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aamukherjee A Slice of Entropie -
alchymista Alchymista -
crownedrose Fading Like A Dead Star -
expose-the-light Quarks to Quasars -
ikenbot CWL -
abluegirl A Blue Girl -
perscientiamlibertas A Matter of the Most Pleasant Fraternal Confidence
Physicist Albert-László Barabási likes making connections. By studying networks, Barabási and his Northeastern University research group improve our understanding of everything from the internet to human disease.
Now Barabási and colleagues are using networks to learn more about the way we eat. Read more…
(via ucresearch)
ucresearchAmericans’ Beliefs in Paranormal Phenomena (Infographic)
Experiences perceived as paranormal are not uncommon, according to Richard Wiseman, a University of Hertfordshire psychologist and author of “Paranormality,” (Macmillion, 2011), which delves into the science (or lack thereof) of hauntings, psychics, telepathy and other supposedly inexplicable phenomena.
The thrust of the book was to figure out why people have these weird experiences despite spirits and psychics and ghosts not existing, he said.
“There’s also the notion that these beliefs are very comforting. So if you’re ill, then the idea of the psychic healer is a nice idea,” Wiseman told LiveScience in July. “And then there’s the influence of the paranormal industry. The books, the television shows, the psychic hotlines all have a vested interest in getting the public to believe this stuff.”
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As for who believes, a small study published in the Skeptical Inquirer magazine in 2006 showed that seniors and grad students were more likely than freshmen to believe in haunted houses, psychics, telepathy, channeling and a host of other questionable ideas. So higher education seems to lend itself to belief in the supernatural. In additon, Gallup Poll in 2001 found younger Americans far more likely to believe in the paranormal than older respondents. A 2009 Pew Research Center survey revealed that about half of Catholics and black Protestants believed in or had experienced at least two of a list of supernatural phenomenon. The list included: belief in reincarnation, belief in spiritual energy located in physical things, belief in yoga as spiritual practice, belief in the “evil eye,” belief in astrology, having been in touch with the dead, consulting a psychic, or experiencing a ghostly encounter.
What this infographic really tells me is Americans are in desperate need of national distribution of the baloney detection kit.
ikenbotMaps, diagrams and all kinds of science-y goodness in wearable form from the nonfictiontees Etsy store.
Artist/programmer/designer Marcin Ignac used software to track, measure, and visualize his computer use every day for 2.5 years. The result: This beautiful, simple look at one of the most prominent aspects of daily life in the 21st century. Each line is a single day, with colors representing which app was being used at the time of day. (So, for example, your line might be red during this time, signaling that you’re using your browser.) The black sections are times when he had his computer off—meaning that blacked-out section in every day is probably night.
From Wired’s Best Scientific Figures of 2012.
Figures contained in scientific reports are a neglected area of the design world. Typically intended for display to academic audiences in the cramped confines of a journal, they tend to be utilitarian and esoteric—yet while looking through hundreds of articles in the course of 2012, certain figures transcended the technical and rose to the level of communication art. They combined visual clarity, information density and insight into some fact of fundamental interest.
Featuring such gems as “Gardening with Fire” and “All the Birds in the World.”
From Wired’s Best Scientific Figures of 2012.
Figures contained in scientific reports are a neglected area of the design world. Typically intended for display to academic audiences in the cramped confines of a journal, they tend to be utilitarian and esoteric—yet while looking through hundreds of articles in the course of 2012, certain figures transcended the technical and rose to the level of communication art. They combined visual clarity, information density and insight into some fact of fundamental interest.
Featuring such gems as “Gardening with Fire” and “All the Birds in the World.”
Humans have a strange fascination with birds, whether it’s Tweety, Big Bird, the chicken or the dodo. In the third and final installment of MNN’s Pop Science Guide to Birds, we examine the cultural and biological roots of this unique relationship.
All of JPL’s NASA missions in one infographic, dates to destinations.
Launch yourself to the hi-res version here.
(via JPL Mission History)
Designed for the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. The Map of the Universe is a fictional visualization of routes to different planets, galaxies, nebulas, and more across the known universe.
Layers of Titan
This artist’s concept shows a possible model of Titan’s internal structure that incorporates data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. In this model, Titan is fully differentiated, which means the denser core of the moon has separated from its outer parts. This model proposes a core consisting entirely of water-bearing rocks and a subsurface ocean of liquid water. The mantle, in this image, is made of icy layers, one that is a layer of high-pressure ice closer to the core and an outer ice shell on top of the sub-surface ocean.
A model of Cassini is shown making a targeted flyby over Titan’s cloudtops, with Saturn and Enceladus appearing at upper right.
The model, developed by Dominic Fortes of University College London, England, incorporates data from Cassini’s radio science experiment.
Credit: A. D. Fortes/UCL/STFC
expose-the-light
What’s in a sneeze? An infographic of odd facts
The name of a sneeze is recognizable in many languages, and the polite response seems to convey a similar message. Check out these other oddball facts about sneezing.
Total Eclipse of the Moon
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes completely beneath Earth’s shadow. On Dec. 10, 2011, the second of this year’s two total lunar eclipses will occur, and will be visible in Asia, Australia, and will rise and set over Europe and North America, respectively. The first total lunar eclipse of the year occured June 15.
