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Nerding It Up: The Science Times
By
Kapil Desai
Published Jul 11, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Kapil Desai
Published Jul 11, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Ah Tuesday, how we love you. One day closer to the weekend, one day further from the regrets of last weekend, and the day that brings us the New York Times Science Section. For those too busy or cool to read it, allow us break it down for you.
+ Another inconvenient truth: We’d better do our best to save the glaciers, lest they become killer waves. Giant walls of water typically gain our attention when they hit our shores, leaving behind decimated villages, pools of little drink umbrellas and locals trying to find coffins large enough to accommodate corpulent western tourists. But so-called rogue waves, giant waves that roam the oceans, rarely form near land but are still devastating forces, capsizing many a ship. Averaging about 100 feet in height, ten such waves are felt to be traveling around the world’s seas at this moment. Here’s how a wave is born.
+Sometimes it is just birdcrap. Since the Columbia space shuttle disaster, the eggheads at NASA have done such a good job in developing their inspection equipment, they’ve actually succeeded in creating far more work for themselves. Thanks to these super-sophisticated tools, they’re now able to pick up on every slight flaw and scuff mark on the craft, even if completely meaningless (i.e. birdcrap). So on that note, the official agency word is that the 1 x 1 foot foam panel that was placed on Discovery (for a reason, we figure) and fell off during its launch last week wasn’t very important. Let’s hope.
+ Things we learned about Francis Crick this week: Before he was a Nobel Prize winning genetics geek, he was a military physics geek. He enjoyed marijuana, LSD, and pornographic pottery. And he and James Watson kissed and made up in the end. Don’t know who they are? Go back to high school bio or click here.
+ Newsflash: Doctor grows a human bladder, farmer grows grass.
+ Want to see video of that soccer guy headbutting that other soccer guy? How about one of the new lizard and snake exhibit at the Museum of Natural History instead?
+ Want to lose your clunky, hip glasses? Of course you don’t. But here’s everything you wanted to know about Lasik.
+ Meet some paper that's smarter than you.
+ Guess what? If you’re drunk enough, you might not notice a gorilla in front of you.
+ Javan rhinos are going instinctextinct and it's your fault - and kind of their fault.
+ Finally, we all know the world revolves around you, but did you know that it wobbles too?
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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