A science nerd thread.

for those about to rock

for those about to rock

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J@se said:
You guys might like this. I know I do! The narration is a bit boring though.

[video=vimeo;4366695]http://vimeo.com/4366695[/video]

This clip is raw from Camera E-8 on the launch umbilical tower/mobile launch program of Apollo 11, July 16, 1969. This is an HD transfer from the 16mm original. The camera is running at 500 fps, making the total clip of over 8 minutes represent just 30 seconds of actual time.
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I posted a similar video to this, but with Shuttle videos.

From what I can tell, maybe some of you misunderstood me. I am unequivocally positive that the moon landings DID happen.

And Spanky,nice. That is all I have to say.

EDIT: I might go and make a conspiracy theory thread now too....
 
A

Arete

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John Roach

for National Geographic News

Published January 24, 2011

Dig this: A parrot-size dinosaur has been discovered with just one enlarged "digging" finger on each hand, scientists announced today.

Unearthed in northeastern China, Linhenykus monodactylus is a member of the theropod dinosaurs, the group of two-legged carnivores that includes Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor.

Most theropods had three fingers on each hand. But Linhenykus belongs to a family known as the alvarezsauroids: small, long-legged dinosaurs that had one big finger alongside two barely functional nub fingers.

"Some researchers speculate that these dinosaurs used their hands to dig [up] termite nests," said study leader Xu Xing of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing. This was probably the case for Linhenykus as well, he said.

(Related: "Digging Dinosaur Discovered Inside Fossil Den.")

Linhenykus' hand does have a leftover bone for a second finger, but the nub of a digit wouldn't have worked at all, Xu added.

That makes Linhenykus the only known one-fingered dinosaur, he said.

New Dinosaur Adds to Tale of Hand Evolution

The new dinosaur was discovered in a fossil-rich rock formation that dates to the late Cretaceous period, between 84 and 75 million years ago. The site is near the Inner Mongolian town of Linhe (map), which helped inspire the dinosaur's name.

(Related: "New Dinosaur—'Exquisite' Raptor Found.")

Alvarezsauroid fossils have been found in North and South America as well as Asia, dating from the late Jurassic to the late Cretaceous. Finding an alvarezsauroid in Asia dated to the late Cretaceous adds to the story of this group's dispersal around the world, Xu said.

"[They] probably originated in Asia, then dispersed from Asia to [the ancient supercontinent] Gondwana, and then back to Asia, and finally from Asia to North America," he said.

The other dinosaurs in this group probably didn't make much use of their functional nub fingers, the study authors note. But the extra fingers would have been biologically inexpensive to maintain, so they didn't totally disappear.

By contrast, Linhenykus had no working vestigial nubs, and its one long finger wasn't as specialized for digging as the digits of other alvarezsauroids. This demonstrates that hand evolution in this group "did not follow a simple linear trend," the study authors write.

The new, one-fingered dinosaur is described online today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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DJninja

DJninja

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This is a stupidly broad question but can anyone introduce me to the best text/s for an introduction to science (not a history, just common concepts, terms and ideas). I'd like to understand more of what I'm reading.

Forgot to mention, it's mainly biology I'm interested in but other introductions are welcome.
 
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for those about to rock

for those about to rock

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DJninja said:
This is a stupidly broad question but can anyone introduce me to the best text/s for an introduction to science (not a history, just common concepts, terms and ideas). I'd like to understand more of what I'm reading.

Forgot to mention, it's mainly biology I'm interested in but other introductions are welcome.
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How simple are you after? Would something like a highschool text book be too 'simple' for your needs?
 
Cypher

Cypher

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DJninja said:
I'd like to understand more of what I'm reading.
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Go to your local library. They will have your basic books as well as a lot of cool stuff.

The best thing is that it is free (if you return your books on time). You can borrow random stuff. Anything that interests you.

The other thing is that biology encompasses such a huge area. Do you want to know about plant biology or animal? Ecology vs biotechnology. See the problem? It is a huge field, but it is all exciting.
 
Pebble

Pebble

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So what science related podcasts do you guys listen to?
Ones I download at the moment for example:
Dr Karl
The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
They're probably my 3 favourites, then there is also
The Science Show
The Stuff of Genius
BrainStuff

Mostly like listening to it before going to sleep if there is nothing interesting on tv or whatever.
 
