Wrath of Dagon Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 First up: 34000 year old living organisms discovered: http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/201101...oundburiedalive 1 "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan
Humodour Posted January 14, 2011 Posted January 14, 2011 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.newscientist.com/article/dn1033...by-the-sun.html They have been isolated from the rest of the world for 20 million years.
Walsingham Posted January 14, 2011 Posted January 14, 2011 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. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Rostere Posted January 14, 2011 Posted January 14, 2011 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 "Well, overkill is my middle name. And my last name. And all of my other names as well!"
Wrath of Dagon Posted January 17, 2011 Author Posted January 17, 2011 Scientists to resurrect mammoth : http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110117/wl_as...nsciencemammoth Just because we can do it, does it mean we should do it? "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan
Walsingham Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 Scientists to resurrect mammoth : http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110117/wl_as...nsciencemammoth Just because we can do it, does it mean we should do it? Are you kidding? I'm all over mammoth burgers. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Humodour Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 Just because we can do it, does it mean we should do it? Yes.
Raithe Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 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... "Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
Wrath of Dagon Posted January 18, 2011 Author Posted January 18, 2011 Scientists to resurrect mammoth : http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110117/wl_as...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. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan
Humodour Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 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/doe-develops-flexible...ger-than-steel/
Gfted1 Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 ^I wonder if Scotty gave it to them. "I'm your biggest fan, Ill follow you until you love me, Papa"
Humodour Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 ^I wonder if Scotty gave it to them. Chances are if you can imagine it, any sufficiently advanced science can approximate it.
Walsingham Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 ^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.... "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Raithe Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 Mmmm... chocolate supermodel.... Melt in the hand, not in the mouth? "Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
Walsingham Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 Mmmm... chocolate supermodel.... Melt in the hand, not in the mouth? Steady. Hold the line.... "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Raithe Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 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." "Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
Walsingham Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 I told you curries are good for colds. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Raithe Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 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 "Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
Walsingham Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 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. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Humodour Posted January 25, 2011 Posted January 25, 2011 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.
Wrath of Dagon Posted January 25, 2011 Author Posted January 25, 2011 Genghis Khan, history's greenest conqueror: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-w...enest-conqueror 1 "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan
Hurlshort Posted January 26, 2011 Posted January 26, 2011 Genghis Khan, history's greenest conqueror: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-w...enest-conqueror I am teaching about the Yuan Dynasty right now, so I've gone ahead and brought this up as a talking point. Thanks for linking it, it's pretty fun to discuss
Walsingham Posted January 27, 2011 Posted January 27, 2011 Genghis Khan, history's greenest conqueror: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-w...enest-conqueror I'd not say this if I hadn't heard it from a green party spokesman's own mouth: depopulation is their ****ing plan. Not that this is illogical. I just find it hilarious that so many peaceniks are greenies. How exactly is this depopulation going to happen then? Who dies first? Will asking very politely do the trick? "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Rosbjerg Posted January 27, 2011 Posted January 27, 2011 Cool article - wacky comments, who apparently think that the author is worshipping an eco-terrorist death cult with the sole intent of de-populating the earth and that the article is obviously condoning said method of climate control.. some people! Fortune favors the bald.
Wrath of Dagon Posted March 28, 2011 Author Posted March 28, 2011 I know Krezack has posted about Thorium before, and it's not a new discovery, but seems especially relevant in light of the nuclear situation: http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/articl...ur-energy-needs "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan
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