Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, jlms qkw, Interceptor7, and ScottyUrb, guest editors annetteboardman and Doctor RJ, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, health, energy, and the environment.
Tonight's featured event is the annual prize ceremony for those who do odd science. The story comes to us via
livescience.com:
Ig Nobel Prizes 2014: Jesus Toast, Dog Poop and Raucous Science
By Miriam Kramer, Staff Writer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.: The brilliant minds behind research studies about how Earth's magnetic field affects pooping dogs and why people see Jesus in toast were honored tonight (Sept. 18) during one of the most purposefully ridiculous ceremonies in all of science: the Ig Nobel Prizes.
Each year, the Ig Nobel Prizes (a parody of the somewhat more famous Nobel Prizes) are awarded to scientists whose research "makes people laugh and then think." Improbable Research, the organization that awards the prizes, runs the annual ceremony here at Harvard University's Sanders Theater.
And the winners are:
The 2014 Ig Nobel Winners: Banana Peels to Nasal Pork
by Jeanna Bryner, Managing Editor
Nobel Laureates awarded the 2014 Ig Nobel prizes tonight (Sept. 18) at Harvard University, honoring those scientific achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think, according to organizers of the event.
And there were some doozies! Winning science involved everything from dirty diapers and cat bites to slippery banana peels and ugly paintings. Here's a look at the Ig Nobel winners of 2014.
Creative money: The Economics Ig Nobel went to the Italian government's National Institute of Statistics. Their achievement? Apparently, the institute got creative when aiming to fulfill the European Union's mandate to increase the national economy. They did so by including revenue gained from "prostitution, illegal drug sales, smuggling and all other unlawful financial transactions between willing participants," according to a statement released by the Ig Nobel organizers.
And for a completely different category of prize, this from
space.com:
Jaw-dropping Aurora View Wins 2014 Astronomy Photo Contest
By Miriam Kramer, Staff Writer
A bright green aurora reflects off a glacial lake against the backdrop of a snow-covered mountain range in an incredible photo that took home first prize in an astrophotography competition.
Representatives of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, have awarded James Woodend -- the photographer behind the stunning aurora image -- the overall prize in the observatory's Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest for 2014. The winners of the contest (which is in its sixth year) were announced today (Sept. 18).
Follow me beyond the cheezey curl of glory to find much more news about the universe, and the universe of science.
SPACE NEWS
From space.com:
'Sparky' Discovery Reveals How Early Universe Built Galaxies
By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor
A burgeoning galactic core nicknamed "Sparky" is showing scientists how galaxies grew and evolved early in the universe's history.
Multiple telescopes on the ground and in space gathered information on Sparky, which is more formally known as GOODS-N-774. The half-built galaxy lies 11 billion light-years from Earth, so viewing it gives astronomers a glimpse into processes that occurred less than 3 billion years after the Big Bang that created the universe.
From newkarala:
More Hubble observation time goes to men: Study
Washington
In a disturbing trend, an internal Hubble Space Telescope (HST) study has found that in each of the past 11 observation proposal cycles, applications led by male principal investigators had a higher success rate than those led by women.
For an astronomer, winning precious observation time on the Hubble is a big deal - more than three-quarters of proposals are rejected.
From space.com:
The Lure of Mars: Why We Keep Going Back
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer
The robotic invasion of Mars continues.
Two spacecraft are scheduled to arrive in orbit around the Red Planet over the next week: NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution probe (MAVEN) will get there Sunday night (Sept. 21), and India's Mars Orbiter Mission should follow suit on Wednesday (Sept. 24).
The duo will join three operational spacecraft already circling the Red Planet, whose surface also hosts two active rovers -- the golf-cart-size Opportunity and its 1-ton cousin, Curiosity. And more Mars missions are in the offing; NASA plans to launch a lander called InSight in 2016 and a sample-caching rover in 2020, while the European Space Agency will loft an orbiter and a rover in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
From space.com comes another on the same topic, but a slightly different focus:
Planet Arrival on Sunday
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer
A NASA Mars orbiter is on target to reach the Red Planet this weekend, right on schedule.
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution probe, or MAVEN, is slated to arrive at the Red Planet around 9:50 p.m. EDT Sunday (Sept. 21; 0150 GMT Monday, Sept. 22), agency officials said. The spacecraft's handlers are reporting no problems during the home stretch of its 10-month space journey.
From space.com, on exploration within the Terran system:
NASA's Second Shuttle Carrier Jet Lands on Public Display
By Robert Z. Pearlman
For the second time this year, a NASA jumbo jet used to ferry space shuttles across the country has been moved for public display.
