Monthly Archives: September 2008

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It’s here, just not evenly distributed…

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When I imagine what life will be like in ten, twenty, or thirty years time one of the few things I’m pretty certain of is that every flat surface will eventually turn into a video screen of some kind (and will probably be used to advertise stuff).

And here we have an early example of this trend from Esquire magazine:

To commemorate Esquire’s 75th Anniversary, we have published an experimental limited-edition of the October 2008 issue that features something called electronic ink, with moving words and flashing images … It is available at some major bookstores and newsstands.

The most elegantly-described science fictional use of electronic ink-like display technologies that comes to mind are the “mediatrons” in Neal Stephenson’s Diamond Age. Described here:

…a thin film of nanobar coupled with a layer of rod-logic nanocomputers and light filters to produce a flexible graphic displayer in the form of a piece of paper, a poster or even wallpaper. Cheap and plentiful, with a higher pixel-count than the human can resolve…

According to the information provided by Esquire we’re not at this stage yet, with the whole setup requiring elaborate arrangements to manufacture.

A helpful individual has created a flickr set showing detailed photographs and detailed video of the limited edition magazine.

[via Slashdot]

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(Water) bears… in… spaaaaace!

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water bear (tardigrade)Maybe you took that recent opportunity to determine how long you personally would survive in the hard cold vacuum of space, but it’s a very safe bet that you didn’t rack up a whole ten days. [image from Wikimedia Commons]

That particular accolade goes to the tiny invertebrate animals known as “water bears” (or more correctly tardigrades). Examples of two species of the little critters were launched from Kazakhstan in a satellite and subsequently exposed to the vacuum for ten days, after which 68% were successfully rehydrated and went on to live exactly as normal. It appears they can take the vacuum in their stride, though the UV radiation is a bit of a problem.

I wonder if sea monkeys can survive in space? I remember my mum telling me that mine had to go away while I’d been at school… perhaps they went to catch a rocket in Kazakhstan? 🙁

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Bees and “electrosmog”, Bayer and Clothianidin

bee hive honeycombWe’ve mentioned Colony Collapse Disorder – the official name for the disturbing trend of bee colonies failing around the world – a couple of times before, and it’s a syndrome troubling and mysterious enough to have baffled any number of scientists for a few years now. [image by rockymountainhigh]

Some research has suggested that “electrosmog” (a technophobic UK tabloid media term for the electromagnetic radiation emitted by modern technology) may be the culprit, but via Shaun C Green we find there is a far less widely reported (but far more plausible) explanation of what may be at least a partial cause of CCD – a commercial pesticide called Clothianidin.

Bayer Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Clothianidin, is understandably keen to play down the possibility of its product having such an effect on bee colonies. The substance – rebranded as “Poncho” – was passed for use by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2003, but the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency claims the studies submitted as evidence were seriously flawed, and the German government suspended registration of Clothianidin and similar chemicals in May of this year.

So – are bees being killed off by electrosmog or Clothianidin? Maybe it’s both, maybe it’s neither… but given the choice of the two, I know what Occam’s Razor is telling me, and it’s the answer that doesn’t make such a sensational headline.