Archive for December, 2006
Pope says: “Worship God not technology”
Humankind, which has reached other planets and decoded the genetic instructions for life, should not presume it can live without God, Pope Benedict said in his Christmas message on Monday.
Add comment December 29, 2006
Robot headed for Antarctic dive
Isis, the UK’s first deep-diving robot vehicle will be diving in the Antarctic deep sea-bed in the region in its inaugural science mission in January. It will be used to investigate sea-floor sediments silting down to Marguerite Bay by the ice-sheets back in the day. Odd sea cucumbers anticipated.
Add comment December 28, 2006
Moon beckons again
The space agency wants to send a crew of four to the moon in 2018 for a one-week stay. The plan also calls for astronauts to return to the moon in a pod similar to the Apollo capsule. The pod and other equipment for a moon mission would blast off on top of rockets made from the same engines and boosters used by the space shuttle. None of the plan’s technology exists in final form yet, and the whole package would cost billions of dollars to develop. One key lawmaker expressed doubts Friday about the proposal’s viability. “This plan is coming out at a time when the nation is facing significant budgetary challenges,” said Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn, minority chair of the House Science Committee. “Getting agreement to move forward on it is going to be heavy lifting.” From USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2005-09-18-nasa-new-missions_x.htm
Add comment December 27, 2006
British military team reaches South Pole
Shows how tough this earth quest still is. Navy guys made it – the RAF team was forced to abandon its assault on the South Pole because of medical issues. [BBC]
Add comment December 27, 2006
Pentagon agency’s brain research raises eyebrows
Darpa looks at Augmented Cognition. Kneejerk eyebrows raise. The questions: Is it ethical to send orders directly to the brain? Shouldn’t they go through the mind first?
Add comment December 27, 2006
Parasites and prophets
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Simon And Garfinkle I think said the words of the prophets were written on the tenement halls…they could have added latrine house walls…Following directions found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeologists have discovered the latrines used by the sect that produced the scrolls and found that efforts to achieve ritual purity inadvertently exposed members to intestinal parasites that shortened their lifespan.
The young male zealots who established their sect at Qumran chose a life of austerity and isolation, but they could not have foreseen the hardships created by their religiously imposed toilet practices, researchers said last week. “They paid a high price for their holiness,” said archaeologist James D. Tabor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, one of the co-authors of a paper appearing in the international journal Revue de Qumran. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4373955.html At Right: The Dead Sea occurs in a rift zone, where the Arabian tectonic plate (east side) is pulling northward, away from the Africa tectonic plate (west side). Highlands and plateaus on either side of the rift end in escarpments at the seashore. NASA. |
Add comment December 3, 2006
U.S.’s alliance partners set sights on Moon
Proto boffin comments: “This could be the world’s largest science and technology programme. We will be considering whether there is an opportunity to build a partnership with the US.” Let’s all go together when we go.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6196310.stm
Add comment December 3, 2006
