Today's primer: orbital mechanics, or how we have to manuever to catch debris.  There's a lot of debris in low earth orbit, ranging from paint chips and spare bolts to a heavy toolbox up through…

Dear readers, your input is appreciated. Please read the following quotes and let me know what are your thoughts on the matter in the comments thread. You need not leave your name if you wish to…

Measuring the value and the impact of a scientist on her field of research using as data her scientific papers, the number of citations these papers got, and the prestige of the scientific journals…

The fourth FQXi essay contest is underway. There is a lot questionable about FQXi and what it at times supports, but this year’s topic is just so clearly up my alley that I simply cannot resist:…

I spent the day with the family at the zoo, idly thinking about physics, but not enough to blog about it yet.  Since it is Memorial Day, a day when one should think about those who gave their…

The deeper we look into the universe, the deeper we look back in time. When in the night sky you see planets like Jupiter and Saturn, you look about an hour back in time. Look at the stars, and you…

The Square Kilometre Array telescope will be the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope, but it had a bit of a problem most big science projects do not have; multiple countries wanted to…

India is reeling under heat wave. Nagpur temperatures cross 47 degree C while half of India is above45 degree or so. It is effect of making 6 way highways cutting all trees on roadsides, poor farmers…

What do you do when the project you did is complete but your entry badge still works for the AOL Palo Alto campus and you have no place to live? You sleep on couches there. Eric Simons, age 19,…

What do you do when the project you did is complete but your entry badge still works for the AOL Palo Alto campus and you have no place to live? You sleep on couches there. Eric Simons, age 19,…

The ribosome is the cell's protein-building workbench and ribonucleic acids, the molecules we call RNA, are key tools perform a host of vital functions in cells.According to a new analysis, even…

Withania somnifera is one of the most valued medicinal plant in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine (Shivani and Kumar, 2000). In Ayurveda, W. somnifera is regarded as one of the most…

More than 600 million people could be fed each year by halting the spread of fungal diseases in the world's five most important crops -  rice, wheat, maize, potatoes and soybeans Recent data…

How can scientists be out to kill us when it comes to food but out to save us when it comes to global warming?   Easy, just 'follow the money'.  Everyone knows that funding source makes the…

How can scientists be out to kill us when it comes to food but out to save us when it comes to global warming?   Easy, just 'follow the money'.  Everyone knows that funding source makes the…

Molecules containing large chains of carbon and hydrogen, which happen to be the building blocks of all life on Earth, have been found in meteorites from Mars but scientists have been unsure how this…

Some cultural wars that throw science out the window - anti-DDT, anti-vaccine, anti-GMO, anti-evolution  - are baffling. Others at least have some science basis - smoking, for example - but…

Some cultural wars that throw science out the window - anti-DDT, anti-vaccine, anti-GMO, anti-evolution  - are baffling. Others at least have some science basis - smoking, for example - but…

Is it cheaper to privatize deliveries?  Sure is, that is why UPS and FedEx are doing well and the US Post Office is now advertising that companies should send more junk mail and waste natural…

For Douglas’s sake, don’t forget your towel on Friday! 5/25/12 is not just the annual Towel Day to honor the genius of Douglas Adams, but Super Towel Day (5 + 25 + 12 = 42!!!!) A day that won’t…