CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-20 02:14:35 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

New tech may let current graphics cards drive a $500 holographic display http://ars.to/19SltRY

2013-06-20 01:59:27 (5 comments, 9 reshares, 32 +1s)

Now it all makes sense!

2013-06-20 00:52:13 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Announcing Boulder Science Fest 2013!

I'm VERY excited to announce Boulder Science Festival 2013!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/06/19/boulder_science_festival_a_two_day_celebration_of_science.html

Boulder Science Festival 2013 ( http://boulderscifest.com/ ) will be on October 12-13, and it's a celebration of science going on in one of the coolest cities in the US, my hometown of Boulder, Colorado. We have lots of fun sciencey activities and demos planned (incl. a local beer tasting and tour of a brewery - there's a lot of science in making beer), and great talks by local scientists. Our Keynote Speaker is my friend and astronomer Carolyn Porco, who will giving us a visual tour of Saturn, its rings, and weird fleet of moons.

My wife and I are running the festival, and we think it's going to be a lot of fun. I hope to... more »

2013-06-20 00:26:44 (0 comments, 18 reshares, 12 +1s)

Welcome to the future: Scientists invent incredibly small "brain probe" made of carbon nanotubes just one millimeter long

"Neuroscientists may soon be modern-day harpooners, snaring individual brain-cell signals instead of whales with tiny spears made of carbon nanotubes.

The new brain cell spear is a millimeter long, only a few nanometers wide and harnesses the superior electromechanical properties of carbon nanotubes to capture electrical signals from individual neurons.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time scientists have used carbon nanotubes to record signals from individual neurons, what we call intracellular recordings, in brain slices or intact brains of vertebrates," said Bruce Donald, a professor of computer science and biochemistry at Duke University who helped developed the probe.

He and his collaborators describe... more »

2013-06-20 00:22:00 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

"Stratasys, a leading maker of 3-D printers, is buying another 3-D printer manufacturer, MakerBot, for $403 million in stock."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-d-printer-firms-merge-403m.html#jCp

2013-06-20 00:20:28 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

"Differences between Martian meteorites and rocks examined by a NASA rover can be explained if Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere 4000 million years ago—well before the rise of atmospheric oxygen on Earth 2500 million years ago.

Scientists from Oxford University investigated the compositions of Martian meteorites found on Earth and data from NASA's 'Spirit' rover that examined surface rocks in the Gusev crater on Mars. The fact that the surface rocks are five times richer in nickel than the meteorites was puzzling and had cast doubt on whether the meteorites are typical volcanic products of the red planet."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-mars-oxygen-rich-atmosphere-million-years.html#jCp

2013-06-20 00:06:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

2013-06-19 23:57:11 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

BREAKING: Actor James Gandolfini is dead.

http://variety.com/2013/more/news/james-gandolfini-dead-of-sudden-stroke-at-51-1200499141/

#JamesGandolfini  

2013-06-19 17:13:35 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

"August, 2011, saw the dazzling appearance of the closest and brightest Type Ia supernova since Type Ia's were established as "standard candles" for measuring the expansion of the universe. The brilliant visitor, labeled SN 2011fe, was caught by the Palomar Transient Factory less than 12 hours after it exploded in the Pinwheel Galaxy in the Big Dipper."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-unusual-supernova-doubly-perfectly.html#jCp

2013-06-19 13:10:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers from the U.S. and Scotland has developed a new type of retinal prostheses designed to restore sight to blind patients. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the team describes how they developed a device that can be placed below the surface of the retina to send signals directly to neurons behind damaged photoreceptor cells."

2013-06-19 12:59:11 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 14 +1s)

All of #Italy , this time seen from the south. #Volare  

2013-06-18 21:52:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

I wanna play with some space fire.

2013-06-18 21:51:44 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 15 +1s)

Portrait of an unusual ant: Heteroponera relicta , from northern Queensland.

2013-06-18 21:13:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My Astrophotography Circle

If you love space photos, here's a circle of almost 120+ astrophotographers. Some are very active, others less so, but all of them are capturing amazing pictures of the night sky.

2013-06-18 21:11:57 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

"NASA announced Tuesday a Grand Challenge focused on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-nasa-asteroid-grand.html#jCp

2013-06-18 20:28:39 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

Venus' Winds Are Mysteriously Speeding Up
http://www.universetoday.com/103001/venus-winds-are-mysteriously-speeding-up/

2013-06-18 20:25:09 (0 comments, 6 reshares, 7 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —3D printing can now be used to print lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand. The printed microbatteries could supply electricity to tiny devices in fields from medicine to communications, including many that have lingered on lab benches for lack of a battery small enough to fit the device, yet provide enough stored energy to power them."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-3d-tiny-batteries.html#jCp

2013-06-18 15:15:07 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Uranus Is Being Chased By Asteroids!