The younger of NASA's two modified-Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), known by its tail number N911NA, or NASA 911, was towed three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) on Friday (Sept. 12) from an aircraft operations facility to the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark in Palmdale, California.
Another from space.com, on commercialization of that same exploration:
Spaceflight Powered by Partnership (Op-Ed)
By Vernon McDonald
Vernon McDonald is vice president for Science, Technology and Engineering Group at Wyle. McDonald contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
NASA's selection of Boeing and SpaceX to provide crew transportation to the International Space Station (ISS) is a major milestone for civil space exploration. It also demonstrates the value of public-private partnerships, necessary for leveraging decades of NASA investment and experience in human low-Earth orbit operations and establishing reliable, lower cost commercial systems for delivering cargo -- and soon, people -- to the ISS.
Malaysia scientists to launch home-made satellite
KUALA LUMPUR: In 10 years, Malaysia targets to launch the country's very own satellite, built exclusively by local scientists.
Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah said in pursuit of this goal, the ministry had begun training local scientists, beginning this year.
TECHNOLOGY
From The Examiner (Independence, MO):
Jason Offutt: Beware the rise of the robots
Independence, Mo.
A threat is growing. I see it in newspaper headlines scattered across months. One here, one there. Not enough news to strike the alarm bells just yet, but the danger is coming.
That danger is robots.
Ever since the Soviet Union deployed remote-controlled tanks (the TT-26 teletank) in World War II, the thought of robotic weapons rolling through enemy territory mowing down everything they see has gotten generals a bit drunk. The United States Army predicts that one quarter of its military force will be replaced by combat robots by 2030.
Are you following me here? Robots. Robots with guns.
From the Associated Press, via foxnews:
Prosecutors: New DNA testing differentiates between identical twins; some question reliability
BOSTON: Prosecutors in Boston were forced to put a rape suspect on trial three times before jurors were willing to convict him a decade ago. It wasn't due a lack of evidence, but because the suspect was an identical twin.
Similar cases have popped up elsewhere, illustrating the challenges of prosecuting a twin. Because identical twins come from a single fertilized egg, standard DNA testing has not been able to differentiate between them.
ARCHAEOLOGY
From sciencedaily:
Groundwater tied to human evolution
Our ancient ancestors' ability to move around and find new sources of groundwater during extremely dry periods in Africa millions of years ago may have been key to their survival and the evolution of the human species, a new study shows.
The research -- published in the journal PLOS ONE -- combines geological evidence from the Olduvai sedimentary basin in Northern Tanzania, which formed about 2.2 million years ago, and results from a hydrological model.
It shows that while water in rivers and lakes would have disappeared as the climate changed due to variations in Earth's orbit, freshwater springs fed by groundwater could have stayed active for up to 1000 years without rainfall.
Another from sciencedaily:
New branch added to European family tree: Europeans descended from at least 3, not 2, groups of ancient humans
The setting: Europe, about 7,500 years ago. Agriculture was sweeping in from the Near East, bringing early farmers into contact with hunter-gatherers who had already been living in Europe for tens of thousands of years.
Genetic and archaeological research in the last 10 years has revealed that almost all present-day Europeans descend from the mixing of these two ancient populations. But it turns out that's not the full story.
From the Irish Times:
Prehistoric pit discovered on Coney Island beach
A box-like structure built from large stone slabs may have been used for bathing or cooking during the Bronze Age
By Marese McDonagh
Archaeologists have discovered signs of human habitation, possibly dating back 4,000 years, on Sligo's Coney Island.
A box-like structure built from large stone slabs found on the island may have been used for bathing or cooking during the Bronze Age, experts believe. It has been excavated by a team led by Eamonn Kelly, director of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum.
From The Guardian:
Stonehenge: children revealed to be the metal workers of prehistoric Britain
Research suggests children wrecked their eyesight embellishing weapons and jewellery with minute scraps of gold
By Maev Kennedy
Scientists believe that some 4,000 years ago children as young as 10 wrecked their eyesight embellishing weapons and jewellery with minute scraps of gold, creating dazzling pieces so fine that the detail can barely be picked out with the naked eye. They were some of the best prehistoric metal work ever found in Britain.
The children may have been working in Brittany, where the largest concentration of daggers decorated with the tiny gold pins have been found, but the finest of all was excavated more than 200 years ago from a burial mound half a mile from Stonehenge.
