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The Final Colony - Author Lacerant Plainer 
Science Fiction writer, Lacerant Plainer
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Latest postings
2013-05-23 15:17:47 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 22 +1s)
Beautiful steampunk USB flashdrives
I happened to see this, its really something.
http://goo.gl/OBj8e (source)
#steampunk
2013-05-23 15:17:20 (2 comments, 12 reshares, 19 +1s)
Beautiful steampunk USB flashdrives
I happened to see this, its really something.
http://goo.gl/OBj8e (source)
#steampunk
2013-05-23 08:37:48 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)
Custom Flu Vaccine. Synthetic Biologists Engineer A Custom Flu Vaccine In A Week.
(Please let me know if you wish to continue receiving notifications, as it seems I am notifying a larger group now).
A copy of the genetic code of an H7N9 avian flu—similar to, but not exactly the same as the flu that has killed 36 people in China—arrived in a lab in Boston Easter Sunday, 2011. The turnaround time is weeks faster than the current best vaccine-making methods. The new shot-making strategy still needs to undergo approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It also needs tweaking before it would able to make the large amounts of vaccine needed during a flu outbreak.
The new method uses synthetic biology, or the creation of biological materials, such as viruses, without using nature's usual reproductive methods. In this case, scientists from the U.S. pha... more »
2013-05-23 08:37:04 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)
Self-Healing Concrete Researchers have demonstrated a way to give concrete surfaces the ability to heal when small cracks appear, an advance that could allow bridges and other structures to last longer.
The new coating contains polymer microcapsules, filled with a solution that, when exposed to light, turns into a water-resistant solid. The idea is that damage to a coated concrete surface would cause the capsules to break open and release the solution, which then would fill the crack and solidify in sunlight.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of the coating, the researchers sprayed it on the surface of concrete samples, and used razor blades to apply small cracks. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the razor blade caused the microcapsules to release their contents, which filled the damaged area. After the researchers exposed samples to sunlight for several hours,... more »
2013-05-22 19:33:34 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)
QI
Always interesting, not region blocked, and great fun to watch. Love the very British humor :)
#QI #H201306220700
2013-05-22 15:34:41 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)
+Knut Torgersen runs this awesome community for classical music. It has some very dedicated people and the engagement is outstanding. He is looking for moderators who have a love and passion for classical music.
Please contact him if you are interested. Thanks muchly.
2013-05-22 15:28:34 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 10 +1s)
Is the Star Trek Tricorder about to become a reality ?
#sciencesunday #startrek #futuretech #euromaestro
Scanadu is about to release this Star Trek tricorder like device called Scout. The company is based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.
The device works simply by holding it up to your forehead for 10 seconds.
Simply place the Scanadu Scout™ on your forehead for 10 seconds and in a snap, your stats are displayed on your smartphone.
The device can then track and monitor your vital signs.
It can track temperature, ECG, heart rate, oximetry and stress.
Read more in the Wired article.
http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/02/features/tricorder?page=all
More to come!
I'll be reporting more about this next month.
The device can be ordered fo... more »
2013-05-22 09:00:46 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)
Living CitiesWafer-thin artificial leaves separate with the rising sun as buildings wake up. They continue to follow the sunlight over the course of the day, sucking dew and carbon dioxide out of the air. These substances are filtered into the fleshy fabric within the walls of our homes, not dead spaces but active processors, like stomachs packed with thriving microbial colonies. They generate heat, recycle grey water and filter effluents to produce rich, native soil that has a commercial value and is used to grow plants in green plots, or window boxes. We are now producers, not consumers.
There are no more infertile stretches of asphalt sprawled over our urban rooftops but an expanse of vegetation which processes the city’s rich chemical landscapes – and it is no longer possible to tell which of these vibrant structures are artificial, or natural. This is the opening paragraph from an art... more »
2013-05-22 05:07:09 (8 comments, 8 reshares, 33 +1s)
Electric Cars
. Electric cars cost more to buy than gasoline cars of the same size, but Electric cars cost a lot less per mile to operate.
