Oil Companies Going Green?

Biofuel is the next big thing. The problem is that today's biofuels (ethanol, soybean biodiesel) come with many socio-economic externalities, or harmful side effects.

With fossil fuel consumption having largely contributed to global warming, and biofuel consumption having similar bad side effects, can mankind ever go green? YES.

Teaming up with the likes of Craig Venter, ExxonMobil, among others, has invested extensively into biofuel development - using algae.

Algae, unlike other currently existing biofuels, does not occupy arable land, is extremely cheap, readily available, and consumes carbon dioxide in the process.

To understand the process, check out this short clip.

We can be invisible??!!

Yes - and soon, according to Natural History Magazine. But how?

First understand that light is one of many types of 'waves' (essentially bundles of mobile energy). Light is the one wave which, by bouncing off objects, makes objects visible to humans.

Light, as we know, travels at an incredible speed (186,000 mps). When it travels through different mediums, particularly those denser then air (e.g. water), it slows down. The slowing down of light is observed by it bending - a phenomenon known as 'refraction'. Anyways, the more dense the material, the more light slows down, and, consequently, bends.

Through the use of specially engineered 'metamaterials', scientists at Duke University have been able to bend light beyond what was considered possible (see video). As of now, they have created objects which become completely invisible, save for the casting of a small shadow.

With ongoing research in the field, maybe one day we'll be able to get a cloak like Harry Potter!

High Wire Walking

I thought this was amazing ... and crazy.

If you haven't seen Academy Award Winning Man on Wire, it's a documentary featuring Philippe Petit's mind bending 45 minute walk between the World Trade Center Towers in 1974.

High wire walkers, including Pettit, hold a pole in their hand to take advantage of inertia (resistance to change in motion). The pole gives the tightrope walker a larger moment of inertia - meaning their angular motion will be less susceptible to change because the pole offsets any force the wire exerts on the walker - meaning they have less a chance of falling.

So, now that you know why high wire walkers hold a pole, watch Man on Wire ...

Then, watch this

Philosophy and Neuroscience

Discover Magazine has summarized a study arguing that wisdom has a neurological component. Generally considered within the confines of philosophy, researchers pinpointed areas of the brain which, coupled with emotion and instinct, operate in a manner associated with wisdom.

In related news, watch this short video regarding the study of Einstein's brain.

What is Happiness?

Harvard Prof. Dr. George Vaillant attempts to answer this question after completing a 72 year study. Check out the study's summary in this video.

Short answer: happiness is not about 'me', but 'us'.

Hope for Lost Limbs

Salamanders have the amazing ability to regenerate a lost limb. Regeneration was assumed to occur because wound site cells would revert to 'pluripotent stem cell' status — allowing them to develop into many cell types and recreate the lost appendage — something adult human cells cannot do.

Nature recently published a study noting that salamanders' cells retain cell memory - that is they do not regrow from scratch. Rather than re-engineering human cells, it seems that the challenge is of coordinating already existing cells (like the salamander does) to reboot and regenerate. While a lot of work remains, the researchers now believe human limb regeneration may be an easier task than previously thought.

A Wandering Mind

We all zone out, oftentimes at alarming rates. Discover Magazine recently ran an interesting article arguing that zoning out may not necessarily be a bad thing. Noting that most of the thoughts during zoning out deal with the future and much of deep thought occurs during these periods, Carl Zimmer posits that zoning out allows us to reach goals, but separates them based on their immediacy.

In related news, the Atlantic Monthly ran a feature article some time back entitled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". Nicholas Carr argues that technological advancements have had a profound impact on how we think. Prior to the typewriter, we had much longer, drawn out sentences, but afterwords writing became much more terse. Today, the age of the internet and hypertext, has redefined 'short attention span' - think blog.