From Heritage Daily:
EGYPT'S HERITAGE UP FOR AUCTION IN SELL-OFF BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ARCHAEOLOGY ST LOUISE SOCIETY INC
Artefacts dating from the 12th dynasty, believed to be from the reign of Sesostris II (1897-1878 B.C.) have been placed up for auction at privately owned Bonhams auction house by the American Institute for Archaeology, St Louise (sic) Society Inc.
The assemblage of items was originally excavated in 1913-14 by the British School of Archaeology in Egypt from Tomb 124 at Harageh, the Fayum, near Lahun. They were then acquired by the AIA St. Louise (sic) Society Inc. in 1914 in return for their contributions in funding the research excavation.
"Provenance--Property of the Archaeological Institute of America, St. Louis Society Inc. Acquired circa 1914 in return for contributing to funding the excavation."
The Bonhams auction house describes the assemblage as "There are no comparable assemblages of such deluxe objects known from tombs, either excavated or published, contemporary with those forming the Treasure of Harageh,"
"The Treasure is noteworthy for what appears to be the earliest attestation of actual shells in the design of Egyptian jewellery and for the unique travertine cosmetic spoon, the ankh-design of the handle of which is without parallel for the period."
From livescience:
Ancient Egyptian Woman with 70 Hair Extensions Discovered
By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor
More than 3,300 years ago, in a newly built city in Egypt, a woman with an incredibly elaborate hairstyle of lengthy hair extensions was laid to rest.
She was not mummified, her body simply being wrapped in a mat. When archaeologists uncovered her remains they found she wore "a very complex coiffure with approximately 70 extensions fastened in different layers and heights on the head," writes Jolanda Bos, an archaeologist working on the Amarna Project, in an article recently published in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.
From The Irish Times:
Ancient bog body found in Meath to be carbon dated
Second set to be found at Rossan Bog after body from 700-400BC found in 2012
By Eoghan MacConnell
Experts from the National Museum of Ireland plan to radiocarbon date an ancient bog body found at a Midlands bog today. It is the second one to be found at the midlands bog in two years.
The partial remains, comprising of adult leg and foot bones and flesh, were discovered by Bord Na Mana workers at Rossan Bog close to the Westmeath border in Co Meath on Saturday.
From al Ahram:
Marina Al-Alamein archaeological site is set to open in April
Restoration work in Marina Al-Alamein archaeological site in Alexandria has resumed to open in mid April
By Nevine El-Aref
Marina Al-Alamein is a well-known summer resort on Egypt's north coast where holidaymakers can enjoy sun, sand and sea in the summertime.
Now, another tourist attraction can be added as the antiquities ministry has resumed restoration work at the archaeological site of Marina Al-Alamein, which was a major Greco-Roman town and port known as Leucaspis 2000 years ago.
From Hurriyet Daily News (Turkey):
Temple of Serapis in Ephesus undergoes restoration
The temple of Serapis, built in the 2nd century AD as a devotion to the Egyptian god Serapis, is said to be the best preserved and largest temple in Anatolia, according to experts
The temple of Serapis, which was discovered in Izmir's ancient city of Ephesus and is estimated to have collapsed in an earthquake, will be restored to its original condition. The ancient city of Ephesus receives approximately 2 million visitors from around the world every year.
Experts have said the temple, built in the 2nd century A.D. as a devotion to the Egyptian god Serapis, is the best preserved and largest temple in Anatolia. Constructed on an area of 7,700 square meters, the area of the structure is over 1,000 square meters.
From pap (Science & Scholarship in Poland):
Village from the Roman period discovered in the Carpathians
Village from the Roman period, dating from 3rd-4th century AD, has been discovered in Lipnica Dolna near Jaslo (Subcarpathia). Among approx. one thousand archaeological objects there is a large pottery kiln, in which ceramics were fired.
From al Ahram:
Egyptian antiquities ministry launches campaign to clean historic sites
Campaign started in Islamic Cairo, with help from local residents
By Nevine El-Aref
The Ministry of Antiquities launched a campaign on Saturday to clean the locations of Egypt's archaeological sites, in collaboration with local NGOs.
From sciencedaily:
Modern forensic techniques identify most likely cause of King Richard III'Âs death
The remains of King Richard III -- the last English monarch to die in battle -- were found under a car park in Leicester by archaeologists from the University of Leicester, and subsequently identified by a multidisciplinary team from the University.
