Top 25 Science Stories of 2002 105
1.Nc3 writes "Scientific American has released a list of their top 25 featured science stories of 2002. From Cryptography to Entomology to Astronomy, a lot of neat stuff happened this year."
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Top 25 Science Stories of 2002
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The Tao is like a glob pattern: used but never used up. It is like the extern void: filled with infinite possibilities.
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
This replaces all the "top 10" stories released on Dec 25,26,27,28,29 & 30th.
clone (Score:5, Funny)
They are having a great day! (Score:3, Funny)
Saddened by the loss of 118 (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Saddened by the loss of 118 (Score:3, Funny)
Hey there. (Score:1)
Wrong name - (Score:2)
Re:Saddened by the loss of 118 (Score:2)
What the hell, I've karma to burn.
Re:Saddened by the loss of 118 (Score:3, Funny)
#26 (Score:1, Funny)
Dont' forget Raelian Brigitte!! (Score:4, Funny)
gah! (Score:5, Funny)
Man, you need to get out more often. Or stay in more often. Something. All I know is that whatever you're doing, you're doing it wrong.
Re:gah! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:gah! (Score:2, Funny)
The pain...the PAIN
Re:Dont' forget Raelian Brigitte!! (Score:3, Informative)
He (Volhalian or something) was a race car driver and was compelled one day to drive to a volcano where a 4 foot tall green alian came out of a flying saucer and told him that he (raelian) was the brother of jesus and his name was Rael. The race of people is the "Elholeme" or whatever (Hebrew word).
He and this woman "scientist" founded a sex cult based on the Raelian crap and every few years they come out with some crazy thing to get attention in the news which draws even more idiots into their cult.
I'm just shocked that all the news outlets are actually giving these people air play. That is really sad. Back in the day, it would have been dumped on the news room floor as "bullshit". I guess that's just sad commentary on today's world. I bet they'd even given Marshall Applewhite fair airtime if he were alive today.
Re:Dont' forget Raelian Brigitte!! (Score:1)
/sarcasm
Re:Dont' forget Raelian Brigitte!! (Score:2)
He and this woman "scientist" founded a sex cult based on the Raelian crap and every few years they come out with some crazy thing to get attention in the news which draws even more idiots into their cult.
Sex cult you say? Hmmm.
Re:Dont' forget Raelian Brigitte!! (Score:1)
Re:Dont' forget Raelian Brigitte!! (Score:2)
The only real story there is that the media is making it a story. Really. You can't channel surf without hitting the same redundant material about this chick and her claim. What I want to know is how do I start a crackpot group and get that much media exposure without any credible results at all? I also want to know where the real news is. I know it's out there somewhere. We have troops in Afghanistan, they are doing something, but they aren't telling us squat about it because the bandwidth is saturated with the SAME POINTLESS STORY being rebroadcast every 15 minutes.
Re:Dont' forget Raelian Brigitte!! (Score:1)
Re:Premature! (Score:1, Offtopic)
...25 other i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e things...
(repeat after me: "Always hit preview... Always hit preview... Always hit preview...")
Re:Premature! (Score:2, Funny)
Probably not (Score:2)
Happy New Year indeed.
Spiders replace Kevlar (Score:5, Interesting)
It says that Yet pound for pound, the sturdiest spider silks are stronger than steel and stretchier than nylon.
I heard that while back the Army made a vest out of Spider Silk rather than Kevlar and it was able to stop even small rifle bullets O_o.
This could be very revolutionary. I wonder how it compares to silk?
Re:Spiders replace Kevlar (Score:5, Funny)
"Whether you're in New York or Nablus, the Strip or the Gaza Strip, the Victoria's Secret Naughty Protector (TM) spider-silk teddy is for you. It feels like silk to you and eighteen inches of steel plate to stray rifle rounds!"
Re:Spiders replace Kevlar (Score:3, Funny)
I heard that while back the Army made a vest out of Spider Silk rather than Kevlar and it was able to stop even small rifle bullets
The hard part was getting the 11-Bravo (infantry guy) to stand still long enough for the spiders to weave the vest.
An 'army of one' indeed...
