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Simulating Mars in Northern Canada
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A manned mission to Mars will inevitably consist of a few people living in incredibly close quarters in a constantly stressful environment. Starting next summer, Mars Society will be conducting a mock Mars mission in the Canadian Arctic. Six participants will live in a facility 7.6 meters tall (25 feet) and 8.3 meters wide (27 feet). For one full year, they will perform a great deal of geological experiments similar to work that would be done on Mars. Spacesuits will be worn to help simulate Mars-like conditions. Though similar studies have been done in the past, this is the most stressful and will be more true to actual conditions on Mars. The goal of the experiment is to determine leadership structure and what equipment will be necessary. ...
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2914 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Roll cloud
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Roll cloud over Uruguay. This low, roll cloud formation occurs when sinking cold air causes warm, moist air on the planet's surface to climb to higher altitudes, where the moisture condenses into cloud form. Roll clouds aren't dangerous in themselves, though, and many roll clouds form in relatively calm weather as a result of sea breezes.
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7496 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Golden chrysalis
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The chrysalis of the Metallic Mechanitis butterfly from Costa Rica.
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1 |
7520 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Rubbed the wrong way
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Shark skin doesn't look like normal fish skin. It's made of microscopic diamond shaped scales with rough edges, called "denticles". These are thought to share an evolutionary origin with teeth - indeed, they have much more in common with teeth than with scales. Like teeth, they consist of a central cavity made of pulp surrounded by dentine and enamel. The flexible but irregular surface is impossible for barnacles and other micro-organisms to cling to, as well as decreasing drag and turbulence. So just when you thought sharks couldn't get any scarier, it turns out that their entire bodies are literally COVERED with teeth. ...
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8724 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Mobile microscopes
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Developed in the University of California, Berkeley, lab of Daniel Fletcher, the CellScope, here trained on an algae sample, turns the camera of a standard cell phone into a diagnostic-quality microscope with a magnification of 5x–60x.
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7485 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Control your post-traumatic stress disorder
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The medication is designed to be injected right after a traumatic experience. It targets Oprl1, a receptor that researchers believe is responsible for attaching fear to traumatic memories.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is caused by many things, such as surviving an accident or exposure to violence. There are genetic risk factors, but many people who acquire the disorder had no predisposition. Symptoms include debilitating flashbacks and hallucinations of the event, avoiding close relationships, angry or violent outbursts, and an inability to return to the location where the traumatic experience occurred, among many others.
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7606 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
What would it look like if Earth had rings like Saturn?
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Funnily enough, our planet apparently did once have rings. According to current theories, millions of years ago a planet-sized body called Theia collided with Earth. A huge amount of material from Earth was blown up into orbit by the impact, where it formed a ring. Because this material was orbiting outside of earth's Roche limit, it eventually coalesced into the Moon. These illustrations by Ron Miller show what our skies would look like if we had rings that were the same proportional size and position as Saturn's. ...
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3959 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
World's clearest lake
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These are the first photos ever taken of the clearest lake in the world. In the water of Blue Lake in New Zealand's South Island you can see for around 76 metres - in distilled water you can see 80 metres.
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5754 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Here's why I hate centipedes
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The Amazonian giant centipede is the largest centipede alive, reaching lengths of 30 centimeters. They are carnivorous and feed on lizards, snakes, mice, and even bats. While their venom is not enough to kill an adult human, it may cause reactions with the skin.
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5028 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Earliest form of dentistry
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The earliest evidence of ancient dentistry we have is an amazingly detailed dental work on a mummy from ancient Egypt that archaeologists have dated to 2000 BCE.
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9127 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Spiders smaller than a grain of sand
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Two new species of spiders have been discovered in China, and neither of them are bigger than a grain of sand. They live in the damp litter of the forest, which is why they had gone unnoticed for so long. Both species are part of the Mysmenidae family, which are somewhat poorly understood orb-weaving spiders. Mysmena wawuensis (top) measures 0.75 mm, while Trogloneta yuensis (bottom) is 1.01 mm.
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8419 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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7766 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Who ever said snakes aren't cute
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Blunt headed tree snakes, a genus of colubrid snakes found in Mexico, Central America, and the northern part of South America.
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7694 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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3449 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Have you ever smelled a butterfly?
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From vanilla to barbecue to fruit loops, many male butterflies have a distinct smell, known to scientists as pheromones, used to attract females. These pheromones are produced in specialized scales on the wings and are often wafted over females during courtship by flapping. The smells are often oddly familiar to humans, and Opsiphanes butterflies (as seen here) can leave you desiring a piece of cake after catching one in the Amazon.
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3425 |
duddy |
11 years ago |