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crowdsourcing science funding ...

there have been a few of these popping out lately, thanks to Kickstarter's incredible success. This one http://www.petridish.org/ launched last month, and has a lot of projects already, including a fully funded one (219 backers, $12,247 raised) to "find the first exomoon": http://www.petridish.org/projects/help-us-find-the-first-exomoon

part of the bbc's citizen sciene thingy 'so you want to be a scientist. it's like a game show for science experiments if you're not familiar. the bookmark will take you to the online participation part of one of the experiments selected. here's the main page. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/sywtbas/ "This experiment is being run by citizen scientist Izzy Thomlinson for BBC Radio 4's So You Want To Be A Scientist?. It aims to find out what you think about unpleasant sounds. Please read the following statement and click Take Part Now! if you agree to participate."

bit 'popular science' but fun and maybe good for presentations

... each act member should have one, together with the mug... :) Se also http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y3sHTKrGdKI

I want one too! On a side note, his story about transformers is a nice illustration that being able to express something in a mathematical equation is not equivalent to understanding something.

Nice topic for science coffee - see the first author :-)

Bonnie Bassler's TED talk on quorum sensing is quite interesting. Worth checking out, if you haven't done so already: http://www.ted.com/talks/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bacteria_communicate.html

see papers I have just sent you this afternoon ...

Again, amazing insects! Scientists have discovered that Polistes fuscatus paper wasps can recognize and remember each other's faces with sharp accuracy, a new study suggests.

smart move ...

HIRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) images show flows lengthen and darken on rocky equator-facing slopes from late spring to early fall. The seasonality, latitude distribution and brightness changes suggest a volatile material is involved, but there is no direct detection of one.

he drone of speakers who won't stop is an inevitable experience at conferences, meetings, cinemas and public libraries.  Today, Kazutaka Kurihara at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tskuba and Koji Tsukada at Ochanomizu University, both in Japan, present a radical solution: a speech jamming device that forces recalcitrant speakers into submission. 

...must...not...make...the...obvious...ACT...meeting...joke...

Unfortunately it won't work when it is most needed .... Read this: "Their tests also identify some curious phenomena. They say the gun is more effective when the delay varies in time and more effective against speech that involves reading aloud than against spontaneous monologue. Sadly, they report that it has no effect on meaningless sound sequences such as "aaaaarghhh".

Edu!!!

Wow, a science paper! Fantastic! Congratulations!

Respect. Would that be the first "scienture" paper from ACT member?

22 internationally renowned leaders in various fields of science and technology (2) have drafted and signed a petition addressed to Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament; Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council; and José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the EU Commission.

here is the video - did not really get the mechanism

here is the video now really http://alhlabbench.wordpress.com/research/jumping-salamanders/

looks like evolution is getting better and better understood

In work that has major implications for improving the performance of building insulation, scientists at the University of Namur in Belgium and the University of Hassan I in Morocco have calculated that hairs that reflect infrared light may contribute significant insulating power to the exceptionally warm winter coats of polar bears and other animals.

That's quite interesting. Maybe the future of buildings and spacecraft is furry?

"Time travellers may be using Twitter and Facebook, claim scientists, despite finding no evidence of it" the same can be said for most moders science "big claims with no evidence" :)

pretty awesome Opens the door to a lot more biomimetic approaches

interesting article on spider webs as electrostatic catchers. Would be interesting to see if they also catch bacteria by this principle for the cleanrooms at ESA and the ISS...