Re:Spiders replace Kevlar (Score:2)
Finally, people are getting serious about forward engineering life. When can I get a chairdog?
the silk is being manufactured (Score:1)
Re:Spiders replace Kevlar (Score:4, Interesting)
The Mongol Hordes wore silk vs. the European's armor. Being lighter they could move much faster, and when an arrow struck it would penetrate the skin but take the silk with it, so by pulling on the silk they could pull the arrow out cleanly.
Re:Spiders replace Kevlar (Score:1)
BEC the winner! (Score:5, Insightful)
To wit, I think those good-old boys who spent many a Saturday night figuring out how to get atoms to realize "damn it's cold" and stop and all huddle together at the bottom of a beaker -- well that takes the prize for me. Because it's little breakthroughs like this which fork into other areas of research and discovery. You take all the others and rip up the Noble Prize submission form, this one takes the cake.
Re:BEC the winner! (Score:1)
This last one is a fact. I saw it at a Pink Floyd concert.
what? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:what? (Score:2)
Re:what? (Score:2)
The Segway is an engineering story; it doesn't belong on a science story top twenty-five list.
Incidentally, the parent post was probably meant to be funny.
Happy new year, everyone!
Scientist Report Card (Score:5, Funny)
Detection of ice and dirt way out in space: B+
Detection and fanciful naming of really old bones: A
Armies of telekinesis-powered robots: B
Detection of life-ending asteroids: F
Thinking one thing, then thinking the opposite thing: A
Faster porn delivery: B
Flying cars: F
Teledildonics: F
Collies that can cook, play poker, and/or defend you with mouth-mounted lasers: F
A laptop that feels like a desktop: D-
FINAL GRADE: C-
Re:Scientist Report Card (Score:1, Offtopic)
I can see this type of report card replacing the steps to profit.
Bill Gates report card:
Making money. A
Not pissing people off. F
Making good software. D
Breaking Linux. E
Getting media giants interested in locked Palladium PCs. C
Overall summary.
Bill Gates is a very good pupil, who has stolen a lot of interesting stuff from a lot of people.
However, Mr and Mrs Gates, he is slipping down the class, and is refusing to stop chasing the girls Features, and Ease Of-Yoos. I have told him to try and work towards getting into either the Stability or Security University, but he's not listening.
Must try harder.
Can you see now why I'm not a comedy script writer?
Troll Report Card (Score:4, Funny)
Natalie Portman. C-
In Soviet Russia. A+
First post! B
All your base. D
Stephen King dead. F
Goatsex man. F
#3 Profit! B
Overall summary:
Trolls, your quest has only become more challenging, with more lameness filtering, competition from thousands of troll wannabees, and PR smearing you as juvenile retards with no sense of humor and vandalous personality. Even so, I'm afraid I can't give you a passing grade, when dozens of articles go by with not even one goatsex link or poorly written "all your base" parody. You keep chasing ancient Yakov Smirnoff jokes, which can only lead to trouble. You need to work harder so you can be accepted into either Comedy University or your local mental health facility.
Re:Troll Report Card (Score:1)
But aside from that, you're analysis is money.
Re:Scientist Report Card (Score:2)
Sharks with frickin' <FINGERQUOTES>"Lasers"</FINGERQUOTES> attached to their heads: F
Alas, my poor field of study... (Score:1)
Re:Alas, my poor field of study... (Score:1)
and all theoretical chemists know it. -- Richard P. Feynman
The REAL scoop .... (Score:4, Funny)
25.) Controlling Robots with the Mind - Are these in stores yet? When do I get to do this? Did anyone else hear about this?
24.) Scientists Sequence Genomes of Malarial Parasite and Mosquito - Big news for people in Africa
23.) Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation's Polarization Detected at Last - Oh goody
22.) Mouse Genome Sequenced - those poor hairless mice
21.) Astronomers Discover Icy World Far Past Pluto - 'bout time all that investment into telescopes got us something! We now have 10 planets!!!
20.) Stamp-Size Plastic Chip Provides New Approach to Cryptography - A new mountain for te hackers to climb! Sounds pretty cool though
19.) Meet the Oldest Member of the Human Family - This is depressing
18.) Attacking Anthrax - Yea! Eat that bin Laden!! That idea won't work on the U.S.!
