Category Archives: Current events

2014 is coming! Are we ready for it?

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Science fiction author David Brin has argued here and elsewhere that the defining year that begins a new century is not the year ending in 00, but the year ending in 14. It’s an intriguing trend. After World War I … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, General, Welcome to the Future | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 2014 is coming! Are we ready for it?

Government reopens, NASA back on track

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

On Wednesday, the US Congress passed a budget deal reopening the government and avoiding the much worse debt ceiling collision by only a couple of hours. Of course, we can expect loads more fun when the short-term deal runs out … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Space exploration | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Government reopens, NASA back on track

Confirmed! 9 lost episodes of Doctor Who recovered

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Doctor Who is an excellent British science fiction show about the titular time traveling alien, which has enthralled audiences literally for generations with the help of (depending how you count them) 13 lead actors. It celebrates its 50th anniversary next … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Fiction | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Confirmed! 9 lost episodes of Doctor Who recovered

Government shuts down: now what?

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

By now, you’ve probably heard that the United States government is shut down, having failed to pass a budget, something that last happened in 1996. I’ll spare the annoying political details and just say that neither of the two parties … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Space exploration | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Government shuts down: now what?

Kepler Mission officially retires from planet hunting

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Today, NASA announced that the Kepler Spacecraft has been officially retired from its primary mission of looking for Earth-like planets around other stars. Two of the spacecraft’s four reaction wheels–basically gyroscopes that keep it pointed straight–have failed in the past … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Planets, Space exploration | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Kepler Mission officially retires from planet hunting

Comet ISON update

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken new images of Comet ISON, a sungrazing comet that, it is hoped, will become the brightest comet in living memory this December. The video above is probably the best look we’ll get at ISON … Continue reading →

Posted in Comets, Current events, Stargazing | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Supreme Court rules human genes are not patentable

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

In what is widely seen as a victory for science and medical research, as well as common sense, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously today that human genes cannot be patented. (Read the opinion here.) At issue … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Current events, Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Supreme Court rules human genes are not patentable

Boston, Reddit, and the problem of quality control

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

By now, you probably know all about the bombings at the Boston Marathon last week that left 3 people dead and 176 injured. It has its own Wikipedia page now, if you’re not up to speed. In the ensuing investigation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Technology | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Boston, Reddit, and the problem of quality control

Improbable meteor causes chaos in Russia

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

If you had told me 24 hours ago that this would happen in my lifetime, I would have been skeptical–most of all that a meteoroid of this size could punch deep enough into the atmosphere to do any serious damage. … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Meteors | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Improbable meteor causes chaos in Russia

2012 DA14 will pass us by, but what is the risk from elsewhere?

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

You may have heard that an asteroid called 2012 DA14 will pass close by Earth this Friday, dipping below our ring of communications satellites at just 28,000 km (17,000 miles). At 50 meters wide (half the size of a football … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Meteors, Space | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 2012 DA14 will pass us by, but what is the risk from elsewhere?