CRATERS OF THE MOON: The volcanic lava beds of Southern Idaho are a desolate stretch of some 63 extinct or dormant volcanoes, craters and cinder cones with an eerie semblance to a moonscape. It was here, on August 22 1969, that Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, Joe Engle, and Eugene Cernan arrived to learn the basics of volcanic geology in preparation for trips to the moon. This autographed photo evokes the cool star power of pioneers from another era.
We leave now as we once came,
with peace and with hope for all mankind.
EUGENE CERNAN
the last words spoken on the moon at the end of the Apollo 17 mission
★ Calling All Stargazers ★ Do you look skyward with your camera or telescope? If you are willing to share the view, let Scott Lewis know. Thanks, and reshare with other wannabe astronomers (or professionals).
Originally shared by Scott Lewis
Hello Plusketeers!
Reaching out to all of the astronomers on Google+! We need your cosmic perspective!!
As many of you know, Fraser Cain from Universe Today and Astronomy Cast along with Pamela Gay from Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest have weekly Star Parties that allow us to explore the Universe through the optics of our fantastic astronomers across the world!
If you haven’t, you can go to Universe Today’s YouTube page to watch the recordings of previous Star Parties, along with the recording of Astronomy Cast and the Weekly Space Hangout.
Due to the overwhelming success of our Star Parties, we’re looking to branch out and add even more astronomers from across the world! If you have a telescope and the means of streaming video from it, please get in contact with me! If you know someone who loves sharing their view of the cosmos with others, direct them to me as well!
We’re extremely excited to add more astronomers from all over the world to our Star Parties. Even if they’re not on Google+ yet, still have them get in contact with me via email: Scott@KnowTheCosmos.com or Twitter:@KnowTheCosmos
Spread the word and share the science! Let’s create an even larger circle of Astronomy Plusketeers to explore the vast expanses of the Universe!
Enchanting! Five women on a performance stage at Pushkar Mela festival in India. Winning entry of Lonely Planet’s competition celebrating its 100 millionth guidebook. Photographer: Sreesailam Pasupula
If you could share one message, what would it be? Here’s my favorite part of Koen De Paus passionate and inspirational message:
Defend reason, defend science budgets, stress the importance of education and life long learning, go into debate with people who try to demonize new technologies such as GMOs, donate to science research & education as well as humanitarian projects, … Basically your job is to make the world a better place through the application of science and technology and one of the best ways to do that is to get smart yourself and to increase the amount of educated people on the planet.
Originally shared by DaFreak
This post was inspired by Mark Bruce who asked a rather interesting question, If you could share one message that would reach hundreds of millions of people… What would you share? #Words4Mankind
http://goo.gl/gj3U9 – From atoms to molecules to cells to fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals to primates and here we are, trying to wrap our heads around deep time and the mindblowing change that it has produced.
We have come a very long way indeed… 13,7 billion years is a vast ocean of time, yet it just so happens that we are living in an age of vast importance that has the potential to change the future course of the universe itself. The change that lies behind us was not intelligently designed, the change that lies ahead of us will be. – Beginning of Infinity
We are not the endpoint of evolution and the change from fish to dinosaur to bird should give you an idea of the possibilities. A few million years from now we will be either dead or unrecognizable.
The brain is finite and physical, it’s just a matter of time before we unravel all its mysteries. Biological immortality, reshaping your body, increasing mental capabilities as well as expanding your senses, … Sure this sounds crazy because its hard to imagine but can you honestly say that it sounds crazier than aquatic creatures turning into land walking killers who eventually take to the skies? Our imagination is limited because of our perspective and short lifespans. If we ever want to make it off this rock and survive the harsh conditions of space and other planets, we will have to adapt to survive.
>Nanotechnology, the art of manipulating matter on the atomic scale is already creating one wonder material after another. http://goo.gl/CM72i
>Biotechnology is exploding in all directions; modifying old life, creating new life, printing organs, biofuels, … are all here today. http://goo.gl/YOFvw
>Information technologies, from the AI we use today, to the software that controls the robotics of tomorrow, the Internet of things, programmable matter, augmented reality, … http://goo.gl/wa4Ae
If you have seen BCI’s (Brain Computer Interfaces) in action then you know that even the near future has tremendous potential for changing our relationship with technology. http://goo.gl/YCrPL
All the sciences will keep advancing, this technological storm will only grow more fierce in the coming centuries. It’s hard to predict what fruits these endeavors will produce in a decade, let alone how advanced these industries will be a 100 years from now, but it’s safe to say that as time goes by, we are only going to learn more and thus produce ever more sophisticated technological wizardry. From fusion to holograms, we are bound to see quite a few groundbreaking developments in our lifetime.
