Monday, December 27, 2010

Queen's Brian May Rocks Out To Physics, Photography

I just listened to a repeat of a Fresh Air show, on NPR, where Terry Gross interviews Brian May.
I went to NPR's website to read this article Queen's Brian May Rocks Out To Physics, Photography.
I was glad to hear that Brian May finished his Ph.D. and became the chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.

I went to LJMU's website to read this article Brian May - musician, songwriter and astronomer - was installed as the fourth Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.
According to this article, Dr. Brian May co-authored the book, Bang! The Complete History of the Universe, with Sir Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott.

Rocket with Indian satellite explodes after launch

I went to USA Today's website to read this article, Rocket with Indian satellite explodes after launch.
According to this article, a GSAT 5P satellite was lost when the rocket caring it exploded after liftoff on Saturday 25 December 2010 from the Sriharikota Space Center.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Monthly Meeting

Our regular monthly meeting is Sunday, December 26, at Books-A-Million in Colonial Heights around 2:00 PM.

Everyone with an interest in sci-fi is welcome!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Japanese spacecraft misses its rendezvous with Venus

I am reading this story, Japanese spacecraft misses its rendezvous with Venus by Dennis Normile, at The Washington Post's website.
According to this article the Akatsuki spacecraft missed its planned orbit around Venus, however there may be another chance coming six years from now.
I went to this website to get some more information on JAXA

PBS NOVA episode Hunting the Hidden Dimension

I enjoyed the PBS NOVA episode Hunting the Hidden Dimension.
I am reading the transcript of this show at NOVA's website.

NOVA Episode Absolute Zero

I enjoyed the PBS show NOVA episode Absolute Zero.
I was interested in how researchers were able to cool a substance to the point that it becomes a Bose-Einstein condensate.
I am reading the transcript for this show at NOVA's website.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Expedition 25 Returns Home

I am reading this article, Expedition 25 Returns Home, on NASA's website.
According to this article, Doug Wheelock, Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin landed safely in Kazakhstan on 25 November 2010.
They arrived in a Soyuz spacecraft from the International Space Station.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Reversal of Government Policy on Gene Patents -- A Whiff of Sanity?

The Department of Justice has declared that human and other genes should not be eligible for patent protection because they are products of nature. This is a reversal of decades of government policy and what I have been saying for years. Maybe now we will be able to break the stranglehold the University of Wisconsin has on gene research.

The Justice department said: "We acknowledge that this conclusion is contrary to the long-standing practice...."

Thursday, December 2, 2010

NASA 's Announcement of Different Type of Life Form

Today NASA announced the discovery of a type of bacteria that substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its DNA. This is an important discover for the study of life in the universe. What I find very telling is the fact that the news commentator for the Fox News channel found the NASA presentation "boring" the moment chemistry was mentioned, and the news commentator for CNN implied that the scientist giving the presenation was odd because she was excited about the discovery of her team. For me, these reactions speak volumes about why so few young American students are interested in studying science or math -- our society at large views science as "boring" and people who are excited about science as odd. Until this attitude changes, it will be difficult to entice young people to embark on a career in science.