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a pink sliver of rat brain sat in a beaker | MetaFilter
The simulated brain - "The scientists behind Blue Brain hope to have a virtual human brain functioning in ten years... Dr. Markram began by collecting detailed information about the rat's NCC, down to the level of genes, proteins, molecules and the electrical signals that connect one neuron to another. These complex relationships were then turned into millions of equations, written in software. He then recorded real-world data -- the strength and path of each electrical signal -- directly from rat brains to test the accuracy of the software." Is it possible to digitally simulate a brain accurately? Can it only be analog? And are there quantum effects to be considered? (previously 1 2 3 4)
Algorithmic Music | MetaFilter
The principles of Harmonics were discovered by Pythagoras c.587-c.507 B.C. during travels to Egypt and throughout the ancient world. Hans Kayser made a profound philosophic study of harmonics in the 20th century. Algorithmic composition is the technique of using harmonic algorithms to create music. Drew Lesso has been creating algorithmic music since 1975. Samples like Crystal, Constellations, or Planet Earth demonstrate the math behind the music. Over the years, Lesso has collaborated with many other musicians and poets to create an airy, evolutionary legacy.
Celestia: Home
Space "Map" Emulator
Ten Things You Don’t Know About Hubble | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine
On April 24, 1990, the Space Shuttle Discovery roared into space, carrying on board a revolution: The Hubble Space Telescope. It was the largest and most sensitive optical-light telescope ever launched into space, and while it suffered initially from a focusing problem, it would soon return some of the most amazing and beautiful astronomical images anyone had ever seen.
Hubble was designed to be periodically upgraded, and even as I write this, astronauts are in the Space Shuttle Atlantis installing two new cameras, fixing two others, and replacing a whole slew of Hubble's parts. This is the last planned mission, ever, to service the venerable 'scope, so what better time to talk about it?
Plus, it's arguably the world's most famous telescope (it's probably the only one people know by name), and yet I suspect that there are lots of things about it that might surprise you. So I present to you Ten Things You Don't Know About the Hubble Space Telescope, part of my Ten Things series. I know, my readers are smart, savvy, exceptionally good-looking, and well-versed in things astronomical. Whenever I do a Ten Things post some goofball always claims they knew all ten. But I am extremely close to being 100% positive that no one who reads this blog will know all ten things here (unless they've used Hubble themselves). I have one or two big surprises in this one, including some of my own personal interactions with the great observatory!
Music is Math is Beauty | MetaFilter
Glenn Marshall is an Irish computer video artist and musician whose recent work has focused on audio visualization programed in the Processing language. Generally the program is left to its own devices, though his work-for-hire has more intentional design, as in his video for the Peter Gabriel song "The Nest that Sailed the Sky." Marshall has also been hired to create video for Guinness for Sky TV and the Rugby Six Nations Tournament, and a looping animation for Hermes of Paris. Marshall discusses his works with some detail on his blog.
Unit Conversion - Online Unit Converter
UnitConversion.org is the ultimate resource for unit conversion. Use our free online unit converters to easily convert between different units of measurement. Simply select the appropriate unit converter from the lists below. Please spread the word about this completely free resource by linking to us. And don't forget to bookmark this site - you will probably need it in the future.
Random Walk / Daniel A. Becker
There is one remarkable thing about randomness: Its existence is neither proved nor disproved it even appears everyday in science and in our everyday lives. Random walk is interesting for people who want to know more about the mystic character of this invisible companion.
This diploma thesis was created at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz, Germany by Daniel A. Becker in 2009 and was supervised by Prof. Johannes Bergerhausen. The project consists of 14 double-sided A2 posters contained in a transparent plastic sleeve. Ten sheets explain the phenomena of randomness in mathematics and physics - four focus on all-day randomness and the quality of pseudo random number generators. Without title or specific order the sleeve contains the folded sheets at random like a pack of cards. It has no thematic order, unlike the playing cards in a pack. The layouts of the poster backs are visually influenced by randomness. Each reverse side is unique as is the reverse of the same topic in different sets. Visualizations and random layouts are made with the program "proce55ing".
