Science & TechnologyS


Question

The Sea Serpent of Juno Beach

Chandra Bill
WPTV
Thu, 03 May 2007 16:50 UTC
You've heard of the Loch Ness Monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The sea serpents of legend, right?

A local diver says he's found something not even the Smithsonian can identify and it's right off the shores of Juno Beach.

©Dennis Burke
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Bulb

Quantum Dot Recipe May Lead To Cheaper Solar Panels


ScienceDaily
Thu, 03 May 2007 13:50 UTC
Rice University scientists today revealed a breakthrough method for producing molecular specks of semiconductors called quantum dots, a discovery that could clear the way for better, cheaper solar energy panels.

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Light Saber

Australia's largest dinosaur unveiled


AFP
Thu, 03 May 2007 10:18 UTC
The fossilised bones of Australia's largest dinosaur went on display Thursday, with experts predicting the find will rewrite what is known of the country's prehistoric past.

The two dinosaurs, nicknamed Cooper and George by researchers, are part of the titanosaur family that lived about 100 million years ago, and at 25 metres (yards) long were among the largest animals to ever roam the Earth.
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Magic Wand

Mysterious Science of Sound : Music in 'Da Vinci Code' Chapel

Ben McConville
ABC / AP
Thu, 03 May 2007 04:56 UTC
Like a plot from "The Da Vinci Code," a team of code breakers claims to have found music hidden for 500 years in intricate carvings at the church where author Dan Brown set the climax of the best-selling book.

Father and son team Thomas and Stuart Mitchell say they deciphered a musical code hewn into stone cubes on the ribs supporting the ceiling of Rosslyn Chapel in the village of Roslin, near Edinburgh.

"Breaking the code was a true eureka moment. It's like we have been given a compact disc from the past," said Stuart Mitchell, 41, a music teacher from Edinburgh. "But unlike the fiction of 'The Da Vinci Code,' this is a tangible link to the past."

The music has been recorded, and will get its official premiere in the chapel May 18.

Musical experts reserved judgment, but did not dismiss the Mitchells' theory.
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Vader

Computer Game Violence Level, Confiscated Swords Led To Student's Removal

Bob Dunn
ForbendNow
Thu, 03 May 2007 04:24 UTC
Police discovered five swords in the bedroom of a Clements High School senior whose home they searched after getting complaints about a 3-D computer "shoot-'em-up" game map the student designed, which depicted a portion of the school.

That information surfaced in a Fort Bend Independent School District Police Department report released Tuesday, and was confirmed by several district officials who also revealed other details about the case for the first time.

The student, whose name has not been released, was not arrested or charged by FBISD police, however, he was removed from Clements and transferred to M.R. Wood Alternative Education Center several days ago. Officials said he also complied with a police order to delete the game and game maps from his computer.
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Wine

Beer maker, scientists to create energy

Rod McGuirk
Associated Press
Thu, 03 May 2007 04:19 UTC
Australia - Scientists and Australian beer maker Foster's are teaming up to generate clean energy from brewery waste water - by using sugar-consuming bacteria.

The experimental technology was unveiled Wednesday by scientists at Australia's University of Queensland, which was given a $115,000 state government grant to install a microbial fuel cell at a Foster's Group brewery near Brisbane, the capital of Queensland state.

The fuel cell is essentially a battery in which bacteria consume water-soluble brewing waste such as sugar, starch and alcohol.

The battery produces electricity plus clean water, said Prof. Jurg Keller, the university's wastewater expert.
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Key

Deep tremors may hold key to predicting big quakes


Reuters
Thu, 03 May 2007 04:16 UTC
Researchers have identified a link between a series of recently discovered earth movements that they believe may hold the key to better forecasting major earthquakes.

Instances of deep tremors, low-frequency and silent earthquakes have only been observed in the past two decades, with the advent of equipment like the Global Positioning System (GPS), and researchers have been studying them as disparate events.

But scientists in Japan and the United States say these events may be symptoms of what is known as a "slow earthquake", if they occur in the same place and around the same time.
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Bizarro Earth

Source of Major Earthquakes Discovered Beneath U.S. Heartland

Robin Lloyd
LiveScience
Wed, 02 May 2007 16:46 UTC
Scientists have finally figured out what might have caused a series of devastating earthquakes that struck the Midwest nearly 200 years ago at a set of faults that has confused geologists for a long time.
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Wolf

Gene makes racing dogs fast, study finds

Maggie Fox
Reuters
Tue, 01 May 2007 13:07 UTC
A gene that helps control muscle development makes all the difference between an elite racing dog and a freak that is put down at birth, scientists reported on Tuesday.
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Telescope

Pluto-bound New Horizons Provides New Look At Jupiter System


Science Daily
Tue, 01 May 2007 22:58 UTC
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has provided new data on the Jupiter system ­-- stunning scientists with never-before-seen perspectives of the giant planet's atmosphere, rings, moons and magnetosphere.

©NASA/JHUAPL
Image of the planet Jupiter's moon, Io, as seen by the New Horizons spacecraft. A plume from a huge volcanic eruption can be seen at the north pole of the moon.

Comment: Wonder how many new moons they counted that they just forgot to mention?

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