The forensic imaging team, working with the Forensic Pathology Unit and the Department of Engineering at the University of Leicester, used whole body CT scans and micro-CT imaging of injured bones to analyse trauma to the 500-year-old skeleton carefully, and to determine which of the King's wounds might have proved fatal. They also analysed tool marks on bone to identify the medieval weapons potentially responsible for his injuries.
From the CBC:
Lost Franklin expedition ship found in the Arctic
Queen sends congratulations on image believed to be HMS Erebus or HMS Terror
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says one of Canada's greatest mysteries now has been solved, with the discovery of one of the lost ships from Sir John Franklin's doomed Arctic expedition.
"This is a great historic event," Harper said.
"For more than a century this has been a great Canadian story. It's been the subject of scientists and historians and writers and singers. And so I think we have a really important day in mapping together the history of our country," the prime minister said.
Also from the CBC:
The Franklin search: Peter Mansbridge on why we should care
Point of View by Peter Mansbridge
CBC's chief correspondent says search for vessels reveals a story about Canada and our history
First of all, I'm biased.
I love the mystery of the Franklin story and always have, ever since I was a kid. Then at 20, when I started with the CBC in Canada's North, I continued to be fascinated by the stories I heard of the ships that went missing during Sir John Franklin`s 1845 mission in the Canadian Arctic.
Today, as I've stated publicly before, I not only cover the story, but I'm kind of involved in the search myself, albeit from a distance.
I'm an advisory board member -- along with an astronaut, a research scientist, a philanthropist and a number of private businesspeople -- for the non-profit Arctic Research Foundation. To be clear, it is a position for which I receive no money.
From The Tennessean:
Science uncovers story of slaves on zoo property
By Michael Cass
They were relatively young people of African descent, worn down by years of hard labor.
Six of them had arthritis. One man walked with a limp, and a woman endured fractured vertebrae in her lower spine. A young, probably heavyset man had a damaged hip -- and maybe sickle cell anemia, too.
They were almost certainly slaves on the old Grassmere farm, a large tract of land in South Nashville that's now used for a different purpose: the home of the Nashville Zoo.
From The Age (Australia):
Historians uncover the truth of Gallipoli's underground war between Diggers and Turks
By Nick Miller
Gallipoli, Turkey: Two middle-aged historians are standing in ditches throwing rocks at each other.
They're on the Gallipoli Peninsula, where a five-year project to make a detailed survey of Australia's most treasured battleground is in its final year.
Dr Richard Reid flinches as a particularly well-flung stone lands next to him.
"Don't kill me, Simon," he jokes at team leader Simon Harrington, who threw it.
Banter aside, this is serious research.
From phys.org:
NOAA team reveals forgotten ghost ships off Golden Gate
A team of NOAA researchers today confirmed the discovery just outside San Francisco's Golden Gate strait of the 1910 shipwreck SS Selja and an unidentified early steam tugboat wreck tagged the "mystery wreck." The researchers also located the 1863 wreck of the clipper ship Noonday, currently obscured by mud and silt on the ocean floor.
These and other shipwreck investigations mark the first mission of a two-year project to locate, identify and better understand some of the estimated 300 wrecks in Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and the adjacent Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
From the Associated Press via Star Tribune (Minneapolis):
Archeologists discover exact location of gas chambers at Sobibor death camp in Poland
By Vanessa Gera
WARSAW, Poland -- Polish and Israeli Holocaust researchers say they have discovered the exact location of the building that housed gas chambers at Sobibor, one of the death camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland.
Israel's Yad Vashem and the Majdanek State Museum in Poland, which oversees Sobibor, announced the finding Wednesday, calling it an important discovery in the field of Holocaust research.
PALEONTOLOGY
From livescience:
Tiny Bite Marks Reveal Afterlife of an Ichthyosaur
By Megan Gannon, News Editor
When whales die, their bodies sink to the seafloor. But surprisingly few of their natural graves have ever been found.
The rare "whale falls" that have been seen by scientists aren't exactly grim pictures of death; rather, they're often teeming with life. Sharks, eels, bacteria and bone-eating "zombie worms" gather around these nutrient-rich graveyards. The number of new species discovered around whale falls in deep water suggests the carcasses can host distinct, complex ecosystems.
Also from livescience:
Dino-Killing Impact Remade Plant Kingdom, Too
By Becky Oskin, Senior Writer
The killer meteorite that extinguished the dinosaurs also torched North America's forests and plants. The harsh conditions after the impact favored fast-growing flowering plants, nudging forests toward a new pecking order, a new study reports.
