A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet know to science.  This new element has been tentatively named “Managerium”.  Managerium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 111 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.  Since Managerium has no electrons, it is inert.  However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.  A minute amount of Managerium causes one reaction to take over 4 days to complete when it would normally take less than a second.

Managerium has a normal half-life of 3 years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganisation in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.  In fact, Managerium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganisation causes some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

The characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Managerium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration.  This hypothetical quantity is referred to as “Critical Morass”.

You will know it when you see it.*

*I found this a few days ago whilst tidying up my computer. A friend sent it to me several years ago… Some things never change

Omni Magazine was one of my favourite reads in my younger years.  The magazine covered exploratory science and science fiction of the day.

I read and collected the magazines for a number of years, but my collection has long since gone.  Occasionally there have been certain articles and Sci Fi stories that I have wished to re-read in respect of the world as it is today and I have regretted the loss of my magazines….

A recent post from the ‘Daily Grail‘ alerted me to the fact that all the magazines are now all available for download.

Originally published in late 1978, running through till 1995, Omni covered a lot of the same ground that we do here on TDG – interesting new science, science on the fringe, and even science ‘beyond’ the fringe through its wonderful science fiction shorts (authored by SFF giants such as Isaac Asimov, William Gibson, Robert Heinlein, Stanislaw Lem, George R.R. Martin, Orson Scott Card, Harlan Ellison, and Ben Bova, along with art by the likes of H.R.Giger and other wonderful artists).

I wonder how many of the predictions have come true…

Synopsis (from the back cover):

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), credited as the inspiration for radio, robots, and even radar, has been called the patron saint of modern electricity.  Based on original material and previously unavailable documents, this acclaimed book is the definitive biography of the man considered by many to be the founding father of modern electrical technology.  Among Tesla’s creations were the channelling of alternating current, fluorescent and neon lighting, wireless telegraphy, and the giant turbines that harnessed the power of Niagara Falls.

Review:

Marc takes the reader on chronological journey through the life and times of Nikola Tesla.

The book explains the inventions and ideas of Tesla and puts them into context with the life and times of the day.  It explains in detail the inventor’s visionary ideas and how he gained financial backing for them and why the backing was subsequently lost.

The book also describes his character and attitude to life, and perhaps why his foresight/inventions were attributed to others.  For his ideas to be accepted and moved forward he needed a promoter rather than  a financial backer.

The vagaries of intellectual property law which allowed others to claim his inventions as theirs are explained in great detail as is the importance of corporations and their role in the funding of ideas.

I found it an excellent biography covering Tesla’s scientific ideas and inventions alongside the social and political history of the time.

Scientists drew this conclusion after observing a slime mould as it grew into a network that was almost identical to the Tokyo rail system.

The scientists describe their ideas for “biologically inspired networks” in the journal Science.

They have incorporated the slime mould’s efficient strategy into a mathematical formula.

This “slime formula” could help engineers develop better, more efficient designs.
The single amoeboid cells of slime moulds fuse and spread into a network as they feed and grow.

“These biological networks have been honed by many cycles of evolutionary selection pressure,” wrote the researchers in their article.

The research team, led by Dr Atsushi Tero from Hokkaido University, Japan, wanted to capture this evolved efficiency, which they say could be used to inform human engineering decisions.

The scientists put the slime to the test by allowing it to grow on a wet surface on which they placed oat flakes in locations that corresponded to the cities surrounding Tokyo.

They placed the slime mould, Physarum polycephalum, in the centre.

As it grew outwards, it organised itself into a network around the food that closely resembled the train network connecting Tokyo to its surrounding cities.

The researchers then converted this growth “strategy” into a mathematical formula.

The researchers say that this model could provide a starting point for improving the efficiency and even decreasing the cost of “self-organised networks”, such as computer and mobile communication networks that are not centrally controlled.

The idea for using slime moulds in this ways inspired by Toshiyuki Nakagaki, who was responsible for showing that the slime could find the most efficient way through a maze.

Photo from from VPRO Beagle on Flickr – click on picture for more photos.

The Clipper Stad Amsterdam set sail from Plymouth harbor today following the steps of Darwin’s famous voyage of discovery.  The people involved in the project hope to retrace the route of Darwin’s 5 year voyage on HMS Beagle in a single year.

During the voyage the participants are hoping to assess where the world stands today in light of Darwin’s theory of evolution.  The journey will form the basis of a 41 episode documentary that is being filmed for VPRO Dutch TV.

Journalist and historian Chris Lloyd, who wrote the book What on Earth Happened? will be joining the voyage for the first leg of the journey to Tenerife.  Other participants include, Sarah Darwin, great-great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin, palaeontologist Peter Ward, anthropologist Michael Heckenberger, geneticist and anthropologist Spencer Wells and Daniel Dennett, one of today’s most prominent and influential American philosophers. They will be joined by fossil-hunters, DNA researchers, geologists and archaeologists.

From the Beagle website:

To celebrate Charles Darwin’s 200th birth year, and the 150th anniversary of his publication of “On the Origin of Species”, VPRO is preparing a 35-part series called Beagle: On the future of species. Life on earth is under continual change. Is there reason to worry about the future? Can science offer us sufficient answers to some of our most compelling questions? Are we leaving behind an inhabitable world for future generations?

Our VPRO-Beagle ship the Clipper Stad Amsterdam is an experiment in itself. This three mast sailing ship will be rigged with advanced scientific measurement equipment. Scientists from various disciplines and from all over the world will execute experiments on board this sailing science lab. The ship also has a built-in TV studio from which parts of the series will be produced and broadcast.

Beagle will take viewers on a journey across magnificent landscapes, vulnerable regions, endangered areas and adventurous locations, stretching from Patagonia to the South Pacific, and from Australia to St. Helena. En route one recurrent question will be asked: “Will the earth survive mankind?”

You can follow the journey on the interactive website, where Chris will be blogging daily during his part of the voyage.

Henry Markram, director of the Blue Brain Project says it is not impossible to build a human brain and that it can be done within the next 10 years.

They are hoping the project will help them understand brain diseases and disorders which may lead to new treatments.

The Blue Brain project at Swizerland’s EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) was launched in 2005 and aims to reverse engineer the mammalian brain from laboratory data.

In particular, his team has focused on the neocortical column – repetitive units of the mammalian brain known as the neocortex.

“It’s a new brain,” he explained. “The mammals needed it because they had to cope with parenthood, social interactions complex cognitive functions.

“It was so successful an evolution from mouse to man it expanded about a thousand fold in terms of the numbers of units to produce this almost frightening organ.”

And that evolution continues, he said. “It is evolving at an enormous speed.”