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Paging Through History's Beautiful Science : NPR

Paging Through History's Beautiful Science : NPR.

Health & Science
Paging Through History's Beautiful Science
by Joe Palca
Listen Now [6 min 13 sec]

Saturday, November 15, 2008

What makes something beautiful?Is it exquisite colors? Elegant form or striking style? Or can something be beautiful simply for the ideas it contains?

The answer to that last question is a resounding "yes," according Dan Lewis, Dibner senior curator of the History of Science and Technology at the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif. He's the man responsible for a new exhibition at the library called "Beautiful Science: Ideas That Changed the World."

Enjoy the audio and images.. there's also a video on some works from the exhibit on the site...

The Associated Press: First fuzzy photos of planets outside solar system

The Associated Press: First fuzzy photos of planets outside solar system.

The Associated Press
First fuzzy photos of planets outside solar system
By SETH BORENSTEIN – 4 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Earth seems to have its first fuzzy photos of alien planets outside our solar system, images captured by two teams of astronomers. The pictures show four likely planets that appear as specks of white, nearly indecipherable except to the most eagle-eyed experts. All are trillions of miles away — three of them orbiting the same star, and the fourth circling a different star.

None of the four giant gaseous planets are remotely habitable or remotely like Earth. But they raise the possibility of others more hospitable.

It's only a matter of time before "we get a dot that's blue and Earthlike," said astronomer Bruce Macintosh of the Lawrence Livermore National Lab. He led one of the two teams of photographers. "It is a step on that road to understand if there are other planets like Earth and potentially life out there," he said. Macintosh's team used two ground-based telescopes, while the second team relied on photos from the 18-year-old Hubble Space Telescope to gather images of the exoplanets — planets that don't circle our sun. The research from both teams was published in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science.

Encyclopedia of Life

Encyclopedia of Life.

Who We Are (The Encyclopedia of Life)

The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is an ambitious, even audacious project to organize and make available via the Internet virtually all information about life present on Earth. At its heart lies a series of Web sites—one for each of the approximately 1.8 million known species—that provide the entry points to this vast array of knowledge. The entry-point for each site is a species page suitable for the general public, but with several linked pages aimed at more specialized users. The sites sparkle with text and images that are enticing to everyone, as well as providing deep links to specific data.

The EOL dynamically synthesizes biodiversity knowledge about all known species, including their taxonomy, geographic distribution, collections, genetics, evolutionary history, morphology, behavior, ecological relationships, and importance for human well being, and distribute this information through the Internet. It serves as a primary resource for a wide audience that includes scientists, natural resource managers, conservationists, teachers, and students around the world. We believe that the EOL's encompassing scope and innovation will have a major global impact in facilitating biodiversity research, conservation, and education. The EOL staff is made up of scientists and non-scientists working from museums and research institutions around the world. We currently have 20 full time employees, but as this project grows, so will the EOL family.

Incredible grassroots effort to make an encyclopedia of life (read: Life Forms) on Earth. There are pages where you can participate, help, if you can...

Many Seek Second Opinions From Health Sites and Online Communities - NYTimes.com

Many Seek Second Opinions From Health Sites and Online Communities - NYTimes.com.

Logging On for a Second (or Third) Opinion
By JOHN SCHWARTZ, Published: September 29, 2008

When Terri Nelson learned she had a large fibroid tumor in her uterus, she went online.

There is nothing new in that, of course. The intrepid and the adept were going to the Web for health information as long ago as the 1980s, well before Google and other search engines made it accessible to a wider audience.

These days, that is pretty much everyone. At least three-quarters of all Internet users look for health information online, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project; of those with a high-speed connection, 1 in 9 do health research on a typical day. And 75 percent of online patients with a chronic problem told the researchers that “their last health search affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition,” according to a Pew Report released last month, “The Engaged E-Patient Population.”

Smithsonian to put its 137 million-object collection online - CNN.com

Smithsonian to put its 137 million-object collection online - CNN.com.

updated 10:06 a.m. EDT, Tue September 16, 2008
Smithsonian to put its 137 million-object collection online
   
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Smithsonian Institution will work to digitize its collections to make science, history and cultural artifacts accessible online and dramatically expand its outreach to schools, the museum complex's new chief said Monday. The Smithsonian Institution's new chief wants to bring in Web gurus to find creative ways to present artifacts online. The Smithsonian Institution's new chief wants to bring in Web gurus to find creative ways to present artifacts online.

"I worry about museums becoming less relevant to society," said Secretary G. Wayne Clough in his first interviews since taking the Smithsonian's helm in July.

Clough, 66, who was president of the Georgia Institute of Technology for 14 years, says he's working to bring in video gaming experts and Web gurus to collaborate with curators on creative ways to present artifacts online and make them appealing to kids.