Hybrids: Most owners of those cars make every effort to drive as many miles as possible on electric power alone—but they have the security of knowing their car won't be immobile at the side of the road—unless they both deplete the battery and run out of gas.
a lot of drivers don't (yet) know that electric cars are very quiet (no engine or transmission noises when running on battery power), as well as surprisingly torquey. Their motors produce maximum output from 0 rpm, so acceleration away from a stop is strong and smooth. Drivers like that. And the fact that electric cars are a nicer driving experience may be their secret weapon once they arrive in volume.
Yes, there is a long tailpipe--but electric cars emit les... more »
2013-05-22 04:20:02 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)
How hydroelectric power is dependent on trees Rain causes trees to grow. This is true, but trees also cause rain to fall. A new study confirms that not only do trees cause rain, they are key to power generation.
Scientists say the rainforest is critical in generating the streams and rivers that ultimately turn turbines. If trees continue to be felled, the energy produced by one of the world's biggest dams could be cut by a third. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In Brazil around 45 new hydro plants are in the planning stage.
Rainforests, by their very name, are prime locations for the dams that are usually required to create the force of water needed to generate electric power. Until now the presumption has been that cutting down the trees near a dam actually increased the amount of water flowing into the dams. "Rainforests... more »
2013-05-21 15:20:30 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 14 +1s)
Nature's transparent animals A team of researchers recently announced the discovery of Cyanogaster noctivaga, a brand new species of transparent fish that lives deep in the Amazon. Indeed, with its transparent skin and dazzling blue belly, the discovery constitutes an entirely new genus and, despite being very hard to see, has been given an eye-catching name that means “blue-bellied night wanderer.”
Main cover pic: The golden tortoise beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata) is high in the running for the tiniest and most beguiling of nature’s translucent creatures. At 0.2 to 0.3 inches (5 to 8 millimeters) long it resembles a metallic ladybug and is something of a chameleon, shifting in color from gold to a reddish bronze throughout the year. Also known as the “goldbug,” the lovely leaf-eater manages this transformation by reflecting light through liquid stored below a transparent outer cut... more »
2013-05-21 15:19:44 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 8 +1s)
Nature's transparent animals A team of researchers recently announced the discovery of Cyanogaster noctivaga, a brand new species of transparent fish that lives deep in the Amazon. Indeed, with its transparent skin and dazzling blue belly, the discovery constitutes an entirely new genus and, despite being very hard to see, has been given an eye-catching name that means “blue-bellied night wanderer.”
Main cover pic: The golden tortoise beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata) is high in the running for the tiniest and most beguiling of nature’s translucent creatures. At 0.2 to 0.3 inches (5 to 8 millimeters) long it resembles a metallic ladybug and is something of a chameleon, shifting in color from gold to a reddish bronze throughout the year. Also known as the “goldbug,” the lovely leaf-eater manages this transformation by reflecting light through liquid stored below a transparent outer cut... more »
2013-05-21 09:17:29 (7 comments, 4 reshares, 34 +1s)
Why ‘Star Trek’ Matters On the eve of the release of the latest feature-film from the “Star Trek” mega-brand, scholar and curator Margaret Weitekamp argues that the fictional series of space exploration helped define and inspire real world parallels. From advancing diversity in NASA to anticipating new technologies, “Star Trek” left its mark on American culture. Weitekamp, the Air and Space Museum’s curator of space science fiction materials, including a 14-foot model of the Enterprise, says, it will continue to do so. Since the original series aired in the 1960s, “Star Trek” has grown to include five different series, 12 movies and a vibrant fan culture that supports a multi-billion dollar industry.
Many of the people working in the spaceflight industry, says Weitekamp, are also huge fans of the franchise. That includes Mike Gold, chief counsel at Bigelow Aerospace, who is currently work... more »
2013-05-21 05:16:24 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)
Can scientists appreciate beauty? Over 30 years ago, physicist Richard Feynman claimed that a scientist can see more beauty in a flower than an artist. Since then, science and art have combined to bring the meaning of his words to life.
Since Feynman was interviewed in 1981, the field of digital photomicrography has flourished. The "beauty at smaller dimensions" that Feynman spoke about has now been illuminated by high magnification images which enhance both scientific understanding and are often works of art in themselves. Such images and techniques have provided a rich source of inspiration for artists. Sanders says: "I have always loved the minutiae of things. Macro photography has inspired my work."