Spanky_Ham

Spanky_Ham

Porcinus Slappius
DJninja said:
This is a stupidly broad question but can anyone introduce me to the best text/s for an introduction to science (not a history, just common concepts, terms and ideas). I'd like to understand more of what I'm reading.

Forgot to mention, it's mainly biology I'm interested in but other introductions are welcome.
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if you want to read up on microbiology, the textbook by Brock, Biology of Microorganisms is still recommended round these parts...

There's also online text book, a quick google search will reward you...

but..... just to nerd out a little here... the periodic table. Cannot suggest learning it enough. Not memorizing it, or wrote learning. But understanding how it 'works' can lead to a much better understanding of just WTF is going on down the line...

we just had a 5 minute nerdgasm on the above link.. just click ont he orbitals tab.. oo00ooh yeah

s
 
Ivan

Ivan

Eats Squid
Spanky_Ham said:
if you want to read up on microbiology, the textbook by Brock, Biology of Microorganisms is still recommended round these parts...

There's also online text book, a quick google search will reward you...

but..... just to nerd out a little here... the periodic table. Cannot suggest learning it enough. Not memorizing it, or wrote learning. But understanding how it 'works' can lead to a much better understanding of just WTF is going on down the line...

we just had a 5 minute nerdgasm on the above link.. just click ont he orbitals tab.. oo00ooh yeah

s
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The orbitals tab is better than bacon.

Awesome find. The p orbitals are a different shape to what I remember though.
 
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cameron_15

cameron_15

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Wow, That periodic table is incredibly awesome!

On a side note, I can't wait to start Uni next week and get back into my Biology and Chemistry. Got some pretty fat textbooks to churn through:)
 
Bjorn

Bjorn

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This may help.
"A short history of nearly everything" by Bill Bryson; very easy to understand.
It captures some very hard concepts and makes them tame enough to pat and hand feed.
 
Hamsta

Hamsta

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Bjorn said:
This may help.
"A short history of nearly everything" by Bill Bryson; very easy to understand.
It captures some very hard concepts and makes them tame enough to pat and hand feed.
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Good suggestion there Bjorn. I am plodding through "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution" by Richard (Dick) Dawkins. This text captures some very hard concepts and shoots them full of Rohypnol. I am struggling to finish this book. It is interesting, but very slow, not at all compelling reading and usually after 10 pages I'm asleep.
 
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Hamsta said:
Good suggestion there Bjorn. I am plodding through "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution" by Richard (Dick) Dawkins. This text captures some very hard concepts and shoots them full of Rohypnol. I am struggling to finish this book. It is interesting, but very slow, not at all compelling reading and usually after 10 pages I'm asleep.
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Despite his widespread popularity, Dawkins is very hit and miss IMO. What he's trying to accomplish - rendering the intricacies of evolutionary biology palatable for the educated layperson - is a enormously difficult task and one he sometimes accomplishes and sometimes fails dismally at.

DJninja - what sort of books are you looking for? Ones that look at scientific process or ones that explain cool stuff and are entertaining? Some of David Suzuki's stuff is good for the latter, Foir the former it really depends on a) your current level of understanding and b) your level of interest. I'd hit up a first year Bio101 text like Evolutionary biology - Minkoff or similar and browse.
 
DJninja

DJninja

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Bjorn said:
This may help.
"A short history of nearly everything" by Bill Bryson; very easy to understand.
It captures some very hard concepts and makes them tame enough to pat and hand feed.
Click to expand...
Currently partway through this ^. Not exactly what I was after but still very interesting.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Wish I had an exciting article to justify this bump:eek:
 
Cypher

Cypher

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Happy international Pi day everyone!

Celebrate everything that is in the form of a circle (wow! that's my bikes!). Today is Pi day because in American date format it is 3/14 (or 3.14...). There is some controversy however - some people believe it should be on July 22nd (22/7 which approximates to 3.14). We can celebrate both days

Pi is one of the reasons why we have civilisation and you'd have to agree one of the most awesome numbers in the universe.

:) So nerdy!


So cool! There is a Pi song: http://datasearch2.uts.edu.au/feit/it/news-events/event-detail.cfm?ItemId=25541
 
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