Science
StarTalk: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Sits Down With GZA (Of Wu-Tang Clan)
November 28, 2016
I’m continually impressed that much of the GZA content we share on here places just as much a premium on high intellect and science as it does on skillz. Watch world-renown new school science guy Neil deGrasse Tyson talk with GZA; really getting into real-life love of science, being inspired by it, and how it can (and should) inspire others.
– @ojones1
Posted in Celebrity, Education, Hip-Hop, Interview, Podcast, Radio, Science, Series, Videos | 
Tags: Gza, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Star Talk, StarTalk, Wu-Tang Clan | 
No Comments »
Turkeys Have Doubled In Size Since The 1940s (Video)
November 20, 2016
Okay, if you are planning on eating a big azz turkey for the holidays, you may not want to watch this. But, of course, now you feel like you HAVE to watch, right?
The Thanksgiving turkey on your table looks nothing like the one your grandparents ate as kids.
But bigger does not always mean better. When it comes to turkeys nowadays, it’s probably rarely going to mean better; especially when you learn the how and why your holiday turkey is so huge. Maybe spend a bit more to get a turkey raised the old-fashioned way. Maybe…
Posted in Health and Wellness, History, Investigation, Science, Videos | Tags: Frankenbird, Frankensteined, Frankenturkey, Holiday, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving turkey, TURKEY, turkeys have gotten bigger, Vox | No Comments »
This Ice Cave Never Thaws (Video)
November 15, 2016
Stalagmites – those are the ones that come up from the ground – of ice. A cave full of them and ice stalactites (from the ceiling) that never melt. Looks so serene. Beautiful.
Hidden in the mountains of China’s Shanxi Province, the Ningwu ice caves stay frozen all year. These caves, dating back more than three million years, boast icefalls and walls stretching hundreds of feet below the surface. Come explore this spectacular frozen sanctuary.
– @ojones1
Posted in Environment, Nature, Science, Travel, Videos | Tags: China, Ice Cave, Ningwu, Ningwu ice caves, Shanxi, Shanxi Province | No Comments »
NASA: Futuristic Aircraft Design (Video)
October 31, 2016
Airlines are going so far nowadays as to ask passengers to go ‘potty’ before takeoff to make the plane lighter overall. Every little bit counts. Ha!
Seriously. Lighter… as well as more powerful & efficient, more resilient, less pollutant-producing… all goals for airlines. Such are also hallmarks of futuristic air transportation tech. So you gotta know NASA is all over it. Matter of fact, it is likely that research-heavy NASA is leading in many ways. Watch this documentary on how.
Posted in Business, Education, Environment, Science, Technology, Videos | Tags: Advanced Aircraft, aircraft design, Educational Videos, Full Documentary, Future, Futuristic, NASA | No Comments »
Reading Body Language: A Quick Guide (Video)
October 28, 2016
Maybe this will help folks understand why I tell them, “I need to straighten my glasses so I can see what you are saying.” The rest of your body speaks as much as your mouth does in ways that count.
Personal interactions with others are often draped in nuance. Here are some ways to read the unspoken things people say with their bodies.
– Tech Insider
Scientists, law enforcement, the intelligence community, your parents, your significant other… they all know. Get this knowledge. Learn something about reading people, people. And maybe understand how people are reading you!
– @ojones1
Science: Can Anything Move Faster Than The Speed Of Light? (Video)
October 28, 2016
Duuuude! Prepare to make the jump to light speed… and beyond! Just the other day, a Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon ep made mention of tachyon particles. Them shiz is REAL??? Well, kinda. The concept of tachyons existing exists… in science. And nerds (like me) see it on Star Trek, and get worked up about. Uh oh…Here we go. I’ve said it to others, and now I will say it again here: If you want a fantasy to become a reality, get the geeks excited about it!
When Albert Einstein said that nothing travels faster than the speed of light, he didn’t talk about objects that could already be traveling faster than light. This is a mind-boggling idea that some physicists have explored over the years, and they call these hypothetical particles tachyons.
We recently spoke with Columbia University theoretical physicist Brian Greene about these faster-than-light particles. Here’s what he had to say on the matter.
– Tech Insider
One day. Maybe one day, this will be a real conversation. Remember that thing a Yeoman would always bring the Captain on Star Trek to sign-off on? Tell me that wasn’t fictional model for iPad and tablet technology! Only thing is in this case, we won’t be “inventing” tachyons as much as discovering them.
