WEIRD-SCIENCE
Disney researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed new technology that will bring your plants to life. Based on the principle that all living things contain natural electric energy, scientists are using computers to tap into this energy and make it possible for us as humans to go so far as to play music with a rhododendron!
Now don't fear for the plants, these researchers assure us that the process is completely non-invasive. Simply by placing a wire in the plants soil and attaching it to the computer software, we are able to interact with the plant. The software allows the plant to detect our touch location or even estimate our frequency of grasp and contact, thus our being able to play a plant like an instrument.
With the Curiosity landing, there’s been a surge of interest a certain red planet we’re now roaming via robot. It might be too early in the week for learning, but pull up a chair, because what we learn about Mars may help us to understand our home planet a little better. An Yin, UCLA’s Earth and space sciences professor, discovered that Mars was more than likely experiencing plate tectonic movement while observing the Martian canyon, Valles Marineris.
His hunch was a pretty good one, and it's no wonder. An Yin is no stranger to the workings of plate tectonics. The man has conducted geological research in the Tibetan Himalayas, where two of our seven major tectonic plates meet, forming the mountains themselves. He noticed not only plate movement on Mars, but that this movement was quite similar to the early Earth’s tectonic plate movement, while analyzing satellite images of Mars. He spoke of his discovery with Mars Today:
The Olympics weren’t the only big events for America this week. In fact, it’s been a pretty huge week overall. The Curiosity rover successfully landed on Mars early August 6th, to the delight of just about everyone. The Curiosity, one of NASA’s most advanced rovers is a moving laboratory on rocket boosters, equipped with cameras and ready to explore the surface of Mars. It’s a marvel of technology and it makes space exploration that much more real for everyday people. It means immediate feedback and learning about the planet. It’s as close as we can get, for now, to actually being there.
Beautiful time lapse videos are almost a dime a dozen now that cameras are quickly catching up to the skill and patience of photographers.That’s great news for star gazers like us, who could go through hundreds of those and still be filled with wonder. NASA themselves, of course, can’t help to get in on the action. They’ve delivered some of the most stunning footage of space we’ve ever seen, and rightly so.
This week, however, NASA has topped even themselves. Footage taken from the International Space Station is usually enough to create a healthy dose of awe. Knate Myers, an extremely talented photographer from Albuquerque, took things to the next level with his time lapse compilation of footage from the International Space Station. The shots were processed in Photoshop and the noise was removed to produce crystal clear motion. The video Myers put together doesn’t just show us the light of the stars, but the light here on Earth.
Vending machines: they’re life savers to anyone that doesn’t have the time to wait in line for a meal between classes and 15 minute breaks at work. Sure, there’s not a lot inside that’s nutritionally sound unless gummy candies with vitamin C count, but help us survive a few more hours. They’re simple machines, not exactly built to churn out a nice meal. That, however, might be changing. Meet Let’s Pizza, the vending machine that makes and dispenses freshly made pizza.
Cartoons, books, sci-fi movies and even the daily news have been promising a future where humans live on other planets for years. Finding life on other planets has been one of the biggest goals in space exploration for the longest. Not only have we built a ton of fantasy worlds around the idea of life on Mars or even our Moon, but people have looked to life on other planets to solve a lot of our resource problems. If plant life can be grown, then we can feed millions of people or generate a ton of energy, or any one of the myriad of possibilities for creation on a whole new planet. Life on other planets is such a big deal that it would change the way humans lived if space colonies were possible.
Dutch company Mars One is taking their chances and aiming to create a space colony on Mars by 2023. Mars has already proved to be somewhat tenuous fertile ground, but the news that a space colony could exist about ten years from now comes as a shock to many. According to Mars One:
It’s been a pretty bad news week for hipsters and scene kids. First the news dropped that hairstyles that cover one eye might probably make that eye lazy over time. Now a slightly predictable knowledge bomb has finally dropped, and it affects, well, just about every fashion sub-culture. The big newsflash? Skinny jeans may not be great for circulation and may cause painful leg problems.
Sharks have pretty much become the most fascinating animal of our time. They’re feared, revered, and a little misunderstood. Between Jaws and Shark Week, you’ll find that most people either love or hate sharks. They’re the controversial celebrity of the animal kingdom. Movies have made them into monsters, villains, and the extreme accessories of villains. It’s made sharks, bigger, badder, and maybe a little more fascinating than they actually are. Sharks have been done to death, though. It’s high time they’ve been spiced up. They need something.
The mean streets of Manhattan were a little less busy today, as many stepped outside and looked toward the sky. Early this afternoon a little piece of history headed New York’s way from D.C. on the back of a 747 plane. The Space Shuttle Enterprise, chauffeured by a NASA jet, was sighted all around the city as it took the scenic route to its final destination. The shuttle will have a home aboard the USS Intrepid ship, in the Sea, Air and Space Museum.
Apple has its own specific kind of of fans. We’ve all seen them, known, or been one of these fans. They’re part of a phenomenon that made technology trendy. They love their iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. They dig the sterile smell of a posh Apple store and they wear their white earbuds with pride. Apple products have become as much a fashion statement as they are a piece of technology. Slap an Apple logo onto just about anything and it might become an instant success. The people at Air Aroma are taking things a step further. They’ve bottled the essense of Apple products.
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