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space metals
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Chemistry
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space metals
nanotech
Nanotech Precisely Measures Spiciness So Your Tongue Doesn't Have To
The Scoville Units you see on the side of chili sauce bottles are measured subjectively by taste testers, who determine how hot a given hot sauce really is. But now a new nanotechnology will allow food scientists to quickly and cheaply measure the exact amount of capsaicinoids — the active component in chili peppers — in each spicy sample. Science gives us many wondrous things, but you probably never thought it would help prevent you from making bland chili. More »
mega geochemistry
They may look like space stations floating in vacuum, but these are actually delicate ice bubbles that formed in Ontario's Cranberry Lake. Michael Runtz took this picture of the segmented shapes created when pockets of air slowly bubble up from the bottom of the lake and get trapped in the freezing water as they move. Want to see what happens when giant ice structures are sculpted by wind?
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Ice Eruptions
They may look like space stations floating in vacuum, but these are actually delicate ice bubbles that formed in Ontario's Cranberry Lake. Michael Runtz took this picture of the segmented shapes created when pockets of air slowly bubble up from the bottom of the lake and get trapped in the freezing water as they move. Want to see what happens when giant ice structures are sculpted by wind?
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exochemistry
Looking for Aliens in all the Wrong Places
Life doesn't need water. In fact, all kinds of weird liquids could be solvents for life like water is here on Earth. Scientists say the list of alien water-substitutes is long, from frigid nitrogen to supercritical CO2 to methane to formamide. Whatever inhabits these other liquids would have to take on some truly odd forms, right down to DNA like we've never seen before. More »
pharmaceuticals
Provigil is the Cocaine of the Twenty-First Century
Provigil (AKA modafinil) has been called a wonder drug: it can keep you awake and alert for hours without side-effects, and it's even recommended as "the professor's little helper" by neuroscience researchers writing in the prestigious journal Nature. Provigil, approved by the US food and drug administration for the treatment of narcolepsy, is often prescribed "off label" for ailments like severe jet lag, ADHD, and even problems with sleep cycles. But this drug, which is supposed to be a non-addictive stimulant because it doesn't get you high, turns out to be potentially as euphoria-inducing and addictive as cocaine. More »
retro futurism
Coed Demonstrates Failed Molecular Dance Craze, Circa 1964
Just in time to ride the last wave of novelty dances that began in the early 1960s with the Twist, a George State College chemistry professor came up with the Molecule-a-Go-Go. Alas, even the comely coed he picked to demonstrate its moves (and they said girls didn't like chemistry!) couldn't fail to disguise the fact that when it came to the dance floor, pretending to be a water molecule looked about as fun or sexy as a taking a pop quiz. Clip from Ron Mann's fabulous 1992 documentary, Twist.
extraterrestrials
Aliens May Look More Like Us Than We Thought
Scientists have known for a while that the building blocks of Earth life, amino acids, are also found in space. Traces of amino acids have been studied in countless meteorites. But now Arizona State researcher Sandra Pizzarello says Earth amino acids also share the same basic structure with those from distant space. This discovery, announced yesterday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could mean that extraterrestrial life would share other structural similarities with Earth life — like symmetrical bodies, for instance — especially if that life had developed from amino acids the way we did. More »
robot addictions
This machine can taste the quality in your cup of espresso, and can identify coffee types nearly as accurately as a panel of trained human espresso tasters. How does it work?
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A Machine That Tastes Espresso, But Prefers Only the Good Stuff
This machine can taste the quality in your cup of espresso, and can identify coffee types nearly as accurately as a panel of trained human espresso tasters. How does it work?
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