Tricorder X-Prize

You'll recall that even in the original Star Trek series, one recurring prop was called a tricorder.  This mutlifunction device was able to scan the surface of a planet for life forms or toxic air.  Dr. McCoy had a medical tricorder that could diagnose conditions by just waving past a patient.

There are groups out there trying to produce such a device.  Read more below.  What medical conditions would you make a device to diagnose?

http://www.qualcommtricorderxprize.org/competition-details/overview

Unusual Scholarships

Juniors and seniors might be interested in these (sophomores too).

I don't even like Catcher in the Rye, but I'd sort of like to live in Salinger's old dorm room (#27).

http://mentalfloss.com/article/58451/30-unusual-scholarships

Citizen Science

I'd like to direct your attention, if I may to a concept known as citizen science.

As my chemistry students know, contributions to science may be made by anyone.  You don't have to be a "scientist".  Some projects are so complex that scientists enlist the help of average Joes (and Sallys) to collect or analyze data.  This is known as citizen science.

These projects can be as simple as collecting weather information or counting pieces of trash or bird species.  These observations are then sent in through the internet where the data is looked at by computers.

Some projects have large amounts of data collected already, but for some reason or another, the information is not suited to computer analysis.  Regular people are asked to join in to plow though and make identifications.

My favorite site for this is Zooniverse.  It started with simple identifications of galaxies from pictures taken by telescopes, but has grown into a wide variety of projects that need assistance.  Here are some of my favorites:

Operation War Diary - Copying over WWI soldiers diaries and letters (very topical)

Old Weather - Searching through old log books from sailing ships to record weather from hundreds of years ago

Notes from Nature - Go through old museum collections of plants and insects and add searchable tags

These are fun just in themselves.  Also, extra credit.  Keep a log of your time spent on these projects.  If you do a total of 4 hours in a quarter, you can claim extra credit!

LEGO Research Institute

Check these out!  They're currently sold out unfortunately.

http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Research-Institute-21110

Everything is awesome!

Antikythera Mechansim

So, I'm a nerd, clearly, but I think that you guys should watch this great documentary about the Antikythera mechanism.  Basically, it's the world's oldest computer.  What does it do?  Watch and find out.  As you do, consider the following questions:

1. What did the Greeks need to know to build such a device?
2. Why was it over a thousand years later that Europeans were able to recreate this type of tool?
3. Could you cut 235 gears into a small wheel?

NOVA: Ancient Computer

Using Science Terms Correctly

Here's an interesting article from Mental Floss as I try to get back into the habit of sharing interesting science facts again.

13 Scientific Terms You Might Be Using Wrong

#7 is a pet peeve of mine.

Abundance of Elements

Found this cool infographic online.  What are you made of?

by jonathanorjack.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

Spot the Safety Violations

Fire isn't for everyone.

A Space Oddity

Commander Christ Hadfield on board the ISS.

Wringing out a Washcloth in Space!

Just felt like sharing this with you guys.


Before watching, try to guess what will happen.

Got it?  Let's watch.






Why doesn't this work on Earth?

Quarter 4 Extra Credit

This one is multi part.  I recommend you start now.

1. Choose one of the Grand Challenges of Engineering.
2. Write a paragraph on each of the following:
1. What is it?
2. Why is it important?
3. Why is it difficult?
4. Who are some people working on it?
3. Email or phone interview with someone working on or with knowledge of the project
1. 10 questions
2. Clear this with me first.
4. What is your solution?
1. At least 500 words
2. Be specific

Scale of the Universe

As requested by some, here is the Scale of the Universe site.  It makes you feel very small (or big, if you go the other way).

The End of Antibiotics?

In the A&P classes, we have been talking about antibiotic resistance in bacteria.  Here's an article highlighting the problem in American hospitals.  Some bacteria are virtually resistant to every antibiotic that is on the market.

Why not just make new ones?  The process for bringing a new drug to market takes many years and much money.  It's best to stretch out what we have and stop overuse of antibiotics.

Glass

So, you may not know this, but I love technology.  I really do.  Even before I ever owned a smart phone, I would read up all about them and dream of what I could do with one (perhaps that's a bit sad).

I especially love Google technology.  I can't explain it, but their stuff is pretty awesome to me.  They're working on an interface now called Glass.  You wear it and it does things.  Watch the video below for more information.

It was an asteroid!

Although some scientists have suggested for decades that an asteroid may have killed the dinosaurs, others have disagreed.  The dates of major collisions around the earth and the demise of our loved beasties just didn't seem to occur at the same time.  The asteroid theory remained the favored idea of all of us kids out there who wanted a nice, clean explanation for why I can't ride a Triceratops down the street.

Now, it turns out, the age estimates of the Chixulub crater were by around 100,000 years.  It did happen at around the same exact (geological) time that the mass extinction of Earth species occurred 65 million years ago.  Sure, there was also a great deal of volcanic activity around then that would have weakened the dinos, but the asteroid finished them off!

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/07/171170142/fresh-clues-in-dinosaur-whodunit-point-to-asteroid

Anosmia

Well, I am finally (almost) over the flu, but I am left with near complete anosmia.  I find this very annoying as I love to cook and appreciate the subtle flavors of food.

What is this?

Will it ever reverse?

What does scent have to do with flavor?

Read and find out.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/anosmia-loss-of-smell

The Walls of Jericho

I haven't been feeling too well recently, so I haven't posted as frequently as I would like.

Here's something that I gave my physics classes to listen to.  How many trumpets would it take to knock down the walls of Jericho (miracles aside)?

From Radiolab.

Space Junk

Humans have been launching objects into orbit since the late 1950s and not everything that goes up does come down.  The area around the Earth is littered with bits and pieces of satellites, rockets and other debris from over half a century of space exploration.  Some of these pieces collide with other satellites increasing the hazard of near Earth travel even more.

Luckily, there are a number of plans to clean up the mess.  Some of them seem to have a decent shot at success, provided funding can be found.  Mental floss has a roundup of these.

Asteroid Mining

I have been debating what science thing to post today.  There are so many good offerings: labor pain simulators for men, using PET scans to detect brain damage in football players before they know anything is wrong.  I think that I will go with space-themed:  asteroid mining.

What is it you ask?  Well it's mining... In space!

Why?  Aren't there mines here on Earth?  Well, yes, but there are three reasons why mining asteroids makes sense:

1. No need to launch materials into space.  It costs a lot of money to get materials out of Earth's gravity. These are already "out there".
2. Many asteroids contain metals that are relatively rare on Earth.
3. Many asteroids contain water which would be an indispensable commodity to space explorers.

Two major groups working on plans at the moment are:

1. Planetary Resources
2. Deep Space Industries

Real Life Mario Kart

RFID tags can make possible a number of things such as tagging animals, managing product inventories, or tracking railroad cars.  Now a group from Austin has used this technology to allow Mario-style go cart racing.  You should really watch the video, but a few things that you will see: banana peels that cause cars to spin out of control, mushrooms that increase your speed, and shells that can be fired at other carts.




Check out some of the other cool things that Waterloo Labs has built.