As a result, today's forests would baffle a Brachiosaurus. Most of the slow-growing trees and shrubs munched by dinosaurs are minor players in modern forests, because the plants couldn't adapt to post-impact climate swings, researchers report today (Sept. 16) in the journal PLOS Biology.
ENVIRONMENT
From livescience:
Nearly 600 Years of Tree Rings Show Altered Ocean Habitat
By Kelly Dickerson, Staff Writer
Ocean currents that deliver important nutrients to shallow, coastal waters have become weaker and more variable over the last half-century, which could affect fish and other marine animals that nourish themselves in these nutrient-rich waters, according to a new study.
Data records spanning almost 600 years have shown that the strength of coastal upwelling off the west coast of North America has become more variable since 1950. Researchers pieced together this long-term look at ocean trends from an unlikely source: tree rings.
From The Christian Science Monitor:
Why estimate for world population in 2100 is now 11 billion (+video)
That's an updated estimate according to United Nations data. The new number comes days before the UN Climate Summit, which will take up a range of issues influenced by world population.
By Pete Spotts
Earth's human population is expected to continue growing through the end of the century, with an 80 percent likelihood that it will reach 10.9 billion from today's nearly 7.3 billion, according to updated estimates from the United Nations.
The projections stand in stark contrast to a widely held idea that the human population would peak in 2050 at about 9 billion.
The revised numbers were published online Thursday afternoon by the journal Science in a paper summarizing data that the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs posted on its website in July.
From billmoyers.com:
We Can Still Tackle Global Warming â Here Are Five Solutions
by Joshua Holland
"Mother Earth" will be fine whether or not we protect the planet from catastrophic global warming. Weâre fighting for human habitat â for our own future on this spaceship.
The good news is that we can prevail with minimal costs if we act decisively over the next 15 years. That's the conclusion of a report released this week by The Global Commission on Climate and the Economy, a group of former senior government officials advised by some of the worldâs leading economists.
Also from livescience:
NASA Keeping Close Eye on Arctic Climate
By Becky Oskin, Senior Writer
A speedy trip across Alaska's vast, roadless tundra and tall mountains requires travel by air. The state has more private planes for each of its residents than any other state in the union.
Three NASA science missions traveled the Alaskan way this summer, soaring above Arctic sea ice, piloting over permafrost and gliding past mountain glaciers. The projects are tracking changes in the rapidly warming Arctic that are best monitored by air.
And an editorial from livescience:
Wildfire Prevention Costs Far Less Than Fires (Op-Ed)
By Jeff Peterson, Northern Arizona University
Jeff Peterson is a research associate of the Arizona Rural Policy Institute at Northern Arizona University (NAU) where he specializes in economic impacts and data analysis. Peterson contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
The economics of wildfires are complex and grow more so as environmental conditions evolve. The average wildfire season has stretched from five months in the 1970s to seven months today, according to the report "Playing With Fire" from the Union of Concerned Scientists. But effective planning has not kept pace. Fire suppression this year has cost the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of the Interior $200 million more than the agencies budgeted.
ANIMAL NEWZ
Via livescience:
Watch Live! Colossal Squid Undergoes Autopsycience.com/47878-goldfish-tumor-surgery.html
Also from livescience:
Amazon Turtles 'Talk' to Their Tots
By Brian Horne, Wildlife Conservation Society
Brian Horne is coordinator of turtle conservation for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). WCS manages the Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium and other sites, in addition to its global conservation work. Horne contributed this article to Live Science's
Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Turtles are popularly perceived as slow, lumbering animals, typically found alone and seemingly unaware of their surroundings. The spectacle of marine turtles hauling themselves out of the surf to lay a hundred or so eggs ends with an image of them returning to the ocean, never to see their offspring again.
The concept of a turtle caring for and communicating with a hatchling perhaps one hundredth her size is the stuff of children's stories and films like "Finding Nemo."
Chimps Are Naturally Violent, Study Suggests
By Laura Geggel, Staff Writer
For years, anthropologists have watched wild chimpanzees "go ape" and attack each other in coordinated assaults. But until now, scientists were unsure whether interactions with humans had brought on this violent behavior or if it was part of the apes' basic nature.
A new, 54-year study suggests this coordinated aggression is innate to chimpanzees, and is not linked to human interference.
SCIENCE AND HISTORY
From KERA (Dallas) news:
Ebola Battlers Can Learn From Venice's Response To Black Death
BY CHRISTOPHER SHEA
Patients "driven to frenzy by the disease, especially at night ... went here and there, colliding with one another and suddenly falling to the ground dead."
