2010 Siemens National Science Fair Champions

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/magazine/mag-27science-t.html?_r=1&ref=science    

Given the opportunity to participate in high-level competition, would you give it a try?

This interactive game demonstrates how computers can 'learn.'

Play the game with the computer on 'Novice' mode to have the computer learn how to play rock, paper, scissors from scratch.

Then, play the game on 'veteran' mode, to allow the computer to search a database of past experiences and use that knowledge against you.

Play 15 rounds in each and report your score in the comments section!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/science/rock-paper-scissors.html?ref=science

Natalie Portman:  Award-winning amateur scientist, straight-A student and Harvard grad.

James Franco:  Ph.d student at Yale: Literature

Natalie Portman, Oscar Winner, Was Also a Precocious Scientist - NYTimes.com



What do you want to be when you grow up?

A new Symphony of Science video has been released!   Nerd Alert!

This one features, among others, Stephen Hawkings dropping a beat.

The beginning of the Universe is something I struggle to wrap my thoughts around.  It is experimentally verified (in dozens of different, overlapping ways) as the beginning of time and space.
Thoughts?

The jungles of Earth are sometimes so thick and remote that explorers have not penetrated into the deepest, darkest reaches of them.  Within the inner-most areas of these isolated and dense jungles, tribes of humans live as they have for thousands of years, having never been contacted by the outside world!

There are a few dozen tribes of people who have never been contacted by the outside world.  They are documented using airplanes, the locations of their villages are mapped and the forests around them are deemed "off limits" to logging and hunting to preserve the people's way of life.

A previously unknown tribe in the rain forests of Western Brazil has been photographed using an airplane for the first time.  Logging companies are already too-close for comfort to the tribe's villages.

Should this tribe be contacted or left alone?

Read this article.  At the end of each short section of paragraphs, click on the 'next' button to take you through the slide-show of pictures and explaining text.  In some of the photos, you can see the villagers pointing at the plane with looks of curiosity on their faces.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/uncontacted-tribe/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wiredscience+%28Blog+-+Wired+Science%29%2Ffeed%2F&pid=957&viewall=true

2010 was tied for the warmest year on record with 2005.  Also, 2010 was the wettest year on record. 

Observe the series of photos below documenting climate change in the past 80 years.  Each of the sets of photos has been taken from the exact same vantage point over many years, documenting the retreat of glaciers.

Global mean temperature is now 1.12 degrees F above the 20th century average.

As these glaciers retreat, sea levels rise at roughly 3mm per year.

At this rate, how long until your front porch is under water?  (Find elevation of your porch using Google Earth)

National Geographic Magazine is hosting the 2010 Photography Contest.Browse these 47 images on this link and give us your top three in the comments section.
I will tally the votes at the end and we'll see which ones win first, second and third prize.


After you comment, feel free to explore the Nat Geo photography website itself.  It is a great resource.


National Geographic's Photography Contest 2010 - The Big Picture - Boston.com


Mr. Erdosy's Choices:
#1:  Photo 2, the Supercell Thunderstorm
#2: Photo 24, incredible exposure shot of a ridge road at night.
#3: Photo 41, very cool!

Mount Mirapi, in Indonesia, has been erupting since October 25 of this year.  As far as eruptions go, it is, so far, a tiny one.  It has the potential, as do almost all volcanos of this type, to continue to erupt and escalate into a truly massive eruption with the potential ability to affect world climate.

The largest eruption ever recorded (since humans have been recording such things) was the 1815 eruption of Mt. Tambora, in Indonesia.  The resulting "Volcanic Winter" caused massive climate change leading to drought and famine.  As estimated 200,000 people starved to death in Europe in the following winter due to effects from this eruption.

"On April 10, 1815, Tambora Volcano produced the largest eruption in recorded history. An estimated 150 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of tephra (exploded rock and ash) resulted, with ash from the eruption recognized at least 1,300 kilometers (808 miles) away to the northwest... Enough ash was put into the atmosphere from the April 10 eruption to reduce incident sunlight on the Earth’s surface, causing global cooling, which resulted in the 1816 “year without a summer.”

Take a look at these pictures from the Mt. Merapi eruption.  Warning: graphic content.
Mount Merapi's eruptions - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Can you identify other historically significant volcanic eruptions and mention a few of their effects?

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a massive, circular underground tunnel in Europe that loops through two countries.  Particles are accelerated along the tunnel to speeds approaching the speed of light.  They are then crashed into each other.


The goal of this is to mimic conditions that the Big Bang created, and to see if any new particles are confirmed.  Many particles are thought to exist that we have no evidence for yet.  The LHC is striving to find them and confirm certain hypotheses.  Their number one goal is to confirm or reject the Higgs - Bosun particle.

The actual content of this rap is certified by the scientists at CERN, the team behind building and using the LHC, as being totally accurate.


Enjoy!  No need to comment unless you feel like this rap was totally dope, yo.  

The first human trial using stem cells is now underway.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11517680

Debate the possible beneficial outcomes of stem cell research with the possible moral hangups of using human embryos for scientific research.