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pernicious

The Environment

Bad for People, Great for Plants

By Posted on 7.9.2008 12 Comments
Tell me this isn’t a summer blockbuster—as man faces the catastrophic effects of increased carbon dioxide levels, plants flourish. German researchers from the Thuenen Institute confirmed as much Tuesday, when they released findings showing that crop yields boom when plants are exposed to high levels of CO2. Jets sprayed the plants with extra CO2—enough to match the amount that scientists predict will fill the atmosphere by 2050—and the outputs of barley, beets and wheat jumped 10 percent.

7.9.2008 at 01:36pm - Comment by pernicious

I am almost at a loss for words because of this article. In my daily life we frequently burn different natural gas to release CO2 into our green houses. Guess what? It does increase yield, organic and other growers have know and executed this for years. At an average of 300ppm plants grow "normally", by burning the natural fuels and adding CO2 we create and environment with levels as high as 1500ppm of CO2. Nearly all aspects of the plants life improve under these conditions.
Technology

Genetic Material Found on Meteorite

By Posted on 6.16.2008 7 Comments
Although it's only one part of the answer, we have come another step closer to solving the question of how life originated. Two necessary molecular ingredients of DNA and RNA have been confirmed to have originated from outer space. They join the handful of amino acids we have discovered to have been delivered to Earth on the backs of asteroids and comets.

6.17.2008 at 01:38pm - Comment by pernicious

I know they are only precursors, but shouldn't we be more excited about this? Is it not a sign there is, or at least was other life out there? Also, wouldn't it mean we are different carbon based life forms that those which may have existed at the meteorite source?
The Environment

New Study: Flowers Attract Insects with Movement

By Posted on 5.8.2008 1 Comments
Flowers are known to attract pollinating insects through a variety of means, from alluring fragrances and nectar to vibrant colors and shapes. According to a new study in the Comment by pernicious

can someone make it so others can read this article. the read link is dead. until then heres a fixed one from the source: http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-05/new-study-flowers-attract-insects-movement

Science

The Littlest Big Bang

By Posted on 5.7.2008 9 Comments

The device is a cylinder a bit smaller than a pinky finger, filled with helium and cooled to just above absolute zero. Inside, a young universe—or something very much like one—evolves. As the helium sloshes about, it mimics a process that may have powered our own universe a few moments after the big bang. And once the fluid settles down, the little whirlpools that remain may be akin to the defects in early spacetime that ultimately gave rise to galaxies, stars and planets.

5.9.2008 at 01:39pm - Comment by pernicious

could someone please explain to me how it is they "watched" this process as stated in the article? also, as i understand it, wouldn't their observation of the experiment actually change the results and also render it different from the true Big Bang which one can only assume was absent of the "observer"?