The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
Nanowires increase limit of solar cell efficiency, say researchers
The researchers contend that their findings increase the so-called “Shockley-Queisser Limit,” which is the typical efficiency limit for solar cells.
http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/nanowires-increase-limit-of-solar-cell-efficiency-say-researchers/
Not quite ready for prime time, but this is the …
Overfished and under-protected: Oceans on the brink of catastrophic collapse
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/world/oceans-overfishing-climate-change/index.html?hpt=hp_c3
I think the reason that people like to harp on global warming is because it is a huge, yet remote problem that involves everyone all over the globe all …
Salt responsible for 2.3 million deaths worldwide, study suggests
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/03/22/salt-responsible-for-23-million-deaths-worldwide-study-suggests/
Personally I am far from convinced that the supposed association between high dietary salt and the manifold health concerns is causative (verses correlative). Certainly there are some medical conditions where …
One in 50 School-Aged Children in U.S. Has Autism: CDC
Significant increase in the prevalence of the condition over the past five years, researchers say
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/03/20/one-in-50-school-aged-children-in-us-has-autism-cdc
Personally I find this report totally bogus on a number of fronts. That the …
Are we over-diagnosing mental illness?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/16/health/mental-illness-overdiagnosis/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13
‘Normal’ is continually redefined by society. However, society’s mental illness is now being defined by for-profit organizations who stand to make billions of dollars by having ‘normal’ defined in such a way that the …
So I happen across this article:
Scientists Publish Controversial Paper About Extra-Terrestrial Life on Meteorites
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/scientists-publish-controversial-paper-about-extra-terrestrial-life-meteorites
and think to myself, “that is quite interesting that there should be such ‘definitive’ evidence of extraterrestrial life and I am only finding out …
Web-based ‘brain’ for robots goes live
Robots confused about what they encounter in the world of humans can now get help online.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21714191
Well, I am sad to say I didn’t see this one coming. It makes sense, though, and …
Two interesting articles on global warming and that it ain’t so bad for certain people/ecosystems…
Extra Heat Turning Northern Latitudes Green
http://frenchtribune.com/teneur/1316622-extra-heat-turning-northern-latitudes-green-study
Global Warming Pushing Trees North
http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/trees-invade-arctic-tundra-130311.htm
Just like how global warming can help shipping and the ozone hole…
What The Hardened Arteries Of Ancient Mummies Mean For Picking A Diet
http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2013/03/11/what-the-hardened-arteries-of-ancient-mummies-mean-for-picking-a-diet/
While I think this article is pointing out the obvious, it seems clear that to a lot of people this isn’t obvious at all. While nearly everyone …
Thanks to Eric for putting me on to this…
Nanoparticles loaded with bee venom kill HIV
http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/25061.aspx
At first I was quite skeptical when I started to read this. There are LOTS of things that show huge promise in the …