Discoblog

Weekly News Roundup: A Klingon Dad, Russian Space Bloggers, & Black Market Fat

Brett Israel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:04:44 +0000

• Gardak! To learn about children and language, Dad speaks to son only in Klingon for first three years of the child’s life.

• In Soviet Russia, blog writes you! Maksim Suraev, a Russian cosmonaut, joins the blogosphere with a healthy dose of cold war humor about life on the International Space Station.

• In a case of Project Mayhem gone terribly bad, Peru police say a gang drained the fat from their murder victims and sold it on the black market for use in cosmetics.

• Wisconsin looks to become the first state to recognize an official state microbe. Of course the bacterium, Lactococcus lactis, ferments the state’s $18 billion per year cheese industry.

• An Italian art collector found a mummified tooth, thumb, and finger of Galileo Galilei that have been missing since 1905, according to Florence’s History of Science museum.

Answered: All Your Nagging Questions About Testicle Location

Andrew Moseman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:45:48 +0000

As you’ve probably heard, a man’s testicles hang down because sperm are hyper-sensitive to temperature and need to be a little cooler than the inside of the body. But isn’t there more to it than that?

Oh, definitely yes, says research psychologist Jesse Bering, writing for Scientific American. Bering goes on at great length in his analysis of testicular location. Sure, he argues, the temperature part makes sense. But why would natural selection, which so rewards passing on your genes, put a man’s means of passing on those genes in such a terribly exposed place on his body?

Bering’s lengthy account of gonad geography, and the studies trying to explain it, includes some real gems:

One of the more fanciful accounts–and one ultimately discarded by the authors–is that scrotal testicles evolved in the same spirit as peacock feathers. That is to say, given the enormous disadvantage of having your entire genetic potential contained in a thin satchel of unprotected, delicate flesh and swinging several millimeters away from the rest of your body, perhaps scrotal testicles evolved as a sort of ornamental display communicating the genetic quality of the male.

Oh, and this, on how a man’s cremasteric muscle works to keep his sperm at an optimal temperature by contracting and drawing the testicles up on a cold day and relaxing when it’s hot:

[That's] why it’s generally inadvisable for men to wear tight-fitting jeans or especially snug “tighty whities”–under these restrictive conditions the testicles are shoved up against the body and artificially warmed so that the cremasteric muscle cannot do its job properly. Another reason not to wear these things is that it’s no longer 1988.

In all seriousness, there’s nothing Discoblog values more than analysis of the silly… other than over-analysis of the silly. If you haven’t had your fill of scrotal hypotheses, check out the rest of Bering’s post.

Image: iStockphoto

DISCOVER-Reading NFL Star Shares Views on LHC, ROS Suppression, Etc

Amos Zeeberg (Discover Web Editor) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:12:14 +0000

Pop quiz: Which former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year is (literally) a big fan of science, and this magazine in particular? That’s right, defensive end Hugh Douglas.

Recently, as part of an ongoing effort to playfully engage the public in science, he chatted with DISCOVER contributor Darlene Cavalier (who moonlights as the Science Cheerleader) and shared his thoughts on the Large Hadron Collider, spiral galaxies, ROS suppression, and more.

ZOMG! Get These iPhone Apps Right Meow!

Brett Israel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:45:44 +0000

It’s Friday at last. So to help you goof off and avoid work, we bring you a double dose of time vampire iPhone apps.

First up, for the cat lovers out there who tragically don’t have any cats, comes CatPaint, a $0.99 app that lets you add images of cats to pics that you’ve snapped with your iPhone.

via MacWorld:

Davander Mobile has launched CatPaint, an app that lets you add cuteness—in feline form—to any photo on your iPhone or iPod touch. You grab a photo, choose a kitten, and then tap to place it anywhere within the image.

But the makers of the add-a-cat app must have realized that it’s possible to get carried away by your enthusiasm in such a situation. CatPaint uses the iPhone’s accelerometer as a delete function: Shake gently to remove the most recently added cat, or shake violently to purge all felines from the image.

