to do it by…

The phenomenon of Brownian motion (after botanist Robert Brown, who discovered it 1828) was described by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he published his statistical molecular theory of liquids.…

A few weeks ago, I got an eerie package from the folks who work for Discovery Channel; an obituary and clues to a mystery.  Turns out this was part of a big viral marketing campaign for their…

Enjoy star gazing? Lucky enough to be in the northern hemisphere August 11th and 12th? Look to the skies to take in the Perseid Meteor Shower, named after the constellation Perseus. …

I just don't get the appeal, as I explain in this post about douchebaggery (and nor does Cash, apparently: see #8). But if he can bring a little star power to one of the least environmentally…

Indexed comes through on a Monday morning, as always!

Abstract: The question of whether it is possible to automate the scientific process is of both great theoretical interest and increasing practical importance because, in many scientific areas, data…

The happy nights of Italy's Premier Silvio Berlusconi, now documented in hot recordings taken by Escort Patrizia D'Addario, have by now circled the free world (in Italy they are only available to…

If we are ever going to be sure that we won’t face Armageddon we need to get rid of all Weapons of Mass Destruction. That is a simple fact with one hugely difficult, time consuming and potentially…

A colleague raised the issue of work-life balance.  He wrote: "I want to spend more time with my kids. My kids need to eat, so I work. Something needs to change so these things aren't mutually…

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4984727/Vampire-... http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1803 http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/3502/jim1537.52/0_2805a…

You don't want carbon dioxide (CO2) build up in your space suit. Even those who argue to love huge CO2 emissions into our atmosphere should learn from the AP news: Two…

Approximately $1500 worth of fried electronics has taught me a valuable lesson.I had surge protection on the AC.  Nothing was plugged into a wall outlet, nothing at all... Yet this…

Absolute radiometric dating requires a measurable fraction of parent nucleus to remain in the sample rock. For rocks dating back to the beginning of the solar system this requires extremely long…

Absolute radiometric dating requires a measurable fraction of parent nucleus to remain in the sample rock. For rocks dating back to the beginning of the solar system this requires extremely long…

Researchers have already reconstructed fragments of genetic recipes for extinct animals such as the cave bear, the woolly mammoth and most recently, the moa, a giant bird that was at the top of New…

"Other people's data ntuples are a bit like their genitals. You may occasionally be allowed to play with them, but you should not expect to be granted unhindered access."Unknown (the previous…

If there are two things biology guru Josh Witten likes, it's getting pummelled by very large men sans padding or helmets (it's not a sex thing, pervs) ... and remote bookstores. It's his remote…

This is way better than the Geico Cavemen ads - Elisabeth Daynes' reconstructions of ancient hominins. Science Magazine featured her work in their July 10th issue. Her website has some great images.…