Pictures by Rosie Sanders, an artist with a particular interest in flowers.
Article Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/22454785
... more »
2013-05-20 14:56:18 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)
Dancing around a Star
Another poppie bloom opened today. A beautiful orange red.
Using the macro lens, I thought it almost looked like planets dancing around a star.
I took this shot with my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using a macro lens and processing was done with Snapseed.
Enjoy.
#mobilography #mobileonly #mobilographypad2013 #DroidEdit #samsung #galaxy #note2 #snapseed #blooms #poppies #flowers #macro #flowerseries
2013-05-19 15:26:09 (1 comments, 4 reshares, 20 +1s)
Architect plans 3D-printed buildings
Architecture has in the past remained that stringent prisoner, jailed somewhere in the mathematician’s ruler and the engineer’s vision. Today, using 3D printing, architectural models can take flights of fancy, coming alive from the desk of designers and architects. The only thing that is lacking in 3D architecture is the fact that until today, it was only on the ether, never having seen a real life implementation anywhere in this world.
The buildings are designed to resemble a giant mobius strip - a continuous loop with only one side.
Janjaap Ruijssenaars hopes to create the buildings, which he estimates will cost 4-5 million euros (£3.3- £4.2m), all around the world. Museums, visitor centres and private individuals had already expressed interest, he said. Mr Ruijssenaars is working with large-scale 3D printing expert Enrico Dini ... more »
2013-05-19 10:26:11 (7 comments, 23 reshares, 119 +1s)
Sir Patrick Stewart With A Cotton Candy Mustache
Make it so...
2013-05-19 08:02:26 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 24 +1s)
Saturn's egg moon Methone is made of fluff
Out among Saturn's menagerie of moons, a shiny white egg rests in a nest of ice crystals. Named Methone, this small, oval moon was seen in close-up for the first time last year by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Methone is utterly unlike the other small balls of ice and rock that dot the solar system, which are deeply scarred by impacts. Instead it is smooth, with not a hill or pockmark in sight. Now astronomers may have a clue as to why: Methone is made of lightweight fluff.
In fact, this 5-kilometre-wide moon is one of a clutch of space eggs, all orbiting Saturn in the same region between the larger moons Mimas and Enceladus. None of its siblings have been imaged as closely as Methone, but from a distance two – Pallene and Aegaeon – appear to be fairly smooth as well.
Material at Methone's surface could be eve... more »
2013-05-19 08:01:56 (2 comments, 6 reshares, 30 +1s)
Using Cornstarch to mine Gold
_ Northwestern University scientists have struck gold in the laboratory. They have discovered an inexpensive and environmentally benign method that uses simple cornstarch—instead of cyanide—to isolate gold from raw materials in a selective manner. _
This green method extracts gold from crude sources and leaves behind other metals that are often found mixed together with the crude gold. The new process also can be used to extract gold from consumer electronic waste.
Current methods for gold recovery involve the use of highly poisonous cyanides, often leading to contamination of the environment. Nearly all gold-mining companies use this toxic gold leaching process to sequester the precious metal.
He found that it was alpha-cyclodextrin, a cyclic starch fragment composed of six glucose units, that isolates gold best of all... more »
2013-05-18 04:54:45 (1 comments, 13 reshares, 59 +1s)
Amazing Sea Butterflies
The chemistry of the ocean is changing. Most climate change discussion focuses on the warmth of the air, but around one-quarter of the carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere dissolves into the ocean. Dissolved carbon dioxide makes seawater more acidic—a process called ocean acidification—and its effects have already been observed: the shells of sea butterflies, also known as pteropods, have begun dissolving in the Antarctic.
Tiny sea butterflies are related to snails, but use their muscular foot to swim in the water instead of creep along a surface. Many species have thin, hard shells made of calcium carbonate that are especially sensitive to changes in the ocean’s acidity. Their sensitivity and cosmopolitan nature make them an alluring study group for scientists who want to better understand how acidification will affect ocean organisms. But some ... more »
2013-05-17 11:49:37 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)
Rubens' tube
A Steampunk science experiment
A Rubens' tube, also known as a standing wave flame tube, or simply flame tube, is an antique physics apparatus for demonstrating acoustic standing waves in a tube. Invented by German physicist Heinrich Rubens in 1905, it graphically shows the relationship between sound waves and sound pressure, like a primitive oscilloscope.