From one internet meme to an app that incorporates them all—teh internets. Brace yourself for a lolpocalypse, according to their description on YouTube:

THE MOST EXCITING IPHONE GAME EVER! Coming soon (already submitted to the App Store) to the iPhone or iPod Touch. A (cyber)space shooter of epic proportions. Collect lolcats, dodge popups, feed trolls, avoid viruses, break through firewalls. It’s EPIC.

Peep the trailer below:

k thx bai!

Image: CatPaint
Video: YouTube / insurgentgames

Heart-Stopping Cinematic Excitement: Guess How Much Fat Is in Movie Popcorn?

Brett Israel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:38 +0000

In the latest installment of “science ruins your guilty pleasure,” a new report confirms what everyone pretty much already knew–movie popcorn is terrible for you.

Via the Los Angeles Times:

A medium-sized popcorn and medium soda at the nation’s largest movie chain pack the nutritional equivalent of three Quarter Pounders topped with 12 pats of butter, according to a report released today by the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Popcorn from Regal Entertainment Group, AMC and Cinemark, were analyzed in lab. Regal was the worst offender, packing 1,200 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium into a medium popcorn–before adding butter! The gooey buttery sauce adds 200 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat per 1.5 tablespoons.

Both Regal and AMC pop their popcorn in coconut oil, which is about 90 percent saturated fat, noted the study’s authors. Cinemark uses canola oil, which is healthier, but a medium popcorn from Cinemark will still add around 760 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat to your diet, according to the analysis, which is published in the December issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action HealthLetter.

On a positive note, no trans-fats were detected in any of the samples.

Apparently, there aren’t any plans to include a low calorie popcorn at any of the movie chains’ snack bars, so if you want healthier options, just do like everyone else and sneak in your own food.

Image: flickr / jennie-o

So Long, Colostomy Bag: British Man Gets Remote-Controlled Sphincter

Andrew Moseman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:15:40 +0000

Briton Ged Galvin survived that vicious car wreck that nearly took his life. Unfortunately, the accident crushed some of his organs and left him needing a colostomy bag to go to the bathroom.

That was until his doctors created his cyborg sphincter. Yes, you read that correctly. Doctors removed muscle from above Galvin’s knee, wrapped it around his damaged sphincter, and attached electrodes to the nerves. Now, when Galvin goes to the bathroom he simply presses a button on a remote control.

From The Telegraph:

Mr Galvin, who had previously endured the indignity of carrying a colostomy bag, added: “I thought that in these days of modern medicine surely there was something they could do. They’d mended everything else – why not this? Anything was better than a colostomy bag.

“The operation changed my life and gave me back my pride and confidence. Because of the remote control I can lead a normal life again.”

Outstanding. Though hopefully Galvin’s remote has a lock that prevents him from accidentally triggering it while it’s in his pocket.

Image: Anna Lythgoe/SWNS.COM

Scientists Who Spy: 8 Tales of Engineering & Espionage

Brett Israel — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:36:34 +0000

If At First You Don’t Succeed… Sell to Venezuela?

feds raided his home, seizing computers, documents, books, and cell phones. The FBI hasn’t publicly stated what it's investigating, but Mascheroni maintains that he's been wrongly accused of nuclear espionage because he gave a CD with sensitive information to the Venezuelan government.

Just what was on the disk? Well, during his days as a scientist, Mascheroni championed hydrogen-fluoride laser fusion, which in theory could produce a cleaner and more reliable nuclear weapons arsenal. He pitched it to Congress in 2007, and when they shot him down, an alleged Venezuelan representative agreed to pay him $800,000 for a laser study, according to Mascheroni. He says he delivered a CD containing only unclassified documents, but was never paid. Mascheroni claims none of that matters since he was never going to build the laser--the whole thing was a ploy to get the United States to take his technology seriously, he says. Well, they are taking him seriously now.