No, it's not a scene from the modern-day Ebola outbreak. It's a description from Venice of a hospital ward during the plague that first struck the city in the mid-1300s.
The city fathers didn't understand what they were up against. And that's precisely why Venice's response to the plague crisis serves as a model for modern cities and nations facing unpredictable threats. That's the perspective of several experts on risk management who write on Venice's response in the latest issue of the journal Environment Systems and Decisions
SCIENCE CRIME
From Science Daily:
New high-resolution satellite image analysis: 5 of 6 Syrian World Heritage sites 'exhibit significant damage'
In war-torn Syria, five of six World Heritage sites now "exhibit significant damage" and some structures have been "reduced to rubble," according to new high-resolution satellite image analysis by the nonprofit, nonpartisan American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
The AAAS analysis, offering the first comprehensive look at the extent of damage to Syria's priceless cultural heritage sites, was completed in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology's Penn Cultural Heritage Center (PennCHC) and the Smithsonian Institution, and in cooperation with the Syrian Heritage Task Force. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the analysis provides authoritative confirmation of previous on-the-ground reports of damage to individual sites.
From The Cairo Post:
Egypt's Mission Impossible to Recover Stolen Antiquities
By RANY MOSTAFA
CAIRO: In a small office at the first floor of the Antiquities Ministry, seven Egyptian archeologists spend long hours every day browsing the internet in search for stolen artifacts that have been put up for sale in auction houses or e-commerce websites.
Mission impossible is the best description to our complicated, bewildering but important job, Head of the Restored Artifacts Department (RAD) at the Antiquities Ministry Dr. Aly Ahmed told The Cairo Post.
ENTERTAINMENT
From space.com:
Eye-popping 'Interstellar' Movie App Puts Universe at Your Control
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer
Christopher Nolan's mysterious, highly anticipated film "Interstellar" won't be released until November, but a new app lets you get a taste of the movie's themes and thrust right now.
Today (Sept. 18), Paramount Pictures released "The Interstellar Experience," a free game that lets players create their own solar systems, explore systems created by other users, travel through wormholes and fly past black holes in the Endurance, the spaceship featured in the upcoming film. The movie "Interstellar" launches into theaters in the United States on Nov. 7.
From MTV:
Where Are The Stars Of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" Now?
Robot roll call!
by Kat Rosenfield
Once upon a time, back in the halcyon days of TV when the Syfy network still spelled it "Sci-Fi," Saturday mornings were spent in outer space: nestled in the seats of a satellite cinema, watching the worst films ever made with a pair of neurotic robots.
The show was "Mystery Science Theater 3000," and during its glorious heyday, it enjoyed successful runs on Comedy Central and Syfy, spawned its own feature film, and wormed its way into the hearts of millions of fans for whom the most important mark of a quality movie experience was the small, comforting silhouette of Tom Servo's gumball-machine-shaped head up front. The premise -- one human man trapped in space, forced to watch terrible movies by an evil scientist whose sole goal was to drive his subject insane -- was just a setup for the showâs main trio to do what they did best, which was mercilessly make fun of stupid movies until viewers at home were laughing hard enough to wet themselves.
Sadly, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" was cancelled forever in 1999. But the main men (and one lady) who made it famous live on, to the great relief of fans everywhere. Hereâs where you can catch up with them now.
SCIENCE IS COOL
From theconversation.com:
New Mushrooms Discovered in Chinese Grocery
By Nai Tran-Dinh, CSIRO and David Midgley, CSIRO
Mycologists -- scientists who study fungi -- estimate there are up to five million species of fungi on Earth. Of these, only about 2%, or 100,000 species, have been formally described. So where are the other 98% of fungi hiding?
At least three, it seems, were hiding in a supermarket packet of dried porcini mushrooms from China. Mycologists Bryn Dentinger and Laura Suz from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, UK, used DNA sequencing to identify three new species in a packet of dried porcini mushrooms purchased from a supermarket, and report their findings in the journal PeerJ today.
And from livescience comes my personal pick for coolest story of the week:
Saving Nemo: Pet Goldfish Recovers from Tumor Removal
By Jeanna Bryner, Managing Editor
A little goldfish just underwent a big operation. The pipsqueak, named George, had a life-threatening tumor removed from his head last week at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
George is currently recovering at home in his pond in Melbourne after the tricky one-hour surgery, which went "swimmingly," according to the hospital's Facebook page.
And photographs of the procedure:
Gallery: Amazing Photos of Goldfish's Life-Saving Tumor Surgery