A tube is perforated with a row of evenly-spaced, evenly-sized holes at the top, and covered with a flexible membrane at both ends. Gas is pumped into the tube, and speakers are put at either end. When the gas is lit (along the holes at the top) there should be an even row of little jets of flame. Their height depends on the size of the holes and the pressure of the gas from within the tube. When the speakers start pouring out sound, the flames should arrange themselves into standing... more »
2013-05-17 11:48:50 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 23 +1s)
Blueprints of Flowers
The worlds of architecture and scientific illustration collided when Macoto Murayama was studying at Miyagi University in Japan. In a project he calls “Inorganic flora,” the 29-year-old Japanese artist diagrams flowers. He buys his specimens—sweetpeas (Lathyrus odoratus L. , Asiatic dayflowers (Commelina communis L.) and sulfur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus Cav.), to name a few—from flower stands or collects them from the roadside.
Murayama carefully dissects each flower, removing its petals, anther, stigma and ovaries with a scalpel. He studies the separate parts of the flower under a magnifying glass and then sketches and photographs them.
Using 3D computer graphics software, the artist then creates models of the full blossom as well as of the stigma, sepals and other parts of the bloom. He cleans up his composition in Photoshop and adds measureme... more »
2013-05-17 11:47:38 (0 comments, 6 reshares, 20 +1s)
Hofstadter's butterfly
40-year-old prediction confirmed: First direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly fractal observed in moire superlattices
A team of researchers from Columbia University, City University of New York, the University of Central Florida (UCF), and Tohoku University and the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan, have directly observed a rare quantum effect that produces a repeating butterfly-shaped energy spectrum, confirming the longstanding prediction of this quantum fractal energy structure, called Hofstadter's butterfly.
The Hofstadter butterfly is a fractal pattern—it contains shapes that repeat on smaller and smaller size scales. Fractals are common in classical systems such as fluid mechanics, but rare in the quantum mechanical world. In fact, the Hofstadter butterfly is one of the first quantum fractals theoretically d... more »
2013-05-17 07:04:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)
What with a new logo and the new UI, this is one community we would love you to join. All Science Fiction lovers are welcome!
Whether you like Doctor Who or Star Trek or like reading Isaac Asimov, this is a great place to share and join in the conversation!
#scifi #sciencefiction #sciencefictionandfantasy #sf #scififans #scififriday #scifichat #scifiwatcher #sciencefictiontelevision #hardsciencefiction #hardscifi
2013-05-16 16:35:17 (4 comments, 8 reshares, 13 +1s)
Learn Mathematics the Easy way
What if a painless zap to the brain could improve your ability to do math? Would you do it? It may sound weird, but a new, small study of 25 people has shown that something like this may work. Researchers from the U.K. and Austria found that something called transcranial random noise stimulation helped people learn certain arithmetic faster. The effect still appeared when the researchers tested their study volunteers again six months later.
The stimulation required volunteers to get electrical stimulation through their scalps. They get bursts of electrical currents in random frequencies, which seems to make brain cells more excitable. For this study, they received stimulation over a part of the prefrontal cortex that's important for arithmetic. The researchers gave 13 of their volunteers stimulation over five days, while they put the rest of... more »
2013-05-16 10:42:32 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)
Story of Dog
Evolution shaped genes in humans and dogs that correspond to diet, behavior, and disease, according to a new study.
The bond between dogs and humans is ancient and enduring. Dogs snuggle up to us at night, gambol by our side during daily walks, and flop adoringly at our feet when we crash on our couches. But new research shows that the connection runs deeper than you might think. It is embedded in our genes.
Researchers from the University of Chicago and several international institutions found that several groups of genes in humans and dogs—including those related to diet and digestion, neurological processes, and disease—have been evolving in parallel for thousands of years.
