June 6, 2021
The 128 baby bobtail squid will be used as part of research into the effects of spaceflight on beneficial interactions between microbes and animals.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57339989
So why use squid instead of dogs, chimps, or other mammals?
The squid have an immune system which is similar to that of humans.
Ah.
And their distinct lack of a spine makes them similar to most politicians, too. Very helpful for finding out what might happen if we decide to…
Nah.
June 5, 2021
Diving into the topic doesn’t reveal that the world quietly experienced the opening salvos of the Terminator timeline in 2020. But it does point to a more prosaic and perhaps much more depressing truth: that no one can agree on what a killer robot is, and if we wait for this to happen, their presence in war will have long been normalized. It’s cheery stuff, isn’t it? It’ll take your mind off the global pandemic at least.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/3/22462840/killer-robot-autonomous-drone-attack-libya-un-report-context
Actually, the truly scary “killer robots” would be much less like Terminator and more like the self-replicating ones in PDK’s “Second Variety” (or Screamers for those who haven’t read the original short…my recommendation? forget the B movie, read the story).
But there are already plenty of “semi-automated” machines that kill. It’s relatively easy to program a device to wait until someone approaches, and then shoot/radiate/explode. Strictly speaking, even basic landmines fit this definition.
What would help is the media stopping sensationalistic yellow journalism that throws around fear-mongering hyped-up headlines to sell copy.
Yeah, right. Like that’ll happen any time soon.
Machines killing without a human operator? Already here.
Machines seeking out and killing humans without pre-programmed responses and of their own accord?
We’re a long way away from that.
For now.
May 26, 2021
“Today, all activity in space is tethered to the Earth. But I predict that in around 30 years people will start living in space – and soon after, the first off-Earth baby will be born.”
https://astronomy.com/news/2021/05/when-will-the-first-baby-be-born-in-space
Hmm, maybe. I’d be a little wary of making predictions about space travel. We were supposed to be building a base on Mars by now (according to predictions made when I was in high school).
I think we should probably figure out how to get people not to be completely fried by solar radiation before we start making babies in space (which *I* predict will inevitably require genetic manipulation and lead to a new human race at some point…and no, not in “around 30 years”!).
May 20, 2021
This is a neat summary of the current state of faster-than-light (FTL) theories. (From April 27, 2021).
As the author concludes in the words of Captain Picard, “Things are only impossible until they are not.”
https://astronomy.com/news/2021/04/warp-drives-physicists-investigate-faster-than-light-space-travel
May 20, 2021
As the training progressed, the participants changed the way they used the device, which resulted in new finger coordination patterns. This was recorded in their hand movements as well as in their brains.
https://gizmodo.com/like-a-part-of-their-body-people-adapt-to-an-extra-thu-1846926329
The only problem with the design is that you have to control it with your foot. Not ideal if you’re walking!
Not to worry. That’s the next step. Er, stage.
May 4, 2021
“When they did that design, they should have stopped and thought, ‘you know, that’s going to leave a big chunk of debris in orbit, we should change the design of the engine’,” McDowell says. “But they didn’t. This is real negligence.”
https://www.inverse.com/science/long-march-5b-uncontrolled-reentry
Four years ago, China’s first space station landed in the Pacific Ocean between Australia and Chile, after an uncontrolled reentry. China didn’t care.
Last year, pieces from a Long March 5B rocket landed in Cote d’Ivoire. They damaged buildings in two villages. China didn’t care.
This launch of the same rocket design could land anywhere from New York to New Zealand, covering a wide range of habitation. China doesn’t care.
On the other hand, once somebody in their government reads about the criticism by the scientific community, they’ll petulantly whine that this often happened in the 1960s, so that makes it OK for them to ignore rocket safety designs known for the past 30 years.
Maybe it’s technology they haven’t yet stolen from other countries.
As the self-acknowledged center of the known universe, the Middle Kingdom only cares what others think of it. Like a spoiled child that thinks it knows everything but fears it does not, China only reacts to its own mistakes by lashing out at others and disclaiming responsibility.
If you want to be respected as a superpower, you need to learn how to respect other countries and stop dumping your trash on them. Respect is not given, it is earned. China has done little to earn any respect by the scientific community.
April 25, 2021
“This assumption is consistent with recent theoretical studies of the solar system’s evolution that suggest that asteroids rich in small, volatile molecules like water and carbon dioxide formed beyond Jupiter’s orbit before being transported to areas closer to the sun.”
http://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/news/detail/?id=585
Just announced by my workplace!
And no, I don’t teach in that department.
However, it does show the need for STEM students and researchers in Japan to improve their English. For every study like this published in English there are many more only published in Japanese. Lots of interesting research going on in Japan that people *outside* Japan need to know about!
April 24, 2021
Apologies to readers for the weird mix-up in chapter numbering. I’ve been (slowly, painfully slowly) writing Bringer of Light on Scrivener…which I forgot to update on my desktop PC, which led to some sort of weird misnumbering of chapters in two different versions of the file.
Anyway, I have begun to finish up the story but now I’m going back and doing some editing while continuing to finish the first book of the series off. I’ll be adding more details (especially about technology) while trying to keep the technobabble out and getting more focused on character interaction and development.
It’s a process, after all! Hope you’re enjoying it.
See here for a list of chapters so far (draft form).
April 19, 2021
“We together flew on Mars. We together have our Wright brothers moment.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/04/19/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter-mars/
Yeah, yeah, I know. Technically, a German immigrant in Connecticut flew a plane before Orville and Wilbur.
But PR counts. Kudos, NASA!
April 12, 2021
Using blobs of skin cells from frog embryos, scientists have grown creatures unlike anything else on Earth, a new study reports. These microscopic “living machines” can swim, sweep up debris and heal themselves after a gash.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/frog-skin-cells-self-made-living-machines-xenobots/amp?__twitter_impression=true
The possibilities are endless…
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