Embrace Every Drop of Water

Water is a very important resource that was once available in abundance but now becomes less accessible. Pollution renders water useless. Embrace water now! Stop the pollution!

Warning from Our Own

You know you’re screwed if the warning is coming from one of your own.

Largest Ever Group of Scientists Issues Humanity an Urgent Warning: Time Is Running Out

Genetically modified apples won't turn brown after slicing

The beauty of genetic engineering. The unattractive brownish oxidised stuff that you see in apples moments after cutting them is a thing of the past.

via Engadget.

2016 Marks Record Rising Temperature 3 Years in a Row

Uh oh...

Average surface temperatures over land and the oceans in 2016 were 0.94 degrees Celsius (1.69 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th-century average of 13.9C (57.0F), according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

But there's hope...

At a conference in Paris in late 2015, governments agreed a plan to phase out fossil fuels this century and shift to renewable energies such as wind and solar power. 

They agreed to limit warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times, while pursuing efforts for 1.5C (2.7F). By that yardstick, the rise stood at about 1.1C (2.0F) in 2016.

via Reuters.

The Superbug Evolution

Based on what I understand from two articles that I read on the same day (one from Reuters and the other via Forbes), the American superbug has evolved and is now resistant to antibiotics while another superbug - this one created - will consume hydrogen and carbon dioxide to produce fuel.

One deadly and the other beneficial. I have faith humans will overcome the deadly bug soon.

Advances in Space Travels

Embed from Getty Images

Space, the final frontier, they say. For all we know (barring all those governmental conspiracies) there had not been anyway for humans to go that far but there had always been theories. Some of these theories are starting to materialise and look promising:

1. Photonic Propulsion

With a large, reflective sail, it would be "possible to generate enough momentum to accelerate a spacecraft" via lasers pulsing light from the surface of the Earth.

Just 3 days to Mars and another 3 days back. Wow.

2. Antimatter Rockets

Another cool theory would be using antimatter rockets with energy created when positrons and electrons come into contact to power spacecrafts. Speed can go up to 72 million miles per hour.

via WIRED.co.uk

Water - the other factor that could change how your cup of coffee tastes

The other factor that stands in the way of your perfect cup of coffee - water! The beans can be the same but depending where and when you brew, the taste might just differ.

Some of the compounds in hard water are "sticky," glomming onto certain compounds in coffee when they meet in your coffee-making device. The more eugenol the water hangs on to, for example, the woodsier the taste of your coffee will be. 

Meanwhile, if you use soft water - the distilled type - the coffee would always taste the same. So for a consistent brew, you know what to do. 

via Tech Insider.

Tips and Tricks for People with Glasses

Very useful tips from Mashable for people with spectacles, especially this one:

Cyborg Plants

If you think the Terminator days are still far away or even just pure fiction, think again. It's all happening, just that not the way depicted in the movies...

first, the the researchers introduce a synthetic polymer called PEDOT-S into the rose through its stem. The plant sucks up the polymer using the same vascular system (xylem) that transports water. Once inside xylem channels, the polymer self-assembles into an “wire” that conducts electrical signals, while still allowing water and nutrients to move around. By connecting these wires with naturally-occurring electrolytes in the plant’s tissue, the researchers are able to create an electrochemical transistor, as well as a digital logic gate, a basic component of computer systems.

Every story has a beginning...

via Gizmodo.

Call it corn or maize as you wish but do you know if it's a veggie or a fruit? Hah!

Whatever you choose to call it, corn is never my favourite but what interest me today was is it a fruit or a vegetable? The first search result from old faithful Google came up with that it's actually both a vegetable and a fruit and can be categorised in the grain category, even:

Corn seed is actually a vegetable, a grain, and a fruit. Corn seed is a vegetable because it is harvested for eating. (Usually sweet corn when grain is harvested at the milk stage.) Corn seed is a grain because it is a dry seed of a grass species. (Usually field corn when harvested after the grain is relatively dry.) Corn seed is a fruit because that is the botanical definition. More details follow. Corn (Zea mays) is sometimes called a vegetable grain. Corn is a monocotyledon with only one seed leaf like grasses. The easily identified "grains" (or cereal plants/grasses) such as wheat, oats, and barley are also monocots. A grain is defined as the harvested dry seeds or fruit of a cereal grass, or the term can refer to the cereal grasses collectively. Field corn that is harvested when the seeds are dry would thus be considered a grain. Sweet corn when harvested before maturity is usually considered a vegetable. It is grown to be eaten fresh as a tender vegetable rather than as a dried grain suitable for grinding into flour or meal. A vegetable is defined as a plant cultivated for an edible part or parts such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or seeds/fruit. If you want to be very precise, all cereal grains could be called vegetables, but by convention we separate the cereal grains from the rest of the "vegetables" such as peas, lettuce, potatoes, cabbage, etc.