For example, living in crowded conditions with humans may have conferred an advantage on less aggressive dogs, leading to more submissive canines and eve... more »
2013-05-15 10:30:05 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 21 +1s)
GROVER
Unlike its famous cousin Curiosity, unheralded GROVER, the NASA rover takes on Greenland ice sheet.
Like its cousin Curiosity, currently busy exploring Mars this NASA rover is exploring a cold and inhospitable land. It hasn't had to travel so far to get there, though. The Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research, or GROVER, is trundling across Greenland to measure changes in the ice sheet with ground-penetrating radar. This should help researchers to better understand the effects of climate change.
The tank-like GROVER prototype stands six feet tall, including its solar panels. It weighs about 800 pounds and traverses the ice on two repurposed snowmobile tracks. The robot is powered entirely by solar energy, so it can operate in pristine polar environments without adding to air pollution. The panels are mounted... more »
2013-05-15 09:04:01 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 12 +1s)
Stem Cell Burger
A researcher at Maastricht University in the Netherlands has managed to grow a burger patty in a lab from stem cells.
Called "in vitro meat", this particular version was created by Dr Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, who wants to see lab-grown meat taken out of the lab and put into bellies. "Let's make a proof of concept, and change the discussion from 'this is never going to work' to, 'well, we actually showed that it works, but now we need to get funding and work on it'," he said last year.
Using animal stem cells, Dr Post created thin strips of muscle tissue, grown in culture dishes — about 20,000 strips per burger. There are a few problems with the process, and not just that the meat produced has no fat cells — which are not only possibly very good for you, but also make meat del... more »
2013-05-15 05:59:28 (13 comments, 9 reshares, 32 +1s)
3D Printed Moon base
The European Space Agency (ESA) is looking to build a lunar base with 3D printing using local materials on the moon. The 3D structures are built layer-by-layer. The lunar material would be combined with magnesium oxide, which turns it into a "paper" to be printed with. Then, for the "ink," a binding salt is added to transform the material into a solid. The architects are trying to create a structure that can handle the harsh weather and environment that the moon can have. “3D printing offers a potential means of facilitating lunar settlement with reduced logistics from Earth,” said Scott Hovland of ESA’s human spaceflight team.
Dini's Plans for a Moonbase
Dini has lunar plans for the D-shape, and is in discussions with La Scuola Normale Superiore, Norman Foster (a UK architecture firm), and Alta Space, as part of the Auror... more »
2013-05-15 05:58:54 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 21 +1s)
3D Printed Moon base
The European Space Agency (ESA) is looking to build a lunar base with 3D printing using local materials on the moon. The 3D structures are built layer-by-layer. The lunar material would be combined with magnesium oxide, which turns it into a "paper" to be printed with. Then, for the "ink," a binding salt is added to transform the material into a solid. The architects are trying to create a structure that can handle the harsh weather and environment that the moon can have. “3D printing offers a potential means of facilitating lunar settlement with reduced logistics from Earth,” said Scott Hovland of ESA’s human spaceflight team.
Dini's Plans for a Moonbase
Dini has lunar plans for the D-shape, and is in discussions with La Scuola Normale Superiore, Norman Foster (a UK architecture firm), and Alta Space, as part of the Auror... more »
2013-05-14 07:49:32 (11 comments, 4 reshares, 13 +1s)
What does it mean to be posthuman?
HOW would you like to be a posthuman? You know, a person who has gone beyond the "maximum attainable capacities by any current human being without recourse to new technological means", as philosopher Nick Bostrum of the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford so carefully described it in a recent paper.
People who, through genetic manipulation, the use of stem cells, or other biointervention, have had their ability to remain healthy and active extended beyond what we would consider normal. Their cognitive powers (memory, deductive thought and other intellectual capabilities, as well as their artistic and creative powers) would far outstrip our own.
Is it possible to imagine such humans without recourse to science fiction clichés? And if we can, how would they affect how we see ourselves – and each other? Wo... more »
2013-05-14 06:18:49 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)
Solar Paint
Imagine if you could just paint your roof with solar paint and harness the free energy of the Sun
The method spray-coats a photovoltaic active layer by an air based process—similar to spraying regular paint from a can—to develop a cheaper technique which can be mass produced.
