] British scientists are lobbying to build the world's most
] powerful microscope, an instrument so advanced that it
] can see individual atoms moving.
]
] The European Spallation Source (ESS) -- a type of
] instrument known as a matterscope -- would allow them to
] look at the growth of protein molecules in living human
] tissue or at the stresses deep within the wheel of a
] train or the wing of an aircraft.
]
] "This is on par with the Hubble telescope, but it's for
] looking at inner space," said Professor Bob Cywinski of
] Leeds University, which is backing the one billion pound
] (US $1.6 billion) project.
]
] A disused World War Two airfield in North Yorkshire has
] been earmarked for the matterscope's kilometer-long
] concrete tunnel and neutron research laboratories.
]
] "To look at it, you'd just see a mound of grass growing
] over the top and sheep wandering around," said Cywinski.

Big science! w00t!

Kilometer-long microscope in the works

Yeah -

Quote:
One of Ronald Reagan's first acts as President was to disconnect the solar collectors that Carter had installed atop the White House. It was Mr. Reagan who said, "If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all." And, "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles."
http://www.astrology3d.com/maya/energyfeb2001.htm

BridgetAG wrote:
] Didn't Reagan say it was from volcanic explosions, or too many
] trees or something ludicrous like that?
]
]
] Dementia wrote:
] ] ] LONDON - In an astonishing announcement on global warming
] ] ] and extreme weather, the World Meteorological
] ] ] Organisation has signalled that the world's weather is
] ] ] going haywire.
] ] ]
] ] ] In a startling report, the WMO, which normally produces
] ] ] detailed scientific reports and staid statistics at the
] ] ] year's end, highlighted record extremes in weather and
] ] ] climate occurring all over the world in recent weeks,
] ] ] from Switzerland's hottest-ever June to a record month
] ] ] for tornadoes in the United States - and linked them to
] ] ] climate change.
] ] ]
] ] ] The unprecedented warning takes its force and
] ] ] significance from the fact that it is coming from an
] ] ] impeccably respected UN organisation that is not given to
] ] ] hyperbole (though environmentalists will seize on it to
] ] ] claim that the direst warnings of climate change are
] ] ] being borne out).
] ]
] ] Nope, no global warming, nothing to see here...

] LONDON - In an astonishing announcement on global warming
] and extreme weather, the World Meteorological
] Organisation has signalled that the world's weather is
] going haywire.
]
] In a startling report, the WMO, which normally produces
] detailed scientific reports and staid statistics at the
] year's end, highlighted record extremes in weather and
] climate occurring all over the world in recent weeks,
] from Switzerland's hottest-ever June to a record month
] for tornadoes in the United States - and linked them to
] climate change.
]
] The unprecedented warning takes its force and
] significance from the fact that it is coming from an
] impeccably respected UN organisation that is not given to
] hyperbole (though environmentalists will seize on it to
] claim that the direst warnings of climate change are
] being borne out).

Nope, no global warming, nothing to see here...

New Zealand News - World - Extreme weather evidence of global warming

] More than a generation before Sally Ride became the first
] U.S. woman in space, some experienced female pilots
] dubbed the Mercury 13 almost beat her to the milestone.
]
] Trained in secret in a laboratory run by a NASA medical
] officer, the group's remarkable experiences are
] chronicled in a new book by Martha Ackmann, "Mercury 13:
] The Untold Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of
] Spaceflight."
]
] In 1961, the same year the first U.S. man achieved
] spaceflight, the women underwent the same series of tests
] as the Mercury 7 astronauts, according to Ackmann.
]
] But the Mercury 13 program did not win enough political
] support to continue to completion, she said, and the
] Soviet Union sent the first woman into space in 1963.
]
] Ackmann, an author, journalist and Mount Holyoke College
] professor, recently spoke with CNN during the same week
] as the anniversary of Ride's historic flight on June 18,
] 1983.

CNN.com - Women secretly trained as U.S. astronauts in 1960s - Jun. 23, 2003

] A new wide-angle view of the universe looks back to a
] mere billion years after the Big Bang, revealing secrets
] about the lives of galaxies and the black holes at their
] hearts, scientists reported on Thursday.
]
] The new view is contained in one extraordinary image,
] compiled by astronomers using a super-high-resolution
] camera aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, along with a
] catalog of objects giving off strong X-rays from space,
] detected by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, another
] NASA-affiliated instrument.
]
] The image shows a section of sky about one-tenth the size
] of the full Moon viewed from Earth. Though this may seem
] narrow, it is about 30 times wider than the last deep
] look into the universe, the Hubble Deep Field observation
] released in 1996.

