We've got a science-heavy post for you today! Check out what's going on in the world ...

Scientists have found another planet that looks like Earth! So, when can we move in? Never, unfortunately. This planet's -- in a very far away galaxy -- circles its star waaaaay too close to ever support life. How is it like Earth? Well, this is the first planet astronomers found that's made of rock; all the others are gas-based planets. What's the big deal, then? Now that we know there are other rocky planets, the probability of finding one at the right distance from its star has just gotten a huge boost. Move in day might not be today, but perhaps in a few hundred generations, there might be a colony of humans somewhere out there!

In other news: We may not be shooting off to unknown galaxies, but it looks like our sights are set a little closer to home. A bid to put another man on the moon has gotten a much-needed push in Congress after an expert testified it was possible -- for a price tag of about $3B. Wow. That's expensive ...

And, finally, in the best headline of the day, take a look at this:
"Hermaphrodite fish may signal environmental problems"

Hahaha ... Interesting story, too, if you have a moment. Otherwise, hope you have a great day, and we'll see you Friday!

Labels: exo-planet, man on the moon, science

OK, sci-tech geeks, we are in a lot of trouble. According to a new study that came out yesterday, Americans know a lot less about science that was previously thought -- in most cases, not enough to even make an informed decision based on scientific facts.

According to USA Today: "Only 26% believe that they themselves have a good understanding of science. And 44% couldn't identify a single scientist, living or dead, whom they'd consider a role model for the nation's young people."

I can think of three right off the top of my head -- Stephen Hawking, Gregor Mendel and, uh, Albert Einstein -- and if you give me another minute, I'll have another 5 more. What does this say about our culture, that people are so woefully misinformed and choose to live in Ostrich Town rather than crack a science book?

"American adults surveyed take a dim view of the USA's status as a world science leader. 70% believe the USA is not now the world leader in science achievement. 35% believe the USA will be the world science leader in the next 20 years. 79% agree that science is not receiving the attention it deserves in schools."

Want to know how you stack up? The National Science Foundation created this mostly true-false quiz to test your knowledge of general topics (answers below):

1. The center of the Earth is very hot.
2. All radioactivity is man-made.
3. It is the father’s gene that decides whether the baby is a boy or a girl.
4. Lasers work by focusing sound waves.
5. Electrons are smaller than atoms.
6. Antibiotics kill viruses as well as bacteria.
7. The universe began with a huge explosion.
8. The continents on which we live have been moving their location for millions of years and will continue to move in the future.
9. Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals.
10. Does the Earth go around the Sun, or does the Sun go around the Earth?
11. How long does it take for the Earth to go around the sun?

(1. True, 2. False, 3. True, 4. False, 5. True, 6. False, 7. True, 8. True, 9. True, 10. Earth around Sun, 11. One year)

I got all 11 right, plus the extra points I awarded myself for knowing that the Earth actually takes 365.25 days to go around the sun, hence the existence of the leap year. How'd you do?

Labels: genetics, knowledge, lasers, science, science quiz, universe

I fancy myself a pretty good cook -- husband doesn't complain -- but there are two things in this world that I simply cannot make to save my life: meatloaf and chocolate-chip cookies.

Since I'm angry at the whole concept of meatloaf, so vividly are my last 2 attempts etched in my memory -- a black, crunchy splat that's raw in the middle was made ever more disgusting by the various cheeseburger ingredients, like pickles and mustard, that I added to spice it up -- let's tackle the chocolate-chip cookie, shall we?

For those of you who, like me, have disappointingly resigned yourselves to being 'roll 'o cookie dough from the grocery shelves' kind of people, these secret chocolate-chip tips on how to improve this perennial favorite of all ages will make you raise your eyebrows in hopeful interest. I would have never though of resting the dough for 36 hours (like it would survive that long in my fridge anyways -- yours either, don't lie), but adding a touch of sea salt at the end? That's sheer brilliance! Is there a better flavor combination than salty and sweet in the whole world?

If you don't think you can wait the 36 hours for the dough to rest, try this method of vacuum-packing the dough. It helps force the moisture in more quickly because of the lack of air and the dough's compression. Pretty cool trick.

I may just have to strap my vintage apron back on, dust my cheeks with flour and give this who cookie-making thing one more go. Because, seriously, what's better than a warm, gooey *homemade* chocolate chip cookie dunked in cold milk?

Labels: apron. sea salt, chocolate-chips, cookies, cooking, meatloaf, science

You've made it to the green in 2 and you're 5 feet from par. You focus in on hole, swinging the putter gently on either side of the ball as you line up your shot. But, you think, even at a distance of 5 feet, that hole is so small that I have to hit this shot perfectly to even have a chance.

Sound familiar? Hopefully not. Preliminary research from Perdue has determined the worse golfer you are, the smaller the hole looks, lending more credence to the long-held notion that golf is more a game of the mind than one of skill and strength. The findings are also in line with similar studies on the correlation of a softball player's batting average and her perception of the softball's size -- bigger ball, higher average.

Being an extremely amateur golfer myself (marginally better than a mini-golf groupie), it gives me hope to think perhaps my problem isn't in my mechanics (though it probably still is) but in my attitude. It makes me want to sling my pretty pink golf bag -- I call her Sharpay -- over my shoulder and head out to my local driving range and give it another go.

Labels: golf, psychology, research, science

Uh oh. Bad news if you live on Earth -- it looks like the jet stream is shifting northward, altering the weather at a faster rate than local environments can adapt to it.

Wait -- some background info: What is the jet stream? It's a band of high winds that sits way above land and basically controls the weather for the U.S. There is more than one jet stream in the world that control different regions' weather, but the one of most interest to us is the same one that makes it about 30 minutes quicker to fly from Boston to London than the other way around (and makes it more turbulent). The higher our northern jet stream shifts upward, the drier the southern and southwestern U.S. becomes (bad news for drought-ravaged regions like Ga.), with the potential for big storms shifting north (bad news for densely populated northeast cities).

Says Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Stanford, Calif., "Basically look south of where you are and that's probably a good guess of what your weather may be like in a few decades.''

According to the study, this jet-stream shift may be due directly to global warming and is actually a phenomenon that has been forecast to happen for quite some time based on current warming conditions and trends. And, at a rate of about 18 feet per day (1.25 miles per year), plants just can't keep up with the shift, which could lead to big eco-problems -- in other words, the trees can't adapt quickly enough to their changing environment (evolution just doesn't work *that* fast), thus they are unable to survive.

What can we do to fix it? Well, not much, which is why this news is so bad. We as humans (especially those of my friends who share the U.S. with me) have officially transitioned from prevention to recovery mode, and thus the eco-chant of "reduce, reuse, recycle" (in that order) needs to get louder.

Sorry for being a downer -- I hope you all have a happy Earth Day.

Labels: jet streams, science, weather

The league of grand thinkers has lost another member.

Edward Lorenz, the famed meteorologist who came up with the chaos theory -- often known as the "Butterfly Effect," a theory of complete interconnectedness that states that something as small as a butterfly flapping its wings in Asia could, through a climatological domino effect, cause a tornado in Texas -- has died at his home in Cambridge. He was 90.

Though I didn't know his name, this theory has always been one of great interest to me -- one that just innately made sense and changed my thinking on weather and, more grandly, how the world's atmosphere works. R.I.P., Mr. Lorenz.

Labels: deaths, science, weather