“Spray coating is currently used to apply paint to cars and in graphic printing,” says David Lidzey, professor at the University of Sheffield. “We have shown that it can also be used to make solar cells using specially designed plastic semiconductors. Maybe in the future surfaces on buildings and even car roofs will routinely generate electricity with these materials.
Extract from Scientific American
_The paint contains nanoparticles of titanium dioxide—which gives whiteness to sunscreen and powdered sugar. The particles are coated with semiconducti... more »
2013-05-14 05:42:51 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)
I'm backing this project. Will you help too?
They're suggesting a real use of swarm robotics -- a mini-Borg collective, if you will -- to do something GENUINELY GOOD for our planet.
If this isn't a good use of Kickstarter, I don't know what is.
2013-05-13 07:41:21 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 25 +1s)
Starburst Jewel
Like a July 4 fireworks display, a young, glittering collection of stars looks like an aerial burst. The cluster is surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust—the raw material for new star formation. The nebula, located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina, contains a central cluster of huge, hot stars, called NGC 3603. This environment is not as peaceful as it looks. Ultraviolet radiation and violent stellar winds have blown out an enormous cavity in the gas and dust enveloping the cluster, providing an unobstructed view of the cluster.
Most of the stars in the cluster were born around the same time but differ in size, mass, temperature, and color. The course of a star's life is determined by its mass, so a cluster of a given age will contain stars in various stages of their lives, giving an opportunity for detailed analyses of s... more »
2013-05-13 07:34:17 (0 comments, 11 reshares, 21 +1s)
Plasma Device Could Revolutionize Energy Generation and Storage
Scientists at the University of Missouri have devised a new way to create and control plasma that could transform American energy generation and storage. Randy Curry, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Missouri’s College of Engineering, and his team developed a device that launches a ring of plasma at distances of up to two feet. Although the plasma reaches a temperature hotter than the surface of the sun, it doesn’t emit radiation.
"Launching plasma in open air is the 'Holy Grail' in the field of physics," said Curry, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the University of Missouri's College of Engineering. "Creating plasma in a vacuum tube surrounded by powerful electromagnets is no big deal; dozens of labs can do that. Our innovation all... more »
2013-05-13 06:28:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)
Future world
Extract from the BBC Article.
As part of the BBC's 'What If?' season of programmes, we commissioned a week of news reports that take a light-hearted look at the future.
In the fifth instalment, The first flights at six times the speed of sound mean London and Sydney are just a few hours apart, while light pollution forces astronomers to close the last telescope on Earth.
Have we got it right?
Article Link: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130328-news-2050-hypersonic-take-off
#science #scienceeveryday #sciencefiction #scifi #sf #bbc
2013-05-12 10:04:50 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)
Growing Batteries
My dream: to be able to drive a virus-powered car. — Angela Belcher
Inspired by an abalone shell, Angela Belcher programmes viruses to make elegant nanoscale structures that humans can use. Selecting for high-performing genes through directed evolution, Belcher has produced viruses that can construct powerful new batteries, clean hydrogen fuels and record-breaking solar cells.
As head of the Biomolecular Materials Group at MIT, Belcher brings together the fields of materials chemistry, electrical engineering and molecular biology to engineer viruses that can create batteries and clean energy sources.
Scientists at MIT used the viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a battery, the cathode and anode, the journal Science reports. Essentially, a battery turns chemical energy into electrochemical energy w... more »
2013-05-12 08:42:38 (22 comments, 38 reshares, 56 +1s)
BeerSci: A Pint That Fits In Your Pocket
Nothing hits the spot after a long hike more than a beer, but lugging a six-pack through the wilderness isn’t as appealing. Brewers have toyed with portable beer concentrates before—by evaporating the water from finished brews. But along with the water go the hops, which impart flavor. Pat Tatera of Pat’s Backcountry Beverages developed a process to brew concentrate instead of beer. With seltzer—the company also sells a $30 carbonator bottle—campers can turn one pouch of it into a pint of full-flavored pale ale.
