One year after the ACT...

Interesting read!

Research on new working methods? - another interesting application of the Oculus!

Proving the theory of relativity with picosecond lasers, an experiment soon to be installed on the ISS.

Good news for fundamental physics and Earth system science, femtosecond lasers are now about to achieve space qualification thanks to fibre optics!  Applications include high resolution spectroscopy, absolute laser ranging, mapping of the geo-potential and testing of the theory of general relativity to name a few!

Several recent papers on biomimetics and photonics, including works on structural colours, radiation shielding, spiders and more.

Very recent paper on brain wave-sensing technology, where researchers were able to communicate words from one brain to another brain over the internet. The encoded information appeared as flashes of light in the receiver's brain at the corner of their vision.

From the article: By the end of September 2014, Jason Budinoff, an aerospace engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD), is expected to complete the first imaging telescopes ever assembled almost exclusively from 3D-manufactured components. The devices' optics and electronics will be fabricated using conventional methods. "As far as I know, we are the first to attempt to build an entire instrument with 3D printing," says Budinoff. He is building a fully functional 50 mm camera whose outer tube, baffles, and optical mounts are all printed as a single structure. The instrument is appropriately sized for a CubeSat (a small satellite made of individual units each about 100 mm on a side). 

Towing an iceberg from Newfoundland to the Canary Islands: how 3D computer simulations are used to study iceberg melting and fuel consumption in this concept.

CNES research to detect warning signs of earthquakes in the ionosphere. Jaxa is also interested in conducting such studies. To my opinion it's worth taken a closer look at what they are doing!! 

Update: it seems we are already looking into it, I found this recent call from ESRIN: IONOSPHERIC SOUNDING FOR IDENTIFICATION OF PRE-SEISMIC ACTIVITY (RE-ISSUE) ESA Open Invitation To Tender AO7548 Open Date: 08/07/2013 Closing Date: 09/09/2013

Giant sun mirrors were installed to light up one Norwegian town in winter, just to improve the mood of its residents! 

They were able to compare the ticking rates of two optical clocks separated by 2000 km, with the objective of computing sea level based on the effect gravity has on the clock ticking rate. They did the experiment using glass optical fibers, but I wonder if we could one day do the same from orbit, to measure the gravitational field around Earth.

An art movie on critical transitions from scientist Marten Scheffer!!

General discussion on how to search for habitable planets

Scientists have fabricated a portable data storage system based on nanostructured glass that seems to be much more stable than current disks. I wonder if it can survive that long in space?

New Earth climate model based on statistical physics and available on the App Store !

Bacteria found at 8-15 km altitude could play a much bigger role in cloud formation and precipitation than previously thought... According to this study bacteria represent around 20 % of the total atmospheric aerosols in their size range! They say it could also have implications for the spread of diseases...

I wonder if this is true.. It sure does look like it!