The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
Traces of Inaugural Life
Geologists, biologists join forces to tell new stories about the first cells on Earth
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/340401/title/Traces_of_Inaugural_Life
I am interested in the origins of life and would love to have the leisure (and resources) to do some experiments. …
The Hot and Cold of Priming
Psychologists are divided on whether unnoticed cues can influence behavior
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/340408/title/The_Hot_and_Cold_of_Priming
This is an interesting idea, though it appears to be a bit challenging to reproduce. I am dubious about a lot of social …
The Next Yellowstone Supereruption Is Closer Than You Think
http://gizmodo.com/5906622/the-yellowstone-supereruption-is-closer-than-you-think/
For those of you who don’t know, we have here in the US heartland one of the most dangerous types of volcanoes on this planet. It is the Yellowstone ‘super’ …
How to hide from face-detection technology
http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/29/how-to-hide-from-face-detection-technology/?hpt=hp_c3
It pains me somewhat to have not thought of this before reading the article, but there you go. Sometimes the obvious only becomes so once articulated and this is one of those cases, …
Thinking can undermine religious faith, study finds
Those who think more analytically are less inclined to be religious believers than are those who tend to follow a gut instinct, researchers conclude.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-religion-analytical-thinking-20120427,0,5374010.story
Something sure to rile up the religious right, …
Strange lava spirals discovered on Mars
http://www.tgdaily.com/space-features/63015-strange-lava-spirals-discovered-on-mars
I think this is quite cool and was surprised to learn it happens on Earth as well (but apparently no where near as large):
Anyway, I drone on way too much about our …
Sun’s Sibling Stars Could Host Cousins of Earth Life
http://www.space.com/15192-sun-siblings-asteroids-earth-life.html
This is, of course, nothing more than Panspermia, but it is interesting in the idea that we might have sibling solar systems (relatively) nearby that could be seeded with …
Study Questions Natural Gas’s Environmental Benefits .
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303815404577334013970875438.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Shockingly! it seems that converting from coal to natural gas has some unintended consequences. This, of course, is what happens when profit and politics (which are just two sides of the same …
Green coffee beans show potential for losing weight
In a limited trial, 16 overweight young adults taking various doses of green coffee bean extract lost an average of 17.5 pounds and 16% in body fat in 22 weeks. But questions …
‘Thermal cloak’ designed, could solve major chip, spacecraft issues
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/28/thermal_cloak_excellence/
Not so wild about the idea of scientist being referred to as ‘boffins’ (which sure sounds negative to me), but that seems to be the norm in Jolly Old England. …