TIZER'S SCIENCE NEWS

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS, news to me but I heard a programme on World Service this morning where experts in the field discussed this and there is evidently a new tool based on sophisticated computer programmes that make this technique so much easier that it is being described as a 'game changer'. See THIS for one current application of the technology.
Have we opened up another Pandora's Chest?

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS for an interesting programme on air pollution that went out on World Service this morning. It was a good programme which covered all forms of pollution and included explanations of the science which is far more complicated than I imagined. Some very surprising facts came out. Well worth listening to......

[Tizer]

News of a new ocean bed drilling programme to investigate the Moho, the region which has been thought to be the boundary between the earth's crust and the mantle...but now there are some doubts and more evidence is needed.
LINK

Studying this part of the deep Earth and its serpentinite and peridotite rocks, helps us understand how life on Earth began, as I described a month ago in this OG post: LINK

[Stanley]

Muthomi, my grand daughter's fiancée is trying to design a desalination unit and after he had tidied my Lilac bush sat down with me and picked my brains. I think he was pleased because he said I had given him some interesting leads, all based on bits and pieces I have picked up as I go along. He knew little about cavitation or injectors and I think I gave him some fresh areas to think about.

[Tizer]

A fascinating observation using a US satellite's EPIC camera which continuously views earth from a million miles away...
"One of the satellite's objectives is to track cloud behaviour. The different wavelength filters on Epic allow the camera to estimate cloud heights. This is important not just for monitoring weather systems, but also to understand the clouds' impact on the climate. Some help to cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back out into space; other clouds actually warm the Earth because they trap heat.

"And in pursuing this work, Epic data has already observed some unexpected things, like the tracks of ships. These are not the wakes created by the vessels cutting through the ocean surface, but rather the clouds their exhaust system are seeding up above.

""It was very surprising for us that we could see them from one million miles, and they're even better seen if we use a longer wavelength because this gives you a strong contrast with the dark ocean," said Alexander Marshak, the DSCOVR deputy project scientist."
EPIC

[Stanley]

Interesting.... Can you remember the temperature data that came out after 9/11 in the States when all air transport was banned and so no vapour trails? The same thing happened when we had a similar situation in Europe when Eyjafjallajökull erupted. Another effect I noted at the time was that with no planes in the sky you could hear traffic on the main road 3 miles away from Letcliffe, something I had never heard before. We must get used to the sound of big jets and blank it out.

[Tizer]

Another new study related to effects of technology on the sky and clouds...Ice Haze
"Planes may be making a high-altitude icy haze that is brightening US skies, according to a group of scientists. They have been looking for a reason why the total amount of solar radiation reaching the surface has been increasing over time. Their studies suggest that part of the story is that jet exhausts could be generating a layer of ice crystals that promotes a more diffuse type of light. This is giving clear blue skies more of a whitish tint....The team does not think the "sub-visual contrail-generated ice haze" has a major effect on global warming. It may, though, have some significant effects on biology, says Prof Martin Wild, from of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, who commented on the work."
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BBC correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes has been doing some dangerous reporting on the artificial islands built by the Chinese on top of coral reefs in the South China Sea. The work destroys the reefs and the building of islands is causing friction with the Philippines. He chartered a small aircraft and went out to see them but was repelled several times by threats from the Chinese navy. Nevertheless he took big risks and persisted sufficiently to get photos. At the same time he was puzzled by stories from the Philippines that Chinese fishermen were deliberately destroying other coral reefs so went after them too. He found the fishing vessels and even went into the water to see for himself what was going on. They seem to be dragging their propellers over the reefs and when he got below the surface he saw men in the water bringing up giant clams. he says: "Clams of this size are probably 100 years old, and - as I discovered later on an internet auction site - can sell for between $1,000 (£665) and $2,000 a pair."
Destruction of reefs

[Stanley]

It all goes to support my contention that humanity isn't fit to have charge of a planet.....

[Stanley]

See THIS for a significat step forward in reducing the cost of space travel. The rocket delivered its payload of communication satellites into orbit and then returned to where it had taken off from ten minutes earlier. Landing vertically and ready for refurbishing and re-use.... Clever stuff!

[Stanley]

I am not normally a fan of the Daily Mail but have a look at THIS which seems to me to be a good and informative article about the evils of too much sugar and particularly appropriate at this time of year.

