A scientist talks about a new tool for space exploration — a robot that thinks like a geologist. When a space probe sends data from Mars, the radio signal can take up to 20 minutes to travel back to Earth. And if mission controllers send a command back to the probe, it might take another 20 …
Meteorite ALH84001 was found in 1984, lying like a chunk of black coal on the dazzling white ice wastes of the Allan Hills region of Antarctica. According to National Science Foundation geologist Roberta Score, who first picked up the meteorite and held it in her hand, it looked “kind of weird”. Now this unassuming stone …
Meteorite ALH84001 found in Antarctica care wonderful news! Read More »
The 1970’s Viking mission to Mars provided much of our information about the geology and weather of the red planet. Viking had two orbiters which remotely mapped the surface of Mars, and two landers which analyzed rocks and soils. The Viking mission did not return a Mars rock sample to Earth. Further crucial information about …
Martian meteorites: How Did a Piece of Mars Get to Earth? Read More »
Native Americans called it “Trickster.” The coyote has a knack for adapting and surviving almost anywhere. People have been persecuting the coyote for more than a hundred years — but it just won’t die out. In the past 50 years, some four million coyotes have been either poisoned, trapped, snared or shot. And not just …
Deep inside the planet Jupiter, pressures reach millions of times those on Earth’s surface. There, the element hydrogen undergoes a radical transformation. I have read several science articles about there being metallic hydrogen at Jupiter’s core. If we could create this sort of metal here on Earth, what could it be used for? The element …
People with autism show three types of symptoms: Problems with social interaction. Problems with verbal and nonverbal communication and imagination. Unusual or severely limited interests and activities. Autism affects between two and 10 of every 10,000 people, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. It strikes boys four times as often as …
Nanotechnology involves working with extremely small things — things that can be measured in nanometers. A nanometer is one millionth the size of a pinhead. That’s also about the width of ten hydrogen atoms laid out side by side. Scientists in many fields — from medicine to computing to materials science — are attempting to …
About nanotechnology with Ralph Merkle – What exactly is it? Read More »
Ronald Blakey at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Blakey, a geologist, creates paleogeographic maps of Earth’s ancient landscapes. Ronald Blakey: I’m actually an artist. . . and so I understand colors and how colors blend and how you can overlay serveral colors or blend several colors together to get an effect and so forth. Now …
Stunning paleogeographic maps of Earth’s ancient landscapes Read More »
If a substance is biodegradable, it means it can be broken down into its basic chemical building blocks in soil or water. The prefix “bio” means that the job is done by living things — primarily microorganisms such as bacteria. Everything natural — from rocks to paper — will biodegrade eventually. Crude oil, for example, …