But you gotta know a thing might exist to start looking for it, right? Dope science!
– @ojones1
Neil deGrasse Tyson Speaks On How Politicians ‘Cherry-Pick’ What They Want From Science (Video)
October 21, 2016
Come here kids politicians. Uncle Neil is NOT happy with you. Stop abusing the science. Matter of fact, if you aren’t gonna use it right, DON’T TOUCH IT!
Science is often the topic of heated debates between politicians, but Neil deGrasse Tyson really dislikes it when politicians do this one thing when it comes to science.
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, Celebrity, Education, Politics, Science, Videos | Tags: cherry picking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, POLITICIANS, Tech Insider | No Comments »
Cornell University’s Dr. Alan Hedge Takes A Firm Stance On How You Should Sit (Video)
October 5, 2016
All these years, we are thinking that the best seated posture was feet flat on the ground, back straight at 90 degrees (perpendicular) to the chair base. Naaaaah, son! That not the science…
There’s a lot of false information about the proper posture you need to use when sitting at a desk. Cornell University ergonomics professor Dr. Alan Hedge sets out why the 90Ëš rule does more damage than good, and what the proper way to sit at your desk is.
Seems like office chairs, just like those outside work, are for chillin’ (like in Altwork’s The Station, which we posted on here). That makes for a productive worker.
– @ojones1
How To Rid Your Mouth Of Morning Breath (Video)
October 4, 2016
See what you get for free. Sure I am out here looking for the models for you, trying to get y’all woke on poli-sci (politics) and sci-fi (science fiction, that may well be science FACT soon enough)… yeah, all that. But know for some practical science. Science you can apply to daily life. Applied science is what physics is. And to think, I did not do well in physics in school. But I got this ‘physics’ lesson for you right here.
Everyone experiences morning breath now and again, it’s a fact of life. But if some mornings you find that your breath is so bad that you’re scaring your pets, maybe you should take some advice from ear, nose, and throat specialist, Dr. Erich Voigt.
– Tech Insider
Watch now. Slay that ‘dragon breath’ homie. Some things mints can’t kill. Haaaaa!
– @ojones1
Posted in Health and Wellness, Science, Videos | Tags: bad breath, Erich Voigt, Get rid of morning breath, morning breath, Tech Insider | No Comments »
Science: Why Don’t Ants Get Stuck In Traffic? (Video)
September 30, 2016
More smart programming produced by PBS Digital Studios. Brilliant insights in this vid on what ants have to teach us about building efficient traffic networks. Such simple solutions, but many seem impossible. Because they are? NO.
Because…us!
Just watch, and maybe remember this the next time you’re stuck in that road jam downtown.
Posted in Animation, Environment, Human Interest, Investigation, Lecture, Science, Series, Technology, Travel, Videos | Tags: Ants, It's Okay To Be Smart, PBS Digital Studios, traffic, Why Don't Ants Get Stuck In Traffic? | No Comments »
Science: The Sun Isn’t Actually Yellow (Video)
September 30, 2016
Okay, if the sun is a star, and all the other stars we see are white, why is the sun yellow. Because… it’s NOT! Peep the science. Then (deep breath) somebody’s gotta tell Superman.
Think about the color of the sun. You thought “yellow” right? Well, the physics of light is playing a little trick on you. It all depends on where you are.
– Tech Insider
– @ojones1
Posted in Science, Series, Videos | Tags: Tech Insider, The sun isn’t actually yellow | No Comments »
How Can You Tell If Someone Is Lying? (Video)
September 26, 2016
Okay. This is FASCINATING! Being able to divine the truth, or at least determine when someone is lying is the stuff of great spy stories, war movies, epic action-dramas, even sci-fi/superhero blockbusters… Captain America and the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. could have certainly used a lot more of lie spotting early on in “The Winter Soldier” right?
(By the way, if you haven’t already, you reeeeally should check out the BEST MARVEL UNIVERSE FILM TO DATE – “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”)
Deception can destroy confidence. Pamela Myer, the author of “Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception” and one of the most popular Ted Talks of all time, has made a career developing interview techniques and identifying verbal and non-verbal cues a person trying to lie to you might exhibit.
But let’s bring this skill back down to Earth. Consider how your parents (or you readers who are parents) utilize lie spotting day-to-day. How does a mom know when her child is lying about where she was this afternoon? How does pops already know about those scratches on the car door did NOT just ‘happen at the supermarket’? Or let’s get real-life: How can an investigator know if a person of interest is telling the truth or not… or how might a spy counter lie spotting techniques?