As Uranus speeds in its orbit in the solar system, there are three large space rocks that are in lockstep with the gas giant, according to new simulations. Two of them are wobbling in unstable “horseshoe” orbits near Uranus, while the third is in a more reliable Trojan orbit that is always 60 degrees in front of the planet.

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/103002/uranus-is-being-chased-by-asteroids/

2013-06-18 15:14:50 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

this is important research as a foundation for finding appropriate targets for drugs to prevent or treat RSV infection.  .  

2013-06-18 15:10:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Space History Photo: A one-twentieth scale model of the X-15, originally suspended beneath the wing of a B-52, is observed by a scientist as it leaves the bomber model in tests to determine the release characteristics and drop motion of the research airplane. http://oak.ctx.ly/r/6eaa

2013-06-18 15:02:22 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —A research team with members from the U.S. and Italy has succeeded in building an integrated graphene digital circuit that is able to function at gigahertz frequencies. In their paper published in the journal ACS Nano, the team describes how they built their circuit, its performance, and its limitations."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-team-graphene-digital-circuit-function.html#jCp

2013-06-18 14:50:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

ExoMars 2016 is getting ready

"ESA's mission to Mars in 2016 has entered the final stage of construction with the signature of a contract today with Thales Alenia Space at the Paris Air & Space Show.

ExoMars will fly two missions, in 2016 and 2018, in a partnership between ESA and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. Its main goal is to answer one of the outstanding scientific questions of our time: has life ever existed on Mars?"

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-exomars.html#jCp

2013-06-18 14:31:41 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Mozilla Science Lab

"(Phys.org) —Talk about big ideas. Not satisfied to rest on laurels of having brought forth the open source browser Firefox, Mozilla—defined by some as a global project, by others as one of the key open-source movements, is thinking big, really big, about changing the world of scientists. This month Mozilla announced that it is launching the Mozilla Science Lab, with support from the Alfred Sloan Foundation. According to a blog post by Foundation executive director, Marc Surman, Mozilla is creating a Science Lab for researchers around the world."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-mozilla-lab-scientists-analog-age.html#jCp

2013-06-18 14:02:27 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Australian scientists claim the identification of a possible additional 280 previously unknown Moon craters

"Australian scientists Tuesday said they had identified a possible 280 additional craters on the Moon, a finding they said could shed light on the history of the Earth's natural satellite.

By combining gravity and topography data collected by satellites, the scientists from Curtin University in Western Australia were able to use computer modelling to at first identify two basins on the far side of the Moon."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-australian-team-moon-hidden-craters.html#jCp

2013-06-18 13:50:01 (0 comments, 7 reshares, 13 +1s)

Edit Note:  After posting this story I realized that the image chosen by the original article is a pretty poor depiction (actually I don't even know what it is supposed to represent, Uranus and an enormous Asteroid bigger than the Earth itself??), as the sizes and scale of both distances and dimensions appear totally inapplicable...

Astrophysicists reveal the presence of three large asteroid that are co-orbital of Uranus, Centaurus asteroids, one of which measures a diameter of 70KM

(Note: Crantor 83982 is at a mean distance of about 20AU, that's about 20 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, so it's very, very far)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/83982_Crantor

"Astrophysicists from the Complutense University of Madrid have confirmed that Crantor, a large asteroid with a diameter of 70 km has an orbit similar to that of... more »

2013-06-17 21:48:54 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 20 +1s)

Photo by Luciano Romano
#Architcture http://bit.ly/11KJa6L

2013-06-17 21:38:02 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Bye for now G+, time for me to go destroy a bunch of villains on Marvel Heroes...later..

2013-06-17 19:13:36 (9 comments, 12 reshares, 30 +1s)

Scientists reinforce the theory that our Universe is but a part of a larger Multiverse with some new findings

"Some top scientists are beginning to worry that a radical idea proposed in 1997 by three University of Delaware physicists may be right.

If it is, then it could debunk some of the discoveries physicists were hoping to make at the Large Hadron Collider, the huge, multi-billion-dollar particle accelerator in Geneva, Switzerland, at which researchers recently discovered the famous "Higgs boson."

It would also suggest that we might be living in a "multiverse"—a universe that is much bigger than was once thought and in which the laws of physics take different forms in different places.

An article, published by Simons Science News, explains some of this."

Read more at:h... more »

2013-06-17 19:00:12 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

"Mannitol, a sugar alcohol produced by fungi, bacteria, and algae, is a common component of sugar-free gum and candy. The sweetener is also used in the medical field—it's approved by the FDA as a diuretic to flush out excess fluids and used during surgery as a substance that opens the blood/brain barrier to ease the passage of other drugs.

