Science
How the Earth Got its Shape
Measure of the Earth by Larrie Ferreiro tells how an early eighteenth century band of European explorer set out to measure a degree of latitude at the equator in South America using the very latest astronomical and surveying equipment in order to settle a scientific dispute. Descartes said that the Earth was egg-shaped, whilst Isaac [...]
“Lab in a Chip” diagnoses HIV and TB
An international team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, Dublin City University in Ireland and Universidad de Valparaíso Chile, has developed a self-powered chip that is able to process whole blood samples without the use of external tubing and extra components and can diagnose HIV and TV in minutes. Read more on the [...]
Compulsory Fun at Work
Once, on the worst production I have ever worked on, the series producer spent an inordinate amount of energy organizing team drinks so that we could all have “fun”, whilst we struggled to get the actual work done. And there was no way of getting out of it: if you couldn’t make it, she merely [...]
Crowdsourced Murder Hunt
The FBI were stumped for ideas after finding the body of a man in field in Missouri in 1999. The only clue to his death was contained in two notes found in the pocket of his trousers. Trouble was the notes were written in code. Baffled the police released the notes and asked people to [...]
Feel No Fear
A rare genetic genetic disorder called Urbach-Wiethe disease destroys the brain’s amydala, and produces people who feel no fear in dangerous situations. One woman studied by scientists had felt no fear in everyday situations, for instance when public speaking, nor in more dangerous ones such as being threatened with a gun. Scientists did everything they [...]
Crowdsourced Cancer Treatments
You’ve heard of Creative Commons; here’s Cancer Commons. Modern medicine believes that cancer isn’t one disease, but “hundreds or thousands of rare diseases”, which makes it nigh on impossible for a physician to prescribe exactly the right treatment for each patient. And traditional drug therapies are tested on randomized heterogeneous study groups, which means they [...]
Ancient Aboriginal Astronomers
Archaeologists have fond a type of stone circle 80km outside Melbourne that is aligned to a summer sunset and is dated to greater than 10,000 years, which is much earlier than Stonehenge or the Pyramids. It suggests that Aborigines were studying the stars much earlier than previously known. Read more on PSFK.
Sniffer Mice
Next time you see a mouse run through the airport cafe, don’t be alarmed – it’s probably just on its lunch break. Mice are being trained to sniff out drugs and explosives on passengers and cargo. The mice are put in a box close to where passengers walk. If they smell a banned substance they [...]
Think Smarter: Daydream
An article in Scientific American explores the relationship between daydreaming (or the brain at rest) and IQ, and asks whether one is most “like oneself” when concentrating on something or when the mind is wandering. It also suggest that autism might be linked to reduced neural connectivity, whilst schizophrenia can be linked to an excessive [...]
Internet Wishlist
The Internet Wishlist, is a repository for your wishes for all those apps you could really do with, but don’t yet exist (as far as you know). The current list includes: “I wish there was a website where non-profits could ask for what they need and people could work for them from home.” “I’d like [...]
