10-year-old comes up with a novel new chemical

That’s pretty cool in its own right, but the best part is that it sounds like it may have sparked an interest in science for the young girl. #seb #science #discoveries

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5th Grader Accidentally Makes Explosive in Class, Gets Co-Authorship on Subsequent Paper Kenneth Boehr wasn’t expecting more . . . → Read More: 10-year-old comes up with a novel new chemical

The Creationists are still trying to get their nonsense into science classes

Six states have bills similar to the Indiana one in the process of winding their way through the legislative process. It's a sad statement that in the 21st century we still have people trying to take our science classes back to the 18th century. And we wonder why so many of our fellow Americans are . . . → Read More: The Creationists are still trying to get their nonsense into science classes

This will be my excuse for any PC problems at work today

Usually I go with Harmonic Convergence or Cosmic Rays, but with this I can point to an actual news item. #seb #science

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What happens when a Coronal Mass Ejection hits the Earth? At approximately 11:00 am Eastern time (15 minutes from now as I type this), the Earth will . . . → Read More: This will be my excuse for any PC problems at work today

Sci-ence! updates “The Red Flags of Quackery” to version 2.0.

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Quite awhile back I posted a webcomic by the guys over at Sci-ence! all about “The Red Flags of Quackery” that was a nice little primer on the buzz words and concepts that should warn you that you’re dealing with pseudoscience woo-woo bullshit.

Now they’ve gone and put out a new version 2.0 of the comic:

. . . → Read More: Sci-ence! updates “The Red Flags of Quackery” to version 2.0.

Where the Trees Are in the U.S.

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NASA brings us a fascinating image of where the trees are within the United States:

Where the Trees Are : Image of the Day.

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Trees are one of Earth’s largest banks for storing the carbon that gets emitted by natural processes and human activities. Forests cover about 30 percent . . . → Read More: Where the Trees Are in the U.S.

An explanation for the spinning sensation you get when you’re really drunk.

I’m not a heavy drinker and I’ve been drunk a handful of times in my life and only been drunk enough to have the room spin maybe twice in my life so I don’t have a lot of first-hand experience with this effect. For those of you who do, however, and who have wondered why . . . → Read More: An explanation for the spinning sensation you get when you’re really drunk.

The quest for Absolute Zero temperature comes a step closer to reality.

Sometimes I can’t help but be awed at what physicists are accomplishing in the lab.

How cold is cold enough? Eliminating entropy picokelvins from absolute zero

When you think about the temperatures associated with “cold,” you probably imagine a cold winter day, or a block of ice (32 °F, 0 °C, or 273.15 K). This . . . → Read More: The quest for Absolute Zero temperature comes a step closer to reality.

It turns out that premature orgasm is a problem for some women.

From the Never-Thought-This-Was-A-Problem department:

Premature Orgasm Affects Women Too, Study Suggests – LiveScience

“At one extreme are women who have a complete control over their orgasm,” he and his colleagues write in a report to be published in the journal Sexologies. “[At] the other extreme is a group of women who report having a lack . . . → Read More: It turns out that premature orgasm is a problem for some women.

Thanks to anti-vaxers like Jenny McCarthy, measles outbreaks on the increase.

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Measles is one of those childhood diseases that used to be a huge problem, but thanks to the creation of a vaccine in 1963 it was nearly eradicated from the United States. At least up until Jenny McCarthy and the other anti-vaccination idiots started spreading FUD and claiming that vaccines caused autism.  Now it’s once more on . . . → Read More: Thanks to anti-vaxers like Jenny McCarthy, measles outbreaks on the increase.

Evolution simplified for tiny brains.

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As found over at Atheism and Me.