Daily Archives: January 9, 2012

Clearest picture yet of dark matter points the way to better understanding of dark energy

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deskarati

Two teams of physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermilab and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have independently made the largest direct measurements of the invisible scaffolding of the universe, building maps of dark matter using new methods … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmology | Leave a comment

The Renaissance of Continental Drift

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deskarati

The Renaissance of Continental Drift – an original piece by Alan Mason The one hundredth anniversary of the publication of Alfred Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift was recently marked on deskarati by the posting of a festschrift (tribute) to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology, History | 1 Comment

Tallest Man in the World

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deskarati

Sultan Kösen; born 10 December 1982 in Mardin, Turkey) holds the Guinness World Record for tallest living male at 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in). His growth has resulted from a tumour affecting his pituitary gland. His stature is such that he must use crutches in order to walk. Kösen lives with his … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography | 2 Comments

Peter Higgs

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deskarati

Peter Ware Higgs, FRS, FRSE, FKC (born 29 May 1929), is an English theoretical physicist and an emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his 1960s proposal of broken symmetry in electroweak theory, explaining the origin of mass of elementary particles in general and of the W and Z bosons in particular. This so-called Higgs … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Physics | Leave a comment

World’s Hardest Sudoku

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deskarati

Number cruncher Dr Arto Inkala created this challenge to rival the AI Escargot grid he drew up in 2006 – widely regarded as the most difficult yet. Can you complete this demon grid? - Deskarati -

Posted in Mathematics | Leave a comment

Ancient African Nok sculpture discovered after 2,000 years in the mud

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deskarati

Many incredible works of art have been made using terracotta, including the world famous Terracotta Army created for the first emperor of China. But because terracotta is often simply unglazed clay, many of the finest works were lost long ago. … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Leave a comment

How does our brain know what is a face and what’s not?

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deskarati

Objects that resemble faces are everywhere. Whether it’s New Hampshire’s erstwhile granite “Old Man of the Mountain,” or Jesus’ face on a tortilla, our brains are adept at locating images that look like faces. However, the normal human brain is … Continue reading →

Posted in Neuroscience | Leave a comment