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Showing posts with the label in the news

DNA, Headless Skeletons of York

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We've been learning quite a bit about humanity's family history recently: thanks partly to our increasingly-detailed knowledge of DNA and the human genome . I'll be taking a look at what scientists are learning about Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxons, and headless skeletons.... ...I'll also indulge in an uncharacteristically-terse (for me) explanation of what science is doing in a 'religious' blog.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

SETI: Looking for Neighbors

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Some scientist think globular clusters aren't good places to look for neighbors. Others took a fresh look at the data, crunched numbers, and pointed out that parts of globular clusters might be better spots for interstellar civilizations that the boonies where we live. Meanwhile, someone with a lot more money that I'll ever see decided to spend some of it on a systematic search for extraterrestrial intelligence. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Barsoom Development Ltd.

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The Curiosity Mars Rover sent a 'postcard' from Mars, a 360-degree view of dunes and a mountain in Gale Crater.... ...As usual, I'll ramble on about science, technology, and being human before getting to the interesting stuff: assuming that you think a robotic selfie from Mars is interesting. Not-entirely-as-usual, I wasn't finished rambling when I started the 'postcard' stuff, so this post has an afterword. I've done that before.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

On Mars by 2040?

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Robots have orbited Mars, landed there, driven around, taken pictures, and studied Martian rocks. But humanity's exploration of Mars has been by proxy: Nobody's gotten farther from Earth than Lunar orbit. That could change before 2040. NASA has worked out a step-by-step plan for getting humans back into deep space: provided that Congress doesn't change its mind. Even if that happens, my guess is that it wouldn't be long before someone else decides that people should act like humans.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

SpaceX, Mars, and Someday the Stars

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First of all: Merry Christmas! I'll have something more seasonally-appropriate ready by Sunday. That's the plan, at least. Today I'll be talking about spaceships, practical and otherwise: and why NASA cancelled InSight's March 2016 launch.... ...Instead of trying to analyze the reasons, I'll just get started with the December 1938 issue of Amazing Stories, Columbus, Robert Goddard, the Hanseatic League, and why airlines don't use disposable airplanes — not necessarily in that order.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Enceladus and Kepler’s Planets

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Scientists following up on Kepler observations learned that a bit over half of the objects tentatively identified as giant planets are brown dwarfs or stars. We've also learned that Saturn's moon Enceladus has a vast ocean under its icy surface: with all the ingredients needed for life.... ...If you've read my 'science' posts before, you know why I think Earth isn't flat ; the universe is billions , not thousands, of years old; poetry isn't science ; and thinking is not a sin .... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Ceres, Pluto: There’s More to Learn

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That's part of a picture from New Horizons: a sample from the highest-resolution images the spacecraft has started sending back. We're pretty sure that the mountains are frozen water, and the flat parts softer "ice:" probably including frozen nitrogen. The first journal paper using New Horizons' flyby data was published in October: but there's a great deal left to study, and even more still stored on New Horizons. ( November 13, 2015 ) Other scientists think they've found evidence that those bright spots in Occator Crater are frozen water, exposed when something hit Ceres. If they're right, the impact(s) happened recently. I'll get back to that. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Climate Summit: Costumes and a Smog Brick

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Climate change talks in Paris started this week, with the usual protesters and editorials. Meanwhile, folks in Minnesota are shopping at Christmas tree farms: and a performance artist in Beijing made a brick from smog.... ...I'm convinced that climate change happens: and has been happening since before life began on Earth, 3,800,000,000 or so years back. As I've said before, the natural world got along fine without us. Now that we're here, however, we're responsible for its maintenance.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Mutant Medflies, GMO Mosquitoes

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First, the good news: releasing genetically-modified medflies and mosquitoes may mean fewer crop failures; and fewer deaths from malaria. Now, the not-so-good news: I'm pretty sure some folks won't think it's good news.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Pluto’s Cup-Capped Mountains

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Before the New Horizons mission, we knew Pluto was very cold, had little or no atmosphere, and that was about it. ( October 30, 2015 ; July 10, 2015 ) Now scientists think they've spotted 'ice volcanoes' on Pluto that look a lot like shield volcanoes on Earth and Mars.... ...we're rational creatures, created in the image of God, and "little less than a god." Studying this universe, and using that knowledge is part of our job. So is using our power responsibly.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Chimps, Apples; and Goggle Eyes

