Science Etcetera Marsday, 20080318

March 18th, 2008

Vanguard I

Vanguard I

Sorry. Sorry. Missed this one. Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of NASA launching Vanguard 1 into space, a satellite still orbiting Earth today, making it the world’s oldest artificial satellite.

For every five hours of cable news you watch, you will get one minute of science or environmental news. We are doomed.

About time. Scientists have revealed what may be the First Rule of Evolution: ~~You do not talk about Evolution!~~ Natural selection drives animals to become more complex.

If mercury content doesn’t take tuna sushi off our plates, it’s imminent collapse will, farming tuna offers our only culinary hope.

Ohhhh. Busted!!! Americans are not running chronic sleep deprivation according to a recent study. All the studies that formerly made this claim were funded by sleep-aid pharmaceuticals. This is why I’m wary of the invisible hand.

drinkpeedrinkpeedrinkpee is an exhibit teaching people about how their urine impacts the environment, and are distributing kits for turning urine into fertilizer.

Urine to Fertilizer DIY Kit

Urine to Fertilizer DIY Kit

A team from the University of Illinois’ SigArch computer architecture program are teaching a computer to play pinball, on a 1978 Star Trek pinball machine. So this news is doubly cool.

After building ELIZA, Joseph Weizenbaum became ambilvalent towards computers, warning against AIs and the possibility of computers taking human jobs.

For today’s Moment of Science, check out NASA’s JPL Solar System Simulator, which allows you to view any object in our solar system from the point of view of any planet or satellite:

Venus as seen from Voyager I at Noon UTC Today