"I think we need to take a major step," Clough said in an earlier interview. "Can we work with outside entities to create a place, for example, where we might demonstrate cutting-edge technologies to use to reach out to school systems all over the country? I think we can do that."

Smithsonian officials do not know how long it will take or how much it will cost to digitize the full 137 million-object collection and will do it as money becomes available. A team will prioritize which artifacts are digitized first.

Portal to Maya Underworld Found in Mexico?

Portal to Maya Underworld Found in Mexico?.

Portal to Maya Underworld Found in Mexico?
Alexis Okeowo in México City
for National Geographic News
August 22, 2008

A labyrinth filled with stone temples and pyramids in 14 caves—some underwater—have been uncovered on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, archaeologists announced last week.

The discovery has experts wondering whether Maya legend inspired the construction of the underground complex—or vice versa.

According to Maya myth, the souls of the dead had to follow a dog with night vision on a horrific and watery path and endure myriad challenges before they could rest in the afterlife.

Fascinating.. this find reminds me of the great books by Jeff Long, Descent and Deeper, which are about his vision of an underworld beneath Earth.. the link above is to his Web site...

About NASA Images

About NASA Images.

About NASA Images

[Editor's note: The main site is at http://www.nasaimages.org/]

[Left, screenshot of image of auroras from space, source:
http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~20~20~120199~226898:Auroras-Underfoot]

NASA Images is a service of Internet Archive ( www.archive.org ), a non-profit library, to offer public access to NASA's images, videos and audio collections. NASA Images is constantly growing with the addition of current media from NASA as well as newly digitized media from the archives of the NASA Centers.

The goal of NASA Images is to increase our understanding of the earth, our solar system and the universe beyond in order to benefit humanity.

Support NASA Images
NASA and Internet Archive entered into a Space Act Agreement in 2007 to create this service, but the Internet Archive receives no financial support from NASA. The project is currently funded through a grant from the Kahle-Austin Foundation. We are actively looking for additional financial support in the form of grants and sponsorships. If your organization would like to support this important project, we want to hear from you. Please contact us at info@archive.org.

To Come:
Continuous updating of the media collections. Custom prints of the images with NASA Images.org.
Space and science-related books and other merchandise through affiliate relationships.
We will encourage visitors to use these services to help support this project. To Contact the Internet Archive regarding NASA Images, please send email to: info@archive.org

A Chat with NYC's Coolest Culinary Librarian - IgoUgo

A Chat with NYC's Coolest Culinary Librarian - IgoUgo.

A Chat with NYC's Coolest Culinary Librarian
Posted on March 31, 2008 in Features

Who boasts the best menu in New York? Our vote goes to Rebecca Federman, keeper of the New York Public Library’s culinary collection. The passionate bibliographer—and writer of Cooked Books—talks to IgoUgo about her fascinating job and favorite tables.

IgoUgo: What comprises your work at the New York Public Library, and what are the best parts of your position there?
Rebecca Federman: My official title is Social Sciences Bibliographer, which means I order books and keep on top of trends and publications within the social sciences: women's studies, political science, history, etc. But I also spend a lot of time working with the Library's culinary collection, both the cookbooks and the historic restaurant menu collection. That's one of my favorite aspects of the job: reading through menus from the mid-19th century to the present, helping researchers, and meeting people. It's a job where one wears a lot of hats and is never bored. I like that.

Sputnik: 50th Year Anniversary

Sputnik: 50th Year Anniversary.

Telemetry from Sputnik I as it passed overhead (WAVE file)

Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.

Hard to believe, 50 years.. where did the time go? Thanks to Gary Price of ResourceShelf for the pointer to this one.. see also more primary documents from the NARA/Eisenhower Library...

Covey to lead United Space Alliance - Houston Business Journal:

Covey to lead United Space Alliance - Houston Business Journal:.

Covey to lead United Space Alliance
Houston Business Journal - 11:26 AM CDT Thursday, August 30, 2007

Richard Covey has been named president and chief executive of the United Space Alliance, effective Sept. 28.

Covey, who has been chief operating officer since February 2006, will replace Michael McCulley, who announced his retirement.

McCulley has spent 38 years as a Naval aviator, NASA astronaut and highly respected space industry executive.

My namesake the astronaut, who probably is not the only one of "us" out there (but I sort of adopted him), is retiring.. me next ;) .. ah, soon.. I wish you well, MM, enjoy the retirement.. I wonder if he's going back to Tennessee?

SPACE.com -- Lunar Eclipse Dazzles Skywatchers

SPACE.com -- Lunar Eclipse Dazzles Skywatchers.

Lunar Eclipse Dazzles Skywatchers
By Dave Mosher, Staff Writer, posted: 28 August 2007 9:55 am ET

Those who gazed into the darkened skies early Tuesday morning caught a breathtaking view of a blood-red lunar eclipse.

The second such event of the year gave those along the Pacific Rim, including California, New Zealand and eastern Australia a view of a total lunar eclipse from start to finish. Inhabitants in the Central U.S. and Canada through New England and even Japan, however, also got a spectacular view.

