Why not use micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses, fungus, etc) to create sustainable energy and fuel? There are a lot of ideas currently being researched and put to use; for example, PG&E has started turning cow manure into natural gas.

Cow poop? Not another gross-out story, you’re probably thinking. Just wait. When we interviewed Dan Kammen of UC Berkeley for this piece, he even mentioned harnessing cow farts in the barn at night.

We’re going to need fuel and energy from just about any creative source soon. So why not e coli? Why not termite bacteria? Why not cow poop and farts? Bring it on!

-Molly

 

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Atlantis Found?

The biggest news since the launch of Google Ocean was the supposed find of Atlantis.

English aeronautical engineer, Bernie Bamford thought he found the famed city when he viewed what looked like a grid of streets and outlines of a big city on the sea floor 600 miles off the coast of West Africa on the Google software.

However, Google publicly disputed the discovery of Atlantis.  The grids are in fact gaps in data collected using sonar technology.  A Google spokesperson stated to the press; “The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data. The fact there are blank spots between each of these lines is a sign of how little we really know about the world’s oceans. Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor.”

Although, Google Earth has been an effective research and data collection tool, Atlantis will not be added to the list of discoveries.  Discoveries by Google Earth also include pristine forest in Mozambique and the remains of an ancient Roman villa.  Academy entomologist Brian Fisher even immortalized the name Google in the annals of science by naming a new ant species after it back in 2005.  He named the ant Proceratium google because of the incredible support Google gave to creating antweb.com. The Antweb site allowed scientists and ant aficionados to download the Google Earth program in order to plot known ants to Antweb on a three dimensional, interactive globe of satellite images. The technology looked up ants by location, rather than by name.  Therefore a team collecting ants could quickly assess if they have found a new species using the website.

With such an incredible tool now delving into the depths of the oceans, it is only a matter of time for yet another spectacular discovery to make it to the list.  Who knows?  Atlantis might still be out there waiting to be found…

-Cat

 

 Google Oceans: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

At a NASA press conference this morning, the mood was somber.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) failed to reach orbit after its nose cone didn’t separate from the rest of the spacecraft.  With the rocket’s thrust fine-tuned to the mass of everything on board, the added weight prevented the satellite from reaching orbit.  It circled the globe nearly three-quarters of a full revolution, then splashed down in the ocean off Antarctica.  Telemetry indicates that all the rocket fuel was expended; therefore, the only hazardous material on board was hydrozene, the substance used to power the satellite’s attitude thrusters once orbit is attained.

Had OCO succeeded in its mission, it would have studied variability in Earth’s carbon emissions and perhaps could have helped solve the mystery of “missing” carbon–the 30 percent of human-produced carbon dioxide that remain unaccounted for in current measurements.  OCO’s observations would have helped scientists forecast global climate change more accurately.

There is no hope of recovering the $280 million, 8-year investment. However the option of using OCO’s spare parts as a hub to rebuild it and relaunch in the future is a topic of some discussion at NASA.  The Glory satellite will not be launched until this failure is investigated.  A chairman of the investigation committee will be named within 24 hours.

—Ty (reporting from Vandenberg Air Force Base)

Images courtesy of NASA.

Senior Collections Manager Norm Penny explains why the weather is a major factor that affects insect populations on this edition of Science in Action (90 sec)

[audio:InsectsAndTheWeather.mp3]

 

 Insects and the Weather: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download