Article Archive for February 2009
Rapid Darwinian Evolution
Simply stated, Darwin told us that evolution revolves around the survival of the fittest – those least fit don’t make it, and therefore they don’t leave offspring. Those most fit will prosper, and their offspring will inherit the genes that gave them that advantage.
Most experts would say that evolution is a slow process. Some say it can happen rapidly (see “punctuated equilibrium“). I figure both are correct – it can happen fast, medium or slow. The more extreme the circumstances, the more rapid the evolution.
In late 2007 SciAm published an opinion piece that highlights just how rapidly evolution can occur:
Brought to Queensland in 1935 to combat beetles infesting sugarcane fields, the [Cane]toads have spread out from their point of entry like the shock waves of a bomb, warty legs and oversize tongues jettisoned into every conceivable ecological crack.
…Recent research… has shown that the toads are evolving as they spread, perfecting …
Spooky Action from Supernova in 3113BC?
Swiss physicists have unleashed a large-scale experiment that proves what Einstein described as “spooky action at a distance.” Although this has been proven previously, this is the first time it has been shown to work over a long distance.
From Geneva they sent a pair of photons along fiber-optic cables, one to each village. When they measured one photon upon its arrival, the other changed instantaneously —though it was 11 miles away. This weird linkage, called quantum entanglement, raises exotic possibilities like teleportation. When two particles are entangled, the measurement of one immediately affects the other, no matter how distant.
…One might assume that one particle sent an ultrafast signal to its partner, says physicist Nicolas Gisin, a member of the University of Geneva team. If that were true, the quantum communiqué would have traveled at more than 10,000 times the speed of light, something difficult to reconcile with the known laws …
LHC is still safe – probably
The underlying fear of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is that it is too experimental for any scientist to truly understand the risks.
Originally we were told that it was impossible for black holes (that could gobble up the entire planet) to be created, because they “would decay before they got the chance to do any damage”.
This has been updated to:
“the growth of black holes to catastrophic size does not seem possible.”
“the expected decay times are much longer (and possibly ≫ 1 sec) than is typically predicted by other models”
By “other models” this scientist is referring to his own previous study which announced that a black hole could not last longer than one second. I find it disturbing that the language used to describe the safety has changed slightly, has become less iron-clad.
Unidentified Flash from Space
Supernovae usually flare for 3-7 weeks, so scientists don’t think SCP 06F6 is one, as it “continued to brighten over the next 100 days, peaked, and then finally faded to oblivion over another 100 days.”
According to the report at Wired:
The scientists can tell very little about the source of the flash — not even how far away it is, or how intrinsically bright. That means it could have come from some event in our own galaxy, or from some distant region of the universe. There is no visible star or galaxy at the site of flash to offer hints of what caused it.
Since the astronomers first announced the mystery sighting, many experts have offered guesses about what type of phenomenon could be behind it. Suggestions include a new type of supernova (such as the collapse and explosion of a unique star), a collision between a white dwarf star and a …
Solar Cycle 24 – revised prediction says not as bad
On the left is a prediction by NASA scientist Dr. David Hathaway, from 2006, of the intensity of the next solar cycle, peaking in 2012.
On the right is his revised opinion – that it will less next time round, not more. The changes are quite dramatic:
Hathaway’s predicted Cycle 24 maximum in March 2006: 145Hathaway’s predicted Cycle 24 maximum in October 2008: 137Hathaway’s predicted Cycle 24 maximum in January 2009: 104
…and highlight how difficult it is to predict – basically because they know very little about how it all works. Don’t be surprised if the sunspot maximum is 200 or 50, or even zero.
His official solar prediction page is at NASA. I was alerted to it by WhatsUpWithThat.com.
2012: Science or Superstition – A Review
2012: Science or Superstition (2008), directed by Rich Rosell.
Experts interviewed include: Walter Cruttenden, Graham Hancock, John Major Jenkins, Lawrence E. Joseph, Jim Marrs, Daniel Pinchbeck, Douglas Rushkoff, Dr. Alberto Villoldo & John Anthony West
2012: Science or Superstition is the latest 2012 documentary, and the best I have seen to date. It ticks many boxes:
numerous 2012-related authors interviewed
calm, not sensationalist
suitable for newbies, but plenty of food for thought for 2012 veterans
happy skepticism included
As any serious doco should, both sides are presented – those that are predicting an apocalypse, and those who believe humans will be entering a new age of consciousness.
To give you an idea of the roster of quality interviewees, 12 are named on the DVD cover, and Robert Bauval didn’t make that list. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of Alonso Mendez from the Maya Exploration Center), and the cheeky archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni (he’s the skeptic, but acting like …
