Historical Perspectives – Page 38

Animals, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Historical Perspectives

Mammoths may be roaming the world in five years

December 4, 2011

The animal landscape will never be the same again.

Scientists have been trying to clone woolly mammoths for years, but now they’re really close. So close that in five years you may see herds of this gigantic beast—one of the favorite extinct prehistoric animals of the all-time.

Scientists from Japan’s Kinki University and the Sakha Republic’s mammoth museum have discovered well preserved marrow in a thigh bone discovered in Siberia, buried under the permafrost. The marrow is in such good condition that its cells’ DNA could be used to replace the nuclei of elephant egg cells. This will allow scientist to create mammoth embryos…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Quantum entanglement demonstrated in macroscopic objects

December 2, 2011

interdependence of quantum states between particles not in physical contact
needs some props to explain the concept more clearly.

A pair of diamond crystals, large enough to be seen by the naked eye, have been linked together by quantum entanglement. The diamonds are entangled such that manipulating one affects the other, even though they are physically separated. In this case, the crystals were 3 millimeters wide and 15 centimeters apart. (One of the diamond wafers is pictured below.) Indeed, Einstein called this phenomenon “spooky action at a distance,” and scientists still don’t understand how it’s possible. The University of Oxford physicists published their work today in the journal Science…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Medical Breakthrough, New Discoveries

3-D printer makes scaffolding for growing bones

December 2, 2011

This project at Washington State University is incredibly nifty. Researchers use a 3-D printer to make a bone-like material that can temporarily do the job of bone, while serving as a scaffold for new bone to grow on. Over time, it dissolves safely…

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Award Winner, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Japan hopes world’s tallest tower will boost tourism

December 1, 2011

A new record tower.

If you’re afraid of heights, this may be a story you want to skip. The Guinness Book of World Records recently certified that the tallest tower in the world is indeed the Sky Tree which stands in Tokyo, Japan. A work in progress since 2006, the Sky Tree was constructed to be a radio and television tower while at the same time helping to revitalize tourism after the earthquakes and tsunami the country experienced. Sporting two observation decks, at 1,148 feet and 1,476 feet, tourists are guaranteed to get a spectacular view of the city.

Measuring in at 2,080 feet, the tower cost $440 million to construct. It has thirteen elevators, a restaurant, and shopping. What is interesting is that because it has less than 50% usable floor space, it fell into a different category with Guinness than the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. It’s because the Sky Tree is technically not a building but a tower, it captured it’s own world record…

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Analysis, Crazy Stuff, Education, Historical Perspectives

One of the earliest known examples of math homework

December 1, 2011

Math on the go.

It’s stuff like this that makes me love archaeology. Turns out, we can trace the concept of math homework back to at least 2300 B.C.E., in ancient Mesopotamia.

In the early 20th century, German researchers found several clay tablets at the site ofŠuruppak. (Today, that’s basically the Iraqi city of Tell Fara.) Some of the tablets appear to be the remains of math instruction, including two different tablets that are working the same story problem…

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Analysis, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Education, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, People Making a Difference

The man who busted the ‘Banksters’

November 29, 2011

Ferdinand Pecora

The economy was tanking. Millions lost their jobs. Stocks were down. And since bankers seemed to be riding out the bad times better than anyone, the government appointed a commission to look into who was to blame for the crash. But this was 1933, and Ferdinand Pecora was chief counsel to the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking and Currency…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior

Seven styles of Tuvan Throat Singing

November 29, 2011

Here’s Alexander Glenfield demonstrating the seven styles of Tuvan Throat Singing, a method of singing which produces sounds that seemingly no human throats should be able to make. It’s like having a flute inside your throat!

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Analysis, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries

Your posture affects your decision making

November 29, 2011

Lean to the left. Lean to the right.

Scientists have found that if you lean to the left, you think Michael Jackson had fewer number one hit singles than if you lean to the right or stand up straight.

If your posture leans to the right, on the other hand, your estimate increases. If you lean left you also think the Eiffel Tower is shorter than if you lean to the right. You think there is less alcohol in whiskey, and you will guess that Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has fewer grandchildren than if you leaned to the right. This is a real study soon to be published in the scientific journal Psychological Science…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Discoveries, New Inventions

Kinect 2 so accurate it can lip read

November 28, 2011

No voice required.

Microsoft plans to release a next-generation Kinect device so accurate it can lip read, sources have told Eurogamer.
Kinect 2 will come bundled with future Xbox consoles, we understand.
The intention is that Kinect 2 will offer improved motion sensing and voice recognition…

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Corporate Manipulation, Education, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Discoveries

Google drops ‘Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal’ research project

November 27, 2011

Did Google give up on the planet?

Google is quite a big proponent of renewable energy. They have made all kinds of investments in wind, solar, geothermal, etc. Some are to generate clean energy for their own needs, others are more akin to financing deals to help big wind and solar farms get built. In any case, it is very commendable work and if more big corporations had the long-term vision of Google, the world would definitely be in better shape.

But sadly, one of their most promising clean energy projects has just gotten the axe. Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal which was launched in 2007 via the Google.org Foundation, aimed to drive down the cost of renewable energy via R&D efforts until it was cheaper than coal, the magic point at which adoption would reach escape velocity…

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Analysis, Big Problems, Corporate Manipulation, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, Latest News, Latest Trend, New Discoveries

Malls go Big Brother with holiday shopping cell phone tracking

November 27, 2011

Where are you going and where have you been? No need to tell me, I already know.

With mobile phone privacy in the forefront of our minds, it was a bit disconcerting to hear that this holiday season (Black Friday through New Years) certain malls will be tracking shoppers’ phones. Right now, just two US malls have said they will be anonymously tracking visitor’s phones, the Promenade Temecula in Temecula, California and the wonderfully-named Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, Virginia.

A notice was posted at the Promenade stating that anonymous data will be collected using the signals from visitors’ mobile phones. The data will be anonymized and is collected using a number of “monitoring units” placed around the mall. The purpose of the data collection, according to both the mall’s signage and website is to “enhance the shopping experience,” something we’re not quite sure all the visitors will appreciate as much as the malls might hope…

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Analysis, Business, Culture, Current Events, Economy, Entertainment, facebook, Historical Perspectives

Cyber Monday piggybacks on social media to become top online shopping day

November 27, 2011

When the term Cyber Monday was coined in 2005, the Monday after Thanksgiving was the 12th biggest online shopping day of the year. That year, Facebook had 5.5 million users and Twitter didn’t exist. In 2010, Cyber Monday was the #1 biggest online shopping day of the year, with sales topping $1 billion. I believe the growth of social media and the importance of Cyber Monday are correlated because peer -to-peer sharing of deals and owned marketing channels like Facebook Pages and Twitter accounts are bringing promotions directly to where users spend their time online.

The red line is where Cyber Monday ranked among the top online shopping days (from comScore press releases) for that year. Aside from 2008, which is an outlier due the recession, there is a trend in Cyber Monday popularity growing along with Facebook users…

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