2012 January | REALscience

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Atmospheric science, Backyard Science, Citizen science, Engineering, Space, Video on 01 31st, 2012 | 3 Comments

Lego Man Goes to Nearer Space

NASA is spending $63 million per astronaut to send them to space on Russian rockets. But a pair of Toronto teens did it for $400. Okay, their astronaut was made of plastic and stood just a couple of inches tall. And he only made it about a quarter of the way to the internationally accepted boundary...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Animals, Biology, Ecology, Endangered Species, Environment, Evolution, Video on 01 30th, 2012 | 1 Comment

Snakes on a Glade

Florida has been wrestling with its python problem for years. Thanks to the tropical temps in south Florida the Everglades National Park has become a dumping ground for unwanted reptiles, particularly the non-native Burmese python. Wildlife officials have been battling the snakes for about twenty years....

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Astronomy, Physics and Chemistry, Science Ditty Friday, Scientainment, Space, Video on 01 27th, 2012 | No Comments

SDF: Science Rap Battle of History — Einstein v. Hawking

Editor’s Note: In 2012 REALscience rolled out a new feature — Science Ditty Friday. Each and every Friday we’ll compile a song (preferably with accompanying video) to kick your weekend off with a musical start. And there will be a more detailed explanation of the science in the lyrics...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Animals, Anthropology, Bioethics, Biology, Genetics, SciArt, Scientainment, Video on 01 26th, 2012 | No Comments

Project Runway: Spider Edition

Golden orbweaver spiders from Madagascar secrete the only spider silk that is gold in color, not white. And now a five-year project to create a cape is finished and on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. This is the first spider silk textile made since the late 19th Century.Nicholas...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Biofuels, Climate Change, Engineering, Environment, Featured Articles, Geology, Greenovation, Math, Politics, Science Policy, Solar, Video, Wave Power, Wind on 01 25th, 2012 | 1 Comment

State of the Union Skimps on Science

For those expecting President Barack Obama to expound on the accomplishments of his laundry list of science and innovation policy he outlined in last year’s State of the Union, there were a few nods to but no specifics in this third State of the Union address on Tuesday evening. As Forbes reported...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Atmospheric science, Backyard Science, Citizen science, Physics and Chemistry, Space, Video on 01 24th, 2012 | No Comments

Big Solar Storm Brewing

As a precaution planes that travel over the North Pole are being rerouted. Satellites are bracing for a direct hit and technicians are watching energy grids with unblinking eyes. The reason for all the hub-bub is a big solar storm. The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a warning on Monday when...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Biology, Consumer Safety, Diseases, Featured Articles, Genetics, Health and Medicine, Politics, Video on 01 23rd, 2012 | No Comments

Bird Flu Flies to Top of the Pathogen Pile

After several deaths of people in Cambodia, Vietnam and China recently, the bird flu is making a comeback in public discourse. Concerns are growing about the H5N1 strain of the influenza virus. A few years ago the world-sweeping swine flu stole headlines but the bird flu, which is much more virulent...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Atmospheric science, Climate Change, Environment, Featured Articles, Science Ditty Friday, Video on 01 20th, 2012 | No Comments

SDF: What the Frack?

Editor’s Note: To mark the new year REALscience is rolling out a new feature — Science Ditty Friday. Each and every Friday we’ll compile a song (preferably with accompanying video) to kick your weekend off with a musical start. And there will be a more detailed explanation of the science...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Computer Science, Math, Video on 01 19th, 2012 | No Comments

Multidisciplinary Math Nets Crafoord Prize

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gave an important math prize to two U.S. mathematicians for their pioneering work in harmonic analysis. Professor Anders Bjorner from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm says, “These are two of the best problem-solvers alive and even on an historic...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Environment, Featured Articles, Marine Science, Oceanography, Video on 01 18th, 2012 | No Comments

Debris from Japanese Tsunami Hits U.S.

