Is dark matter purely science fiction? You tell me!

Now, two Canadian scientists think there is a good reason dark matter doesn't exist at all. No one has come up with a strong evidence that it exists.

Since I have yet seen one, I have no knowledge whether it exists. The universe has a lot of strange things. Scientists have yet understood many factors, especially with the Big Bang theory and how long the universe will continue to expand, possibly eternity.

Will we ever be around to determine whether the dark matter theory is valid or not? I doubt it but we will see! For further reading, click on the link below.

Scientists Say Dark Matter Doesn't Exist

Bush : "Global Warming what?"

Why does the White House want to edit the climate change testimony? Do they know that they are keeping us out of sight? Don't they want us to know the truth about global warming? Has Bush been doing this because he's skeptical about science?

For further reading, click on the link below:

Climate Change Testimony Was Edited by White House

Please note that the image was from The New York Times web site.

Invention of the Light Bulb

I'm currently reading The Wizard of Menlo Park, a biography of Thomas Alva Edison. I was astonished to see different type of filaments that were used during the experiments. The carbon filament included "cotton and linen thread, wood splints, papes. Edison's team later discovered a carbonized bamboo filament that could last over 1200 hours.

The inscandescent light bulb was invented in 1840 by British scientist Warren de la Rue. That time, electric light bulb was not invented. Edison was not born until February 11, 1947 and didn't start to experiment with the electric light bulb until around 1879. The successful experiment was on October 22, 1879.

The electric light bulb didn't become common for homes until 1920's.

I'm enjoying the book tremendously.

My view about life from other planets

I'm responding to Jacob Haqq-Milsra's question.

Jacob Haqq-Misra said...
I'm curious as to why you think the evolution of what we call intelligence is uncommon (if in fact this is what you mean)?

Of course, we cannot say anything for certain at this point, but I am inclined to think given the vast number of galaxies in the universe (100 billion) this type of complex life (however we define it) is probably present in some other galaxy--if not our own.

---
I do agree with you that there is a vast number of galaxies in the universe. I'm not ruling out any life on other planets.

I have read a few books about history of evolution. As you know, our planet started with very simple life about 2 billion years ago. The life didn't start to become complex until more than 550 million years. I'm inclined to support the Cambrian explosion theory. Before us, there were many millions of species and they didn't have intelligence that is similiar to ours.

When the apes started to evolve in Africa, they didn't have to compete that much. Africa was just an island. They had an advantage for some time. We can say that isolation has helped them. I am pretty sure that there are other species roaming in Africa during that time.

If there are species living on other worlds that have successfully become complex, they are likely to compete for food. It doesn't require any intelligence to do that. What's the odd of species becoming isolated from deadly predators? In my own opinion, it's pretty slim. Can species become lucky by developing hands that are more sophisticated? Can their brains get bigger and complex enough to bring them to the same level as ours, or even better?

The way I see, the process of evolution has to do with climate, sexual selection, geography, competition, and luck. Yes, I have to say that we are lucky that we are here today. It's like winning a lottery.

If we have to start all over again by going back to 2 billion years ago, will the apes ever emerge? I'm doubtful but I could be wrong. I will never know for sure.

One last thing, I wouldn't rule out any life out there that has intelligence like ours. If we ever find out by establishing communication with them or even meet them, I would be surprised and jubilant.

I'm open for any debate.m>

What did early humans like to do?

Something grabbed my attention during my busy period. The scientists have found some evidence that early humans were a bit sophisticated than previously thought. During the glacial period from 125,000 to 195,000 years, the early humans have cooked mussels and other shellfish, especially with mussels. They also used red pigment, probably as body paint. The evidence was discovered in a cave in South Africa. For one thing, I'm pretty certain that they loved to try different things when they discovered something extraordinary. So, they had to put the paint on their skin. We have to keep in our mind that they had more freedom to do things. On other hand, did they have language? We may not know for sure. For further reading click on the link below.

