Science Megathread

[DINGO Joe]

A power plant in Rwanda is going to run on methane harvested from a rift valley lake.

http://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/12175/Engineers-Harvest-Methane-Gas-from-Lake-in-Rwanda-That-May-Explode.aspx

May be a good idea (and reduce a chance of natural explosion) may be a really bad idea.

[Frodo]

Scientists observe first signs of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer:
September ozone hole has shrunk by 4 million square kilometers since 2000.



Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office
June 30, 2016

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

Using nanotechnology to give fuel cells more oomph

by David Salisbury | Aug. 8, 2016, 10:09 AM

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

400-year-old Greenland shark ‘longest-living vertebrate’



By Rebecca Morelle
Science Correspondent, BBC News
12 August 2016

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

We could use this technology in the United States, as we steadily shut down the older nuclear power plants -it could even become the backbone of our energy sector with renewables playing a supplementary role:

Nuclear developers have big plans for pint-sized power plants in UK

By Susanna Twidale | LONDON
Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:10am EDT

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Mr. Morden]

Apparently, there's an Earth-sized planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, just over 4 light-years away:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/earth-like-planet-proxima-centauri-1.3733882

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[RI]

Every news org seems to be running with "Earth-like" (as opposed to "Earth-sized" or its ilk) in their headlines, which implies something really important that we really don't know yet.

[Blue3]

Every news org seems to be running with "Earth-like" (as opposed to "Earth-sized" or its ilk) in their headlines, which implies something really important that we really don't know yet.

It's in the Goldilocks zone... it has Earth-like temperature. And with how abundant water has turned out to be, probably oceans of liquid water.

[RI]

Every news org seems to be running with "Earth-like" (as opposed to "Earth-sized" or its ilk) in their headlines, which implies something really important that we really don't know yet.

It's in the Goldilocks zone... it has Earth-like temperature. And with how abundant water has turned out to be, probably oceans of liquid water.

No, it has the potential for Earth-like temperatures. Nothing more is known than that. Venus and Mars are in the habitable zone but aren't hospitable to life and don't have Earth-like temperatures. There's also a strong chance it's tidally locked, which would not allow for Earth-like temperatures for the vast majority of the planet.

[dead0man]

We could use this technology in the United States, as we steadily shut down the older nuclear power plants -it could even become the backbone of our energy sector with renewables playing a supplementary role:

Nuclear developers have big plans for pint-sized power plants in UK

By Susanna Twidale | LONDON
Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:10am EDT

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The US has been using tiny nuclear generators for decades in various boats and ships of the US Navy.  We even tried to put them in planes once.  wiki
And it seems like I read something about putting them in tiny Canadian villages in the middle of nowhere as a cheaper alternative to driving tanker trucks to them to fill local generators.

and oh yeah, the Voyager spacecraft had them...and after looking that up, not quite.  They involved radioactive stuff, but just using the heat from natural decay, not forcing anything.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Hasn't been independently verified yet, but supposedly the world's oldest living person has been discovered currently living at age 145.

Obviously this has to be taken with a huge grain of salt.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Russian man volunteers for first human head transplant

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Russian man volunteers for first human head transplant

Bad science, at least in this case. The genetic condition that makes him desirous of a new body also makes him a poor transplant prospect. His brain cells and renaming central nervous system wil continue to deteriorate. It's like deciding to repair an old rust bucket of a jalopy by transplanting the old engine into a new car. There's almost no chance this'll extend his lifespan tho it may temporarily improve his quality of life. But the organs of his future donor could help many people if marvelled out individually.

[dead0man]

SETI may have found something.  link

(probably not)

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

More history than science, but still:

Ship found in Arctic 168 years after doomed Northwest Passage attempt

Exclusive: Perfectly preserved HMS Terror vessel sank during disastrous expedition led by British explorer Sir John Franklin



Paul Watson in Vancouver
Monday 12 September 2016 11.59 EDT

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

A 'Jurassic Park' remake is going to look so different:

Dinosaur's camouflage pattern revealed

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

Laser Scans Unveil a Network of Ancient Cities in Cambodia

By JULIA WALLACE
SEPT. 19, 2016

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA —

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

Theory of human migration originating in Africa is conclusively confirmed:

A Single Migration From Africa Populated the World, Studies Find

Carl Zimmer
SEPT. 21, 2016

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

Cold Tolerance Among Inuit May Come From Extinct Human Relatives

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[lacoral]

solar power is cool

[Frodo]

Indian firm makes carbon capture breakthrough

You must be logged in to read this quote.

------------------------------------------------------

NRG, JX Nippon Open $1 Billion Clean Coal Power Project in Texas

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Frodo]

Apparently sea surface temperatures today are indistinguishable from those at the peak of the last interglacial.  

From the abstract, highlighting the portion I did not know already:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[dead0man]

some good news that will no doubt scare the anti-science ninnies

They put some human stem cells into a pig embryo to see if they could get some human stuff to grow, it did!

[Frodo]

Passports may eventually become a thing of the past:

Australia Is Replacing Passports With Facial Recognition Tech

You must be logged in to read this quote.

How soon before the United States follows suit?

[Blue3]

Seems risky to me.

And isn't one important feature of US passports the datachip?