Science & Technology
MEDFLY QUARANTINE CONTINUES
August 10, 2018
MARS APPEARS BIGGER AND BRIGHTER
July 13, 2018
Mars is approaching Earth for a 15-year close encounter. The Red Planet is now so bright that it is experiencing forms of atmospheric optics normally reserved for objects like the sun and the moon. Recently, an astronomer in Sweden watching Mars witnessed a rare green flash. Visit Spaceweather.com for a video of the phenomenon and more information about the Martian brightening.
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS' RADIATION RISKS
July 09, 2018
On the heels of a new study showing that flight attendants have an elevated risk of cancer compared to the general population, Spaceweather.com and the students of "Earth to Sky Calculus" recently boarded a plane to New Zealand carrying an array of cosmic ray sensors. During their 13-hour flight across the South Pacific, the team detected secondary cosmic rays in the passenger compartment almost 40 times stronger than on the ground below. Their "haul" of radiation included a significant number of neutrons captured in portable bubble chambers. Read Spaceweather.com for the full story.
GREEN COMET APPROACHES
July 05, 2018
A comet that could become visible to the naked eye in August has exploded in brightness, suddenly increasing its luminosity 16-fold. Whatever happened on Comet PANSTARRS (C/2017 S3) on July 1 has given it an expanding green atmosphere almost twice the size of the planet Jupiter. Visit Spaceweather.com for pictures and more information about this approaching comet.
HACKERS TARGET HOME ROUTERS
May 25, 2018
JARON LANIER'S ARGUMENT FOR GETTING OFF FACEBOOK
May 19, 2018
POOL POLITICS: HIGH-TECH SWIMSUIT CONTROVERSY
May 11, 2018
MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY QUARANTINE
December 22, 2017
OROVILLE DAM REPAIR (VIDEOS)
October 28, 2017
High-Speed High-Rise
May 24, 2017
Password Managers: Hackers' Delight
March 16, 2017
Password managers are a pain to set up, but they make us feel safe. Read this story and think again!
Contest: Help MIT Solve World Problems
December 26, 2016
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) welcomes constructive ideas that might help solve the world's problems, grouped into four categories: LEARN, CURE, FUEL, MAKE. Contest winners in each category will go to the United Nations on March 7, 2017, to present their ideas. Learn more, read the challenges, and propose solutions at this link: SOLVE
Scary Sounds from Space
September 05, 2016
3D Virtual Reality: Look Ahead at Sea-Level Rise
August 03, 2016
New installation at Coyote Point in San Mateo lets visitors visualize how sea-level rise impacts bayside and coastside.
Internet Trolls, Smartphone Addiction
April 17, 2016
The San Francisco Chronicle "Insight" section Sunday, April 17, is loaded with goodies for anyone interested in social media, print media, Internet trolls, selfie obsessions, smartphone abuse, technology addiction, etc. Here are two of the best pieces:
Follow the International Space Station
April 17, 2016
Sign up here to get an email whenever the International Space Station passes overhead. Warning: Don't bother on foggy or cloudy nights.
Intelligence & Friendship: Paleo-Happiness for Smart People
March 21, 2016
Here's some intriguing new research on what makes smart people happier: Is it more friends or more space?
The Real Reason for Leap Year
February 28, 2016
It's complicated: part religion, part politics, part astrophysics. Historian and columnist Dr. Amanda Foreman explains at the link above.
Bay Bridge Designer: Fatal Flaws
October 03, 2015
Is Caltrans paying attention?