Or to get really real… How will you determine whether the candidates are answering truthfully during the U.S. Presidential Debate?
(Tonight at 9PM EST. I’ll be watching on PBS – available on TV or online here.)
– @ojones1
Posted in Education, Human Interest, Lecture, Politics, Science, Videos | Tags: Baseline, Baselining, Body Language, cognitive load, cues, cues to drill down further, Detect Deception, equivocating, euphemisms, How to spot a liar, How to watch the first presidential debate, How to watch the presidential debate, Indicators of Deceipt, leakage, Liespotting, Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception, Non-contracted denial, non-verbal cues, nonverbal cues, overemphasizing truthfulness, overly specific denial, Pamela Myer, proof of deception, Proven Techniques to Detect Deception, qualifying language, Tech Insider, tells, The Keys To Lie Spotting, verbal cues | 1 Comment »
Science Can Tell You How And When You Will Die (Video)
September 9, 2016
Science, statistics, and lifestyle can help predict how you will die!
Wow. So… Soften the subject with some cornball music why don’cha… Well, by now you know that death is a fact of life for us all. Not one we choose to focus on a lot, in fact, even when ‘your time’ comes you probably want it to happen unexpectedly, fast, and painlessly… but not for a long time yet. But is that how it will likely go? Turns out that science can let you know.
(Did you know that the macabre topic of mortality is studied by more than just researchers and medical doctors? How about insurance companies and government agencies like the Social Security Administration. Actually, SSA has a document actually called an Actuarial Life Table.)
Posted in Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Science, Videos | Tags: Actuarial Life Table, Actuary, Asap SCIENCE, AsapSCIENCE, cause of death, developed nation, developing nation, health insurance, Healthcare, How Will You Die, insurance, life insurance, Mortality, Prediction, predictors, Social Security Administration, SSA, statistics, Survival, western world | No Comments »
Science: Just Over In The Next Galaxy, Could Proxima B Support Life? (Video)
August 25, 2016
Watch this video with the hope of a sci-fi space explorer, knowing that science fiction becomes science fact more & more nowadays. Astronomers have made a startling discovery, the full implications of which are yet to be figured out: A planet they call Proxima B, thought to be orbiting a red dwarf star (Proxima Centauri) in a “nearby” galaxy, could (emphasis on could) be Earth-like enough to support life as we know it!! Watch the video, and ponder the possibilities.
(Oh, don’t pack your spacesuit just yet, though. We’re talking a distance of four light years. In other words, it would take four years for light to make the trip. So…we need somebody to invent warp or light-speed travel first…then have four years worth of ‘road trip’ music on deck.)
Posted in Science, Series, Videos | Tags: exoplanet, life-supporting planet, nature video, Proxima b, Proxima Centauri, The exoplanet next door | No Comments »
Technology: Transparent Solar Cells Designed To Turn Invisible UV Rays Into Renewable Energy Gains We Can See (Video)
August 15, 2016
Research at Michigan State University has yielded designs for a transparent solar panel capable of capturing solar energy. Professor Richard Lunt, MSU assistant professor and head of the research team, believes that the panel can be used in a variety of ways – like on tall buildings with lots of windows or mobile devices. The ultimate goal is to harvest solar energy via surfaces in such a way that people do not even notice (according to a press statement from Lunt).
Most solar panels capture visible spectrum light, letting invisible ultraviolet waves – the bigger portion of the spectrum – go to waste. The transparent luminescent solar concentrator (TLSC) doesn’t capture visible light, but non-visible ultraviolet waves are absorbed by the device, converted, and sent to the edge of the concentrator, where photovoltaic (PV) solar cells convert light energy to electricity.
One caveat: Right now the TLSC is performing at around 1% efficiency, but the MSU team believes that 5% optimization is achievable. Currently, non-transparent luminescent concentrators (current tech) max out at 7% efficiency.
But before you get pessimistic about the low numbers, compare them to using ZERO percent of the abundant untapped energy that we are being drenched in daily!
