Topics: Astrophysics, Chemistry, ESA, Exoplanets, James Webb Space Telescope, NASA The James Webb Space Telescope — already famous for its mesmerizing images of the cosmos — has done it again. The telescope has captured the first unambiguous evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside the Solar System. The finding not only provides tantalizingContinue reading “WASP-39b and CO2…”
Author Archives: reginaldgoodwin
The Business Model…
Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Democracy, Existentialism, Fascism, Human Rights “Maxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, battles the evil forces of rival spy agency KAOS with the help of his competent partner Agent 99.” Source: Internet Movie Database (1965 – 1970) There were several spy genres on television asContinue reading “The Business Model…”
Cellulose Shoes…
Topics: Additive Manufacturing, Biology, Biotechnology, Environment, Genetics, Nanotechnology For Hermes, the Greek god of speed, these bacterial sneakers would have been just the ticket. Modern Synthesis co-founders Jen Keane, CEO, and Ben Reeve, CTO, are now setting out to make them available to mere mortals, raising a $4.1 million investment to scale up production. Keane, a graduateContinue reading “Cellulose Shoes…”
Mirror, Mirror…
Topics: Applied Physics, Atomic-Scale Microscopy, Materials Science, Optics (Nanowerk News) When it goes online, the MAGIS-100 experiment at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and its successors will explore the nature of gravitational waves and search for certain kinds of wavelike dark matter. But first, researchers need to figure out something pretty basic: how to get good photographsContinue reading “Mirror, Mirror…”
Diversity or Dystopia…
Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Existentialism, Fascism, Human Rights, Star Trek “It is no longer a choice, my friends, between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence. And the alternative to disarmament, the alternative to a greater suspension of nuclear tests, the alternative to strengthening the United Nations and thereby disarming the whole world,Continue reading “Diversity or Dystopia…”
Studying UAPs…
Topics: Astrophysics, NASA, SETI I was startled, to say the least, that this story appears in Scientific American, and that NASA and theoretical astrophysicist Avi Loeb is interested in it. The nut job “giggle factor” has given way to curiosity about things humans cannot explain, and that bothers us as a species. My concern isContinue reading “Studying UAPs…”
Nucleocapsid Rhapsody…
Topics: Biology, COVID-19, Research Abstract SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N) induces strong antibody (Ab) and T cell responses. Although considered to be localized in the cytosol, we readily detect N on the surface of live cells. N released by SARS-CoV-2–infected cells or N-expressing transfected cells binds to neighboring cells by electrostatic high-affinity binding to heparan sulfateContinue reading “Nucleocapsid Rhapsody…”
Cooling Centers…
Topics: Climate Change, Environment, Existentialism The heat index in Jefferson County reached 105 degrees by noon Monday — and it’s only getting hotter. More than 50 million Americans face scorching temperatures as a heatwave spreads over most of the country this week. Louisville could see heat indices as high as 115 degrees, putting many residents at risk of heatContinue reading “Cooling Centers…”
ARDP…
Topics: Applied Physics, Alternate Energy, Climate Change, Nuclear Power According to the US Energy Information Administration, the US uses a mixture of 60.8% fossil fuel sources to generate 2,504 billion kilowatt hours of energy. Our nuclear expenditure is a paltry 18.9%. The totality of renewable sources (wind, hydropower, solar, biomass, and geothermal) is a littleContinue reading “ARDP…”
Occam’s on Steroids…
Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Existentialism, Fascism, Politics Originally from the entry: Apathy, Crisis, and Zappa (another blog I posted to before WordPress). So what exactly is a constitutional crisis? We should be clear about what does — and, more importantly, does not — merit this description. It’s possible to have a major political crisis evenContinue reading “Occam’s on Steroids…”
Physics and Nano 