Mankind is stuck in “We ll see whatever comes next” while it’s time to actively start thinking about which future we want to make real. Scientists around the world are breaking new ground every day, expanding knowledge, adding pathways towards different futures. The time has come to actively start looking ahead and state mission goals. Every year technology grows more powerful, if we wait too long it will end up making the choices for us. – http://thehumanproject.us/
Transhumanism is an intellectual and cultural movement that embodies all I ask for. If you have a serious interest in mankind’s future, consider joining this community of thinkers and activists. Defend reason, defend science budgets, stress the importance of education and life long learning, go into debate with people who try to demonize new technologies such as GMOs, donate to science research & education as well as humanitarian projects, … Basically your job is to make the world a better place through the application of science and technology and one of the best ways to do that is to get smart yourself and to increase the amount of educated people on the planet. Invest in 3rd world education! These are some of our best bets to overcome the problems that lie ahead. – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_basic_transhumanism_topics
Make conscious decisions about what to do with your money, do you really need that gossip magazine, plastic toy or other luxury item? You could invest that money in the future, donate or invest in organizations active in education, health, energy or fundamental science research. You can check out sites like http://www.petridish.org/ or http://www.kickstarter.com/ for more information. We waste so much of our attention/brainpower/resources/money on trivial stuff, it’s time to unite the human race under the banner of adventure. If we set ourselves goals we can work together to achieve them.
CONTROVERSIAL BIRD FLU VIRUS STUDY PUBLISHED: The first of two highly debated studies, revealing mutations that could make bird flu pandemic in humans, was just openly published amid fears of spawning bioterrorism.
• Here are the facts: H5N1 bird flu virus has circulated in poultry for more than 16 years, only rarely infecting humans. But humans lack immunity to H5N1 and infections are unusually severe, raising fears of a pandemic.
• Why is this work necessary and important? We don’t know if airborne H5N1 can be transmitted between humans. We don’t know what mutations may arise in the rapidly evolving virus that could make it transmissible. If we knew this, we could (1) monitor circulating or newly emerging variants for their pandemic potential, (2) focus eradication efforts on viruses that already have acquired subsets of molecular changes critical for transmission in mammals, and (3) stockpile antiviral compounds in regions where such viruses circulate, and initiate vaccine generation and large-scale production before a pandemic.
• How was this study done? The research focused on the viral hemagglutininprotein, HA, because it has a major role in determining host range of influenza A viruses. (For example, HA variants from human isolates prefer to bind to sialic acid coats of human cells whereas avian versions will bind well to avian cells). The researchers used a human virus with the avian HA and generated 2million random mutations. They infected ferrets, which are a good model for virology. The best adapted mutants spread to a nearby cage and infected healthy ferrets (none died).
• What did they find? The HA protein has a round “head” sitting atop a long “tail” (right image). The mutations shown in red help the viral protein bind the human receptor better (a fragment is shown in orange). The surprise was a 4th mutation in the tail that helps the viral protein do a better job in fusing the virus with the human cell membrane.
• What next? So the proverbial cat’s out of the bag. Not so much brouhaha this time around. Since the study was done in ferrets, it’s not known whether they would transmit as well in humans, and how harmful they would be.
MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY BIRD MEETS SCIENCE SUNDAY: Wow! This post has it all: ancient history, mummy mystery, medical technology, stunning images and videos, and finally…a musical offering of heavy metal. Well done, Dr. Chad and thanks for this wonderful contribution. If you don’t have ScienceSunday in your circles, you’re missing out 🙂
As an aside, I’ve just joined the ScienceSunday team of Allison Sekuler and Robby Bowles in bringing more science goodness to you, not just on Sundays but Everyday. Be sure to tag us on your science posts to be absolutely sure that we don’t miss them. Thanks, and keep them coming!
Originally shared by Chad Haney
Eye of Horus
OK so this post isn’t really about the eye of Horus, which is an Egyptian symbol of protection and good health. It’s about the sclerotic ring of birds, a mummified bird in this case. In collaboration with Rozenn Bailleul-Lesuer of the Oriental Institute, Dr. Charles Pelizzari in Radiation & Cellular Oncology at the University of Chicago, and Dr. Christian Wietholt of Visage, Inc., Rozenn wanted to identify the mummy bird without taking its wrappings off. Since some human mummies have been imaged with x-ray computed tomography (CT), she brought the bird for me to image with our microCT. The images below have voxel size of about 150 microns. Although some clinical scanners can achieve 200 microns, it is with a 1 mm slice thickness. Whereas the microCT used here is isotropic, i.e., 150 microns in all 3 directions.
Sclerotic Ring
The first image below clearly demonstrates the sclerotic ring, which is an array of overlapping bones around the eye. From the Wiki (http://goo.gl/3J4al) they are believed to have a role in supporting the eye, especially in animals whose eyes are not spherical, or which live underwater. You can read more about bird vision here (http://goo.gl/VgtLi). Not knowing bird anatomy, Dr. Pelizzari and eye speculated that the sclerotic ring might be some type of ornament or lead-based decoration. Rozenn explained that it was part of the birds anatomy, i.e., it is a sclerotic ring. The second image below from M. Hall, demonstrates how measuring the sclerotic ring can help identify the bird’s species. In the article several measurements are tabulated (http://goo.gl/lJZ7X). Rozenn and her colleagues believe our little mummy bird is a kestrel.
Medical Imaging
Last Sunday Rajini Rao and I discussed the Visible Human project (http://goo.gl/cv2xU). In my post I mentioned that the software and technology that was generated by the project is useful for more than just visualizing the data from the sliced humans. In this post I demonstrate with my pal Christian Wietholt how the same technology from the Visible Human project can be used to render the microCT data in a way that makes it easier to identify the bird species. Amira from Visage, Inc. was used by Christian Wietholt and me to segment the images so that we could strip away the CT bed it was imaged on and the tape used to hold it. The mummy linens were also segmented. Only then, the exquisite detail is visualized. The first video slices in a sagittal direction while the last video slices the bird in the coronal direction. These virtual slices are in stark contrast to the analog slices GE provided to emphasize the huge advantage medical imaging provides (http://goo.gl/hBdPH).
We imaged other mummified birds with a clinical scanner as they were too big for the microCT. Please come see the exhibit in October at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. You’ll be able to see more videos and the actual mummies on display. More information will be added here when it becomes available or you can check their website: http://oi.uchicago.edu/
• Remember, remember the Fifth of May: Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence Day as some erroneously believe (that would be Sept.16th). It celebrates the unlikely victory against French intervention in the Battle of Puebla (May 5, 1862), impacting the American Civil War. History buffs may read more here: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/remember-remember-the-fifth-of-may/
• La Bamba is a Mexican folk song originating in Veracruz. It combines elements of Spanish, indigenous and African music. Ritchie Valen’s version ranks in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 500 greatest songs, and is the only song not sung in English. The Real Ritchie Valens – La Bamba
• La Bloomba is a time lapse of the openings of hundreds of flowers “choreographed” to La Bamba. It won first prize in the ChloroFilms competition. Film maker Kris Holmes says, “Every single flower and plant in this film was grown by me, in my own garden. I shot all of the original video myself, no stock footage was used. I designed the font used in the titles. This film was my MFA Thesis film for UCLA Film School”. Did you know that Kris Holmes is co-creator of the Lucinda Font?
If you know how to help restore this G+ account, please let John B know, Thanks!
Originally shared by John Edward Bankson
HELP!
To my friends (and especially those that share Byron Burris as a friend on G+)… please make a statement regarding the fact that Google+ cancelled his Google account (access to everything Google) without good reason…
Google+ , I have known this man since he was 10 years old and he is a good man…. as good as they come… I even brought him over to G+. He was waving the Google Flag all over Facebook because, he like me, saw the light… this was the place to be. So you guys need to make this right immediately.
PLEASE post a statement such as this and be sure to include the following…
madame scientist's not-so-mad musings 