Tatera’s brewing process starts like that of any ale. He boils water and malt to create wort—unfermented beer—then cools the mixture and adds yeast to ferment it. Instead of finishing the brew there, he builds a concentrate. He vacuum distills the mixture and reserves the ethanol, leaving behind a syrup. Then he starts the proc... more »
2013-05-11 10:34:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)
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2013-05-11 09:24:24 (13 comments, 23 reshares, 90 +1s)
Space city imagined
How would you imagine a space city?
What are the three things required by a space city.... my three (in no priority are)...
➢ An organo-mechanical interface for recycling waste, water, creating oxygen and photosynthesis.
➢ A method for the city to move around a planet to keep a stable orbit.
➢ Managing an atmosphere in space and avoiding radiation.
Pic courtesy: trolldens.blogspot.com
#space #city #spacecity #future #sciencefiction #scifi #sf
2013-05-11 05:55:52 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 21 +1s)
To Sail beyond the Sunset
Two new sails are being looked at as possible variants to the solar sail...(the title is taken from a book by Robert A Heinlein).
New satellite sail is propelled by solar protons
A tiny new satellite is propelled by repulsion. ESTCube-1, which went into orbit recently, will put proton-powered electric solar sails to the test for the first time. It could pave the way for speedy trips through the solar system. Regular solar sails have large, thin mirrors that reflect photons from the sun to push the spacecraft forward. The new electric sail, harnesses solar protons instead. Wires with a positive charge will extend from the craft and repel protons – also positively charged – to propel the tiny satellite.
ESTCube-1 is 10 centimetres wide and has a 10-metre-long wire just half the width of a human hair. It is within the ... more »
2013-05-11 05:24:44 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 15 +1s)
Waimanu, the first penguin
(That we know of)
Waimanu is currently the oldest known penguin, and it is an ancient taxon indeed. The rocks containing the Waimanu manneringi holotype skeleton are an astounding 61.6 million years old, far and away the oldest to produce penguin bones. To put this in perspective, these penguins lived just 4-5 million years after the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs (except for birds of course).
These early penguins inherited a world in which a reset button had been firmly pressed. It was warm, rather homogenous in temperature across most of the latitudinal gradient, and most importantly, nearly every major niche was hung generously with “help wanted” signs.
Waimanu is both amazingly penguin-like and amazingly primitive. Waimanu manneringi was a healthy size, about halfway between a King Penguin and an Empero... more »
2013-05-10 13:32:40 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)
App helps partially sighted photographers take the perfect snap
Blind and partially sighted people can now boost their photography skills, thanks to a smartphone camera app that bypasses the visual cues sighted people take for granted. Dustin Adams and colleagues at the University of California at Santa Cruz noted that people with impaired vision want to be able to snap pictures and show them to friends – just like anybody else does. But little research existed on what helps people with vision problems take better pictures.
The researchers built their own app that dispenses with a "shutter" button as it can be hard for people with a visual impairment to locate. Instead, the app snaps a picture in response to a simple upward swipe gesture. And it merges face detection and the voice accessibility features so that the phone speaks out loud the number of faces detected, h... more »
2013-05-10 13:10:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 20 +1s)
It's the summer LED festival, when the city is filled with light
To celebrate their liberation from the System Intellectual Property Council, the Kopimist moon Europa holds an LED festival. Huge, glowing globes are hoisted above the capitol city's misty towers, and the citizens dance to pirated music until they are too tired to see Jupiter's fractal clouds overhead.
Maxim Revin is an illustrator and concept designer in Russia. You can see more of his work on his blog.
Artist bloglink: http://maximrevin.blogspot.in/
Article link: http://io9.com/its-the-summer-led-festival-when-the-city-is-filled-w-497358625
#sciencefiction #art #sf #scifi #artist #future
2013-05-09 15:22:52 (4 comments, 5 reshares, 17 +1s)
Turning Star Trek's medical tricorder into reality
Is a foolproof, smartphone-sized device that diagnoses diseases a pipe dream – or can a $10 million competition turn the fiction into a lifesaver? Such a device could be in your hands sooner than you think. In January last year, the X Prize Foundation partnered with communications giant Qualcomm to launch a $10 million competition to develop a pocket medical diagnostic tool, to be ready in mid-2015, that previously existed only in science fiction. The contest's organisers say they want to usher in a new era of medical technology, one that would revolutionise healthcare in the face of spiralling costs and, in the US, a steady fall in the number of doctors providing primary care. But just how many of a physician's complex duties can be turned over to technology?