Posted in Environment, Science, Technology, Videos | Tags: invisible ultraviolet rays, Michigan State University, MSU, Renewable Energy, Richard Lunt, solar panel, TLSC, TomoNews, TomoNews US, transparent luminescent solar concentrator, Transparent solar panel, ultraviolet rays, UV energy, UV rays | No Comments »
What Happens After A Bullet Is Fired Straight Up (Video)
August 15, 2016
Straight up. The question of whether or not firing bullets into the air is harmless is one worth answering, especially with the occasions we have for revelers to pop that kind of firework on holidays. Well, most of us did not actually need a video to tell us but… if you are or aren’t sure, watch.
By the way, on this whole gun rights and gun control discussion: RESPONSIBILITY is part of it. Obey our laws! Beyond that, discussion of what criminals may or may not do is noise. For those who have the guns lawfully, though, responsibility is a MUST! Buy and use fireworks properly (or go to a ‘show’) if you just want to hear loud pop-pop-pop. Better yet, take in a movie. Rent “Heat” and watch Deniro and Pacino ‘n’em let them thangs go! Nobody gets hurt. But if you point and shoot in the air, chances are someone could.
(That music though. Whyyyyy?)
– @ojones1
Posted in Animation, Education, Science, Videos | Tags: celebratory gunfire, fireworks, Firing a bullet straight up, Gun Control, gun ownership, gun safety, gunfire, Tech Insider | No Comments »
Researchers Are Developing Implantable Sensors As Small As A Grain Of Sand That Can Monitor Vitals (Video)
August 4, 2016
Medical professionals have got to know that among the things that suck about what they do for us patients is the discomfort due to invasive procedures to even figure out what’s going on in those they treat. Well, looks like someone up the line has been working the problem. Maybe we will get that Star Trek medical tricorder where docs don’t have to even touch you to diagnose one day. This tech right here though, coming soon.
University of California, Berkeley engineers have built the first dust-sized, wireless sensors that can be implanted in the body, bringing closer the day when a Fitbit-like device could monitor internal nerves, muscles or organs in real time.
The so-called neural dust, which the team implanted in the muscles and peripheral nerves of rats, is unique in that ultrasound is used both to power and read out the measurements. Ultrasound technology is already well-developed for hospital use, and ultrasound vibrations can penetrate nearly anywhere in the body, unlike radio waves, the researchers say.
“I think the long-term prospects for neural dust are not only within nerves and the brain, but much broader,” said Michel Maharbiz, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and one of the study’s two main authors. “Having access to in-body telemetry has never been possible because there has been no way to put something super tiny superdeep. But now I can take a speck of nothing and park it next to a nerve or organ, your GI tract or a muscle, and read out the data.”
Nice.
NASA Puts Its Money Where It’s Satellite Is: Burning Up A Billion-Dollar Probe To Protect Alien Life (Video)
July 29, 2016
Once again, Star Trek gives science the blueprint. Remember the Prime Directive (prohibiting Starfleet personnel from interfering with the internal development of alien civilizations? Well, NASA is following that in purest form and intention!
NASA’s Juno probe successfully began orbiting Jupiter on July 4. The spacecraft has 37 orbits to go before it burns up on purpose — to protect potential aliens.
Holy self-destruct, NASA! We don’t even want to risk exposing any potential alien life to our Earth germs. And before you grumble about that being billion-dollar overkill, Google how ill the Native Americans got shortly after being ‘exposed’ to European explorers ALIENS waaaaay before Star Trek.
The Myth Of Race (Video)
July 22, 2016
Race is not ‘real’ per se. It is made up… In medical science and diagnoses, it is actually ‘made up’ of (e.g. referring to) several contributing factors – like where your ancestors came from and social pressures exerted on the people considered to be part of the same cultural group as you. But just because it is not real (that is, having no distinguishing DNA identifier from person-to-person) does not mean it is not important.
You may know exactly what race you are, but how would you prove it if somebody disagreed with you? Jenée Desmond Harris explains.
– Vox
Posted in Education, Science, Videos | Tags: debunked, debunked in 3 minutes, Jenée Desmond Harris, Race, The myth of race, Vox | No Comments »
Performance Enhancement: ‘Sex Shorts’ Help Men Train The Pelvic Floor (Video)
July 14, 2016
For real? Pelvic floor exercises. Well, the ladies have their Kegels to do. Now, the technology exists for men to (pause) keep it tight (double pause). Nah, not saying any more here. Watch and let the video tell you what the hell these VylyV smart pelvic training shorts are supposed to do.
(Want to keep a strong schlong? There’s an app for that. BWAAAHAHAAAAA!)
