New Scientist:
New inventions ... snore zapper, bass-beating airbags, etc.
The New Yorker:
Q&A: The President and the Scientists. “We need to develop alternative sources of energy, and that is well within the intellectual and technical abilities of this country. Still, most Americans will worry about global warming seriously only when it affects their wallets in a demonstrable way, or when their health, or that of their children, becomes measurably worse. We are not exactly known for our foresight on these issues.”
NY Times:
Recent Spread of Bird Flu Confounds Experts. Migration has become something to be dreaded, in Europe ... perhaps North America.
NY Times:
Loss of Antarctic Ice Increases. If you’ve got seaside property, better sell now.
CSM:
White House spin reaches science research. “Over recent weeks, federally funded scientists in and out of government have touched off small firestorms for publishing research results or making public statements that run counter to Bush administration policies. And Congress is investigating allegations that federal agencies have punished them as a result.”
NY Times Science:
Owen Chamberlain, 85, Dies; Discovered Antiproton. Rest in peace, good sir.
Hubblesite:
Hubble’s Largest Galaxy Portrait Offers a New High-Definition View. Zoom in on some of the arms. There’s gotta be intelligent beings out there ... and this is just one galaxy.
BBC:
“One of the biggest and most complete giant squids ever found is on display at London’s Natural History Museum.” Holy sashimi, look at that photo. Encouraging me to link Jules Verne.
Times Online.UK:
Cavegirls were first blondes to have fun. “Lighter hair colours, which started as rare mutations, became popular for breeding and numbers increased dramatically ...”
Yahoo News:
Scientists Claim to Find Lost Civilization. An Indonesian ‘Pompei’?
NY Times:
DuPont Looking to Displace Fossil Fuels as Building Blocks of Chemicals. This is huge, excellent news.
Discovery Channel:
“Specks of comet dust carried to Earth inside a NASA science probe show tantalizing hints of organic compounds, bolstering suspicions that comets delivered key ingredients for the development of life on Earth.” As Carl Sagan said, we are made of star stuff ...
NY Times:
Study Finds Test Scores Not Lowered by Television. Perhaps if you watch “Sesame Street.” Content matters.
Washington Post:
Permian question mark. Though, if you look at the picture, do I see a resemblance to this? Excess carbon dioxide, indeed.
CNN:
The last days of Kennewick Man. A little of what science is finding out about “Kenny.”
Times Online.UK:
What makes Cupid’s arrows stick? There’s something beautifully poetic about falling in love over the scent of a tear.
NY Times Books:
The Many Faces of Shakespeare: Is This One Really His? Shakey’s death mask shows up, like a deus ex machina, adding more complexity to the story.
Later: More on BBC.
NY Times:
Supplements Fail to Stop Arthritis Pain, Study Says. There’s something badly wrong with this study, given my own (and family members’) experiences. I have a painful knee (accident), and mild arthritis in my right clavicular juncture (poor form while doing dips). Both are helped more by C/G than pain medications.
Strict form in regular exercise (or physical therapy), with proper use of heat/ice, helps more than either. Still, I’m running now for the first time in a very long time, and I feel C/G is a big part of that. My knee seems to have healed sufficiently for a jog-run, perhaps beyond. There’s nothing that compares to running for really useful aerobic fitness. I replaced running with bicycling after my injury, but it doesn’t seem to challenge the body in the same pragmatic ways. Or so I feel. YMMV.
The Olympic speed-skating is making me want to break out my rollerblades again, though (traces of my Dutch heritage?). Problem is, most roads around here are paved with that very rough aggregate asphalt, that makes rollerblading a punishment ... especially for a dicky knee. Even worse, some wingnut budgeted the hike-bike path cracks to be filled with generous and bumpy amounts of tar. I should purchase a pair of these, I suppose. I’ll have to check out the local malls and business parks for asphalt surface, before I go that route.
Later: Virtual personal trainers.
CNN:
Archaeopteryx gets a controversial new home.
The Economist
ponders how life on Earth got going.
Discovery:
Some people are just born to dance. “... the genes we studied are more related to the emotional side of dancing — the need and ability to communicate with other people and a spiritual side to their natures that not only enable them to feel the music, but to communicate that feeling to others via dance.”
Guardian.UK:
Quarrying at henge site rejected. “Although short of dramatic stone relics, the area is rich in burial mounds, traces of settlements and an formal avenue which may have been used for ceremonial funerals.”
BBC:
EU debates poultry vaccinations. I sincerely hope not with the antivirals humans may need for this crisis.
CNN:
Funds restored to energy lab before Bush visit. Oh my, is this a flip-flop?
New Scientist:
Aw hell, a couple more. Mathematical proofs are getting harder to verify.
