The Sinkhole Blog

Japan unveils humanoid robot that laughs and smiles

2010-04-04T14:42:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Physorg.com Japanese researchers said Saturday they have developed a humanoid robot that can laugh and smile as it mimics a person's facial expressions. The robot, Geminoid TMF, can move its rubber facial skin to imitate a smile, a laugh showing teeth, and a grim look with furrowed brows, by receiving electric signals from the person it is modeled on. The researchers

A possible new species of human

2010-03-30T17:30:00.001-04:00

DNA analysis shows a finger bone discovered in the Denisova cave, southern Siberia, may be from a previously unrecognized, extinct human species (Image: Johannes Krause, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology by Ewen Callaway Courtesy of New Scientist The human family tree may be in for a dramatic rewrite. DNA collected from a fossilised finger bone from Siberia shows it

'Ingredients for Life' Present on Saturn's Moon Enceladus, Say Scientists

2010-02-09T16:06:00.001-05:00

Some of 'the major ingredients for life' are present on one of Saturn's moons, according to University College London scientists.Photo courtesy of N.A.S.A.Story Courtesy of ScienceDaily.com A team from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory working on the Cassini-Huygens mission have found negatively charged water ions in the ice plume of Enceladus.Their analysis of data gathered during the

Still Alive!

2010-02-02T11:19:00.004-05:00

Fear not, Mortals! Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. It's not over until the.... well, you know the deal. This blog is still very much alive. Life happens, and all that.The Symphony of Science songs always give me pleasure when a new one is released. Imagine my surprise to find that two new ones had been released since my last visit to the colorpulse website. Enjoy fellow science

Has dark matter finally been detected?

2009-12-22T11:27:00.004-05:00

Hunt may well be over for a mysterious and invisible substance that accounts for three-quarters of the matter in the universe.by Ian SampleCourtesy of guardian.co.uk A computer simulation shows how invisible dark matter coalesces in halos (shown in yellow). Photograph: Science Photo Library For 80 years, it has eluded the finest minds in science. But tonight it appeared that

Denver voters will be asked to create UFO commission

2009-12-01T22:21:00.003-05:00

By Christopher N. OsherCourtesy of The Denver PostA proposal to create a Denver commission to study visitors from outer space will go before voters this summer after supporters gathered the required signatures to get it on the ballot.City Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O'Malley sent a letter on Monday to Jeff Peckman, who submitted the signatures, stating she had deemed them sufficient.The

Dream Machines #4

2009-11-30T14:25:00.008-05:00

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo getting ready for test flights ahead of space tourismBy Tom ChiversCourtesy of Telegraph. co.uk The Virgin Galactic - Scaled Components SpaceShipTwo, which should launch in early 2010 Photo: VIRGIN GALACTIC Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital space plane, the SpaceShipTwo, is preparing for test flights – and Richard Branson's company hopes it will be

Strong Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Early Tuesday Morning

2009-11-16T20:33:00.004-05:00

By Robert Roy BrittCourtesy of Space.comPhoto - Brian Scott One of the best annual meteor showers will peak in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, and for some skywatchers the show could be quite impressive. The best seats are in Asia, but North American observers should be treated to an above average performance of the Leonid meteor shower, weather permitting. The trick for all observers is

Scientists identify gene that can help you live to 100

2009-11-16T20:21:00.005-05:00

By Richard AlleyneCourtesy of Telegraph. co.ukA gene that can help you live to 100 has been identified by scientists. Researchers studying a group of people with an average age of 97 found they had all inherited a gene that appears to prevent cells ageing. They found that the 86 people studied and their children had higher levels of an enzyme called telomerase

Symphony of Science - 'We Are All Connected'

2009-11-14T14:03:00.003-05:00

Thanks again to John Boswell for another great Symphony of Science.John's channel on YouTubehttp://youtube.com/melodysheepAlso visit John's "Symphony of Science" websitehttp://symphonyofscience.comThe Sagan Appreciation Society channelhttp://youtube.com/SaganAppreciationSoc

A Closer Look at Chemtrails.

2009-11-13T14:43:00.009-05:00

Courtesy of the Phantoms and Monsters Blog & FTO.co.zaIn 2002 the US military was acused of “conducting a chemical weapons research and development program in violation of international arms control law” Whereby they replied “JNLWD's [US Department of Defense's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate] secret program is not focusing on highly lethal agents such as VX or sarin. Rather, the emphasis

'Significant Amount' of Water Found on Moon

2009-11-13T14:28:00.006-05:00

Courtesy of Space.comIt's official:There's water ice on the moon, and lots of it. When melted, the water could potentially be used to drink or to extract hydrogen for rocket fuel.NASA's LCROSS probe discovered beds of water ice at the lunar south pole when it impacted the moon last month, mission scientists announced today. The findings confirm suspicions announced previously, and in a big way.

