(reprinted from: Delicious/tsangal)
Fresh Sriracha (aka, home made ‘Rooster’) – Recipes – food52
September 3rd, 2010How to make Sriracha “rooster” hot sauce at home
September 3rd, 2010(reprinted from: Boing Boing)
Well, I know what I'm doing this weekend: here's a recipe for how to make sriracha hot sauce, the ubiquitous Asian restaurant condiment in that clear plastic bottle with the little white rooster on the side. (via Farhad)
The Importance Of Being Idle
September 3rd, 2010(reprinted from: Disinformation)
Does daydreaming have a purpose? Neuroscientists have recently become enraptured with the workings of the brain at idle moments. Referred to as “default mode network,” letting the mind wander is in fact a busy, critical state that is the key to maintaining one’s sense of self and personality. The Los Angeles Times reports:
In the span of a few short years, [scientists] have come to view mental leisure as important, purposeful work — work that relies on a powerful and far-flung network of brain cells firing in unison. Neuroscientists call it the “default mode network.”
Understanding that setting may do more than lend respectability to the universal practice of zoning out: It may one day help diagnose and treat psychiatric conditions as diverse as Alzheimer’s disease, autism, depression and schizophrenia — all of which disrupt operations in the default mode network.
Beyond that lies an even loftier promise. As neuroscientists study the idle brain, some believe they are exploring a central mystery in human psychology: where and how our concept of “self” is created, maintained, altered and renewed.
The idea that there may be a physical structure in the brain in which we unconsciously define who we are “would warm Freud’s heart,” says Dr. Marcus E. Raichle, a neurologist who has pioneered work in this fledgling field.
Raichle suspects that during these moments of errant thought, the brain is forming a set of mental rules about our world, particularly our social world, that help us navigate human interactions and quickly make sense of and react to information — about a stranger’s intentions, a child’s next move, a choice before us — without having to run a complex and conscious calculation of all our values, expectations and beliefs.
Salon Futura
September 3rd, 2010(reprinted from: Delicious/tsangal)
Biologists reveal why mosquito repellent DEET is doomed to fail [Bug Overlords]
September 2nd, 2010(reprinted from: io9)
Everyone's favorite mosquito repellent, DEET, works by making a smell that mosquitoes can't stand, or by blocking their ability to smell humans, depending on who you ask. But even the greatest repellents won't stop all mosquitoes. New evidence suggests why.
It turns out that the Anopheles gambiae have a second family of olfactory sensors, previously unknown, which sniff out and activate due to completely different smells than the ones we already knew about. This could help explain why it's so hard to develop efficient repellents, and maybe help stop the spread of diseases from the insects.
Research published in the Public Library of Science, Biology
Charles Darwin performed the world’s first terraforming experiment [Mad Science]
September 2nd, 2010(reprinted from: io9)
Nearly two centuries ago, famed scientists Charles Darwin and Joseph Hooker transformed the barren volcanic island of Ascension into a lush artificial ecosystem, unwittingly inventing terraforming. Now, Darwin's incredible achievement could help us transform Mars into a livable environment.
Darwin and Hooker, with the assistance of the Royal Navy, managed to create a functional ecosystem in decades, rather than the million of years it would have taken for such a system to develop naturally. Although much of Ascension remains arid, they were able to plant enough trees to capture rainwater without it all evaporating away, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem that made life a whole lot easier for its inhabitants.
Dr. Dave Wilkinson, an ecologist at Liverpool John Moores University, explains why he found the Ascension ecosystem so strange when he first visited in 2003, and why it's important:
"I remember thinking, this is really weird. There were all kinds of plants that don't belong together in nature, growing side by side. I only later found out about Darwin, Hooker and everything that had happened. What it tells us is that we can build a fully functioning ecosystem through a series of chance accidents or trial and error."
