The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution

Astrobiology rap

Oh, it’s gooooood.

Wind energy input is too much for the US national grid

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/business/27grid.html

Also discusses the nature, function and structure of the grid in interesting and relevant ways. Recommended reading for an overview of grid issues.

Computer virus on the International Space Station

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7583805.stm

On an astronaut’s laptop. NO WINDOWS IN SPACE!

Interestingly, they say it’s happened before, but I’ve never heard of it.

Does alcohol cut scientific productivity

http://oddline.blogspot.com/2008/08/science-and-beer.html

Looks like a legit study indicates that it might. Very interesting indeed.

Encoding IPV6 addresses as pronounceable words

http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=649579&cid=24654733

Quite nicely done. Would like to see a linguist take a crack at the list of phonemes, though.

Nature Is Scary

it’s just a little shark, but watch the slowmo…

The (divorce) Pill

Summary: the pill gives women a sexual preference for men they won’t want to stay with later. They go off the pill, have kids, then discover they can’t stand their partners.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are involved in immune response and other functions, and the best mates are those that have different MHC smells than you. The new study reveals, however, that when women are on the pill they prefer guys with matching MHC odors.

MHC genes churn out substances that tell the body whether a cell is a native or an invader. When individuals with different MHC genes mate, their offspring’s immune systems can recognize a broader range of foreign cells, making them more fit.

Past studies have suggested couples with dissimilar MHC genes are more satisfied and more likely to be faithful to a mate. And the opposite is also true with matchng-MHC couples showing less satisfaction and more wandering eyes.

“Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems,” said lead researcher Stewart Craig Roberts, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Newcastle in England, “but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, as odor perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners.”

Sexy scents

The study involved about 100 women, aged 18 to 35, who chose which of six male body-odor samples they preferred. They were tested at the start of the study when none of the participants were taking contraceptive pills and three months later after 40 of the women had started taking the pill more than two months prior.

For the non-pill users, results didn’t show a significant preference for similar or dissimilar MHC odors. When women started taking birth control, their odor preferences changed. These women were much more likely than non-pill users to prefer MHC-similar odors.

“The results showed that the preferences of women who began using the contraceptive pill shifted towards men with genetically similar odors,” Roberts said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080813/sc_livescience/thepillmakeswomenpickbadmates

How bad is it? Well… I think when the lawsuits start, it’s going to be the biggest bloodletting in recent legal history.

The frightening evolution of the King Cobra

Many snakes produce only small quantities of weak poison that is just adequate for their various small prey. But other snakes’ venom can be deadly for large animals—including humans. This is certainly the case for the king cobra, which is the world’s largest poisonous snake and might be capable of killing an elephant with a single bite. The king cobra preys overwhelmingly on other snakes, which have developed resistance to its venom. And that’s the reason for its powerful poison: It takes more venom to bring down another snake than it does a mammal.

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-03/evolution’s-most-effective-killer-snake-venom

Via http://hhg.to/weblog/recent

Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems

Energy in Nature and Society is a systematic and exhaustive analysis of all the major energy sources, storages, flows, and conversions that have shaped the evolution of the biosphere and civilization. Vaclav Smil uses fundamental unifying metrics (most notably for power density and energy intensity) to provide an integrated framework for analyzing all segments of energetics (the study of energy flows and their transformations). The book explores not only planetary energetics (such as solar radiation and geomorphic processes) and bioenergetics (photosynthesis, for example) but also human energetics (such as metabolism and thermoregulation), tracing them from hunter-gatherer and agricultural societies through modern-day industrial civilization. Included are chapters on heterotrophic conversions, traditional agriculture, preindustrial complexification, fossil fuels, fossil-fueled civilization, the energetics of food, and the implications of energetics for the environment. The book concludes with an examination of general patterns, trends, and socioeconomic considerations of energy use today, looking at correlations between energy and value, energy and the economy, energy and quality of life, and energy futures.

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~vsmil/complete_booklist.html

Looks like I’ve got some reading to do later this year.

How to make hydrogen airships safe.

1> Suspend the gondola / cargo etc. 200 m below the lift balloons to keep them away from explosions.

2> Carry a cargo-sized parachute, perhaps with powered deployment assistance, on the gondola.

That way, if it goes bang, you don’t get fried, and you get to coast to the ground. Helps if you fly high.