Via: dvorak.org: Driving, Bicycling and Walking Is Insane on the Streets of New York
3-Way Street from ronconcocacola on Vimeo.
3-Way Street
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Category Archives: science
The seesaw magic book: the computational power of DNA molecules
Via: Cosmic Variance: DNA Takes Square Roots
Caltech researchers Lulu Qian and Erik Winfree have managed to coax 130 strands of DNA into performing what is unquestionably a calculation: taking the square root of a number. (Ars Technica post; Science paper behind paywall; open-access background paper.) Not a big number: we’re talking about four-digit binary numbers, so 15 at the biggest. And not very efficiently: with prodding, the calculation took eight hours. Moore’s Law isn’t really in danger here.
The Strange Powers of the Placebo Effect
Facebook Linked To One In Five Divorces In US
slashdot.org: Facebook Linked To One In Five Divorces In US
“yes, in theory if you’re single, Facebook can help you meet that special someone. But for those in even the healthiest of marriages, improper use can quickly devolve into a marital disaster. A recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that Facebook is cited in one in five divorces in the United States. Also, more than 80 percent of divorce lawyers reported a rising number of people are using social media to engage in extramarital affairs.”
Steve will talk with anyone…
TED: Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work
Earth’s Inner Core Rotation Slower Than Estimated
Earth’s Inner Core Rotation Slower Than Estimated
“Scientists at the University of Cambridge believe they have achieved the first accurate estimate of how much faster Earth’s core is rotating compared to the rest of the planet. The rate—about one degree every million years—is much slower than previously thought and arises from the complex dynamic between Earth’s inner and outer core, which generates Earth’s geomagnetic field. Without our magnetic field, Earth’s surface would not be protected from charged particles spewing from the Sun, and life would not be able to exist.”
Un degre par million d’annees!
Waterfall
Via: dvorak.org: Escher’s Waterfall
Tres bien comme montage et jeu de camera!
Supercolony trails follow mathematical Steiner tree.
itnews.com.au: Supercolony trails follow mathematical Steiner tree.
Via: slashdot.org: Ants Build Cheapest Networks
“We found that ants almost always made networks that minimised the total amount of trail, consistent with optimisation at a colony level, rather than at an individual level,” Latty told iTnews. “In many cases, they did a remarkable job of making networks that looked almost exactly like the mathematical shortest path, called a ‘Steiner tree’.”
wikipedia.org: Steiner tree problem
The Steiner tree problem is superficially similar to the minimum spanning tree problem: given a set V of points (vertices), interconnect them by a network (graph) of shortest length, where the length is the sum of the lengths of all edges. The difference between the Steiner tree problem and the minimum spanning tree problem is that, in the Steiner tree problem, extra intermediate vertices and edges may be added to the graph in order to reduce the length of the spanning tree.
Float Documentary Trailer
Float Documentary Trailer from Phil Kibbe on Vimeo.