Science & TechnologyS


Star

Was the brightest supernova the birth of a quark star?


New Scientist
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:14 UTC
The breakdown of matter into its tiniest quark components in a star's core may have triggered the brightest supernova ever seen, a controversial new study says. If correct, this would be the first time anyone has seen the birth of an exotic object called a quark star.

On 18 September 2006, astronomers observed the record-breaking supernova, called 2006gy, and were shocked to find that it was intrinsically about 100 times brighter than typical stellar explosions.
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Bulb

After 4.5 Billion Years, Sunshine Finally Figured Out

Andrea Thompson
Space.com
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:06 UTC
A giant underground experiment has given researchers their first glimpse into the heart of the sun and the subatomic particles that shine down on Earth everyday.

Scientists have long theorized how these particles, called neutrinos, are formed in the solar inferno, but direct proof has been hard to come by. Neutrinos can give scientists a priceless glimpse into the inner workings of the sun because they arrive on Earth virtually unchanged from when they left the sun's interior.

Princeton researchers, working at the underground Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, have made the first real-time observations of low-energy solar neutrinos, fundamental particles that are created by the roiling nuclear reactions inside the sun and that stream in vast numbers from the sun's core.
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Magnify

Polar Ice Clouds May Be Climate Change Symptom


Science Daily
Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:30 UTC
As the late summer sun sets in the Arctic, bands of wispy, luminescent clouds shine against the deep blue of the northern sky.

To the casual observer, they may simply be a curiosity, dismissed as the waning light of the midnight sun. But to scientists, these noctilucent ice clouds could be an upper-atmospheric symptom of a changing climate.

©Richard Collins, UAF Geophysical Institute
Noctilucent clouds shine in the dark portion of the sky in this image taken from the Poker Flat Research Range in 2005.
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Frozen Remains Thought to Be WW2 Airman

GARANCE BURKE
Associated Press
Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:26 UTC
FRESNO, Calif. - Mountain hikers have discovered remains believed to be those of a missing World War II airman resting atop a glacier not far from where an aviation cadet's body was found two years ago, authorities said Monday.
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Why Stone Age man was a far craftier chap than we thought

Arthur Martin
Daily Mail
Sun, 19 Aug 2007 23:15 UTC
A burrowing lobster has given scientists a brand new insight into the lives of our Stone Age ancestors.

The crustacean opened up a hole in the middle of a submerged settlement off the Isle of Wight that was inhabited some 8,000 years ago.

Divers who peered inside found a treasure trove of flints, wooden pegs and charred stones from ovens.
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Magic Hat

Diebold Elections Systems Is No More

Brad Friedman
Bradblog.com
Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:56 UTC
Diebold Elections Systems, Inc. is no more. At least in name

©Brad Blog

'Election Unit Spins off from Corporate Parent, Becomes 'Premier Election Solutions' After Failure to Find Buyer for Failing Unit! Is Full Bankruptcy Far Behind?

After a year and a half of conversely trying to dump their failed voting unit and/or lying to customers about the reliability and security of their voting systems, corporate parent Diebold is giving up the ghost of their election business which, according to an analyst in a Reuters report, was "responsible for less than 10 percent of Diebold's revenue, and 100 percent of its bad publicity."
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Magic Wand

The 5,000-year-old chewing gum


Scotsman
Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:09 UTC
A Scottish archaeology student has discovered a 5,000-year-old piece of chewing gum while on a dig in Europe.

Sarah Pickin, 23, spotted the ancient piece of "confectionery" during a dig in north-west Finland, but had to check with colleagues whether her hunch was correct or if it was in fact a fossilised piece of animal dung.
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Magic Wand

Artificial life likely in 3 to 10 years

SETH BORENSTEIN
Associated Press
Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:56 UTC
Around the world, a handful of scientists are trying to create life from scratch and they're getting closer.

Experts expect an announcement within three to 10 years from someone in the now little-known field of "wet artificial life."

"It's going to be a big deal and everybody's going to know about it," said Mark Bedau, chief operating officer of ProtoLife of Venice, Italy, one of those in the race. "We're talking about a technology that could change our world in pretty fundamental ways - in fact, in ways that are impossible to predict."

Comment: Yeah! Nothing can go wrong with that plan.

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Document

Russia: Unique Birchbark Manuscript to Shed Light on Kremlin History


Itar-tass
Sun, 19 Aug 2007 10:41 UTC
A sensational find has been made during archeological diggings on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin - a well-preserved two-sided birchbark manuscript written with ink. This has been informed by the press-service of the Kremlin Museums.
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Star

New Mystery of Invisible Matter Generated by Cosmic Collision

Ker Than
Space.com
Sat, 18 Aug 2007 09:16 UTC
Observations of a distant galaxy cluster collision reveal a core of invisible matter devoid of glittering galaxies-something that is hard to explain by current theories.

The invisible stuff is what astronomers call dark matter. They don't know what it is, but they know it exists because of its gravitational effects on normal matter and light.

If confirmed, the new results could force scientists to rethink their ideas about how dark matter behaves, or even conjure up a whole new class of dark matter. But scientists say they will await further confirmation before taking such radical steps.
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