Martian Landscapes

2009-11-12T18:55:00.003-05:00

Since 2006, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been orbiting Mars, currently circling approximately 300 km (187 mi) above the Martian surface. On board the MRO is HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, which has been photographing the planet for several years now at resolutions as fine as mere inches per pixel. Collected here is a group of images from HiRISE over

To Find New Planets, Look for the Lithium?

2009-11-11T22:46:00.004-05:00

John Roachfor National Geographic News Sunlike stars that harbor planets are low on lithium, according to a recent study that may offer a new tool in the hunt for planets beyond our solar system. Stars are made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. A small percentage of a star's mass comes from heavier elements, which astronomers refer to as metals. Young, yellow stars like

Dream Machines #3

2009-11-10T22:56:00.007-05:00

I had previously presented futuristic and just plain interesting machines in individual postings but I thought it would be good to lump a few together and throw them out there a couple times a month. Cheers!Innespace SeaBreacherA personal watercraft that allows high speed surface maneuvers as well as short term subsurface jaunts. Machines like this make me daydream of underwater habitation and

Superheavy Element 114's Synthesis Confirmed, Dashes Hopes of "Island of Stability"

2009-11-10T21:22:00.004-05:00

Courtesy of PopSci.com By Stuart Fox Element 114: via The Knight Science Journalism TrackerMore than 10 years after Russian scientists first claimed to create atoms of Ununquadium, the unstable element in position

Will probe's upcoming fly-by unlock exotic physics?

2009-11-10T19:58:00.005-05:00

The Rosetta probe will fly by Earth on Friday (Illustration: ESA/C. Carreau)Courtesy of New Scientistby David ShigaWhat's causing spacecraft to mysteriously accelerate? The Rosetta comet chaser's fly-by of Earth on 13 November is a perfect opportunity to get to the bottom of it. The anomaly

Wanna See a UFO? Head to Texas!

2009-11-10T15:01:00.004-05:00

Art Courtesy of StephenvilleLights.comStory Courtesy of Unexplainable.netFor yet another night Texas UFO sightings have occurred just before a quarter after seven around the Fort Worth area. The bizarre trend began late last week when a solitary observer looked up at the sky while talking on the phone to see a mysterious formation in the sky that would be reported seemingly again and again by

Surfing the HyperNet -Will Quantum Computing Be in Our Future?

2009-11-04T19:45:00.005-05:00

Courtesy of The Daily GalaxyPosted by Luke McKinney.Quantum computers are so sought after they make the Holy Grail look like an IKEA wineglass. The list of things people expect a quantum computer to do starts with "crack unbreakable codes" and goes up from there, so every small advance on the way gets a lot of attention. At Northwestern University, researchers have built a quantum CNOT gate that

Modern man had sex with Neanderthals

2009-11-04T18:40:00.009-05:00

Modern man and Neanderthals had sex across the species barrier, according to leading geneticist Professor Svante Paabo. Courtesy of Telegraph.co.ukBy Amy WillisNeanderthals and modern man had sex, according to a leading geneticist. Photo: HULTON ARCHIVE Professor Paabo, who is director of genetics at the renowned Max Planck Institution for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, made the

Nasa Fermi telescope uncovers proof of famous space-time theory

2009-11-03T08:17:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of DailymailRacing across the Universe for the last 7.3-billion-years, two highly charged particles have arrived at Nasa's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope within a second of one another. Excited scientists believe this could be evidence of Einstein's space-time theory.The photons were launched on their marathon during a short gamma-ray burst, an outpouring of radiation likely generated

Ukraine releases UFO national archive

2009-10-29T16:53:00.002-04:00

courtesy of Ukrainian Radio The Ukrainian Ufologic Club (UFODOS) has released and placed on the Internet (ufobua.org.ua) a national archive of UFO evidences. It was complied based on people's evidences about strange flying objects over Ukraine. The 'secret files' comprise about 500 eyewitnesses' testimonies who saw UFO in Ukraine starting from the 17th century.According to UFODOS chief

“UFO halo” appears in Romanian sky

2009-10-28T23:21:00.005-04:00

Courtesy of Russia TodayA flying saucer-shaped cloud has been spotted in the skies above Romania. People who filmed the phenomenon say viewed from a distance, and outlined by a ring of sunlight, the cloud looks like an alien aircraft. But weather specialists say the formation, known as a "fallstreak hole", occurs when moisture in the air cools below zero Celsius but doesn't quite turn to ice.

Most Distant Object Found; Light Pierced "Dark Age" Fog

2009-10-28T19:23:00.005-04:00

by Mason Inmanfor National Geographic NewsOctober 28, 2009 The most distant object yet spied in the universe is the remnant of a star about 13 billion light-years from Earth that sheds new light on the earliest days of the universe. Two different teams of astronomers studied a brief but powerful flash of light, called a gamma-ray burst, from the star explosion. Because

In Memory of Mac Tonnies

2009-10-23T11:59:00.007-04:00

Be at Peace Mac. You will be missed.May the secrets of the Universe be open to you.