SEED - The Universe in '09
In 2009, we are celebrating curiosity and creativity with a dynamic look at the very best ideas that give us reason for optimism. Rethink your assumptions, and pose better questions about the future: Welcome to The Universe in 2009
What Makes Us Human?: Scientific American
Six years ago I jumped at an opportunity to join the international team that was identifying the sequence of DNA bases, or "letters," in the genome of the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). As a biostatistician with a long-standing interest in human origins, I was eager to line up the human DNA sequence next to that of our closest living relative and take stock. A humbling truth emerged: our DNA blueprints are nearly 99 percent identical to theirs. That is, of the three billion letters that make up the human genome, only 15 million of them-less than 1 percent-have changed in the six million years or so since the human and chimp lineages diverged.
Kevin Kelly -- The Technium
The most shocking aspect of the original Star Wars films on first viewing so long ago was not their gee-wizardry, or the coolness of alternative worlds so richly rendered, or even the arch-mythic story of a hero in the space age, but the brand new idea that the future could be gritty, worn, dilapidated and a mixed bag of modern and ancient. The "used future" of Star Wars was entirely new to me, and liberating.
The heterogeneity of old and new felt absolutely real in a profound way, and the future has not been the same since. This "Star Wars esthetics" has influenced not only all of science fiction since, but also the design of cities, fashion, literature, industrial design, and design in general. In short, Lucas's vision of a used future has shaped our own future.
What’s So Hot About Chili Peppers? | Science & Nature | Smithsonian Magazine
Bolivia is believed to be the chili's motherland, home to dozens of wild species that may be the ancestors of all the world's chili varieties—from the mild bell pepper to the medium jalapeño to the rough-skinned naga jolokia, the hottest pepper ever tested. The heat-generating compound in chilies, capsaicin, has long been known to affect taste buds, nerve cells and nasal membranes (it puts the sting in pepper spray). But its function in wild chili plants has been mysterious.
INTANGIBLE MATERIALITY
weird science blog about heady stuff
The True Story Behind Push on Maxim.com : Hot Girls, Photos, Hot Videos, Sports, Movies and Music
In the movie Push, civilians with psychic powers—people who can manipulate thoughts, see the future, or toss objects with their minds—find themselves on the run from a shadowy government agency intent on using their beautiful minds for military purposes. Pure Hollywood hokum, right? Slow down. Retired Army Colonel John Alexander—once a Special Forces commander in Vietnam—knows differently. You see, he was once one of the key members of Stargate—a U.S. intelligence agency designed to prove that psychics could be more effective Cold War weapons than spy satellites or wire taps. The most unsettling part? He was right…
Hype Fructose Corn Syrup | MetaFilter
High-fructose corn syrup is a corn-based sweetener that has been blamed for being partially responsible for the obesity epidemic in the United States. Some producers of HFCS products have responded in the PR war over its health effects. Others may finally be giving anti-HFCS consumers what they want.
The Blegdamsvej Faust | MetaFilter
The year is 1932. Hitler is rising in power. Harold Urey announces the discovery of deuterium, a hydrogen isotope. James Chadwick discovers the neutron. Heisenberg receives the Nobel Prize for his work in Quantum physics. It is a miracle year in Physics, matched only by Einstein's advances in 1905. A few of the most brilliant physicists in the world decide to convene in Copenhagen and ... write a play! Written on the 100th anniversary of the death of Goethe, The Blegdamsvej Faust is a remarkable document from a turning point in Physics.
If a virus could cure cancer, would you get infected? | MetaFilter
In the background behind attention-grabbing headlines about famous (and wannabe-famous) cancer patients, a quiet revolution may be on the brink of changing oncology.
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