• Science

    On My Bookshelf

    By Paul Adams Posted on 10.22.2008 6 Comments

    In our office is a bookshelf. On that bookshelf are all the books we get sent to review. Most of them won't end up on curriculum book lists, but here are some of my favorites.

  • The Environment

    Deepest-Dwelling Life Forms Found

    By Matt Ransford Posted on 5.27.2008 3 Comments

    The Archaea group of organisms has just gotten a little bigger—and quite a bit deeper. Known to scientists as extremophiles—organisms which live in places inhospitable to other forms of life—the Archaea group is home to many single-celled creatures capable of thriving in environments of exceptional temperature, pressure, and acidity. The latest member has been discovered off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, under 2.8 miles of water and a mile of rock. Previously, the deepest these organisms had been found underground was half as far.

  • Gadgets

    Secret Bass

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 6.5.2008 2 Comments

    Sony’s petite SRS-ZX1 computer speakers produce outsize bass for their dimensions (7.5 by 3.1 by 7 inches). But the company’s press release had us stumped. It said that the speakers amplify low tones by directing sound along a Möbius strip, a flat strip twisted 180 degrees and joined at the ends. One problem: A Möbius strip is a two-dimensional closed loop. How would sound get in or out?

  • Science

    Growing Bone the Easy Way

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 6.5.2008 1 Comments

    Vitamins may soon be a thing of the past. Researchers at Imperial College have developed a new type of glass that dissolves harmlessly in the body and promotes calcium growth. As the bioactive material dissipates, it releases silica and calcium ions into the body. If released at the correct rate, these can activate genes responsible for producing calcium—a near-panacea for an otherwise healthy aging body.

  • Gadgets

    The Goods: June 2008

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 6.5.2008 1 Comments

    In each issue, PopSci rounds up the must-have products for the month. This June, check out dozens of the hottest new products: from the smallest pro camera to a eco-friendly mower to a frame that prints out its shots.

  • Gadgets

    Call of the Mild

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 6.5.2008 4 Comments

    On a scale of outdoor bravado, I fall closer to Disney’s River Country then Sean Penn’s Into the Wild. But, I wasn’t about to let a lack of Eagle Scout skills keep from enjoying and evaluating a new backpack from Skull Candy. So this past Memorial Day, I took my own urban hike through downtown San Francisco from barbecue to beachfront. The Link Hydro Pack features two key components intended for the enjoyment by “mountain bikers, hikers and snow enthusiasts,” but easily altered to enhance a weekend of burgers, beaches and perhaps a few cold brews: speakers and a ½ gallon hydration pack. Appropriate usage of the hydration pack requires no direction or formal training. More tactful and subtle then the beer helmet yet equally potent, our chosen form of hydration remained chilled after several hours in the sun.

  • The Environment

    Parasitic Pollution

    By Matt Ransford Posted on 6.5.2008 3 Comments

    Toxoplasma gondii is one of the fascinating little parasitic creatures capable of changing the natural behavoir of its infected host. It needs to live in a cat in order to reproduce, but the rest of its life cycle can be spent in just about any warm-blooded animal. When it makes its way into a rat or mouse, for example, it has the peculiar ability to render the rodent unafraid of cats and even drawn to their scent. This powerful evolutionary trait increases the T. gondii's chances of reproduction—a mouse hanging around with cats is obviously likely to be eaten.

  • The Environment

    Diseased Ballast Water

    By Matt Ransford Posted on 6.5.2008 1 Comments

    As a cargo ship empties or takes on load, its ballast tanks fill or release water in order to balance the boat properly. Ballast is generally needed to increase the draft of a vessel (how deeply it sits in the water) so that its propellers are adequately submerged. The consequence of taking on these huge quantities of water is that they are most frequently released in environments thousands of miles from where they originated, when a ship reaches its destination.

  • Gadgets

    Battle of the Internet Video Boxes: Netflix vs. Apple TV vs. Vudu

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 6.4.2008 9 Comments

    We live in interesting TV times. DVD players are as common as toasters. Basic Blu-ray players offer high-def flicks at prices we can (almost) afford. And now, if you can’t bother to go to the store or wait for a disc to arrive, you finally have some enticing download options. The biggest news, of course, is the recent arrival of Roku's streaming Netflix Player, which is finally giving the company a service to match its name. The Netflix Player joins two other on-demand boxes: Vudu, which premiered last September, and Apple TV, which got upgraded to a movie-playing box in February. So, what’s the best way to go?

  • The Environment

    Eco Alert: Sunscreen Causes Coral Damage

    By Megan Miller Posted on 5.30.2008 6 Comments

    Climate change, urban and industrial pollution, mining and overfishing are just some of the threats to coral reefs worldwide. A recent European Commission study now adds sunscreen lotions to that list. The paper states that up to ten percent of the world’s coral reefs—composed of marine organisms with external skeletons—are subject to bleaching due to chemicals in the sunscreens worn by beach-going tourists.

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