Radiation Drink

Here you go. A bottle of glowing green liquid.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Jun 22, 2015 at 6:26am PDT

Imperfect leaves or is life's like that - there will always be spots here and there?

Everyday I pass by these plants I wonder what's with the spots on the leaves. Cellulose? Maybe not. I don't know. I've forgotten and swept my science lessons under the bed a long time ago. Any help?

A Hibiscus and its Reproductive Organs

Here you go, a macro shot of the hibiscus' reproductive organ where both male and female parts are. It's not easy to focus this close with the iPhone. Took me lots of attempts. Wonder if the iPhone 6 (Plus) are any better.

Fractals and Mandelbrot

This is, obviously, a photo taken under a tree but somehow, it reminds me of Fractals and Mandelbrot sets. These are complex mathematical stuff that go on and one. I got to know about these during my Atari ST days. It was hot stuff during that time. People were writing software to generate them.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Apr 4, 2015 at 9:18pm PDT

Why do crackers (and some biscuits) have holes?

Because of this curious question that kept spinning in my mind today, I Googled and found a site called Today I Found Out which gave the answer to this and many more everyday questions that we easily brush off as trivia. I'm impressed with the site and added it to my Feedly RSS feeds.

So, I gather that the holes in biscuits are decorative while the holes in crackers are there for a reason(s) as explained by Today I Found Out:

In actuality, without these holes, crackers wouldn’t bake correctly. These holes allow steam to escape during cooking. This keeps the crackers flat, instead of rising a bit like a normal biscuit as the steam tries to escape; these holes also help to properly crisp the crackers.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Mar 16, 2015 at 6:03am PDT

Transparent Solar Panels

Solar tech is getting more popular than ever and there are rumours that battery hungry smartphones will have solar cells built-in. This looks possible with transparent solar panels that are as clear as glass. Researchers from MSU's College of Engineering found organic materials that could be tuned:

"We can tune these materials to pick up just the ultraviolet and the near infrared wavelengths that then ‘glow’ at another wavelength in the infrared. Because the materials do not absorb or emit light in the invisible spectrum, they look exceptionally transparent to the human eye." 

Once absorbed, the light waves get trapped and guided to the edges of the plastic solar concentrator where photovoltaic cells turn them into electricity.

However, with anything new, it would take time for improvement. This particular type of solar panel currently only has 1% efficiency compared to the conventional 25%.

via Inhabitat.

In the face of Apple's iWatch rumours and bonsai in space, there's the worrying thing if Mac Mini will still exist...

I'm a fan of the Mac Mini even though after years of ranting I've still not own one (shame!). So, it's getting worrying by the day as more new iWatch rumours appear and even with a bonsai travelling to space, there's still no news of a Mac Mini... not even a refresh. :'(

comics via Macworld.

Self-Healing Plastic

New tech galore, this plastic heals just like us:

Unlike ordinary plastics, this one contains a thin network of tubes, aping the human vascular system, containing two separate gels that react when they come into contact with each other. When the surface of the plastic is punctured, for instance if shot by a bullet, the two gels pour out, mixing to form a surface roughly 60 percent as strong as the original -- just like a blood clot would on our bodies.

Wow.

via Engadget.

Dirty Money, Literally

Money is dirty indeed.

Each dollar bill carries about 3,000 types of bacteria on its surface, scientists have found. Most are harmless. But cash also has DNA from drug-resistant microbes. And your wad of dough may even have a smudge of anthrax and diphtheria.

While the study did offer some form of assurance, it makes mobile payment look like an ingenious idea, huh?

via npr.

The secret behind how those washing detergents "brighten" clothes and why LEDs will deter that effect

Couldn't make a shorter subject title without saying less. :/

Finally, I've been enlightened (via Gizmodo) on how some washing detergents actually do brighten clothes. Used to think this was just advertising gimmick but there is some truth to it. Detergents contain fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) that absorb ultraviolet light and then re-emit it as a bluish tone which make old, yellowish clothes look bright and radiant again.

But this trick will not work when these FWAs are exposed to LED light source because LED emit very little to no UV light. Gasp!

There is a solution, though, and these come in the form of non-standard tuned LEDs that emulate halogen bulbs by emitting certain violet rays. Guess detergent companies would need to cut deals with LED manufacturers, huh?

via Gizmodo.