[Tizer]

Which of Britain's little known but great scientists was described in his later life as follows? "...a strange and embittered hermit who replaced his furniture with granite blocks which stood about in the bare rooms like the furnishings of some Neolithic giant. Through those fantastic rooms he wandered, growing dirtier and dirtier, and more and more unkempt - with one exception. His nails were always exquisitely manicured, and painted a glistening cherry pink." Fascinating history in these web pages:
Univ of St Andrews
A relative's view
The IEEE

[Stanley]

The only mention I have ever come across is the effect of the 'Heavyside Layer' in radio transmission.
Did you see THIS BBC report on the woman who has regained partial sight by use of a computerised retinal implant?
I had a slightly less dramatic but equally exciting experience when they used a laser to blow holes through the capsule that holds my lens replacement in my left eye..... Quite a moment!

[Tizer]

Metallic hydrogen - another new material. Exciting, although we're not quite there yet! LINK

[Stanley]

Fascinating research Peter.... There's so much out there to discover!
Just heard a report on Farming This Week of a farmer who has installed floating solar panels on his irrigation reservoir to power the pumps. What a brilliant idea! In hotter climates it would also cut down on evaporation losses which can be very significant. It also cuts down on pollution from wildlife which means purer water and less algal bloom. A good use of what is otherwise wasted space.

[Tizer]

I'm glad to see someone has woken up to the dangers of terrorists using drones to attack us...Drones

[Stanley]

I think that David Dunn's comment that licensing won't deter terrorists is the key..... They've proved to be pretty smart at using other technologies... A timely warning I reckon.

[PanBiker]

Aye, licensing of weapons has never stopped anyone and in general is only adhered to by normal upstanding members of society. There are plenty in normal life who think that the rules don't apply to them, so why would a license deter a terrorist?

[Tizer]

But at least someone's realised there is a danger. Until now I was gobsmacked that no-one seemed concerned.

[PanBiker]

Indeed Tiz, coupled with any of the worlds plutonium that cannot be accounted for and it's a potential nightmare scenario without doubt. Lots of other payloads that could do serious damage as well.

[Tizer]

It would be easy for terrorists to cause havoc these days. For a start, they don't even need bombs or poisons, they can simply pretend and we would have to go into full alert and major disruption. One accident on the M5 the other week caused gridlock all day and into the night all over this part of Somerset. We were taking our daily walk across the moor and cars were stopping on the drove road and asking where it led to because they couldn't find any way to escape the disruption. Unfortunately the road was flooded further on! It's because the police now treat any serious road accident as a crime scene.

What about the safety of our reservoirs and drinking water? Look at the havoc caused by United Utilities and its cryptosporidium.

[Stanley]

I have always believed that we are vulnerable to so many attacks but keep stum because I don't want to give the buggers any ideas! All the systems that support normal life are running on a knife edge....

[Tizer]

A fascinating read here... Colossal star explosion detected
"Astronomers have seen what could be the most powerful supernova ever detected. The exploding star was first observed back in June last year but is still radiating vast amounts of energy. At its peak, the event was 200 times more powerful than a typical supernova, making it shine with 570 billion times the brightness of our Sun. Researchers think the explosion and ongoing activity have been boosted by a very dense, highly magnetised, remnant object called a magnetar. This object, created as the supernova got going, is probably no bigger than a major city, such as London, and is likely spinning at a fantastic rate - perhaps a thousand times a second."

[Stanley]

I heard that report as well Tiz. Good job we weren't near it!

[Tizer]

Have a look at this. Simple, elegant solutions are always the best
`Bacteria 'see' like tiny eyeballs' LINK
"Biologists say they have solved the riddle of how a tiny bacterium senses light and moves towards it: the entire organism acts like an eyeball. In a single-celled pond slime, they observed how incoming rays are bent by the bug's spherical surface and focused in a spot on the far side of the cell. By shuffling along in the opposite direction to that bright spot, the microbe then moves towards the light. Other scientists were surprised and impressed by this "elegant" discovery." It has been discovered in a type of bacteria that has been around for 2.7 billion years, so it's much older than any animal eye.

[Stanley]

The more we discover, the more amazing the world is. I was listening to a programme on gene editing yesterday and it was mind-boggling. (LINK)