Now Profs. Ehud Gazit and Daniel Segal of Tel Aviv University's Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, along with their colleague Dr. Ronit Shaltiel-Karyo and PhD candidate Moran Frenkel-Pinter, have found that mannitol also prevents clumps of the protein α-synuclein from forming in the brain—a process that is characteristic of Parkinson's disease.

These results, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and presented at the Drosophila Conference in Washington, DC inApri... more »

2013-06-17 18:59:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

"(Phys.org) —A team made up of researchers from both the physics and biology departments at the University of Pennsylvania has succeeded in building a Lyme disease detector using a carbon nanotube sensor. In their paper published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, the team describes the process they used to make the device and how it works."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-combined-team-physicists-biologists-lyme.html#jCp

2013-06-17 18:50:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

"The deep-space telescope Herschel took its final bow on Monday, climaxing a successful four-year mission to observe the birth of stars and galaxies, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

The largest and most powerful infrared telescope in space, Herschel made over 35,000 scientific observations and amassed more than 25,000 hours of science data, it said."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-curtain-europe-deep-space-telescope.html#jCp

2013-06-17 18:23:23 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Cochise, the commander of the Volm species in Falling Skies - great series!

http://fallingskies.wikia.com/wiki/Cochise

http://www.fallingskies.com/

2013-06-17 17:00:51 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

The new Astronaut class of 2013

Courtesy +NASA 

"The new astronaut candidates are: 

Josh A. Cassada, Ph. D., 39, is originally from White Bear Lake, Minn. Cassada is a former naval aviator who holds an undergraduate degree from Albion College, and advanced degrees from the University of Rochester, N.Y. Cassada is a physicist by training and currently is serving as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer for Quantum Opus. 

Victor J. Glover, 37, Lt. Commander, U.S. Navy, hails from Pomona, Calif., and Prosper, Texas. He is an F/A-18 pilot and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Glover holds degrees from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Air University and Naval Postgraduate School. He currently is serving as a Navy Legislative Fellow in the U.S. Congress. 

Tyler N. Hague (Nick), 37, Lt. Colonel, U.S.Air... more »

2013-06-17 16:52:33 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Researchers study the possibility of 3-D printing artificial bone

"Researchers working to design new materials that are durable, lightweight and environmentally sustainable are increasingly looking to natural composites, such as bone, for inspiration: Bone is strong and tough because its two constituent materials, soft collagen protein and stiff hydroxyapatite mineral, are arranged in complex hierarchical patterns that change at every scale of the composite, from the micro up to the macro."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-d-artificial-bone.html#jCp

2013-06-17 13:55:23 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

We hope this proves to be an effective approach to stop the exploitation of children across the Google platforms. Better communication between agencies is definitely a step in the right  direction. I feel that additionally, there should be much easier methods for public users to report exploitation of children. it is easier to buy something online that  to report something online!  

#seesomethingsaysomething  

2013-06-17 13:48:11 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Tianhe-2 Makes #1 in the Top500 List of Supercomputers

As announced at ISC'13 today:
http://www.top500.org/list/2013/06/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/102688195041538899839/posts/Vq77CYANkiu

http://www.isc-events.com/isc13/
http://www.top500.org/lists/
Prof. Jack Dongarra's report:
http://www.netlib.org/utk/people/JackDongarra/PAPERS/tianhe-2-dongarra-report.pdf

Power-efficient computational processing using the hardware acceleration of co-processors (in this case, or GPUs in the case of Titan, the new #2).

image credit: Jack Dongarra

2013-06-17 13:47:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

NASA has selected its newest explorers! After an extensive year-and-a-half search, eight candidates have been selected to be NASA’s newest astronaut trainees to help the agency push the boundaries of exploration and travel to new destinations in our solar system.
 
NASA will discuss the selections at 4 p.m. EDT Monday, June 17, in a Google+ Hangout. During the event, we'll be taking questions from NASA's social media followers. Submit questions on Twitter and Google+ in advance and during the event using the hashtag #askNASA. Before the hangout begins, a thread will be opened on NASA's Facebook page where questions may be posted. The Hangout can be viewed live on NASA's Google+ page or on NASA Television.
 
To introduce the new class of astronauts, we'll be joined by four NASA astronauts -  Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa and Flight Crew OperationsDire... more »

2013-06-17 13:44:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

2013-06-17 13:40:57 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

"Antiferromagnets are materials that lose their apparent magnetic properties when cooled down close to absolute zero temperature. Different to conventional magnets, which can be described with classical physics even at the atomic level, antiferromagnets such as copper sulfate are quantum systems where electrons behave in a complex cooperative manner. They belong to the field of quantum many-body physics, a branch of science that studies the collective behavior of vast assemblies of interacting particles. Thus far, only very few exact solutions to quantum many-body problems are known and even fewer have been realized experimentally.

