science

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Bee Karaoke, Green Blood, and why Global Warming is causing kittens!

Holy Alternative Energy Sources!: According to the BBC, Pope Benedict XVI is on his way to becoming the most eco-friendly pope ever by replacing the roof of the Paul VI auditorium with solar cells. The cement roof was due to be replaced next year anyway, but His Holiness took a tip from above and elected to go the green route. Amazingly, the cells will generate enough power to light, heat or cool the auditorium and will hopefully start a country-wide trend. No word yet on whether plans are in place to... READ ON

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Are You Color Blind?

Last week's Tone Deafness Test was popular, so this week let's talk Color Blindness. I am "Color Blind," though I prefer to say I'm "Color Confused," as I do see colors -- just not, uh, the right ones. I have a condition called Deuteranomaly. Here's an explanation of the condition from colorvisiontesting.com (warning: some "misused" quotation marks are retained): Deuteranomaly (five out of 100 males): The deuteranomalous person is considered "green weak". Similar to the protanomalous person, he is... READ ON

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Finger length predicts SAT scores?

According to LiveScience, new research is suggesting that finger length can tell whether you'll score higher on the math or verbal section of your SATs. Here's the key: If your ring finger is longer than your index, apparently you're math-minded. If it's reversed however, you're likely to have stronger reading and writing scores. Curious why? Here's the explanation from the article: Exposure to testosterone in the womb is said to promote development of areas of the brain often associated with spatial and... READ ON

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Hamsters use Viagra to combat jet lag

New Scientist is reporting that extremely small doses of Viagra help hamsters deal with their jet lag. And while I had no idea hamsters even had a problem with jet lag, the multi-use drug seems to be working wonders for the jet-setting lot. Scientists were quick to point out that while the one-off Viagra doses could be beneficial to humans traipsing across the globe, the suggested doses would be too small to cause any sort of sexual arousal. More at New... READ ON

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Geomagnetic Reversal

What will happen when the Earth's magnetic field reverses itself? We may find out in just a few short thousands (or tens of thousands) of... READ ON

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Squeezing 25 Hours into your Day

Never seem to be able to get enough out of your days? Well, according to New Scientist's Short Sharp Science blog, researchers have figured out a way to keep you up for 25 hours at a time without using espresso! A new study shows that 45 minute blasts of bright light, administered late in the day, can affect a human's circadian rhythm such that people who normally sleep 8 hours, and are up for about 16, can suddenly stretch their days out for another 9 hours or so. The research has incredible... READ ON

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How to Hack into a Beehive

New Scientist has an interesting bit today on how the small hive beetle has been able to penetrate beehives. While the pests have been observed infiltrating honeybee home security systems, and killing off bees for about a decade now, scientists have been puzzled by how they've managed to get past the security detail. That is, until now. Apparently, the beetles are tapping into the same alarm pheromone that makes the bees go crazy. So, once "the levels of the chemicals in the hive go up, worker... READ ON

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Seeds in Space

After picking up a new African Violet at the grocery store, I noticed a little tag on the plant -- the tag had a picture of the Space Shuttle, surrounded by flowers. Eh? A quick trip to Google, and I learned all about the Optimara EverFloris "Space Violet" program. From the site: ...the development of EverFloris Violets began in 1984, when Optimara launched 25,000 Optimara seeds into space aboard one of NASA's space shuttles. The seeds remained in space, orbiting the Earth, for nearly six years. (The... READ ON

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The PopSci Podcast From the Moon

Long-time readers may recall that we're big fans of Jonathan Coulton. In celebrating his entire catalog, we came across a podcast he produces...from the moon! Well, perhaps just from his New York apartment, but still, we'll play along. Coulton is the Contributing Troubador for Popular Science, producing new science-related podcasts every few weeks. Recent podcasts have featured: an interview with a developer of the upcoming Spore video game, a disco dance floor made by MIT students, and John Hodgman... READ ON

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How To: Fuel Your Car With Thanksgiving Leftovers

Question: What's greasy, grimy, and surprisingly useful? Answer: Turkey guts"¦and a lot of other stuff, too. It just depends on how you process it. If you're reading this, you're probably hip to the concept that Americans (and pretty much everybody else in world) have a bit of an oil addiction and that, unlike some things you could get yourself addicted to, the supplies aren't limitless. So, wouldn't it be great if we could make it ourselves? Produce oil just... READ ON