For early humans, a beach party and clam bake

NYT : Stretching the Search for Signs of Life

I have to write a brief summary about the article that I read from The New York Times. They are trying to build some sites that can increase the capacity of searching for signs of life. The new Allen Telescope Array will allow them to search over a million stars within 2 decades.

Let me tell you my opinion. Is there any advanced civilizations on other planets in this galaxy and other galaxies? I don't personally think so. I think that there is a good chance that there are numerous of planets with living things that can swim or crawl. It's difficult for the living species to become complex through evolutionary process. I think that we are only one kind.

But, it cannot hurt to search for the sign of life. If there are advanced civilizations out there then they may have been observing us. I think that is extremely unlikely.

For further reading, click on the link below.

Stretching the Search for Signs of Life

Congratulations to Al Gore & the UN Climate Panel!!

In fact, I was very pleased that Al Gore and the United Nation climate panel won the Noble Peace Prize for Climate Chinage Work. I have tremendous respect for them. Even though Al Gore appears uninterested in running for 2008, I think that his presence is vital even though the global warming is inevitable. Not many people actually understand what the global warming is.

Three Nobel Prize Winners

Today, my father sent me an e-mail to my Blackberry. He urged me to read an article about three scients who won the 2007 Noble Prize in medicine yesterday. I finally fired up my computer and went to The New York Times and found this article.


The winners are Mario R. Capecchi, 70, Oliver Smithies, 82, and Sir Martin J. Evans, 66, of Cardiff University in Wales.

They have developed the knockout technique that allowed researchers to use tool to find out what gene does, especially with the mice. They can observe what can happen to the mice.

The article also covered a brief biography of each scientist. Congratulations to them!!

NYT : Hillary on Science

Mrs. Clinton has said that she would sheild science from politics. As matter of fact, I am quite pleased with her speech. She supports evolution. That's one of the most important thing. She feels that it's more important to focus on gloabl warming than sending humans to the Moon and to Mars. Frankly, I agree with her. The funds need to be used to help the world. We already sent men to the Moon. If Russia or China wants to go to Mars first, let them do that. Finally, she wants to ensure that there are funds available for stem cell research.

I want to see what other candidates have to address on science.

If you wish to keep reading the New York Times article, click on the link below.

Clinton Says She Would Shield Science From Politics

NYT : Texas Man Linked to Past and Future of Space Exploration by Sputnik and Soyuz

I have found another interesting article about Richard Garriott, a key figure in the video game industry. I'm not going to discuss about the video game here -- my passion in video games has faded away years ago. Something has caught my attention. He is a collector of space memorabilia. He has an authentic version of Spuntik in which he paid for less than $15,000. He even has a Lunakhod 2 rover and a Russian space suit. After looking at the slideshow, I was awed with his collections. You can view the multimedia by visitinghere.

If you wish to read the New York Times article, click on the link below. Enjoy!

Texas Man Linked to Past and Future of Space Exploration by Sputnik and Soyuz

NYT : Proving That Seeing Shouldn’t Always Be Believing

I'm posting the second entry today. There is an interesting in the New York Times about fake photographs. The number of fake photographs have grown significantly, thanks to digital camera, PC< and Photoshop. Hany Farid is an expert in identify fake photographs by using computer and mathematical techniques. There are some tricks such as lighting and size. The article covers an interview with Mr. Farid. It's worth reading. It tells me that I have to be careful on what I believe!

For further reading, click on the link below.

Proving That Seeing Shouldn’t Always Be Believing

NYT : Arctic Melt Unnerves the Experts

Last Tuesday, the New York Times published an article about Arctic Melt. The evidence is growing rapidly that the ice is melting. They are sending ships to explore Artic. You can guess why; oil and fishiing.

You should also view the interactive graphic where you can see the ice polar retreating for past 5 years. Interactive Graphic: Sea Ice in Retreat.