It took some mighty fine nets, but scientists who spent two years trawling the world's oceans for bacteria and viruses have completed the most thorough census ever of marine microbial life, revealing an astonishingly diverse and bizarre microscopic menagerie.

Seas Yield Surprising Catch of Unknown Genes - washingtonpost.com

In 1987 Ronald Reagan declared that the US was about to enter an incredible new era of technology.

Levitating high-speed trains, super-efficient energy generators and ultra-powerful supercomputers would become commonplace thanks to a new breed of materials known as high temperature superconductors (HTSC).

"The breakthroughs in superconductivity bring us to the threshold of a new age," said the president. "It's our task to herald in that new age with a rush."

But 20 years on, the new world does not seem to have arrived. So what happened?
...
"If someone discovered a room temperature superconductor tomorrow which fits with what is outlined by our theory, we wouldn't be surprised at all," added Dr Newns.

This kind of optimism, seen the first time in the mid 1980s, now seems to be deserved.

There has been a crescendo of research, while at the same time the first commercial HTSC products are rolling out of factories.

According to Dr Yurek, this is a sign that the new age promised by Ronald Reagan is finally here.

"I think we're on a launching pad here and we're now ready to take off," he said.

BBC NEWS | Technology | The 'new age' of super materials

Exactly 40 years ago, NASA registered the first casualties in its battle for outer-space: Lt. Colonel Gus Grissom, Lt. Colonel Ed White and Lt. Commander Roger Chaffee died on the ground because of a fire that burst in their space-capsule.

NASA thought of remembering their names and their sacrifice with a special section dedicated to Apollo 1 on the agency’s site: “NASA honors the fallen heroes of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia and all of those who have given their lives in the cause of exploration and discovery. We will carry their legacy into cosmos as we expand humanity’s presence to the moon, Mars and beyond.”

Tragedy struck on the launch pad during a preflight test for Apollo 204, scheduled to be the first Apollo manned mission. It would have been launched on February 21, 1967, but Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee lost their lives when a fire swept through the Command Module (CM).

On January 28, 1986 America was again shocked by the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger, and the death of its seven crew members.

Challenger, the second orbiter to become operational at Kennedy Space Center, was named after an American Naval research vessel that sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 1870's. Challenger joined NASA fleet of reusable winged spaceships in July 1982. It flew nine successful Space Shuttle missions. On January 28, 1986, the Challenger and its seven-member crew were lost 73 seconds after launch when a booster failure resulted in the breakup of the vehicle.

In February 2003, as Columbia was making final preparations for landing, the families of the 7 astronauts on board the space-vehicle were traveling to Kennedy Space Center to watch their loved ones’ homecoming.

Columbia and its crew were scheduled to land at Space Center at 9:16 a.m. Shortly before 9:00AM EST, Mission Control noticed a sensor problem. There seemed to be a loss of data from the left wing temperature sensors. This was followed by a data loss from tire pressure indicators on the left main landing gear. Although this was a problem, it could have also been a simple communication glitch. There were standard procedures in place to deal with it.

During the atmosphere re-entry, Columbia was traveling at 12,500 mph, 18 times the speed of sound, 39 miles above the Earth, when people in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana heard unusual sounds coming from the sky. Many who were watching to see the shuttle pass overhead reported seeing debris separating from the vehicle. This was a clear indication that something was wrong. Minutes later, NASA announced that a Space Shuttle Contingency had been lost.

NASA is not planning though to stop here, as President Bush announced a bold program for the next two decades. NASA has completed the Ares I crew launch vehicle system requirements review- the first such milestone for a U.S. human-rated launch vehicle system in more than 30 years. This review brings the agency one step closer to developing a new mode of space transportation for astronauts on missions to explore the moon, Mars and other destinations.

In January 2007, the Ares project will begin the second in a series of design analyses cycles leading to final design and fabrication of the launch vehicle.

I have linked the NASA site where they are having a day of rememberance to honor those lost...the original article for this text is here

NASA Commemorates Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia

The next milestone in the relentless pursuit of smaller, higher performance microchips has been unveiled.
...
The development means the fundamental "law" that underpins the development of all microchips, known as Moore's Law, remains intact.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Chips push through nano-barrier

Portable gizmos such as phones, handheld computers and mp3 players can easily get scuffed, dirty and sticky.

Bulky covers are one option, but Nokia in Finland has been experimenting with plastic casings coated with a diamond-like material made from coal. The material is more protective and grime resistant, as well as cheap and bio-degradable.

To make the material electric current is fed through coal graphite. This creates plasma, which is directed towards a plastic casing by high-voltage

electrodes. The coal ions penetrate the surface and bond to form an amorphous, diamond-like coating less than 100 nanometres thick. The process works at room temperature, meaning even cheap plastics can be coated this way.

The coating is very tough, but also smooth to the touch. It is also conductive and therefore antistatic, so does not attract dirt easily. Furthermore, the surface reflects and diffracts light in a similar way to shiny metal. And, when the owner has grown tired of the gismo and binned it, the thin layer of coal will eventually degrade naturally.

Invention: 'Diamond'-coated gadgets - Yahoo! News UK

Gravity may be the force we're most familiar with, but it's also the one we understand with the least accuracy. Now, a quantum mechanical technique could help pin down the strength of gravity more precisely.

Quantum technique could pin down gravitational constant - Yahoo! News UK

The 2006 Winter Solstice will be occurring at roughly the time I post this message, as we pass closest to the sun, let have the longest night of the year.

Happy Solstice!!!

Happy Winter Solstice Everyone!!!

An interesting way of watching to focus of history change.

US Presidential Speeches Tag Cloud - Chirag Mehta : chir.ag

A cosmic collision has supplied direct proof that dark matter really exists, astronomers say. The collision has allowed dark matter to be separated from ordinary matter, casting doubt on the idea that dark matter could just be an illusion due to a flaw in our understanding of gravity.

Cosmic smash-up provides proof of dark matter - space - 21 August 2006 - New Scientist Space

"Intuition is fast, based on pattern matching," explains John Allman, Ph.D., head of a laboratory at the California Institute of Technology that focuses on brain evolution. "Our brains are constantly comparing current experience with the past, trying to find a fit so that we can make a quick decision. When we find a match, often in a fraction of a second, our intuition boils down a lot of experience into a simple, visceral metric: I feel good about this or not," Allman says.

Going With Your Gut: Strengthening Your Sixth Sense - Health Site