Category Archives: Other science

aka stamp collecting

That Settles It

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Sunday (Settled) Science: Is that woman really your mother?

You think that the woman you regard as your mother gave birth to you. But it’s an open question; there’s still debate, and it’s definitely not an open and shut case. Right?

No, no, I’m not being silly. I mean it. You need to prove to me that she’s your mother. You’ve got a birth certificate? Just a bit of paper. You look like her? Coincidence. DNA test? Useful, but not 100% accurate. She’ll swear that it’s true? Well, she might be lying, or was duped at the hospital. A photo of her holding you as a baby? Doctored. You don’t have a leg to stand on!

In the absence of conclusive evidence that she’s your mother, you should suspend contact immediately, examine the evidence more carefully and make a decision about whether you continue the relationship at a later date. By investing in a relationship with your supposed ‘mother’ now, you’re wasting time and energy that could be better spent earning money or having fun.

Scientists Find Cure for Sunspots!

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Researchers Crack the Mystery of the Spotless Sun

Oh, sorry. Did I overstate the findings in the title? There’s a better model, and we have a better understanding of the issue.

For years, solar physicists have recognized the importance of the sun’s “Great Conveyor Belt.” A vast system of plasma currents called ‘meridional flows’ (akin to ocean currents on Earth) travel along the sun’s surface, plunge inward around the poles, and pop up again near the sun’s equator. These looping currents play a key role in the 11-year solar cycle. When sunspots begin to decay, surface currents sweep up their magnetic remains and pull them down inside the star; 300,000 km below the surface, the sun’s magnetic dynamo amplifies the decaying magnetic fields. Re-animated sunspots become buoyant and bob up to the surface like a cork in water—voila! A new solar cycle is born.

Johnny Cash Takes Some Pictures

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I fell into a burning ring of fire …

Nyiragongo Crater: Journey to the Center of the World

In June 2010, a team of scientists and intrepid explorers stepped onto the shore of the lava lake boiling in the depths of Nyiragongo Crater, in the heart of the Great Lakes region of Africa. The team had dreamed of this: walking on the shores of the world’s largest lava lake. Members of the team had been dazzled since childhood by the images of the 1960 documentary “The Devil’s Blast” by Haroun Tazieff, who was the first to reveal to the public the glowing red breakers crashing at the bottom of Nyiragongo crater. Photographer Olivier Grunewald was within a meter of the lake itself, giving us a unique glimpse of it’s molten matter.

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15. The goal of the expedition is to reach the rim of the lava lake. Nobody has previously survived such an encounter.

Same photographer who did the burning molten sulfur spread.

One Fish, Two Fish. Cold Fish, Big Fish.

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Need to breathe

Oxygen content varies with temperature, which affects the growth rate and maximum size of fish.

This is why your guppy remains tiny, although you feed it nutritious food twice a day. “If you want bigger guppies,” Pauly says, “keep them in water as cold as they can tolerate and make sure your tank is well aerated.”

Aeration, indeed, works wonders for fish in captivity, and this is why fish farmers aerate their ponds: not only does this prevent early morning mass mortalities (when naturally dissolved oxygen is at its lowest), but the fish convert their food much better than without aeration. Aquaculture practitioners have known this for at least half a century, but until Pauly incorporated this into his theory, biologists had not seen the link to fish growth.

I Think it Worked for the Professor, Too

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University of York scientists using ginger in conservation of endangered stag beetle

The new research shows that stag beetles, almost extinct in parts of England and Wales, are attracted to a chemical found in ginger and this can be used to lure the insects into aerial traps fitted with tiny microphones to monitor the movement of larvae in underground nests. From this, scientists can monitor the falling numbers of adult stag beetles.

Interesting that the chemical wasn’t found in Mary Ann, but you have to go with what works, li’l buddy.