In a recent publication in Nature Physics, scientists from EPFL's Laboratory for Quantum Magnetism (LQM) have together with collaborators from Institut Laue Langevin and the University of Amsterdam have measured the collective quantum-mechanical magnetism in... more »

2013-06-17 03:49:00 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 24 +1s)

Confessions of a Google Fan Boy

I suffer from a massive curiosity disorder.

I want to learn, debate, and discuss a myriad number of subjects, which means that Google+ for me is like a drug. I feel that on this forum, I have moved in down the street next to all the worlds’ knowledge, and all I need do, is knock on the door of my virtual neighbor, and ask a question.

Google then records both question and answer, so that it might provide value to someone else over the Internet.

In short, what Google has done, is create a living, breathing Think-Tank, with all of our minds, thoughts and identities on call for the needs of others 24/7.  By first insisting, and later only encouraging each of us to use our true identities, we have been massaged into (most of the time) putting forth our best, most thoughtful, and responsible selves.

The resultingad... more »

2013-06-16 22:11:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

2013-06-16 21:38:15 (1 comments, 10 reshares, 26 +1s)

2013-06-16 20:59:32 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER KENDALL   (1962-2013)

With the greatest of sorrow I, +su ann lim , have to inform you that Jonathan Christopher Kendall, my fiancé and love of my life, died suddenly last night on 15 June 2013.  Despite the incredible efforts of our friends +Suzanne Jacob +Gaynal Brierley , paramedics and ambulance personnel he could not be revived.

Jonathan lived as he believed, telling it like it is, with wit and humour, enjoying life to the hilt, with honour, directness and compassion.  I was incredibly blessed to be the recipient of his immense love, and as each other's beloved, to share unbelievable happiness for too short a time.   Jonathan, I LOVE YOU with all my heart and miss you desperately.

One of the favourite activities in his life was to engage with all you here on Google Plus.  He thrived on the intellectual challenges, soaked up  avast amou... more »

2013-06-16 05:05:20 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 18 +1s)

Istanbul

Divan Hotel with teargas.

https://twitter.com/hickmeth/status/346052173924290560/photo/1
#occupygezi   #occupytaksim   #turkey   #turkishprotests  

2013-06-16 04:04:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

(Sat03) ESA's Cargo ship docks with the Space Station

ESA’s fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle, Albert Einstein, completed a flawless rendezvous with the International Space Station on 15 June when it docked smoothly with orbital outpost at 14:07 GMT (16:07 CEST).

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is now connected to the Space Station.

“Bravo Europe, bravo ESA, bravo ATV. Thank you Member States, thank you industry, thank you CNES, thank you Russian partner,” commented Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of ESA.

“With the fourth ATV now ready to support and supply the Space Station with essential supplies and scientific experiments, ESA again proves itself to be a reliable partner in the international station upon which the future can be developed.”

more info- http://... more »

2013-06-16 00:06:54 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Nicole Gugliucci is hanging out in a live Hangout On Air. #hangoutsonair

2013-06-15 16:22:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Nicole Gugliucci is hanging out in a live Hangout On Air. #hangoutsonair

2013-06-15 15:17:35 (4 comments, 7 reshares, 26 +1s)

94 year old and still going strong | a man with a brilliant mind

"LIVERMORE -- At 94, Dick Post is the oldest scientist Lawrence Livermore Laboratory has ever had. And he may be the most fascinating.

Post has visited the Swiss Alps nearly 50 times, regularly flies remote-controlled helicopters with his two sons, plays online Scrabble on his iPad with his daughter, actress Markie Post (TV's "Night Court"), and in the past six months began piano lessons."

Read more --> http://goo.gl/DYtpl

Image: Dick Post, 94-year-old Lawrence Livermore Laboratory chief scientist, shows the components for his invention, the flywheel battery, in the lab workshop May 9, 2013. He is still going strong. A prolific inventor, he has dozens of patents to his name. He has worked a the the lab since 1952. (Jim Stevens/Staff)

2013-06-15 15:11:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

"Wrinkled and skinny at first, the translucent, jellyfish-shaped balloons that Google released this week from a frozen field in the heart of New Zealand's South Island hardened into shiny pumpkins as they rose into the blue winter skies above Lake Tekapo, passing the first big test of a lofty goal to get the entire planet online. It was the culmination of 18 months' work on what Google calls Project Loon, in recognition of how wacky the idea may sound. Developed in the secretive X lab that came up with a driverless car and web-surfing eyeglasses, the flimsy helium-filled inflatables beam the Internet down to earth as they sail past on the wind."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-google-internet-beaming-balloons.html#jCp

2013-06-15 15:04:46 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

"A lost medieval city that thrived on a mist-shrouded Cambodian mountain 1,200 years ago has been discovered by archaeologists using revolutionary airborne laser technology, a report said."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-lost-medieval-city-cambodia.html#jCp