SF/F Links: April Roundup (First Half)
By the way, this is going to be long since I’m pulling links off my desktop and my laptop. So, get ready for a long list of SF/F related links! Universe Today Want to know what happens when two black holes collide? What about three? Sound like science fiction? Yeah, they asked the same question too. It’s not. Intel, being the cool company that they are, have begun devising ways to protect microchips from cosmic rays. Basically, the chips are going to be smart enough to go “hey, that’s not right” and magically fix themselves–in theory. Want to read more about how all life on Earth is from outer space? So do I. Screw E.T. We’re more interesting (well, not really, humanity is somewhat boring to me now). New images of an actual dust avalanche on Mars! Now all we need are skiers. And just to add to this I think a cute picture is needed: the little blue planet and its moon from Mars. I love this planet. We’re so cool. Apparently Saturn’s moon, Rhea, has rings. Who knew? I always thought their relationship was strictly professional. Hubble, being the great piece of machinery that it is, has turned up evidence for organic molecules around an exoplanet! It just keeps getting better and better. Salt deposits discovered on Mars might be a good place to look for evidence of life (fossilized, but still, life is life). I’m skeptical, but enthusiastic. Even if we find microbial life, it’s good. New evidence has been discovered to suggest that Titan has a liquid ocean underneath its crust! Good news? Yes, actually. This has some interesting implications about the possibilities for life on other planets. Did the asteroid impact for Sodom and Gomorrah happen? It’s quite possible. A clay tablet that has been puzzling scientists is believed to describe an asteroid impact a long long time ago on this very planet. So maybe it really happen, eh? Futurismic First flights from Boeing to use fuel-cells! Yeah! Now we are getting closer to the answer to my question: When oil runs out, what happens to airline flights? The lovely folks in the Netherlands have a low-tech way of converting salt water into something drinkable. To add to the frightening change in our cyber-culture, there are now reports of high-tech heart monitors being hacked into. Scary? I think so. Apparently British waters are a great place to get mostly clean energy. Read about it here. Stem cell research shows it can help deal with Parkinson’s. Babies killed to figure that out? Zero. Good job everyone! In a serious note, this is great news for me because I’d like to see Michael J. Fox come back to to TV. We’re one step closer to suspended-animation, since we can now almost completely do it with mice. Yeah, this is good news because now I don’t have to completely BS this stuff. Afghanistan is smart. Now with food prices on the rice it seems that all those lovely opium fields are being converted to wheat fields. Yay democracy, or whatever prompted them to do that. Listverse Top 10 Sciencific Frauds and Hoaxes. A bonus is you get a nice anti-evolution hoax in there. Fun! 10 More Unsolved Mysteries. I’m particularly fond of 5 and 3. Top 10 Bizarre Genetically Modified Organisms. Michael Jackson isn’t on this list by the way. Top 10 Evil Human Experiments. Because we humans tend to be a little screwed up. Top 12 Things You Need to Be a Mad Scientist. Oh yes, now I have a mission in life! Top 12 Dystopian Novels. Also known as the list of really awesome books. Top 15 SF Book Series! Another good list! 8 Atrocities Committed in the Name of Religion. Not a particularly powerful list (missing a few things that need to be there), but certainly one I will give a thumbs up to. Top 10 Interesting Abandoned Places! I love these kinds of lists! io9 This is fascinating. Apparently studies show that dyslexics are able to work comfortable when working in a language other than the one they first learned. So someone who speaks English might not have much problems working in Chinese. The article also talks about why such people are great at computer programming. Need a 20% decrease in fuel consumption on those oil-guzzling transport ships? Well, attach a sail to it. This might be just the thing we need to stick it to them damned oil companies. Apparently some scientists think we might not be that different from aliens after all. Genetic manipulation might be used for good: stopping HIV in its tracks. Yup. New studies show that we are born with a gene that could combat the virus, but that it is turned off. So, should we turn it on at birth? (Note, the gene is present in people infected with HIV) Detailed military specs on how to stop a giant monster in your home town. Yeah, someone has a lot of time on their hands. The survival guide to bad SF movies. Great list indeed! Want to see something scary? The science vs. scientology timeline! Yeah, apparently the Thetans are inside us all. Apparently this lizard can drink through its foot. That has to suck. Google, being so awesome, is teaming up with MIT to design the first satellite that can actually detect small Earth-like planets around other stars. I love you, Google. Apparently this is the new bacteria that will cause the next pandemic. I’m skeptical. It looks like a wimp to me. Menopause sucks (or so I hear). But guess what? You need men even more now because studies show that you can use testosterone to counter the bad effects of menopause! Yeah! Scientists have found a mirror galaxy to ours. Don’t get your hopes up. It’s not exactly like ours, but it shares similarities. Heathrow Airport will now have a new form of transportation from the parking structures to the airport. And it’s unmanned! Awesome!