Homely Scientist

I just heard on the radio that there is a total lunar eclipse tonight (this morning, technically).  I looked around and found a special page from NASA on it:
A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the early morning of Tuesday, August 28, 2007. The event is widely visible from the United States and Canada as well as South America, the Pacific Ocean, western Asia and Australia. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon’s disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray. Source: NASA – Total …read more

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 Here’s a great example of science and engineering looking to nature for new and innovative ways to solve problems.  Look at that robot!  It’s tiny!  It hops!  It finds pollution!
Umberto Scarfogliero, one of the men behind the University of Lucca project, says that the team focused on fleas and frogs in particular when researching the ‘bot. “Robots like these are far more efficient than larger ones in scouring vast areas of land in a shorter time,” he explained. The little critters are now being equipped with sensors that will allow them to locate sources of mercury poisoning. Source: Leaping Lizards: …read more

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 Now this is what I’m talkin’ about!
Built on just 3 acres of land, (most single-story storage facilities need ten times that amount) Portland City Storage will be the largest solar facility in the Northwest. Excess power will be sold on to Portland General Electric, and there is a rainwater collection area on the roof. Source: Eco: Portland’s Solar-Powered, 22-Story Storage Facility – Gizmodo
Really what we have to do is build this kind of facility in order to satisfy our energy thirst.  Is it easy?  Of course not, but also fears that something like this has to be ugly…well just look …read more

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When looking at the world of infectious diseases, once of the huge questions is how fast it spreads and lethal it is (both in terms of number of people who die and how quickly).  The Spanish Flu of 1918, there hasn’t been a flu that deadly since, why?  Ebola, pretty much 100% lethal, very infectious, but because people die so quickly (not to mention horribly) it tends to burn out quickly.  Scientists looking at West Nile Virus have found that a minor change in the amino acids of the virus can have profound effects:
The amino acid change in question alters …read more

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 Okay raise your hand, who hates bugs?  Yeah I figure everyone’s hands went up.  I’m not fearful of bugs (much), and am often called on for insect removal duty, but mosquitoes, yellow jackets, and flies are certainly pests we all would like to keep at bay.  In the segment below talks about Ultrafobos which is supposed to emit sounds from your computer speakers that will repell bugs (and other animals as well)…more after the jump..

 Seems like this could work.  Sound is a very powerful thing.  Sound waves can destroy buildings, glass, and if your a parent of teenagers, drive you batty.  …read more

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What do you think happens to a species when some kind of pathogen targets it and is extremely successful at killing it off?  Extinction is pretty much what will happen.  If not extinction, decimation is likely.  Well a tropical butterfly beat the odds and set a new record of evolutionary adaptation:
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and elsewhere have documented the super-swift recovery of tropical Hypolimnas bolina butterflies, also called blue moon or great eggfly butterflies, from the onslaught of a bacteria that killed only males. The bacteria had reduced the male population to about 1 percent of …read more

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What do you think of this?
This creature, apparently a half-squid, half-octopus, was found off Hawaii’s Big Island. Possibly a newly-discovered species, it was accidentally sucked up into a deep-sea water pipeline from a depth of 3,000 feet. Researchers at the Natural Energy Laboratory, where the pipeline leads, found the animal trapped in a filter. From the Honolulu Star Bulletin: Source: Boing Boing: Possible “octosquid” discovered
Unfortunately it turned out that it was just a rare squid short two tentacles
Technorati Tags: octosquid

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It’s summer. which in this neck of the woods means wasp and hornet season (they are different, btw).  Well I’m glad these buggers aren’t around here:
A few interesting notes on Vespa mandarinia’s venom and stinger:* The venom contains at least eight distinct chemicals, some of which damage tissue, some of which cause pain, and at least one which has an odor that attracts more hornets to the victim.* The venom contains 5% acetylcholine, a greater concentration than is present in bee or other wasp venoms. Acetylcholine stimulates the pain nerve fibres, intensifying the pain of the sting.* Vespa mandarinia uses …read more

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Creepy crustaceans Batman!  Those bugs are destroying that island!
HIGASHIHIROSHIMA, Hiroshima — An island off the coast of Higashihiroshima is crumbling away due to countless crustaceans that have made holes in its rocks and caused its highest peak to completely disappear.
The rocky Hoboro Island has become a breeding ground for huge numbers of creatures known in Japanese as nanatsuba-kotsubumushi, a type of isopod. The surging number of insects has caught the attention of local researchers. Source: Crustaceans eating away island off Hiroshima – MSN-Mainichi Daily News

Amazing huh? Isopods are a type of crustacean more commonly known as pill bugs or wood …read more

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 Nope, not kidding.  Cataclysm of Biblical proportions here.  Here’s the info from CNET:
We have 10 years, folks. And then it’s man the lifeboats, or head for the hills. That’s the conclusion of James Hansen and five other scientists. They’ve just published a paper with the Royal Society in England. It says melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctic could soon reach a point of no return. The team even says the recent reports from the United Nations’ global warming conferences are too conservative in their projections of what could happen. Source: Possible cataclysm due to melting ice | Tech news blog …read more

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