17.) Crafty Crow Rivals Primates in Toolmaking - Proves you can teach an old bird new tricks
16.) New Findings Fan Debate over Origin of Vinland Map - Just sell the damn thing on Ebay and debate this later
15.) Avoiding the Impact - Ok, this is news
14.) Element 118 Dropped from Periodic Table - I needed some of this stuff next week
13.) First Humans to Leave Africa Weren't Necessarily a Brainy Bunch - I disagree! They won't get infected with AIDS!
12.) Study Casts Doubt on Cell from Hell's Role in Fish Kills - *yawn*
11.) Light's Information-Carrying Capacity Doubles - So now more senceless data from Microshaft can travel at "the speed of light"
10.) Study Shows How Far GM Pollen Spreads - and three eyed fish will roan the seven seas
9.) Gladiators: A New Order of Insect - They're going to get us, just like in Starship Troopers!! We're all gonna die!!! Seriously, this is worthy of its position in the top stories of the year.
8.) Scientists Sequence Rice Genome - Don't need the Chineese anymore!
7.) Climate Warming Causes Collapse of Antarctic Ice Shelf - So put less stuff on it! (end bad joke) This is VERY serious! However, this may be a natural phenomenon. No need to panic
6.) Chinese Fossil May Be Mother of All Placental Mammals - Grandma!
5.) Scientists Spin Spidery Silk - in other news, silk prices bottom out! New silk that doesn't have to be washed in the "gental" cycle is now available!
4.) Physicists Create a New State of Matter - Sorry, call me short sighted, but I just don't see how this is useful
3.) T. rex Not Fleet of Foot, Study Shows - Time to remake Jurasic Park!
2.) Scientists Succeed in Transplanting Cloned Cow Tissue Moo! Moo! (in sync
1.) Mars Odyssey's Measurements Reveal a Wet, Red Planet - This is huge! See #15!! If we get hit by a large rock from space, the ability to have the human race move forward would be nice. However, in order for humans to live, we need water! Also, if we get too stupid and nuke most of the planet, we still might have a second chance! I agree that this is the #1 story
The end.
If you don't agree, please post
Re:The REAL scoop .... (Score:5, Interesting)
And scientists and medical researchers are already researching AIDS. The AIDS problem in Africa is not scientific, it's cultural and political.
19.) Meet the Oldest Member of the Human Family - This is depressing ... this helps to further prove that you and I are nothing more than a chimp!
And? We are animals. Nothing more. We are not special. Deal with it. Yes, we are the top of the food chain for now and we are the most competent tool users and the most comunicative species ever to walk the earth, but we are still animals. You and I are special to our friends, family and loved ones. Is that not enough?
18.) Attacking Anthrax - Yea! Eat that bin Laden!! That idea won't work on the U.S.!
Bin Laden didn't have anything to do with the anthrax attacks. That was the work of home grown American nutjobs.
17.) Crafty Crow Rivals Primates in Toolmaking - Proves you can teach an old bird new tricks ... nothing neat hear ... move on
There is something "neat" here. Corvids (crows, ravens, magpies) are the smartest birds on the planet. The fact that they may be smarter (in some areas) that chimpanzees could radically change how we view animal intellegence.
14.) Element 118 Dropped from Periodic Table - I needed some of this stuff next week ... again, nice to see how "real" some of these so called findings are, but even better to see that someone was honest enough to retract their false findings! Way to embarass the community!!
No. Being honest is not an embarrassment. The embarrassment would come from the scientists refusing to retract their work. I respect and trust a scientist who has the integrety to admit a mistake.
11.) Light's Information-Carrying Capacity Doubles - So now more senceless data from Microshaft can travel at "the speed of light" ... great!
Please. Grow up. This kind of crap is cool if you are 14-years old.
