Does farting lower blood pressure?

Well not quite. But according to an article on the BBC’s website researchers in Maryland have linked hydrogen sulphide, which gives flatulence its characteristic foul odour, to blood pressure. Read the full article here.

Space Elevators

Originally proposed, like so many of the inventions we now take for granted, by the late Arthur C Clarke, and picked up on subsequently by many SF authors, the Space Elevator may come one step closer to reality in November when a bunch of the world’s leading science experts meet in Japan to discuss feasibility of such a construction. Full article can be read over on Slice of Sci-Fi.

The Periodic Table of Videos

Boffins at the University of Nottingham in England have been busy putting together some short videos to cover every element in the Periodic Table. These are available on You Tube but can also be accessed by clicking on the appropriate element on the table on their dedicated site. It’s a while since I did chemistry at school so I might just check out some of them to refresh my memory, and find out more about those obscure ones most of us know very little, if anything, about.

(Link via BBC News site)

Acoustic Cloaks

As reported on the BBC’s website scientists in Spain are making breakthroughs in the future of soundproofing. Loads of practical uses for this, apart from the obvious military ones the technology will inevitably be used for. As pleasant as bird song is, during the day yes, not at 4 in the morning.

(Original link via VCTB)

What is Einstein’s Relativity?

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity made simple, by Michael Shirber, over on LiveScience.com

(Link via Slice of SciFi)

 

Get ready for the end of the world

Don’t Panic! Plenty of time to prepare. According to an article over on Space.com scientists have calculated that Planet Earth will cease to exist in about 7.6 billion years when it will be swallowed by the Sun’s expansion. Not that humanity is likely to be around to worry about this. We’ll probably be long gone by then, quite possibly from a gamma ray burst when the binary star system WR 104, 8000 light years away, goes supenova in few hundred thousand years, as reported in Cosmos Magazine.

(Links via Slice of SciFi and VCTB) 

Fly to the Northern Lights

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has announced plans to fly commercial passengers through the Aurora Borealis. Departing from Kiruna in northern Sweden the proposed 2 hour flight will cost a mere £100,000. Full story here.

Airships

Fantasy and SF fiction of late seems to have fallen in love with airships, the big hydrogen filled dirigibles of the ’30s which fell out of service after the Hindenberg disaster in 1937. Those who have a desire to experience this mode of transport can now do so once again. All you have to do is get yourself to Japan, where you can enjoy a 90 minute flight over Tokyo for a mere £550 daytime and about a third again for a night-time trip.

For more information visit zeppelintours.com

If We Had No Moon

An informative article from scientist Bernard Foing featured on the Astrobiology Magazine site.

(Link via SF Signal) 

Camping on the Moon

NASA have developed an inflatable tent to potentially provide astronauts with living and working accomodation on future expeditions to the Moon or Mars. Check out the BBC report here.