Category: Uncategorized
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So what else is DNA good for besides evolving meddlesome creatures that cover the planet with reactive oxygen, then others that breathe the oxygen and start looking for other planets? DNA–and its predecessor, RNA–are the most amazing building sets ever known. A recent article in Science shows how DNA can build self-programmed 3D structures. The…
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The news that Prop 8 went down in California is certainly welcome, although tempered by the split decision and the concurrent rise of wingnuts in local beauty contests. Some of us are old enough to recall when the GOP stood for financial probity and the common good. Sigh. Same-sex couples have been a subject of…
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One morning last week I opened my PC to the news that The Highest Frontier had made the Locus 2011 Recommended Reading List. Then I squinted and rubbed my aging eyes (time for my annual trip to the optometrist). My book had actually made the Young Adult list. This despite including an adult VPC and…
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In our last two threads on green energy, it was proposed that we seed the Moon with self-replicating solar factories. Is anyone seriously attempting to do this? There was the NASA study in 1981, and a more recent (very technical) study in 2004. Of course, Earth is full of self-replicating solar factories. They’re known as…
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Since Green Energy generated so many great ideas, let’s pursue some of them. Space Energy. Could space be the place for energy? Space Solar Power Systems is a project being developed by Japan. The system will collect sunlight in geostationary orbit, then microwave it down to Earth, providing 1 gigawatt of electricity, comparable to a…
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The news about fracking and wastewater injection causing earthquakes and ignitable faucets reminds us that, while natural gas burns cleaner than coal, we still need to find sustainable energy supplies that make zero carbon and don’t pollute. Which kind of “green energy” do you like? Remember, as we reach for green energy, we need to…
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A fascinating story this week shows the USA’s language dilemma, what constitutes an “official” public language. One trajectory for this debate I project in The Highest Frontier, a hundred years from now when all American speak Spanish/English interchangeably. In real life the trajectory remains far from clear; and today’s story presents intriguing details. At issue…
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Most of us have heard of tuberculosis, but few are familiar with Sphingomonas, a relatively obscure genus of environmental bacteria. Sphingomonas is just one of a number of microbial hangers-on to turn up in a metagenomic analysis of a shower curtain. The senior author Norm Pace is better known for isolating extreme thermophiles at Yellowstone,…
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Microbes are immortal–we used to think. Just two, four, eight forever, while many-celled organisms age and die. The latter may be true of mammals. Reptiles and invertebrates, not so much. A Galápagos tortoise can grow indefinitely, as can a lobster, and a tern might live as long as Elrond. Why them? Go figure. But a…
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Margin of US Presidential Elections (Popular Vote) As we political animals know, the only way to run a democracy is by voting. We all take that for granted. But what if voting became obsolete? What if the world changed so that every vote ends in a tie? What if it already has? The Last Hurrah…
Joan Slonczewski 