4.) Physicists Create a New State of Matter - Sorry, call me short sighted, but I just don't see how this is useful
Many new discoveries are not useful at first. It was hundreds of years after Leonardo first thought up the helicopter before anyone could build one that actually worked. It took a better understanding of aerodynamics, better building materials and a lightweight, yet powerful engine in order to do it. Each piece of the puzzle found by someone else. Many inventions are made not by inventing the thing out of whole cloth, but by piecing together the discoveries of others into something new. Usually something never invisioned by those who discovered the pieces. That is the beauty of Abstract Knowledge: you never know what the pieces you've found will eventually make.
Re:The REAL scoop .... (Score:1)
In other news - Slashdot should amass a collection of the most abused clichs in comments of 2002.
In Soviet Russia --- Dead Horse beats you!
Re:The REAL scoop .... (Score:4, Interesting)
Lots of birds can use tools. However I recall that it is now wildly believed that the kia bird of New Zealand is by far the world's smartest bird. They not only have great independent intelligence but have some amazing learned group behaviours. Unlike most birds that can use tools for a single purpose, kia birds can use tools "stacked" together.
Re:The REAL scoop .... (Score:3, Informative)
The kea is pretty dam smart, but is there an objective scientific test for intelligence which would let us rank species? I'm pretty sure that their isn't.
Re:The REAL scoop .... (Score:2)
You're asking the wrong crowd, dude. They'd probably try to whip out their Linux Business Card [slashdot.org] to impress them!
As for hair, I take comfort in knowing that Dr. Evil doesn't need hair when he has his Sharks with Lasers(TM).
Re:The REAL scoop .... (Score:1)
Actually, that's what everybody said back in '95 when BEC was first achieved. The new discovery is that it can be teased into yet another state, which is even cooler (though not colder). This new patterned state might be used to make quantum computers, in which case it will be very useful.
Re:The REAL scoop .... (Score:1)
24.) Scientists Sequence Genomes of Malarial Parasite and Mosquito - Big news for people in Africa ... but I think they have a bigger problem ... its called AIDS!
But a big *huzza* for parisitesWe can finally begin to make some progress helping those poor unfortunate mosquitos!
Vinland map (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe someone in the early 1900s got hold of some parchment from the 1400s and inked the map using ink from the 1900s. It would explain the two contradictory reports and would, as the article states - be one heck of a forgery.
Makes me wonder if they could lift fingerprints off of the map and try matching them to those of known forgers. Probably wouldn't make a lot of difference since fingerprinting wasn't always done in forgery cases until after the great depression (when forgery really took off as a method to make money) but you never know. They might actually get the original artist's fingerprints. Which would be neat if nothing else.
top10 worst (Score:1, Troll)
How could they miss this? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:How could they miss this? (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't know about that. Peer reviewers, presented with convincingly manufactured data, failed to catch a careful, deliberate forgery prepared by a fellow expert in the field. Short of actually repeating all the work, sometimes it can be very difficult to review the veracity of a manuscript. Peer reviewers are looking for well-designed experiments and interesting, useful results. They check for errors of methodology or theory--most probably don't look for deliberate fraud unless they catch an obvious flaw.
The scientific method as a whole seems to still work--once the work was published, it was tested, challenged, and eventually withdrawn. Schon is utterly disgraced in the scientific community, and any future claims will be met with careful scrutiny.
Just like any other field, there are bad apples. In science, I suspect that fraudulent work is less likely to be presented and more likely to be caught simply because other people will test it.
TREX and Wet Mars (Score:1)
As for T-Rex I have one question. If the modle is accurate and the T-rex sized Chicken can't even walk then HTF did T-Rex walk ? Damn people, get with it, either the Model is wrong or T-Rex couldn't lift its own weight. Sheesh. This all gets back to the question of the Brontasaur and its neck. If T-Rex could barely move the Brontasaur must have been damn near imobile and yet it had to ingest craploads of food to sustain its incredible mass. But now they barely move and they lived in herds... how did they sustain themselves ?
I look for more on the issue of the dinosaurs size in the future. Right now it is more or less a given that we do not understand the phsyology of the Dinosaurs for the simple reason that if they worked by the rules we understand today they could not have existed. There is something we don't know. Either they possesed a more capable biomass system than any current known life form on earth or they lived in a weaker gravity field.