Beaches along the coasts of Washington and Oregon are treasure troves of flotsam for avid beachcombers. But one scientist says that what’s on its way to the west coast is unprecedented and those areas are totally unprepared. Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer is a self-proclaimed expert on manmade...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Computer Science, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Nanotechnology, Physics and Chemistry, Video on 01 17th, 2012 | No Comments

IBM Cracks Atomic Hard Drive Code

Right now there are about one million magnetized atoms involved in one bit of information. A bit is defined as a variable that can have only two possible values, 1 or 0. In computing those values are interpreted as binary digits. And IBM just lowered that minimum threshold from one million to 12. For...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Adaptation and Extinction, Animals, Biochemistry, Biology, Evolution, Featured Articles, Marine Science, SciLebs, Video on 01 13th, 2012 | No Comments

Strong Mussels Land Student in Intel Science Finals

Samantha Garvey wants to be a marine biologist and the science-focused 17 year old is now one of 61 finalists from Long Island in the Intel Science & Engineering Fair for her pioneering work with mussels. But the real story of this scientist-in-training is that she is able to excel in the classroom...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Animals, Discoveries, Evolution, New Species, Video on 01 12th, 2012 | No Comments

Tiniest Vertebrate Hops into the Limelight

Every few years biologists struggling to understand the evolutionary constraints placed on the largest and smallest of animals happen upon — usually by accident– a new contender. But that little creature then gets replaced by the next littlest critter. The competition goes on and biologists...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Bioethics, Biology, Diseases, Genetics, Genomics, Health and Medicine, Inventions, Video on 01 11th, 2012 | No Comments

Gene Mapping Reaches Major Milestone

For years, scientists have been talking about the era of personalized medicine. While many preparations are underway, the biggest hurdle to widespread adoption has been the prohibitive cost to read a person’s entire DNA. Our genetic code provides a full road map to preventing and treating disease....

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Featured Articles, Geology, Museum, Space, Video on 01 10th, 2012 | No Comments

New Mexico Space Rock Recovered

Leann Lloyd had the dubious honor of lugging a metallic rock through airport security in Missouri. She was on her way back to Albuquerque and the Meteorite Museum at University of New Mexico after retrieving the missing meteorite. She says, “It stopped the line and caused a big hub-bub and three...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Featured Articles, Physics and Chemistry, Scientainment, SciLebs, Video on 01 9th, 2012 | 3 Comments

Student Sings Science Project

Maggie Arias is on her way to becoming the next iTunes sensation. The Atlanta-area 6th Grader is not your typical pop princess though. She uses “thermosphere” in her song, Aurora, which pays tribute to the beauty and power of the Northern Lights. When her teacher asked each student to become...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Animals, Discoveries, Endangered Species, Featured Articles, Plants, Video on 01 5th, 2012 | No Comments

Parasitic Fly Could Explain Bee Disappearance

In 2006 bees began disappearing. Entomologists have never been exactly able to pinpoint the cause of syndrome, which they now call colony collapse disorder. It occurs when the worker bees abandon the hive and the whole system falls apart. No one knows why the bees leave. Some have suggested they get...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Adaptation and Extinction, Animals, Climate Change, Discoveries, Endangered Species, Featured Articles, Marine Science, Video on 01 4th, 2012 | No Comments

Sharks Begin Climate Adaptation Strategy

Recently scientists in Australia discovered that two species of sharks are interbreeding. The common black-tip shark and the Australian black-tip shark have started producing hybrid sharks. Marine biologists in Queensland say they’ve found 57 sharks so far. The common black-tip shark is found...

Posted by Michael Bradbury in Earthquake, Environment, Featured Articles, Geology, Video on 01 3rd, 2012 | No Comments

Earthquake Shakes Ohio Confidence in Drilling

Hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking to reach deep pockets of natural gas seems to be the culprit behind a small earthquake that shook Youngstown, Ohio on Saturday. By Monday, state lawmakers had imposed a two-week ban on drilling while the latest quake is investigated. Since the epicenter of the 4.0...

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