Science News

The KNAW (Royal Dutch Science Academy) hosts this initiative that I wholeheartedly support: http://www.scienceintransition.nl/nieuws/position-paper-available-in-english 1. the myth of science being un-corrupatble 2. the wrong publish or perish culture 3 the sense of science: to much production of unnecessary research

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/the-man-who-would-teach-machines-to-think/309529/ A nice article in the Atlantic on Douglas Hofstadter and his counter mainstream approach to life the universe and everything. And an interesting comparison via a book review from 30 years ago in the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/07/20/reviews/hofstadter-magazine.html

Artificial neurons and networks of them are far simpler than their biological counterparts, and brainpower is more distributed and complex than previously thought. It also suggests that at least some single cell organisms may have some computing power, as well as individual cells within multicellular organisms.

From: SciTechDaily If it is so easy, why hasn't someone done it such that we would know about it. Sandberg thinks the reason is that intelligent life in the universe is very rare. Perhaps the chances of an Earth sized planet in the right orbit around a star, with a large moon to stabilize its rotation, is a very unlikely event, and it is required for an intelligent life form to develop technology. Most of the alternatives are poor outcomes for humanity.

It seems to be a step in the right direction for CO2 production and the economy. Unfortunately the reason for reduced CO2 is less heating required due to a warm winter.

Hi, I am a grade 12 student studying in Dubai Modern High School and i believe that i have found the maximum number of elements possible. Please reply to thread if interested.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2013/

This research seems to be a step toward understanding abiogenesis, and one that points in a direction not previously investigated. Will this information lead to further progress, or to another difficult road block?

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2013/announcement.html http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2013/press.html

In the article it was noted that apes are bad at learning the meaning of pointing, however other research contradict this notion. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2151757/

There has to be more to this but I am not familiar enough to figure it out. Does anyone have info? http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6154/60.full

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/ Basic Summary http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/press.html Advanced Ideas http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/advanced.html

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/ Explanation for Chemistry Dunces like me http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/popular-chemistryprize2013.pdf Explanation for Chemistry Delias that I can only worship from afar in wonder http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/advanced-chemistryprize2013.pdf

Apparently they are storing the cooling water in leaking tanks at or near the plant. Doubtless the leaking is bad enough, but lets hope there isn't another disturbance similar to the one that preceded the current situation, resulting in all that apparently highly radioactive water being dumped into and onto who knows where. Yes, you've guessed correctly, I'm of the view that nuclear power is the most dangerous method of power generation.

Planck Space Telescope data: geometry of universe may be open. http://www.nature.com/news/universe-may-be-curved-not-flat-1.13776

New theory about 1/2 spin particles suggest black holes do not contain a singularity. http://www.technologyreview.com/view/419827/why-our-universe-must-have-been-born-inside-a-black-hole/

The obvious question is, "What about this year?" I hope everyone gets the grants they need to continue their work.

The paper is in Nature. I suppose some of you have heard of this as a theoretical possibility; I had not, and am dumfounded.

Once they teach it to pick and pickle peppers, it can be named Peter Piper. Devices such as these are needed because farm labor is in some places not affordable or not available, and robots should eventually make more fruits and vegetables available at affordable prices. Eventually, a Peter Piper Personal can care for a home owner's garden.

A test drilling site for shale gas near Banks on the outskirts of Southport, Lancashire. Photograph: Ashley Cooper Corbis The UK’s priority should be to develop a low-carbon energy mix, while encouraging growth from those industries. In May this year, academics from Washington State University published research confirming a long-held suspicion: being loud and confident is a more effective way to win an argument than being right. The researchers assiduously mined their data from more than 1bn Tweets, but a quick look at the increasingly polarised debate about shale gas in the UK might have saved them some time. For a significant number of climate-sceptic Tories and rig…

https://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20130917-a-jewel-at-the-heart-of-quantum-physics/ They present a pretty interesting hypothesis.

This news reports only on two glaciers and one location each. Hopefully these locations were poor choices to take samples.

http://gizmodo.com/the-aluminum-airship-of-the-future-has-finally-flown-1301320903 Cool new airship, flies on hover fans and transport materials to places no other aircraft can go,

http://www.livescience.com/39577-insects-with-leg-gears-discovered.html Just goes to show many of man's inventions are inspired by the mechanisms of nature.

Thanks to AJB from whom I discovered the link, the list of the winning entries of the past years is very instructive. http://www.improbable.com/ig/winners/ I liked especially the 2011 mathematics prize Although this is not for laugh. I missed the prize for all those who predicted the end of the world in 2000 and 2012.