Cloaking devices often play a pivotal role in many Star Trek episodes. This technology masks the lurking Klingon Bird of Prey, allowing it to sneak up on Star Fleet’s unwitting and vulnerable crew. Scientists are now working to take this technology from the dramatic realm of science fiction and make it science fact. Amanda D. Hanford, Ph.D., at Pennsylvania State Universityis taking the introductory steps to make acoustic ground cloaks a future concealment option.
Posted in Blinding People with Science, Physics |
Sitting in a comfortable, plush green chair, Janice Hanson is a poised woman with an elegant, short haircut. Her calm, dignified demeanor belies the turbulent decades of raising two children with a rare genetic disorder. Little could she imagine that this journey, which began with the birth of her first child 57 years earlier, would culminate with the discovery of a rare genetic mutation responsible for the constellation of symptoms that restricted, but never stopped her children from seeking the most out of life. Continue Reading »
Posted in Medicine |
Protein Crystals Grown in Microgravity Could Yield Antidotes for Nerve Agents
3-2-1 Lift Off
On a balmy evening in early June, Space X launched the Falcon 9 rocket, which ferried the Dragon spacecraft toward the International Space Station (ISS). As the Dragon broke the tethers of Earth’s gravity three small, black boxes were safely nestled in its cargo hold. These innocuous boxes house an experiment that may help researchers develop new antidotes for nerve agents used in conflict zones. Continue Reading »
Posted in Blinding People with Science |
In the remote part of the Death Valley National Park, rocks have begun migrating across a flat expanse of desert. Hundreds of rocks appear to move as a group, as if in a choreographed desert dance. What could be provoking this strange effect on the rocks in the desert? The prevailing theory has been wind, but many scientists also advocate ice. A fringe group suggests aliens. I mean it is an isolated stretch of desert, and everyone knows that aliens love to frolic in American deserts.
Continue Reading »Posted in Geology | 1 Comment »
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