Wilkinson believes these principles could be adapted to colonization efforts on Mars, although he notes scientists have yet to seriously consider the lessons Darwin's work on Ascension could teach us. For more on this remarkable story, check out the full article at BBC News
[BBC News; thanks to Mathmos for the tip!]
Alexander added ‘The God Effect: Quantum Entanglement, Science’s Strangest Phenomenon’
August 31st, 2010(reprinted from: Alexander's updates)
Alexander gave 3 stars to: The God Effect: Quantum Entanglement, Science's Strangest Phenomenon (Audio CD) by Brian Cleggbookshelves: nonfiction, science
Alexander added ‘Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science’
August 29th, 2010(reprinted from: Alexander's updates)
Alexander gave 4 stars to: Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science (Hardcover) by David Lindleybookshelves: history, nonfiction, science
Frog skin may provide ‘kiss of death’ for antibiotic-resistant germs
August 27th, 2010(reprinted from: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News)
Kissing a frog won't turn it into a prince -- except in fairy-tales -- but frogs may be hopping toward a real-world transformation into princely allies in humanity's battle with antibiotic-resistant infections that threaten millions of people. Scientists reported that frog skin contains substances that could be the basis for a new genre of antibiotics.PR Firm Charged with Faking Game Reviews on iTunes Store
August 27th, 2010(reprinted from: 1UP RSS feed)
These charges are the first to come under new Internet endorsement guidelines that passed last year, which now regulate promotional tactics across the Internet, including Facebook and Twitter. In essence, they basically come down to advertising agencies being required to be upfront with consumers about their ties with a product when promoting it online.
In this Reverb case, the FTC claims employees posted positive game reviews on the iTunes store in a manner that made them appear to be reviews coming from regular customers. There was no monetary penalty as part of the settlement, but Reverb agreed to remove all the reviews and to not post any more in the future without full disclosure of any ties to the companies that make the games.Gamers probably know better than anyone to be wary of glowing game reviews from seemingly "ordinary users" on the Internet, but now even the FTC is trying to make sure such "ordinary users" aren't in reality being paid for their opinions. The New York Times reports that PR firm Reverb Communications settled with the FTC over charges of having their employees post positive game reviews on the iTunes store without disclosing their working relationship with the companies that made the games.
Alexander added ‘The Rough Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’
August 26th, 2010(reprinted from: Alexander's updates)
Alexander gave 3 stars to: The Rough Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Broschiert) by Douglas Adamsbookshelves: nonfiction, scifi
The smell of freshly-cut grass is actually a plant distress call [Mad Science]
August 26th, 2010(reprinted from: io9)
The lovely scent of cut grass is the reek of plant anguish: When attacked, plants release airborne chemical compounds. Now scientists say plants can use these compounds almost like language, notifying nearby creatures who can "rescue" them from insect attacks.
A group of German scientists studying a wild tobacco plant noticed that the compounds it released - called green leaf volatiles or GLVs - were very specific. When the plants were infested by caterpillars, the plants released a distress GLV that attracted predatory bugs who like to eat the caterpillars in question.
According to Science, where the researchers published their study today:
They found that when these plants are attacked by tobacco hornworm caterpillars, Manduca sexta, the caterpillars' saliva causes a chemical change in the GLV compounds the plants had produced. These modified compounds then attract predatory "true bugs," Geocoris, which prey on hornworm eggs and young larvae. Although more research will be needed to figure out exactly how the molecules in the caterpillar saliva cause this change in the GLVs, it's clear that the caterpillars themselves cause the change in the GLV signal, the researchers say. It may thus be possible someday to induce the same sort of change via genetic engineering, which might protect plants against pests without encouraging the resistance that pests develop in response to pesticides.
Below you can see Geocoris attacking a newly-hatched larva, after responding to the tobacco plant's GLV signal.
