defense
milhayser | January 20, 2010
If not always wieldy, armor offers great protection against teeth, talons and pincers--not to mention blades, bullets and shrapnel. On Not Exactly Rocket Science, Ed Yong reports that a deep sea snail has evolved one of the toughest shells on the planet, a three-layer system that has scientists rethinking the possibilities of human armor. These creatures must survive "highly acidic water, scorching temperatures and crushing pressures"—as well as prying crabs—and have made the most of their unique environment in doing so. Brian Switek shows us a mammalian version of armor on Laelaps, in…
emjohnson | August 5, 2009Japanese artists' depiction of the horrors at Hiroshima.Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped "Little Boy," the first of only two nuclear bombs ever used in warfare, on the Japanese civilians at Hiroshima. In an instant flash of light an estimated 140,000 people were either incinerated or suffered an agonizing death that lasted several days. The standard mythology is that President Truman dropped the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki (three days later on August 9) in order to avoid having to send half a million American soliders to their deaths in a…
amillikan | April 9, 2009How accurately can medical professionals distinguish post-traumatic stress disorder from related conditions? Is it better to be safe than sorry, or is overdiagnosis hurting patients rather than helping them? These are some questions that ScienceBlogger and freelance journalist David Dobbs addressed in his article in the April edition of Scientific American, bringing light to data that suggests PTSD may be grossly overdiagnosed in soldiers returning from combat. The article's publication has prompted thoughtful discussion with counter examples that led Dobbs to the conclusion that PTSD is…
amillikan | March 14, 2009
When will humans turn over the job of war to robot slaves? According to Peter W Singer, author of the new book Wired for War, it's happening already. In this week's Science Saturday, Peter and John Horgan discuss the role of robots in the success of the Iraq surge and whether America is starting to look like a bit like Skynet to the people of the Middle East. They also discuss reasons to fear the coming of cyborgs and whether robots might not someday bring about the end of war.
amillikan | December 12, 2008What should humanity anticipate from WWIII? To find out, check out the Invitrogen-sponsored ScienceBlog, What's New in Life Science Research. This week our group of experts and seasoned ScienceBloggers will explore the way biological warfare is developing in our modern world as new technologies emerge—and what we should do to defend ourselves.
sarahdasher | February 8, 2007Researchers at Purdue University have created a portable refinery that converts food, paper and plastic trash into electricity. The prototype biorefinery generates approximately 90 percent more energy than it consumes.
Its efficiency owes to a series of steps:
1. Separate organic food material from residual trash, such as paper, plastic, Styrofoam and cardboard.
2. Ferment food waste into ethanol with industrial yeast.
3. Transfer non-food waste to a gasifier, where it is heated under low-oxygen conditions until it breaks down into low-grade propane gas and methane.
4. Combust gas (from non-…