Mark Strauss

NASA Is Making Nukes More Expensive

When NASA terminated the space shuttle program, it also deprived solid fuel manufacturers of their main customer. The result is a massive spike in propellant prices, which is increasing the cost of the U.S.-UK Trident nuclear program. Both the space shuttle and the submarine-launched Trident rely on booster engines containing a powerful solid rocket fuel.…

The Great Beer Flood Of 1814

London has been beset by many tragedies: Viking invasion, plague, fire, V-2 rocket attacks…and a tsunami of beer that claimed the lives of eight people in the early 19th century. The location of the incident is familiar to anyone who has visited London: the famed Dominion Theatre at the crossroads of Tottenham Court Road and…

This Animal Is Almost Impossible to Kill

Hydras are tentacled, freshwater animals that vaguely resemble tiny sea anemones. They’re rather unremarkable except for one trait: if they’re torn into tiny pieces, they can reassemble themselves. At the Conversation blog, Rebecca Helm, who studies jellyfish and other sea life at Brown University, has instantly won my admiration by describing the Hydra as the…

​If You Want a Glimpse of the Future Food Wars, Look to Hawaii

After Hawaii banned GMO crops, local farmers say they have no idea whether their plants are illegal or not. Plus, it’s unclear whether the state even has the right to enforce this ban in the first place. The Aloha State is about to become ground zero for the U.S. food wars. Hawaii might seem an…

How Brazil Nuts Solved A Mystery About Asteroids

When Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft photographed the asteroid Itokawa in 2005, scientists were puzzled by what they saw: The total volume of boulders strewn about its surface were greater than the volume of the craters they were supposed to have come from. Now physicists have an answer… by studying the movement of nuts. It’s called the…

A Great Way to Listen to Those Mysterious “Number Stations”

For decades, shortwave radio enthusiasts have been stumbling upon mysterious stations that broadcast a looping noise, such as a nursery rhyme, occasionally punctuated by someone reading a string of numbers. The most popular theory is that these are coded messages—and now, an online shortwave radio lets you listen in. Shortwave is an ideal medium for…

An Exquisite Medieval Manuscript Shows Merlin Building Stonehenge

Stonehenge was as much a source of awe a thousand years ago as it is today. Historians and poets wove the mysterious circle into their tales of King Arthur, with one lushly illustrated book depicting the wizard Merlin as the architect. The manuscript is a 14th-century edition of Roman de Brut, a literary history written…

Congress Is Still Editing Wikipedia a Lot — Here’s How We Know

Ever since members of Congress got busted for rewriting Wikipedia articles in 2006, anonymous editors of the online encyclopedia on Capitol Hill have become more circumspect. But the days of under-the-radar editing are over, with a new bot that monitors each and every change in real time. (Photo: Shutterstock) Created less than a week ago…

By 2025, networked devices will account for 6% of global electricity demand at 1,140 terawatt-hours. Most of that energy is used just to maintain a network connection. Developing ways to minimize power consumption in standby mode could reduce that demand by 600 terawatt-hours annually by 2020.

​The Real Reason the Pentagon Has Downgraded the Iran Missile Threat

An unclassified excerpt of a Defense Department document reveals a subtle, but significant, change in language, which suggests that Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile technology does not pose an imminent threat to the U.S. This year’s Annual Report on Military Power of Iran opens with a two-page executive summary that notes, “Iran has publicly stated it…

Game Of Thrones Characters And Their Historical Doppelgangers

The digital curators at the National Library of France have scoured their massive collection of photos and drawings from across the centuries to prove, once and for all, that everyone has a lookalike — even imaginary characters, like the stars of Game of Thrones. Or Smeagol and Shrek. Top image: François II and Prince Joffrey…

779 Marijuana Brand Names In One Infographic

So, what’s your preference? Liquid Gold Vape Pen Super Silver Haze or Blue Diesel? As marijuana has gone legit, growers rely more than ever on catchy names as a branding tool. But with greater legalization comes greater responsibility. Some say the names can mislead consumers about their medicinal effects. Marijuana has always had an impressive…

Anti-Obamacare Ads Backfired, Says A New Statistical Analysis

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act have spent an estimated $450 million on political ads attacking the law, outspending supporters of Obamacare 15-to-1. But a state-by-state comparison of negative ads and enrollment figures suggests the attacks ads actually increased public awareness of the healthcare program. Niam Yaraghi, a Brookings Institution expert on the economics of…

New Time-Lapse Video Of Earth From Space Is Your Monday Moment Of Zen

Alexander Gerst, an astronaut from the European Space Agency, recorded this time-lapse video from the International Space Station as it flew over Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean at speeds close to 18,000 miles per hour, 250 miles above the Earth. Gerst, who joined the ISS crew in late May, is participating in a 166-day mission…

The recent revelations about the NSA’s clandestine electronic surveillance programs have highlighted the risks of European dependency on U.S. technology, says a new report—which adds that Germany’s spying scandals should spur the EU to revitalize its declining science and technology sectors.

​The Two Organizations Trying to Destroy U.S. Science Education

The Heartland Institute, a prominent, Chicago-based organization opposing climate science, has teamed up with the creationist Discovery Institute to launch a smear campaign against a group promoting the nationwide adoption of updated science education guidelines. The guidelines in question are the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), adopted so far by 11 states and the District…

Climate change creates conditions that increase the risk of disease for both animals and humans. Health officials are especially concerned about the vulnerability of livestock—which accounts for 40% of global agricultural GDP, employs 1.3 billion people, and provides one-third of human protein intake.

Declassified Memos Reveal Debate Over Naming the Shuttle “Enterprise”

NASA had initially planned to name the first Space Shuttle Constitution. Now, declassified White House documents reveal what convinced President Gerald Ford to overrule that decision and thrill Star Trek fans by calling it Enterprise. (Photo: NASA) On September 3, 1976, William Gorog, a senior economic adviser to Ford, sent the president a decision memorandum:…

Preppers Explain Why They Joined The Organic Food Movement

Activists championing organic foods have found support among preppers. They’re sympathetic to the “government is a conspiracy and corporations are evil” idea. But what really made preppers into anti-GMO food activists is their desire to have a healthy post-apocalyptic lifestyle. (Photo: Destination America) Yes, the preppers, have gone green. You can get all sorts of…

Stunning New Close-Ups Of The Largest Crater On Mars

The European Space Agency has released new images of the Hellas basin, which formed around four billion years ago when a small asteroid crashed into the Red Planet, creating an impact crater 1,400 miles wide and 26,465 feet deep. The images, taken by the high-resolution stereo camera on the ESA’s Mars Express, feature a portion…