I think what's most interesting about this study is the way it suggests that plants have a rudimentary form of language based on releasing these chemical compounds. These tobacco plants have the ability to modulate the signals they send out, depending on the kind of attack they're suffering. Combine this discovery with the one a few weeks ago, that plants are able to perform simple computations, and it's clear that the average person underestimates how much plants are dynamically engaged with their environments. It's interesting to imagine plants as having truly alien forms of consciousness and communication - different from animals' minds, but sometimes performing similar tasks.
via Science
Six ssh tricks you didn’t know about
August 26th, 2010Alexander added ‘Light Years: An Exploration of Mankind’s Enduring Fascination with Light’
August 26th, 2010(reprinted from: Alexander's updates)
Alexander gave 3 stars to: Light Years: An Exploration of Mankind's Enduring Fascination with Light (Paperback) by Brian Cleggbookshelves: history, nonfiction, science
"Dry water" could be the next storage medium for dangerous chemicals [Mad Science]
August 25th, 2010(reprinted from: io9)
Despite the oxymoronic name, 'dry water' is very real. This bone-dry water-silica compound could provide a way to transport dangerous liquids and gases safely - inside trillions of water-drop sized packages.
'Dry water' is comprised of 95% water, with a thin layer of silica coating each droplet, essentially turning it into a dry powder. When it's mixed with certain liquids or gasses, they combine with the water - which then traps them in a silica cage. Hence, they become non-reactive, and are easily transported without worrying about accidental detonation and the like.
'Dry water' was first discovered in the late 60s, and was immediately snatched up by cosmetic companies, eager to make use of its unique properties. It resurfaced in 2006, and researchers at the University of Liverpool have been working on new applications for the hydrate.
This substance gleefully combines with both liquids and gasses - and this feature makes it very useful. The primary application would be carbon dioxide sequestering. The 'dry water' can absorb three times the mass of CO2 as its constituent ingredients could.
The research also indicates the substance could be used a number of other ways: for storing and transporting methane (from natural deposits, or as fuel); as a way of speeding up the reaction between hydrogen gas and maleic acid to produce succinic acid, which is used to make drugs, food ingredients, and consumer products; or, to aid in transporting emulsions.
What about getting the stored materials out again, once they've been sequestered? Dr. Ben Carter, a researcher on the product, says it's quite straightforward to separate:
A dry liquid (either pure water or a solution of something dissolved in water) can be separated back to liquid + silica by either of two methods. You can centrifuge it at high speed to force the two apart, or you can add an alcoholic solvent like methanol or ethanol. This reduces the water surface tension as the alcohol penetrates the water droplets, causing the dry liquid to fall apart.
If you've stored a gas in DW as a gas hydrate, all you have to do to release it is warm up the material to melt the hydrate (hydrates normally form at 0 degrees C under pressure, and can be stored at -20 degrees C without the need to be kept under further pressure).
The dry water itself is easy enough to manufacture. The hydrophobic silica and water are blended together at 19,000 rpm for 90 seconds, which coats the water droplets completely.
SOURCES
Video of the presentation the researchers gave today to the American Chemical Society:
Pausing a Stir - heterogeneous catalysis in dry water
Crossed Genres
August 25th, 2010(reprinted from: Delicious/tsangal)
Crossed Genres
August 25th, 2010(reprinted from: Delicious/tsangal)
BULL SPEC
August 24th, 2010(reprinted from: Delicious/tsangal)
Bull Spec is a magazine of speculative fiction -- roughly, science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and a few other bits around the edges -- published quarterly from Durham, North Carolina.BULL SPEC
August 24th, 2010(reprinted from: Delicious/tsangal)
Bull Spec is a magazine of speculative fiction -- roughly, science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and a few other bits around the edges -- published quarterly from Durham, North Carolina.Searching For Backdoors From Rogue IT Staff
August 24th, 2010(reprinted from: Slashdot)
WHiTe VaMPiRe writes "When IT staff are terminated under duress, there is often justification for a complete infrastructure audit to reduce future risk to a company. Here is an exploration of the steps necessary to maintain security." Of course the first piece of advice is to basically assume you've been rooted. Ouch.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
