Discover magazine

Nov

2010

Laser-Powered Helicopter Breaks Records, Is Pretty Cute

Discover, November 3 2010.

This little laser-powered quadracopter broke a world record on October 28th by flying for over 12 hours with the help of lasers from the ground. The previous record for laser-powered flight was 6 hours. The laser beam that powered the ‘copter’s batteries has the strength of 250,000 laser pointers.

The technology was developed by LaserMotive, a company developing beaming technologies to make power wireless (and obviously awesome). The system of mirrors and lenses on the ground beamed the laser up to the craft 30 feet overhead, where the laser beam charged photovoltaic cells on the underside of the craft. The laser supplied the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with 2.5 kilowatts of power, which the team explained to MSNBC’s Cosmic Log isn’t all that much. Read More >

Nov

2010

USB Ports on New York City’s Streets: Plug in if You Dare

Discover, November 2 2010.

Would you connect your laptop to a random USB port installed on a wall on a city street? I don’t think I would, but Aram Bartholl, a German artist and architect currently residing in New York City, is betting that some people will be brave enough.

Bartholl explains the purpose of his new art installation on his website. Read More >

Nov

2010

Follow the “Truthy” Tweets to Find Twitter’s Political Spammers

Discover, November 2 2010.

Last week an account going by the name @PeaceKaren_25 was suspended by Twitter.com. We wouldn’t normally care about some spambot getting picked off, but PeaceKaren is important because she wasn’t peddling porn or popups–she was a political puppet. Karen and her sister account @HopeMarie_25 are examples of political “astroturf,” fake Twitter accounts that create the illusion of a “grassroots” political movement.

In the diagram above, the two accounts are connected by a very thick band, which indicates that Marie constantly re-tweeted everything Karen said. Together they sent out over 20,000 tweets in the last four months promoting the Twitter account and website of Republican congressional leader John Boehner. Read More >

Nov

2010

Sexy Black Truffle Porn: Not as Exciting as You Hoped

Discover, November 1 2010.

Scientists are starting to unravel the sex secrets of the black truffle, that rare and expensive delicacy, in hopes of making its cultivation easier. It turns out the fungus has two different sex-like states, and both must be present to reproduce. One truffle can only be one of the sexes, and while that may not sound odd to us humans, it’s very out of place in the fungus world. Fungi are usually able to reproduce asexually and self-fertilize, lead author of the paper Francesco Paolocci told The Telegraph:

“It was long assumed that the truffle was like other fungi, but we know now that it needs the help of a partner. It has members of two different sexualities, a bit like male and female.” Read More >

Nov

2010

Miniature Human Liver Grown in Lab; Seems to Work Like the Real Thing

Discover, November 1 2010.

Researchers have built miniature human livers in the lab, which could lead to better drug discovery and could even point the way toward implantable artificial organs. The mini-livers seem to act like human livers in the lab, but it remains to be seen how well they’ll survive and perform when transplanted into animals or, maybe one day, humans.

“We are excited about the possibilities this research represents, but must stress that we’re at an early stage and many technical hurdles must be overcome before it could benefit patients,” said Shay Soker, Ph.D., professor of regenerative medicine and project director. “Not only must we learn how to grow billions of liver cells at one time in order to engineer livers large enough for patients, but we must determine whether these organs are safe to use in patients.” Read More >

Nov

2010

iPhone Alarm Bug Gave Thousands of Europeans an Excuse to Sleep in

Discover, November 1 2010.

A glitch in the iPhone’s alarm software gave many Europeans an extra dose of sleep this morning, when their alarms went off an hour later than expected.

While the time on the phone correctly “fell backward” with Europe’s scheduled switch from daylight saving time, because of a software bug the alarm function didn’t recognize the switch, and all recurring alarms went off an hour later than intended. Frustrated iPhone users took to twitter… Read More >

Oct

2010

Don’t Try This at Home: Flamingos Get Their Blush From Oily Rump Glands

Discover, October 29 2010.

Researchers found new evidence of the importance of make-up while studying Spanish flamenco dancers flamingos. The scientists discovered that the birds augment their signature coloring by applying tints drawn from their own glands–and they use their painted plumage to attract mates.

The hue of the leggy birds’ feathers come primarily from the pigments in their diet, but researcher Juan Amat found that they also secrete the colored pigments, called carotenoids, from their preen glands. Flamingos (and many other birds) press their heads to the preen glands at the base of their tails to pick up feather-protecting oils, which they then spread around their bodies. The researchers realized that those oils contain pigments, ranging from red to yellow, by keeping an eye on the flamingos’ feathers and behavior. Read More >

Oct

2010

“Octopus Head War” Pits Korean Health Officials Against Fishermen

Discover, October 29 2010.

Charges by South Korean health officials that octopus heads contain large and unhealthy amounts of the heavy medal cadmium have sparked a war with the fishermen who profit from the $35 million-a-year trade. Octopus heads are a popular delicacy in South Korea, revered by locals for their health benefits and their supposed role as an aphrodisiac. About 12 million octopuses are sold for eating every year, says the LA Times:

Nakji, a dish featuring baby octopuses, head and all, is a popular snack at sporting events. Another dish, sannakji (“live octopus”), features squirming tentacles dipped in a sesame oil and salt sauce. Enthusiasts have been hospitalized after a wiggling tentacle lodged in the throat. Read More >

Oct

2010

Everest Gets 3G Coverage; Avalanche of Tweets & Status Updates to Follow

Discover, October 29 2010.

Ncell, a subsidiary of the Swedish telecom company TeliaSonera, has installed a 3G data network in a Nepalese town that should reach the summit of Mount Everest. This high up, high-tech improvement will allow summit-ers to communicate with friends, family, and organizers from the top of the world.

A phone base station was set up near the town of Gorakshep at 17,000 feet above sea level, and the signal should reach to the peak about 12,000 feet above that, telecom officials said–but it hasn’t been tested yet. The service should be fast enough to allow adventurers to make video calls and surf the Internet from their phones. Read More >

Oct

2010

Plastic Chemical BPA Linked to Lower Sperm Count & Quality

Discover, October 29 2010.

A new study of 218 Chinese men found that even low levels of the controversial plastics chemical bisphenol A (BPA) can lower sperm quality and count. For the study, which was published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, researchers noted the participants’ sperm quality and urine BPA levels over five years. When compared to participants without detectable levels of the chemical, men with BPA in their urine were three times more likely to have low quality sperm.

“This adds additional human evidence that BPA is bad,” said [the study’s first author] De-Kun Li. “The general public should probably try to avoid exposure to BPA as much as they can.” Read More >