Science Etcetera, Mercuryday 20080723

Posted in Science Etcetera on July 23rd, 2008

Human speech originated with singing fish.

midshipman fish singing to attract a mate
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation

Radiohead video uses no cameras, just 3-D Plotting for a very stunning effect (HT oranchak).

Shucks. Oscar Pistorius, amputee sprinter with cyborg legs failed to qualify for the Olympic Games, possibly because he’s spent the last six months in legal battles rather than training.

Japanese Emperor Akihito has published dozens of scientific papers and is now studying the feeding habits of wilk tanuki (”racoon dogs”). Go Emperor! It’s nice to see not all Monarchy are social parasites.

Water Fleas mail their eggs on other insects to populate other ponds.

Pretty photos of Echus Chasma on Mars.

Echus Chasma
Credit: ESA

After a black and white felon were found to have the same DNA profile the FBI began working to block research into establishing what the actual chances are that DNA can give false positives.

Loud music in a bar makes you drink more.

In preparation for going online, the LHC is being lowered to a temperature of 1.9 Kelvin (-271C; -456F). Brrrrrr!!! I’m getting cold chills of excitement!

96-Tentacled Octopus. ‘Nuff said.

MRI scans suggest children are hard-wired for empathy.

First test flight of the Ares 1 rocket, as envisioned in a NASA CGI video.