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…

The Voynich Manuscript part 4 : Not So Mysterious ? The Voynich manuscript was written in an as yet unreadable script.  It is named after Wilfrid Voynich, who acquired it as a dealer in 1912…

Tangential Science: it's not necessarily science, but it's still funny. 1. Drought is a serious problem in many parts of the world, going well beyond our California 'limit the days you water your…

In January this year, I finally found some like me out there! I was contacted. By a fellow space enthusiast. Throughout my childhood, I rarely met anyone who shared my curiosity for space and…

Clusters, the largest structures in the Universe, are comprised of many galaxies, like the Milky Way. One mystery about clusters is why the gas in the centers of some are rapidly cooling and…

A team of scientists say they have discovered a method for attaching molecules to semiconducting silicon that may help manufacturers end-run the current limits of Moore's Law in the quest to make…

Some researchers, and certainly some new businesses, are counting on the fact that the brain imaging technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can reveal thoughts and determine…

There's a coevolutionary struggle between a New Zealand snail and its worm parasite but it ends up being sexually advantageous for the snail, whose females favor asexual reproduction in the absence…

A group called the Blind Driver Challenge team in Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory  has retrofitted a four-wheel dirt buggy with laser range finders, an instant voice command…

In Toledo, Ohio on June 26, 1914 -- a star was born. He was named Lyman Strong Spitzer, Jr. for good measure. An asteroid, a space telescope, and a building in the Princeton Plasma Physics…

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…

CNN is trying to look like they are impartial by simultaneously only having talking heads who stress how vital government health care is while then proclaiming it Obama's "Waterloo." If you aren't…

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.…

One of my recently developed rules: avoid the last minute rush. I don't run to catch the Metro train, and I don't scramble to put my data into some sort of coherent form when I have to give a lab…

Tangential Science: it's not necessarily science, but it's still funny. 1. Pity poor Conde Nast.  Not only are they going to lose $200 million in 2009, meaning Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair may…

Health requires safety. There is a laser hazard that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is concerned about: the increased availability in stores and on the Internet of certain types of laser…

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -Plato

If you're inclined to follow print media, and live in the Sacramento area, and came down on the side of Sacramento Magazine in the great SacMag/SacTown (1) War, you might be interested to know they…