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POPS"Supercomputers could revolutionize science more profoundly than at any time since Galileo" Supercomputing has made huge advances over the last decade or so, gradually packing on the ability to handle more and more data points in increasingly complex ways. It has enabled scientists to test theories, design experiments and predict outcomes as never before. But now, the new class of petaflop-scale machines is poised to bring about major qualitative changes in the way science is done. "The new capability allows you to do fundamentally new physics and tackle new problems," said Thomas Zacharia, who heads up computer science at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee"And it will accelerate the transition from basic research to applied technology
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POPSWhat Makes People Racist? The researchers say that negative associations likely have such power in most people's minds because evolution prepared us to notice bad things more than good things. “If there’s a lion hiding in a bush, you’d better see it,” . “Whereas if there’s a tree of mangoes, it’s unfortunate if you don’t notice it, but it’s not as critical to your survival. ” Since each negative association has more weight in the brain, one must overcompensate with many positive links just to get back to neutral. The psychologists aren’t clear on why some people don’t make negative associations, but they are looking for genetic and social factors that predict it. Unfortunately, other research shows that simply wanting to be less negative -- or less racist -- won't actually work. You have to do something about it. The best way to become less racist, say psychologists, is to spend time with the very people you're prejudiced against.
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POPSThe Financial Cost of Feeling "Lerner says she and her colleagues worry about this, and their many media appearances since the study was announced are in part an effort to help make consumers more aware. That way, says Lerner, when people shop, “they aren’t victims of their sad moods"
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POPSNano Superbug-Killers -Identifies Bacteria That Have Become Resistant to Antibiotics The drugs to be tested work by latching onto the bacteria and literally ripping its cell wall to pieces, exposing the vulnerable core to destruction by the surrounding environment. When a drug can latch onto the mucopeptide, it bends the cantilever and alters the reflection of the laser. The response to the drug can be observed almost instantly. While this technique only works for surface-latching antibiotics (by no means the only antibiotic mechanism), Professor McKendry and colleagues are already planning an upgrade where entire bacterial cells will be pinned to the nano-lever and stretched by drugs.
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POPSFaroe Islands Barbarity abounds on the beautiful islands of Faroe. Can we excuse the bloodthirsty slaughter of these intelligent creatures on the basis that animals in food production also suffer, or that it's part of their culture, as some people do? Of course not! Quite apart from the fact that two wrongs do not make a right, if we justified this barbarity on the grounds of culture we'd also have to accept the practice of child marriage, suttee, clitorendectomies etc. Note too that the meat is not eaten...the animals are left to rot because heavy metal contamination renders their meat useless for human consumption according to EU standards for for human food. Aren't we a wonderful species - NOT!
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POPSExploding One Myth about Auto Makers Collapse We've all heard the claim. Only domestically produced automobiles aren't being sold in the US. But that's a myth. Sales of imports are on the skids as well. The current crisis of the automobile industry is indicative of the US' recessionary economy. It's as simple as that.
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POPSToy Helicopters Hover Over Whales to Monitor Health The findings aren't enough to establish patterns of illness because years of monitoring are required, she said. `We can't really say that animals are sick: finding bacteria or a fungus or a virus doesn't imply that an animal is sick, it just implies that it's infected,'' she said. ``That's exactly why we need a long-term study..."
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POPSinteresting two minute video on destroying these weapons The headline is quite misleading. The biggest cluster bomb users aren't signing the treaty. The US has used them in every recent war: Yugoslavia in 1999, Afghanistan, and Iraq and has not renounced their continued use. Obama voted for an amendment that would have prevented the use of such weapons against civilians, but if these weapons are used in war, they inevitably will kill civilians. The only sure way to stop killing civilians with cluster bombs is to eliminate them. A Google search for "cluster bombs" on Obama's website came up empty; I didn't find any indication of what Obama intends to do about them. If Bill Clinton were back in office, you can bet he'd find a way to continue to use these God-forsaken devices, even as he convinced everyone of the opposite. We'll see if Obama is a president in the Clinton mold.
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POPSBelief vs Trust Frequently theists defend their faith by implying that atheists must have "faith" also. This clip addresses this argument and offers a rationale that is understandable to people who are questioning religion. Try it, you'll like it!
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POPSMarriage Equality Begins in Connecticut Behold, America, as society fails to collapse in Connecticut, just as it didn't in Massachusetts. Families are strengthened, not destroyed, churches aren't closing, the devil doesn't rule, and children don't "go gay" in droves. In other words, it's just people getting married. Time to grow the hell up, America.
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POPSBig Oil's Charm Offensive The money grabbers are putting on masks of altruism, hoping we won’t notice their pockets bulging with our dollars – and hoping we won't demand that Congress take away the billions of dollars they get each year in tax subsidies. Oil company image ads aren't fooling anyone. Their attempts to appear touchie-feelie are as hopeless as hanging an air freshener on the tail of a hog. Couldn't have said it better myself. By the way, notice how the gas prices fell after people stopped consumming so much gas. Let's keep this in mind when prices start going up again. It truly is all about supply and demand.
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