(trying REAL hard not to sound like Carl Segan here)

Amazing. Each of those tiny specs of light in the back ground? They aren't stars. They are other GALAXIES - if the same size as our own Milky Way, about 90,000 light years from end to end in a mass of 200 BILLION stars.

And we're so arrogant to think we are the only speck of dust in the universe with life???

Laughing Boy

Hubble snaps stunning baby pic of cosmos

] Wild Oats Markets Inc. became the first grocery store in
] the United States to roll out a new type of "green"
] packaging which looks like plastic but turns into compost
] after disposal.
]
] Unofficially called the "Corntainer" in the natural food
] chain's 11 Pacific Northwest stores where it is being
] tested, the clear packaging is made from corn rather than
] petroleum.

Corny.

CNN.com - 'Corntainer' plastic hits the market - Jun. 13, 2003

Quick story:
Get some scientists, throw them in a boat. Make them go out 500mi east of New England and dive to deep coral reefs to study ancient weather patterns. (+ fun pretty pictures and swimming robots)

Detailed story:
The hypothesis states that the cyclical (over many many years) movement of the deep North Atlantic causes dramatic weather changes affecting the entire planet. To test the theory coral in the north atlantic will be sampled to reconstuct past weather conditions.

A fundemental problem in the understanding Earth's weather pattern is the movement of deep ocean currents. Specifically it seems (http://www.meteor.iastate.edu/gccourse/alumni/ocean/ocean.html) that the movement of warm north atlantic water down to the equator acts like a meteorilogical "engine" driving climate change. But very little is known about the "engine" part.

The New England Seamount is a large ridge in the middle of the atlantic ocean. It rises steeply out of the sea floor and is direct line with these north atlantic ocean currents. By studying the composition of the coral rock scientists are able to backsolve and figure out what ancient weather was like.

DIVE AND DISCOVER: Expeditions to the Seafloor

] In findings that should add to the national debate over
] rising obesity rates in the U.S., Duke University Medical
] Center researchers have demonstrated that physical
] inactivity leads to a significant increase in potentially
] dangerous visceral fat, while high amounts of exercise
] can lead to significant decreases in such fat over a
] fairly short time period.
]
] The researchers also found that while lower amounts of
] exercise prevented the significant accumulation of
] visceral fat seen in the controls, it did not lead to the
] improvements seen in participants with higher levels of
] exercise.
]
] Controlling visceral fat is important, the researchers
] say, because increased levels have been associated with
] insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease and other
] metabolic syndromes. Visceral fat is located around the
] organs inside the belly and is deeper in the body than
] subcutaneous fat, which lies under the skin.

C'mon people, get up, get moving.

ScienceDaily News Release: Physical Inactivity Rapidly Increases Visceral Fat; Exercise Can Reverse Accumulation

] A simple test could one day help police to catch
] psychopathic potential serial killers.
]
] Psychologists in Wales have adapted an existing
] psychological test to identify people with psychopathic
] tendencies.
]
] The 10 minute test is based on the Implicit Association
] Test, developed in the United States, and used to reveal
] people's deepest thoughts and feelings.
]
] Psychopaths may be capable of committing violent or
] antisocial acts but rarely demonstrate any remorse or
] guilt.
]
] They are often highly skilled at lying, can be charming
] and are adept at faking the emotions they lack.
]
] For this reason, many psychopathic serial killers can go
] on murdering without detection for years.
]
] Serial killers Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and Harold
] Shipman have each been branded psychopaths.

A good test to give a potential signficant other?

BBC NEWS | Health | Ten minute test could spot killers

] Called Neutersol, it's a shot administered directly into
] the testicles of puppies at the right age for neutering.
] The ingredients -- the amino acid l-arginine and a zinc
] salt -- cause the testicles and prostate to atrophy.
]
] The alternative, surgically removing the testicles,
] guarantees sterility. In a study of 224 dogs, Neutersol
] did almost as well: Semen analysis showed only one
] sterilization failure, said Dr. Melanie Burson of the
] Food and Drug Administration.

CNN.com - FDA approves shot to neuter puppies - May. 20, 2003