“…The behaviors they discovered were unexpected but intriguing…”We were not able to flip the spin, but what we found is something quite puzzling, quite unexpected, that was not supposed to happen. We now want to understand why the system works this way. This will require some more work. We wanted to get from point A to B, but we went to C.”

The detour, however, “shows that we can manipulate the spin when we inject excitons at appropriate times in the precession cycle of the spin,”…” Full Slice

What the heck is this?

Why isn’t anyone else talking about this?

I’m not the only who thinks there are skulls on Mars.

Follow up: Martian Alligators!  Click the image below for more details.

I updated my post about Walter’s excellent shirt (http://baloney.com/archives/210), and believe I have identified all 51 robots.

“A report…provides an overview of the current state of several battery chemistries—including NiMH and Li-ion—and their abilities to meet the goals and subsequent requirements for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

The authors do not intend for the report to be a definitive analysis of the technologies, but a primer for battery non-experts, and as a way to inform electric-drive interest groups, “including researchers, policymakers, companies, advocates and critics” about fundamental battery issues “to facilitate more grounded debates about the present and future of electric-drive vehicles, including plug-in hybrid vehicles.”

The report highlights four main conclusions….” Full Slice

“…researchers have pinpointed the protein that can lead to genetic changes that cause lung cancer…the production of a protein called FANCD2 is slowed when lung cells are exposed to cigarette smoke. Low levels of FANCD2 leads to DNA damage, triggering cancer. Cigarette smoke curbs the production of ‘caretaker’ proteins, like FANCD2, which normally prevent cancer by fixing damages in DNA and causing faulty cells to commit suicide…”…Although there are probably other proteins involved in this process, we know this is a key one because cells with very high levels of FANCD2 were resistant to the toxic effects of the smoke.”…” Full Slice

“…The discovery of a human settlement at Monte Verde in the mid-1970s provided the first evidence that people had inhabited the Americas before the spread of the so-called Clovis culture around 13,000 years ago.

Scientists were long mystified how people could have reached the southern tip of South America without leaving much evidence along the way.

But many now believe the first Americans spread down the coast where they could exploit the sea for food…The lack of archaeological evidence of this migration may be due to rising sea levels.

At the time sea levels were about 200 feet (61 meters) lower than they are today, and many of the early coastal settlements may now be underwater….” Full Slice

Anyone that has watched children play at the beach or hiked along the beach would recognize the possibility of early people`s using some form of floatation device to travel along a shore. Maybe “scientists” will catch up to common sense some day. And yes, I understand about “necessary proof” etc.

Fungal Breakdown:

The bane of military quartermasters may soon be a boon to biofuels producers. The genome analysis of a champion biomass-degrading fungus has revealed a surprisingly minimal repertoire of genes that it employs to break down plant cell walls, highlighting opportunities for further improvements in enzymes customized for biofuels production.

Walter, of Fractal Fame, wore an excellent t-shirt to the Baloney gathering yesterday. It had the silhouettes of 51 different famous robots. Of course the Baloneys had to swarm around Walter and try to identify the various images. As we stared intently at his chest, he remarked “This must be how women feel”. We identified a few and insisted he send us a link to the shirt source (Click here to see because I’m about to copyright violate).

Here is the shirt image:

I can’t find a list of the robot names, so I’ve numbered the images and am hoping Baloney.Com readers will fill in the blanks:

NOTE: I believe I have identified all 51 robots on the shirt. They are listed here.

…a team led by Laurent Koechlin of the Observatoire Midi Pyrénées in Toulouse, France, says a powerful “Fresnel imager” could be made by launching a piece of metal foil, cut with the Fresnel pattern and attached to a solid frame, into space. A spacecraft equipped with a camera and other scientific instruments would sit at the focal point some distance away and record the observations…

…A 30-metre Fresnel imager would be powerful enough to see Earth-sized planets within 30 light years of Earth, and measure the planets’ light spectrum to look for signs of life, such as atmospheric oxygen.