Announcing the contest last year, Peter Diamandis o... more »
2013-05-09 15:22:07 (1 comments, 7 reshares, 12 +1s)
Turning Star Trek's medical tricorder into reality
Is a foolproof, smartphone-sized device that diagnoses diseases a pipe dream – or can a $10 million competition turn the fiction into a lifesaver? Such a device could be in your hands sooner than you think. In January last year, the X Prize Foundation partnered with communications giant Qualcomm to launch a $10 million competition to develop a pocket medical diagnostic tool, to be ready in mid-2015, that previously existed only in science fiction. The contest's organisers say they want to usher in a new era of medical technology, one that would revolutionise healthcare in the face of spiralling costs and, in the US, a steady fall in the number of doctors providing primary care. But just how many of a physician's complex duties can be turned over to technology?
Announcing the contest last year, Peter Diamandis o... more »
2013-05-09 15:06:26 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)
We have crossed 30,000 members... thanks for the support everyone who forms part of the Sci-FI community! (community link: http://goo.gl/Ib5bG)
Our endeavour has been to provide meaningful content, highly curated for you, and we hope we have been doing just that.
We are looking at providing a platform for authors / kickstarter campaigns and other promotional and self-promotional information, but we want to ensure that we don't end up spamming each other. All suggestions are welcome!
This is your community, and you have a say as to how it works! Vote with your fingers :)
Please reshare to your circles to spread the word!
To honor our crossing 30,000 members, I'm tagging +Jeri Ryan who has always been so supportive of our community. Here is a pic of the Original 7 of 9 Borg from Star Trek Voyager.
#sciencefiction #scifi ... more »
2013-05-08 08:58:15 (14 comments, 6 reshares, 32 +1s)
Why isn't science fiction used more often to teach science in schools?
Among the many things that can be said about science fiction, there's no question about its tremendous entertainment value and ability to convey difficult concepts in a clear and compelling manner. Which is why a pair of researchers from the University of Valencia are urging educators to get their act together and start using science fiction as a way to engage their students and motivate interest in science and technology.
To get a better sense of science fiction's current place in the classroom, researchers Fanny Petit and Jordi Solbes reviewed over 30 compulsory science and technology textbooks for physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and various technology subjects. They also took a look at teacher books, CD-ROMs, and activity books. Of these resources, only 30% made any kind of reference to a... more »
2013-05-08 08:14:29 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)
Beer Drones
Drones That Deliver Beer
This August, drones will drop payloads all over South Africa's OppiKoppi music festival, and there's a good chance no one will mind. Probably because the payload is beer.
Customers thirsty for beer will order beer with their phones, then someone will attach a parachute to a beer, load that beer into an octorotor, and the octorotor will fly overhead, release the beer, and the beer parachutes to the person who ordered it (hopefully). For test flights, the drone is remotely piloted, but the goal is to make the process far more autonomous, with drones flying themselves to coordinates on a GPS delivery grid.
This isn't the first attempt at delivering concessions via robot: the sadly-a-hoax Taco Copter first captured the stomachs of a hungry and tech-savvy public, before the Burrito Bomber offered a... more »
2013-05-08 08:13:46 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 7 +1s)
Amazing DNA
DNA: the 'smartest' molecule in existence?
DNA is structured like a ladder, opens and closes like a zip, codes data like Morse code and coils tightly
_DNA is the molecule that contains and passes on our genetic information. The publication of its structure on the 25th of April 1953 was vital to understanding how it achieves this task with such startling efficiency.
In fact, it's hard to think of another molecule that performs so many intelligent functions so effortlessly._
For such a huge molecule, DNA is very stable so if it's kept in cold, dry and dark conditions, it can last for a very, very long time. This is why we have been able to extract and analyse DNA taken from species that have been extinct for thousands of years.DNA's structure is a bit like a twisted ladder. The twisted 'rails' are... more »
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