Earth's full shadow, or umbra, crept over the moon at 4:51 a.m. EDT (1:51 a.m. PDT) and completely covered it by 5:32 EDT (2:52 PDT). The celestial event ended after sunrise on the East coast and at 4:22 a.m. PDT on the West coast.

A don't miss image gallery accompanies this article.. some great images from around the globe on this eclipse...

NASA - NASA and Internet Archive Team to Digitize Space Imagery

NASA - NASA and Internet Archive Team to Digitize Space Imagery.

NASA and Internet Archive Team to Digitize Space Imagery
News Release/Contacts:
Bob Jacobs, Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 bob.jacobs@nasa.gov
Paul Hickman, Internet Archive 415-462-1509, 415-561-6767 paul@archive.org 
Aug. 23, 2007 RELEASE: 07-178

WASHINGTON - NASA and Internet Archive of San Francisco are partnering to scan, archive and manage the agency's vast collection of photographs, historic film and video. The imagery will be available through the Internet and free to the public, historians, scholars, students, and researchers.

Currently, NASA has more than 20 major imagery collections online. With this partnership, those collections will be made available through a single, searchable "one-stop-shop" archive of NASA imagery.

"Making NASA's important scientific and space exploration imagery available and easily accessible online to all is a service of tremendous value to America, and we're pleased to partner with the experts at Internet Archive to accomplish this effort," said Robert Hopkins, chief of strategic communications at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

NASA selected Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization, as a partner for digitizing and distributing agency imagery through a competitive process. The two organizations are teaming through a non-exclusive Space Act agreement to help NASA consolidate and digitize its imagery archives using no NASA funds.

F as in Fat 2007: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2007

F as in Fat 2007: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2007.

F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007
2007 Report (2.06MB .pdf)

Adult obesity rates rose in 31 states last year, according to the fourth annual F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007 report from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH). Twenty-two states experienced an increase for the second year in a row; no states decreased. A new public opinion survey featured in the report finds 85 percent of Americans believe that obesity is an epidemic.

Mississippi topped the list with the highest rate of adult obesity in the country for the third year in a row, and is the first state to reach a rate of over 30 percent (at 30.6 percent). Colorado was the leanest state again this year, however, its adult obesity rate increased over the past year (from 16.9 to 17.6 percent). Ten of the 15 states with the highest rates of adult obesity are located in the South. Rates of adult obesity now exceed 25 percent in 19 states, an increase from 14 states last year and 9 in 2005. In 1991, none of the states exceeded 20 percent.

Stay up late - or get up early - for spectacular lunar eclipse

Stay up late - or get up early - for spectacular lunar eclipse.

Stay up late - or get up early - for spectacular lunar eclipse
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor, Monday, August 27, 2007

What is a lunar eclipse?

A lovely total lunar eclipse will be visible throughout the Bay Area and all of California before dawn Tuesday morning as the Earth's shadow darkens the bright full moon, and wherever skies are clear, it will be a time to look upward wide-eyed. Astronomers say the eclipse should be a beauty, but only people willing to stay up very late or set their alarm clocks for long after midnight will see it.

It will last for a full hour and a half, and during that time, the moon's color could be anything from a dull and dusky red-brown to a reddish or even orange glow, depending on how much dust, pollution and mist is in the atmosphere, according to Andrew Fraknoi, chair of astronomy at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, who has observed many in his time.

For the wide-awake, a partial eclipse will start at 1:51 a.m. Tuesday and become total starting at 2:52 a.m. By 4:22 a.m., the total phase will be over, but then as the moon begins to emerge from Earth's shadow, another partial phase will begin. The eclipse will end at 5:24 a.m., just as the sky lightens at dawn.

Technology News: Portals & Search: 2007: A Google Space Odyssey

Technology News: Portals & Search: 2007: A Google Space Odyssey.

2007: A Google Space Odyssey
By Katherine Noyes, TechNewsWorld 08/22/07 11:09 AM PT

Google Earth now includes much more than just images of our planet -- its new feature Sky lets users view 100 million stars and 200 million galaxies. Sky also features several informational layers that focus on particular events and celestial bodies. For example, the Backyard Astronomy layer is designed to help amateur astronomers learn about particular areas of the night sky.

Google Earth turned its gaze upward Wednesday with the debut of a new feature that allows users to view the best images of the sky captured by astronomers around the globe.

Called "Sky," the new feature lets Google Earth users view and navigate through 100 million individual stars and 200 million galaxies. The images presented are a combination of those from numerous scientific third parties -- including the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Digital Sky Survey Consortium, CalTech's Palomar Observatory, the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Center and the Anglo-Australian Observatory -- stitched together by Google's engineers.

This very semi amateur astronomer guy is thrilled at this innovation.. I can't wait to try it out some...