Recently in Science Category

(Blogger's Note 9/23/11 --I made this post last year and have updated it just a bit for this year. It looks to me like it took some work, so why not use it again? Thanks for reading.  hope you enjoy all seasons of the year.) September 22 is the first day of fall.(Above--The 1890 painting Autumn Rain by Julian Alden Weir.)What exactly is fall?Here is a definition.From that defintion--"The autumnal equinox marks the first day of the...

Above is a picture of a cave girl and a dinosaur.I took this picture last week at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Petersburg is not far from Cincinnati.This was a very elaborate and professionally done museum.There were a number of families in this museum. Parents were pointing out the exhibits to children.I saw cars in the parking lot with license plates from many different states.I'm not making fun of the folks who were at...

I love TED Talks and from time to time I wander all around that site watching some of the brief videos on a variety of thought- and conversation-provoking topics.I went looking for one of my personal faves today, neuroscientist VS Ramachandran, and landed upon his discussion of "The neurons that shaped civilization." Ramachandran is best known for his experiments in behavioral neurology which, despite their apparent simplicity, have generated many new ideas about the workings of the...

The excellent New Scientist Magazine reports that organic chemistry takes places on asteroids that are flying around in space.(Above--The asteroid known as 951 Gaspra. Here are some facts about asteroids.) From New Scientist---"For the first time, rocks from an asteroid have been shown to power the synthesis of life's essential chemicals. The asteroid in question fell to Earth on 28 September 1969, landing on the outskirts of the village of Murchison in Victoria, Australia. Tests showed it was laced with amino acids and some of...

Everyone who knows me knows that I live and breathe my profession - space exploration.  It has not been an easy time for those of us who chose this path.  Friends and colleagues of mine have suffered or are facing layoffs as the Shuttle Program ramps down and the Constellation Program is finally terminated.Unfortunately, we find ourselves in this situation because of a lack of leadership.  Neither Congress nor the previous administration heeded the warnings...

Texas Governor Rick Perry has declared three days of prayer in response to the drought that is impacting Texas and helping to cause severe wildfires.( Above--It is hot and dry in Texas) These three days run from April 22 to April 24.Here is the link to the official proclamation.From the proclamation---WHEREAS, these dire conditions have caused agricultural crops to fail, lake and reservoir levels to fall and cattle and livestock to struggle under intense stress, imposing...

We've talked long and hard about the decisions surrounding the Space Shuttle and where to put them. I thought about commenting on Neil's thread, but I thought I would add my own post here. I personally have nothing to do with the space program and never have. One of my father's best friends was actually sitting in Mission Control during Apollo 13. He didn't rate Ed Harris or Gary Sinise, but we speculate  that the...

For the first time ever, a space probe is orbiting the planet Mercury.The name of the probe is Messenger. Messenger is sending data and pictures back to Earth about conditions on Mercury.If Messenger is sending messages to beings on Mercury,  I'm sorry to the great degree that this blog post is missing the real story.Here is the NASA home page for Messenger.Here is how the BBC reported Messenger reaching  Mercury's orbit.(Above---Messenger orbiting Mercury as seen...

With the Copenhagen conference and "Climategate," the Internet and the media are abuzz with climate change.  I think more rational voices are being drowned out, though, by the bickering between those that have become polarized in the political debate.  (Gee, does that sound familiar?)  The lines between good science, good problem solving, and good policy have been blurred to everyone's detriment.  Let's try to unravel this Gordian knot a bit.First, the science.I was a climate...

If you want to see what stifling free speech really looks like, examine the case of Simon Singh.  I had the honor of seeing him speak at the Museum of Natural Science here in Houston once, so I'll get my own bias in his favor out of the way up front.  He's a real scientist and a brilliant communicator, kinda like Britain's Neil deGrasse Tyson.Singh recently published a book with Edzard Ernst, the first Professor...