The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
Night-Shining Clouds Get Glow from Meteor Smoke
A key ingredient in noctilucent clouds appears to be “smoke” from meteors as they burn up.
http://news.discovery.com/space/noctilucent-clouds-meteor-strike-120904.html
This article motivated me to write on a subject I have been thinking on a while …
Unmixing oil and water
A new filter that separates the two substances only using gravity could help clean oil spills
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/343319/title/Unmixing_oil_and_water
In my research (mostly literature at this point) regarding biofuels, separating oil from water is a significant element. Though …
Big jobs go to loyal proteins
Cells offload nonessential work on multitasking enzymes
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/343412/title/Big_jobs_go_to_loyal_proteins
This is an interesting idea to me. I have been steeped in the paradigm of one enzyme – one substrate for a very long time. The …
I first read this post by Scott Adams:
Quantifying Gullibility
http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/quantifying_gullibility/
Which lead me to read the article he referenced:
Research Pinpoints Brain’s ‘Gullibility’ Center
Changes in this region could explain why seniors, children are less doubting
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/08/24/research-pinpoints-brains-gullibility-center
I admit …
Making Data Work
Researchers pursue analogy between statistical evidence and thermodynamics
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/343207/title/Making_Data_Work
I am far, far from schooled in statistics. The one class in my MBA program and much of the lecture sounded like static and jumbled words. However, one …
The Panic Over Fukushima
Japan’s nuclear accident was a great human tragedy, but its long-term health effects have been exaggerated—and the virtues of nuclear power remain.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444772404577589270444059332.html
I have trouble explaining this topic to friends and family, I post this …
Over the weekend I read this interesting post from Scott Adams:
My Crackpot Theory of Intelligence
http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/my_crackpot_theory_of_intelligence/
In his post Scott basically says that intelligence is the same as pattern recognition. At first it sounds rather idiotic (I think Scott …
Tangled Roots
Mingling among Stone Age peoples muddies humans’ evolutionary story
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/342924/title/Tangled_Roots
Of course, defining what a ‘species’ is is challenging to begin with. I am quite interested in human evolution and have read quite a bit on the subject …
Camera hack can spot cleaned-up crimes
Technology can help police find painted-over bloodstains
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/343007/title/Camera_hack_can_spot_cleaned-up_crimes
Fortunately, criminals, as a species, are too knuckle-headed to read things like this, so there is little worry that it will be used to hinder any …
A new global warming offender: Dam drawdowns
http://www.petridishnews.com/news/a-new-global-warming-offender-dam-drawdowns/
I wonder how this changes the proportion of CO2 to methane that otherwise would have happened without the dam. The vast majority of biological material is recycled, most of it on an …