NASA’s Plans for the Future

The New York Times Provides us with a great look at some of NASA’s plans for the future once the Space Shuttles are finally retired in 2010.  There are already talks about trying to land on the Moon again.  The next two launch systems, the Ares I and Ares V rockets, seem to be, by appearance at least, a step back to older days of space exploration.  Currently there are no discussed plans on the matter of a future space plane similar to the Shuttle.  Personally I hope that these plans really pull through, I think continued space exploration is both very interesting and also important.

The Orion Module of the Ares 1 Rocket

Spider Killing

I am not a person who enjoys killing anything, as such I tend to try to chase insects (bees, wasps, flies, etc) outside or catch them or release them out of doors (especially spiders and other crawly insects).  That being said I cannot warrant something poisonous living in my house.  I know that these animals are not necessarily aggressive, but I have no desire to risk a chance encounter with something that can make cause me considerable ill effect.

Earlier tonight I had to kill a Black Widow that I found in my house.  I found a certain reluctance in doing this.  The Black Widow is a really beautiful animal; pitch black only broken by a crimson hour glass on the belly, as if there is a given amount of time before the skilled predator strikes.  Latrodectus mactans is a fascinating species that just has the ill luck to possess a very potent venom which in turn as very significant effects on humans.  From what I have read the venom of Black Widows is actually very strong, rivaling that of even cobras and coral snakes, but they possess very small jaws which can only deliver a minor bite.  Because of the small bit the amount of venom distributed is minute, and while still strong enough to cause significant discomfort is usually not fatal (though it can still cause very painful effects and is potentially deadly if not carefully monitored).

So what did I do with this poisonous animal?  I killed it.  Not proud by any say, it was just another animal trying to survive, but I have no desire to have an encounter that may lead to a poisonous bite.  Sorry to the spider I killed, I am sure your species will continue to live even considering my act.

As such I have been curious to see a wild black widow for some time (though I was hoping it  wouldn’t be in my place of residence).  My friends Evan and Meg have reported encountering a couple Black Widows at their house (they might also have a Copperhead living nearby).  What surprises me is how small the spider is.  For some reason I pictured a relatively large creature and really it was incredibly tiny, not much bigger than a corn kernel.  But still beautiful with it;s pitch black color and that red hourglass.  Sad I had to dispose of it.

A Black Widow Spider

Year Ending, Top Picks

It seems like at this time of year (the last few days of December) every year there are always “top pick” lists from all sorts of news sources.  Top Books, Top Technology, Top Movies, etc, etc.  Well it doesn’t fail for Science either.  I myself am particularly fond of National Geographic’s “TOP TEN DINOSAUR & FOSSIL FINDS: Most Read of 2008” mostly because of my general love for dinosaurs and paleontology.  But there are a ton of other great science related pieces of news that appeared this past year (can anybody say turning on the LHC and then watching it crash just a few weeks later?).  I’d love to see what people thing were some of the best pieces of Science News for 2008.  Leave a comment, let me know.

Hope everybody has a happy New Year’s Day.

The Yawn, A Fan for Your Brain

This is fascinating.  I have long wondered why we yawn, and remember my dad explaining that it was something about the brain needing more oxygen (which is kind of true) but now new findings, as detailed in this discovery news article, strongly suggest that yawning developed as a mechanism to cool brains.  The analogy of a computer overheating is quite great, especially considering that the brain really kind of is a very advance biological computer.  I also like the reasoning for why we often yawn when other people yawn, or even when we just read about yawning.  It seems that it evolved for group animals all to remain alert for danger (the cooling of the brain helps it function better).  Great stuff.

Modern Koalas Not Descended From Prehistoric Giant Species

A Discovery News article, via ABC Science, explains findings that suggest that the modern day koalas of Australia do not appear to be evolutionary ancestors to prehistoric giant koalas.  I was not previously aware that there were once giant koalas on Australia, but supposedly there were.  The species is called Phascolarctos stirtoni and lived during the Pleistocene.  Supposedly they could gow to weigh as much as 30 Kg.  Something about giant koalas strikes me as somewhat disturbing, especially because I have read that modern koalas are quite territorial and not really all that friendly.  This findings have led to greater speculation about what happened to much of Australia’s prehistoric megafauna.