Mascheroni isn't the only scientist who has been accused of espionage. Click through for more tales of scientists who turned spy.

Image: U.S. State Department

" >

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 8

Former government physicist P. Leonardo Mascheroni, an outspoken critic of U.S. nuclear strategy, is in the FBI’s crosshairs. In October, the feds raided his home, seizing computers, documents, books, and cell phones. The FBI hasn’t publicly stated what it's investigating, but Mascheroni maintains that he's been wrongly accused of nuclear espionage because he gave a CD with sensitive information to the Venezuelan government.

Mascheroni isn't the only scientist who has been accused of espionage. Click through for more tales of scientists who turned spy.

Image: U.S. State Department

Bomb-Proof Your House With the World’s Toughest Wallpaper

Brett Israel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:33:46 +0000

For the home security buff who has everything, here comes X-Flex blast protection wallpaper.

According to Popular Science:

X-Flex is a new kind of wallpaper: one that’s quite possibly stronger than the wall it’s on. Invented by Berry Plastics in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this lifesaving adhesive is designed for use anyplace that’s prone to blasts and other lethal forces, like in war or natural-disaster zones, chemical plants or airports.

The super-strength stuff can keep walls from collapsing after an impact, and also prevents debris from exploding inward into the room. The wallpaper comes in a roll with a sticky backing; for some counter-insurgency home decorating, you simply remove the backing and press the sheets to the walls. In less than an hour, an entire room can be covered.

X-Flex manufacturer, Berry Plastics, plans to release a commercial version soon, which could actually be very useful if you happen to live in a hurricane zone.

To see how X-Flex holds up, PopSci gave the wallpaper the old wrecking ball test. See the video here.

Image: iStockphoto

Clumsy Tokyo Subway Commuter Drops His Bottle of… Hydrochloric Acid?

Andrew Moseman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:45:27 +0000

Note to self: the next time you need to carry a container filled with hydrochloric acid to work, take a cab.

Tokyo got a scare this morning after a man dropped his bottle of the toxic liquid on a subway train. Several people when to the hospital with minor injuries, but thankfully this chemical clumsiness didn’t cause a major disaster.

Police didn’t arrest the man in question, a 20-year-old stone mason, deciding he didn’t intend to spill his chemicals on the train. Hydrochloric acid has a number of industrial uses, though perhaps carrying it in a bottle on a crowded train isn’t the best transportation strategy.

And because of his butterfingers, New Yorkers aren’t alone in revisiting unpleasant memories of terrorist attacks (as a 9/11 conspirator’s trial comes to Manhattan). Reuters says:

Japan is particularly sensitive to hazards on its trains after a 1995 incident in which members of [the Aum Shinrikyo] religious cult released highly toxic sarin gas on the Tokyo subway, killing 12 and injuring thousands, some permanently.

Related Content:
DISCOVER: Nerve Gas in the Subway, revisiting the 1995 attack
DISCOVER: What Invisible Things Are in the Surfaces You Touch and the Air You Breathe? (in a which a DISCOVER editor finds out how dirty the New York subway system really is.)
80beats: MIT Students Who Hacked Boston Subway Silenced; Report Gets Out Anyway

Image: Wiki Commons / Fg2

iPhone Blower App for Those Too Lazy to Exhale

Brett Israel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:21:50 +0000

Because using your lungs to blow air is waaay too much work, a new iPhone app will do it for you.

According to Mashable:

The iPhone app is called Blower and it works by moving air through the speakers of your iPhone (strictly speaking, the same thing happens when you play music through those speakers, but let’s not be too harsh on the novelty part of the application).

Check out the app in action:

Or you can use it to blow away “herbs.”

This actually seems like a lot more work than just, you know, breathing on the candles, or dragging your hand across the table. Whatever, it’s only $0.99.

Video: YouTube / QneoDotNet