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Scientists may have observed chimpanzees in different groups using a different sound when they mean "apple." Then again, maybe not. Either way, we're learning more about chimpanzees. Pliobates cataloniae, an ape that lived where Catalonia is now, had a gibbon-like skull: but apparently is more closely related to today's gorillas, chimps, orangutans — and us. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Kerberos, Mars: Answers Raise New Questions

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Images sent back from New Horizons gave scientists their first opportunity to see how big Kerberos is. It's much smaller than they expected, which raises new questions. Meanwhile, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's instruments provided evidence that there's running water on Mars: every summer, on some crater slopes. It's not the Mars of Burroughs' Barsoom tales: but I think the planet is getting more interesting, the more we learn about it. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Zircons and Earth's First Life

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Bits of carbon encased in zircon crystals more than four billion years ago may have come from living creatures. Then again, maybe not. Either way, we're learning more about Earth's long story.... ...This space-time continuum doesn't work like Anaximander 's model, either. Anaximander's cosmology had Earth in the center: but he speculated that we might not be standing on the only world, and that worlds change. Aristotle's cosmology had Earth in the center of the universe, too: but he didn't think multiple worlds existed. About 16 centuries later, educated Europeans like Dante Alighieri had a very high opinion of Aristotle.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Pig Organs, Ancient Immigrants

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We're years away from safe pig-to-human organ transplants: but scientists using CRISPR gene editing tech are working toward that goal. Other scientists are discovering a chapter of humanity's family history: Eurasian immigrants returning to Africa, when the Shang dynasty and Egyptian Empire collapsed. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Death and Decisions in Oregon

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Nine people died last Thursday, at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. A little while later, their killer also died: Lucero Alcaraz, 19 Treven Taylor Anspach, 20 Rebecka Ann Carnes, 18 Quinn Glen Cooper, 18 Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, 59 Lucas Eibel, 18 Jason Dale Johnson, 33 Lawrence Levine, 67 (teacher) Sarena Dawn Moore, 44 the killer, 26 ( CNN ) Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said that he was not going to use the killer's name, since one of the killer's goals was almost certainly to gain notoriety. ( BBC News ) I think that is probably a good idea. What I have to say doesn't require the killer's name. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Kidneys, Experiments, and Ethics

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Kidney failure isn't always fatal these days. Hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis can keep someone alive until a transplant donor shows up. Kidney problems kill about a million folks each year. It's not the leading cause of death for my 7,250,000,000-plus neighbors, but that's still a lot of deaths. Scientists in Japan grew working kidneys in rats and pigs. We're years away from grow-your-own kidneys for patients: but I think that's coming. Meanwhile, a scientist in England wants permission to collect people for genetic experiments. The Francis Crick Institute, Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, and BBC News describe the proposal more discretely. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

New Species, Old Burial Site

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Scientists from University of the Witwatersrand found skeletal remains in South Africa's Rising Star Cave . This is a big deal, since it's the largest collection of hominin bones found in a single spot: and these folks may have been burying their dead 2,500,000 years ago. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

New Horizons and Ceres

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New Horizons will pass by another Kuiper Belt object in January, 2019, if NASA's proposal gets the go-ahead. Closer to home, Dawn is still sending back data from Ceres: including an image of a very odd-looking mountain.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

New Worlds: 51 Eridani b, HD 219134b

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Scientists are looking, literally, at a newly-discovered exoplanet, 51 Eridani b. It's less than 100 light-years away, about as far from its star as the gas giants in the Solar System: and very young, only around 20,000,000 years old. Studying 51 Eridani b should help scientists understand how our Solar System formed. HD 219134b is much closer: a little over 21 light-years away, in the constellation Cassiopeia. It's a rocky world, like Earth; but larger, and blistering hot. It's also the closest transiting exoplanet we've found so far. This is a big deal, at least for scientists who study planets.... ...Whether you know why I'm not offended by God's design choices or not, feel free to skip ahead to "An Infant Version of Jupiter" ; check out xkcd.com , and/or mainstream comics at gocomics.com ; or do something completely different.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Organics on a Comet, and Earth's Early Magnetism

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Scientists found evidence that Earth's magnetic field is more than a half-billion years older than we'd thought. As usual, that raises more questions. The European Space Agency's Philae lander detected a "rich array" of organic compounds on Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko 67P, including hydrogen cyanide (HCN). This is a big deal, since much of Earth's water came from comets: and HCN may have helped life begin on our world. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .