[EVOLghost]

Originally Posted by Kegmama

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/0...age/index.html

Would you guys go on a mission to space given the opportunity?

fuck yeah!

[pbradley]

First picture of a molecule with its atomic bonds taken with an atomic force microscope:

 

http://gizmodo.com/5346964/ibm-takes...ful-microscope

[noisereductions]

 

[EVOLghost]

things fall apart.

[phoenix]

Originally Posted by pbradley

First picture of a molecule with its atomic bonds taken with an atomic force microscope:

 

http://gizmodo.com/5346964/ibm-takes...ful-microscope

science photography is awesome. especially the microscopic kind. It's one of those career things I'd love to do... along with science/medical illustration. Way too many things and not enough time.

[EVOLghost]

do it all and do it now.

[frades]

does anybody know a website that gives the moment when the moon reflects the more light from the sun in a given point on earth? I must be when the sun, the moon and the point on earth are in square I think. I'd like to take pic of this but I need to know when to look at the moon

[phoenix]

no but http://www.spaceweather.com/ might

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I was watching this thing on evolution of primates the other day, very interesting stuff but ONE thing kept offending my sensibilities..

the scientists continued to talk about evolution in the same way christians talk about 'design' they even used that word three times "design(ed)" in regards to evolutionary adaptations.. now that shit is ridiculous for science!

Evolution according to science HAS NO DESIGN. It is a strictly RANDOM phenomenon. This issue was on NOVA and it was about the evolution of the human hand in lower primates.. The scientists were besides themselves talking about primates fingers growing longer over time to get access to fruits almost as if the damn animals were consciously extending the length of their fingers! WTF? Thats not science! Thats not evolution!

Evolution explains that the human hand evolved by accident and became the dominant hand by circumstances of natural selection. Its very simple, some of the early primates hand slightly longer 'fingers' than others, and over time the environment and process of natural selection favorted these traits and so these longer fingered primates reproduced more successfully until their descendents overpowered the gene pool and replaced the smaller fingers. It was not a conscious decision over time, it was strictly random. The longer fingers were the result of random genetic mutation, and by coincidence these mutations manifests an advantage to some primates. The mutated freak with the slightly longer finger tips could naturally get better access to the tree fruits, so it thrived over the others and came to dominate the gene pull.. IT is through this process, of STRICTLY random mutations with develop favorable adaptations according to natural selection, that led to our evolution from single-cell microscopic organisms at the bottom of the oceans metabolizing sulfer gases from volcanic vents, into the complex creatures we are today..

There is no design.. If there is a design, it is the hand of GOD putting out mutations which favor the organism. I believe strictly in evolution and its explanation, the only process of design I believe is GOD tinkering with the DNA, but letting the natural reactions play their course relatively unabatted (relatively, after all I still believe in miracles..)

[gualbert]

Never heard of such importance in the size of the fingers.
I've heard about the importance of the thumbs, among monkeys and humans, whose position allow them to grab things (and then build tools etc.)

ps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ1Xd...eature=related

[verme (prevaricator)]

Mice Levitated in Lab
By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience
posted: 09 September 2009 10:01 am ET

 

A three-week-old mouse weighing about 10 grams levitated by magnetic fields, either with a magnet (a) or without (b). Credit: Da-Ming Zhu et al.

Scientists have now levitated mice using magnetic fields. Other researchers have made live frogs and grasshoppers float in mid-air before, but such research with mice, being closer biologically to humans, could help in studies to counteract bone loss due to reduced gravity over long spans of time, as might be expected in deep space missions or on the surfaces of other planets.
Scientists working on behalf of NASA built a device to simulate variable levels of gravity. It consists of a superconducting magnet that generates a field powerful enough to levitate the water inside living animals, with a space inside warm enough at room temperature and large enough at 2.6 inches wide (6.6 cm) for tiny creatures to float comfortably in during experiments.
Disoriented
The researchers first levitated a young mouse, just three-week-old and weighing 10 grams. It appeared agitated and disoriented, seemingly trying to hold on to something.
"It actually kicked around and started to spin, and without friction, it could spin faster and faster, and we think that made it even more disoriented," said researcher Yuanming Liu, a physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. They decided to mildly sedate the next mouse they levitated, which seemed content with floating.
A plastic cage was also designed by physicist Da-Ming Zhu at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, to keep the mice in during levitation. Its top remained open to let in air, food, water and video surveillance, and its bottom was filled with small holes to allow waste removal.
From time to time, mice would kick the walls of the cage, causing it to briefly drop off from the levitation zone before re-entering it and floating again.
Although the researchers could levitate mice with or without the cage, "it's easier to house a mouse in a cage when you bring it to the levitation zone," Liu explained. Also, if you want to run an experiment comparing mice living inside and outside the levitator, you want to set up exactly the same living conditions to match results up as best as possible.
Results
Repeated levitation tests showed the mice, even when not sedated, could quickly acclimate to levitation inside the cage. After three or four hours, the mice acted normally, including eating and drinking. The strong magnetic fields did not seem to have any negative impacts on the mice in the short term, and past studies have shown that rats did not suffer from adverse effects after 10 weeks of strong, non-levitating magnetic fields.
"We're trying to see what kind of physiological impact is due to prolonged microgravity, and also what kind of countermeasures might work against it for astronauts," Liu said. "If we can contribute to the future human exploration of space, that would be very exciting." They are now applying for funding for such research with their levitator.
The researchers also levitated water drops up to 2 inches wide (5 cm). This suggests the variable gravity simulator could be used to study how liquids behave under reduced gravity, such as how heat is transferred or how bubbles behave.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by verme (prevaricator)

Mice Levitated in Lab
By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience
posted: 09 September 2009 10:01 am ET

 

A three-week-old mouse weighing about 10 grams levitated by magnetic fields, either with a magnet (a) or without (b). Credit: Da-Ming Zhu et al.

Scientists have now levitated mice using magnetic fields. Other researchers have made live frogs and grasshoppers float in mid-air before, but such research with mice, being closer biologically to humans, could help in studies to counteract bone loss due to reduced gravity over long spans of time, as might be expected in deep space missions or on the surfaces of other planets.
Scientists working on behalf of NASA built a device to simulate variable levels of gravity. It consists of a superconducting magnet that generates a field powerful enough to levitate the water inside living animals, with a space inside warm enough at room temperature and large enough at 2.6 inches wide (6.6 cm) for tiny creatures to float comfortably in during experiments.
Disoriented
The researchers first levitated a young mouse, just three-week-old and weighing 10 grams. It appeared agitated and disoriented, seemingly trying to hold on to something.
"It actually kicked around and started to spin, and without friction, it could spin faster and faster, and we think that made it even more disoriented," said researcher Yuanming Liu, a physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. They decided to mildly sedate the next mouse they levitated, which seemed content with floating.
A plastic cage was also designed by physicist Da-Ming Zhu at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, to keep the mice in during levitation. Its top remained open to let in air, food, water and video surveillance, and its bottom was filled with small holes to allow waste removal.
From time to time, mice would kick the walls of the cage, causing it to briefly drop off from the levitation zone before re-entering it and floating again.
Although the researchers could levitate mice with or without the cage, "it's easier to house a mouse in a cage when you bring it to the levitation zone," Liu explained. Also, if you want to run an experiment comparing mice living inside and outside the levitator, you want to set up exactly the same living conditions to match results up as best as possible.
Results
Repeated levitation tests showed the mice, even when not sedated, could quickly acclimate to levitation inside the cage. After three or four hours, the mice acted normally, including eating and drinking. The strong magnetic fields did not seem to have any negative impacts on the mice in the short term, and past studies have shown that rats did not suffer from adverse effects after 10 weeks of strong, non-levitating magnetic fields.
"We're trying to see what kind of physiological impact is due to prolonged microgravity, and also what kind of countermeasures might work against it for astronauts," Liu said. "If we can contribute to the future human exploration of space, that would be very exciting." They are now applying for funding for such research with their levitator.
The researchers also levitated water drops up to 2 inches wide (5 cm). This suggests the variable gravity simulator could be used to study how liquids behave under reduced gravity, such as how heat is transferred or how bubbles behave.

I like this concept, science proving that people can theoretically fly by manipulating electro-magnetism (ie, like Magneto in X-men) because human flight has been an aspect of our mythology for a long long time.. Now it appears science is gather evidence of what was previously thought of as myth or magic or superstition. if a person had the spiritual capacity to manipulate the magnetic field around them consciously, could not they use this mechanism of levitation (ie, make the water in their body float) much like the magnet did to the mice? interesting..

[chicka]

Some of these conversation I drop into are just fascinating.
The brainpower in here is phenominal. Very entertaining glad to be a SY fanatic

[Rob Instigator]

Not only that suchfriends, but if we can manage magnetic levitation for humans, it could also be used in the reverse, as in when we are in outer space. This could be sued backwards to create artificial gravity, which would cut down on the toll a human body takes without gravitational stresses to keep the body strong.
That would be kick ass.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

Not only that suchfriends, but if we can manage magnetic levitation for humans, it could also be used in the reverse, as in when we are in outer space. This could be sued backwards to create artificial gravity, which would cut down on the toll a human body takes without gravitational stresses to keep the body strong.
That would be kick ass.

so yr saying this all comes into play with the whole terraform mars plan? FUCK THAT! I am now against it officially. The only drag to the whole terraforming plan is that human beings cannot live in zero gravity for longer than 6-8months before atrophy stops the vital functions of the body, and it takes almost two years one-way to mars, so astronauts would die long before they get there, let alone wander around on a planet with 1/4 the gravity, and then return the two years back.. fucking impossible!

The Space program is the biggest waste of money the world has ever seen.. they have a fantasy of converting mars into a green planet to escape all the problems we have done to this one. fuck that. put the same effort, time and money into fixing OUR REAL PROBLEMS rather then imagining some bullshit future. every 15 seconds a child on earth dies because they do not have access to clean drinking water, and that does not even count adults!, and these fuckers wanna waste all these resources on space? fuck space, we got real problems on earth.

[Rob Instigator]

humans have lived for 2 years on the MIR station.

Mars will be colonized, but not terraformed necesarily. that is a LOOOOOOng way off.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

humans have lived for 2 years on the MIR station.

Mars will be colonized, but not terraformed necesarily. that is a LOOOOOOng way off.

really? I thought the longest dude lasted 8 months, then almost died and was brought back in an emergency..

"Sunita Williams (born September 19, 1965) is a United States Naval officer and a NASA astronaut.[1] She was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and then joined Expedition 15. She holds the record of the longest spaceflight (195 days) for female space travelers.[2]"

thats a few hundred days short of two years my friend


why colonize mars? why terraform mars? why go into space in the first place? Why not stay here and deal with reality? it costs billions of dollars to play around up there, and what is it worth? What is the point of colonizing mars or the moon? shit we didn't even get colonizing earth right... in fact earth problems stem from colonization, hence colonization schemes are flawed. shit I can't even go to the doctor for some serious medical condition I have right now cuz I can't afford to pay for it, meanwhile millions of americans are protesting the US effort to try to alleviate the stress of people like me and get insurance. They would rather I get sick and die then we have socialized medicine.. what a crock of shit! fuck space, spend that money here on earth so I can go to the fucking doctor and those kids can get some fucking water to LIVE.. ............... another kid just died...............thats another one............... shit that makes three now.. should I go on?

[Rob Instigator]

space is reality.

if the whole of earth gets wiped out (asteroid, disease, plague, cataclysm) and humans have not colonized further into our solar system al of our existance would end. Not only that, but maybe even any evidence of our existance would end

I am all for universal medical care. The USA spends billions a month to prop up an overfed and overspread military. It would not take nearly as much to guarantee that everyone in the country had access to quality health care.

I think we ca do both space and taking care of our people.

In sace we could find ways to harness energy, or minerals, or all sorts of things that wold ease our dependence on archaic systems of class structure like "wealth"

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

space is reality.

if the whole of earth gets wiped out (asteroid, disease, plague, cataclysm) and humans have not colonized further into our solar system al of our existance would end. Not only that, but maybe even any evidence of our existance would end

I am all for universal medical care. The USA spends billions a month to prop up an overfed and overspread military. It would not take nearly as much to guarantee that everyone in the country had access to quality health care.

I think we ca do both space and taking care of our people.

In sace we could find ways to harness energy, or minerals, or all sorts of things that wold ease our dependence on archaic systems of class structure like "wealth"

you know Rob, I hate to admit it, but that sounds crazy even for ME!

asteroids, terraforming, space exploration that shit is all fantasy, and an unfortunate fantasy which wastes all our money. IF we didn't spend all our money on war and bullshit, then perhaps we could have space and earth, but the people of the world have yet to be convinced about love and understanding. I am a realist above all.. sure we might get destroyed by an asteroid or some shit, but quite honestly, if we don't get our shit together on earth today, we will go extinct long before that happens. The sixth great extinction event of earth is a man-made disaster.. keep that in your mind at all times.. if we spend the money to fuck it up, why not spend the money to clean it up? Space colonization is a science-fiction cop-out to dealing with our earth-based reality..
by the way........... thats another child dead.............and thats one more.. because we spend all our money on bullshit and let people on EARTH die of preventable causes like war and disease.. FUCK SPACE!

you see them sailing on them ego trip, blast off on their space ship.. building lies from reality.. those devils they no care for me, with so much trouble in the world..

[floatingslowly]

^^^ because without space exploration, there may come a day (VERY SOON) when there is no earth or humanity to even worry about such things.

JUMP 'N SPREEAAAD OUT.

_________________________

Tentative Signs of Water Found on Moon

 

New data and images from NASA's new moon orbiter — the first in more than a decade — have revealed tentative signs of lunar water ice, the space agency announced Thursday.

The powerful Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully completed its testing and calibration phase and entered its mapping orbit of the moon. The spacecraft's instruments have also made measurements of space radiation in the lunar environment and have found more widespread possible signatures of water on the moon.

"The LRO mission already has begun to give us new data that will lead to a vastly improved atlas of the lunar south pole and advance our capability for human exploration and scientific benefit," said Richard Vondrak, LRO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

The first results from LRO's Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector, or LEND, indicate that permanently shadowed and nearby regions may harbor water ice and hydrogen. LEND relies on a decrease in neutron radiation from the lunar surface to indicate the presence of water or hydrogen.

One big finding so far from LEND is that "the hydrogen is not confined to permanently shadowed craters," Vondrak said. Team members want more observations to confirm these findings and determine how significant they are and how to interpret them.

"The power of LRO is that we're not just sending one instrument, like LEND, to look for hydrogen, we're characterizing fully" the lunar south pole, Vondrak said.