491 replies to this topic

[Wrath of Dagon]

First up: 34000 year old living organisms discovered: http://news.yahoo.co...oundburiedalive

[Humodour]

That's really cool!

I don't know if this is the same discovery (doesn't seem to be), but a few years ago scientists discovered some Bacteria (or Archaea was it?) living trapped between layers of rock beneath the earth's surface. They'd been there for I think hundreds of thousands of years (millions?). I believe they reduced sulphur or something weird.

These organisms were breeding and dying like normal organisms, they hadn't been surviving for extended periods of time, just reproducing - which is something unique in and of itself. But the conditions they were living in were, you know, totally alien - they'd basically never been exposed to the outside world before and harvested energy in a manner unlike any other known organism.

Ah yes, this seems to be it: http://www.newscient...by-the-sun.html

They have been isolated from the rest of the world for 20 million years.

[Walsingham]

That's really cool!

I don't know if this is the same discovery (doesn't seem to be), but a few years ago scientists discovered some Bacteria (or Archaea was it?) living trapped between layers of rock beneath the earth's surface.

...

They have been isolated from the rest of the world for 20 million years.

Finally a species we nerds can look down on socially.

[Rostere]

Finally a species we nerds can look down on socially.

Should you interpret that sentence as though if it's insinuating that nerds and humans are different species? I've heard they can generate progeny, even though I have not seen it for myself

[Wrath of Dagon]

Scientists to resurrect mammoth : http://news.yahoo.co...nsciencemammoth

Just because we can do it, does it mean we should do it?

[Walsingham]

Scientists to resurrect mammoth : http://news.yahoo.co...nsciencemammoth

Just because we can do it, does it mean we should do it?

Are you kidding? I'm all over mammoth burgers.

[Humodour]

Just because we can do it, does it mean we should do it?

Yes.

[Raithe]

I stumbled on some slightly interesting science-related trivia..

Leonardo da Vinci, whilst a total genius, made absolutely no great advancements to science. While he did make many scientific breakthru's much ahead of other people, he encrypted all of his notes and never shared them.
By the time his notebooks were actually decoded, all of the discoveries he'd made in his lifetime had been discovered and credited to other people who had actually shared them with the world...

[Wrath of Dagon]

Scientists to resurrect mammoth : http://news.yahoo.co...nsciencemammoth

Just because we can do it, does it mean we should do it?

Are you kidding? I'm all over mammoth burgers.

I am kidding, it's a Jurassic Park reference.

[Humodour]

This one is a bit less surreal but a lot more useful: the US Department of Energy has created a new glass material that is flexible (bends rather than shattering under mechanical stress) and also stronger than steel.

http://inhabitat.com...ger-than-steel/

[Gfted1]

^I wonder if Scotty gave it to them.

[Humodour]

^I wonder if Scotty gave it to them.

Chances are if you can imagine it, any sufficiently advanced science can approximate it.

[Walsingham]

^I wonder if Scotty gave it to them.

Chances are if you can imagine it, any sufficiently advanced science can approximate it.

Mmmm... chocolate supermodel....

[Raithe]

Mmmm... chocolate supermodel....

Melt in the hand, not in the mouth?

[Walsingham]

Mmmm... chocolate supermodel....

Melt in the hand, not in the mouth?

Steady. Hold the line....

[Raithe]

Reporter : "Tell me Doctor. Why did you decide to go into gengineering research?"

Scientist : "To fulfill a dream mostly."

Reporter : "Okay, I'll bite. What dream? A dream for a better, cleaner world? Peace on Earth? Food and care for the needy?"

Scientist : "Nope. A redhead, five-ten with green eyes, athletic build, and legs up to here."

[Walsingham]

I told you curries are good for colds.

[Raithe]

Something a few months old.. but still kind of interestingly funky. Marine Architecture wise... The guy has some fun ideas. Be interesting to see if any of them ever got built...

The Physalia

[Walsingham]

We need food _right now_

"We have 20 years to arguably deliver something of the order of 40% more food; 30% more available fresh water and of the order of 50% more energy.

[Humodour]

Producing an ever larger amount of energy is not a problem (convincing people to bother building the infrastructure is, but I'm seeing very encouraging signs of large-scale change). Food on the other hand is.

And it is a problem compounded by the fact that phosphate is running out - a key ingredient of fertiliser.

Genetic engineering of crops seems to be the most powerful and viable solution to food scarcity, and even the ****ing Vatican recognises that.