Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Slices of human body as seen by MRI


Looking at slices of MRI data (from the visible human project) going through a human body look a lot like cuts of steaks.

Fashionable, tattooed Goldfish


Apparently, a new trend in China is to get laser-tattooed goldfish, with lucky symbols on them. Unluckily however, they are much more expensive than non-tattooed goldfish.

Mayans "played" pyramids as instruments


I remember at Chichen Itza, clapping by the pyramid made really cool sounding chirpy echoes... apparently, they have found these same musical properties with a number of other pyramids, leading to the hypothesis that the Mayans played these pyramids as instruments in religious ceremonies (perhaps mushrooms were involved?).

Women warrior tribe in Ukraine


In response to a sexist culture, a group of women in the Ukraine have formed a women-only tribe, living in the mountains, learning self-defense, science and self-sufficiency.
Calling themselves the “Asgarda”, the women seek complete autonomy from men. Residing in the Carpathian Mountains, the tribe is comprised of 150 women of varying ages, primarily students, led by 30 year-old Katerina Tarnouska. Reviving the tribal traditions of the Scythian Amazons of ancient Greek mythology, the Asgarda train in martial arts...

Thursday, September 24, 2009

That shit will fuck you up


Scientists trying to solve the problem of how to get stem cells into the brain in the least harmful manner have discovered that snorting them might be the best bet.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Medical tubing sculpture

This is a nice sculpture made from braided medical tubing with timed (food) coloured fluid being pumped through it:

Fluid Sculpture from Charlie Bucket on Vimeo.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Who owns what? "Organic" companies

Here is a map of what parent companies (some not so nice) that own "green" organic brands:


There have also been pesticide tests to determine what fruits and veggies are most important to buy organic and which are not-so-important.

Here are the must-buy organic fruits and vegetables:

* Apples
* Cherries
* Grapes, imported
* Nectarines
* Peaches
* Pears
* Raspberries
* Strawberries
* Bell peppers
* Celery
* Potatoes
* Spinach/lettuce


Don't worry about going organic with these fruits and vegetables:

* Bananas
* Kiwis
* Mangos
* Papaya
* Pineapples
* Asparagus
* Avocado
* Broccoli
* Cauliflower
* Onions

Monday, September 21, 2009

Pirate Bay sinking



With the sinking of Pirate bay. Here is a link to 25 torrent searching alternatives, including copies of the PB before it sank.

Water usage


Here is a graph showing how much water is used for a variety of things. Note how much water is used to develop animals for use as meats.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

How-to wheat paste

Artist Gaia shows the process of doing wheat-paste street art.

Ants build lifeboat to protect their queen

Fire ants in the Amazon adapt to flooding by building a living raft to protect their queen.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Living root bridges of India

When the War-Khasis tribe in Meghalaya needs a new bridge to cross one of the many criss-crossing rivers of the cherrapunji region, they don’t build one. They grow it.
The root bridges, some of which are over a hundred feet long, take ten to fifteen years to become fully functional, but they’re extraordinarily strong – strong enough that some of them can support the weight of fifty or more people at a time.

Because they are alive and still growing, the bridges actually gain strength over time – and some of the ancient root bridges used daily by the people of the villages around Cherrapunji may be well over five hundred years old.

Squirrels learn how to steal


Gray squirrels learn about stealing from watching other squirrels:

The study suggests that squirrels are primed to recognise other squirrels as potential food thieves. It also shows that they learn more quickly from real life observations.

Corresponding author Dr Lisa Leaver of the University of Exeter, said: “Our study is significant because it is the first to show that grey squirrels learn from observing others. It adds to growing evidence that all kinds of animals, from humans and other primates to many species of birds, learn from observation and that they have evolved to learn quickly about those things that are most important to their lives – in the case of grey squirrels, gathering and storing nuts.”

Glass microbiology

This artist has made a number of virus and bacteria glass works of art.

Runpee tells you when to go pee during a movie

Runpee.com lets you know what the best times to go and urinate during a movie so you don't miss anything important.

Mammatus Clouds


Mammatus Clouds are a meteorological phenomenon caused by sagging cellular accumulations produced in clouds of ice and water, and usually mean a fierce storm is trying to develop.

noby noby boy hat and scarf

Noby noby boy hat and scarf for sale on etsy.

Trail in clouds



Clouds with trails of an intercontinental ballistic missile test fired from an american base.

Augmented reality iphone apps 2

Sekai Camera, the augmented reality iPhone app that tags and overlays information about products and places, debuted in Tokyo today at a press event held at the Spanish luxury designer Loewe. Here's a video showing how it works — basically, when your camera scans a certain tagged item, it shows up on the screen along with a description, pricing, etc. Video by Nobi Hayashi.


WorkSnug looks for wifi hotspots with comments on how nice places they are to work:

Friday, September 18, 2009

Oliver Sacks explains what hallucinations tell us about the human mind

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnett syndrome -- when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations.

Psychedelic tumor visualization site



This medical site has gorgeous, psychedelic medical visualizations explaining cancer tumor growth.

Relative efficiency of energy use in transportation

You might think that aeroplanes are the most fuel-guzzling way to get around (compared with, say, a Prius), but because they are filled with people, the truth is surprising.

U.S. Trade deficit

U.S. trade deficit with other countries:


U.S. currency exchange rate relative to other countries over time:

Man sues for overdose of Ketamine


VANCOUVER - A Campbell River man has received $63,000 in damages for an "out-of-body experience" in which he said he saw God after being accidentally overdosed with the painkiller Ketamine while recovering from back surgery in Vancouver General Hospital.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Explainist blog is worth watching

http://www.explainist.com/

Some useful links found therein...

Liveplasma helps you find movies that you might like when you state one you do like.

Newsmap shows google news headlines and related stories in an easy to visualize manner.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Amount of solar panels needed to power Earth?


Just 496,905 square kilometers. That's really nothing compared to the total world area: Less than the surface of Spain (504,030 square kilometers) covered with solar panels, distributed across deserts and areas with almost 24/7 sun, all year around.

micro-LED contact lens computer screen


There is now a working, yet crude in its resolution contact lens computer monitor that contains a matrix of LEDs to produce the screen information. Apparently, they are wearable for 20 minutes, and contain antennas to transmit the screen data wirelessly from a portable computer. Pictured here is one in an (unwilling yet able) cyber-rabbit's eye used in the prototype testing.