Robotic Asteroid Voyager for NASA Liftoff in 2016

Spaceflight Now: Touting its ability to lay the groundwork for future human voyages, NASA officials announced Wednesday a robotic probe named OSIRIS-REx will launch to an asteroid in 2016 and return up to 4 pounds of rock and dust to Earth seven years later.

Led by a research team at the University of Arizona in Tucson, OSIRIS-REx will approach a carbon-rich asteroid and collect samples with an air gun. Scientists expect the asteroid harbors organic molecules, the building blocks that may have kick-started life on Earth.

 

Milk Carton Molly (The Musical)

 

Hot New musical with a Pop / R&B Twist!    Milk Carton Molly the musical is a one day event taking place on: Saturday, June 25, 2011 in the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater at Peter Norton Symphony Space 2537 Broadway at 95th Street New York, NY Showtimes are 3pm and 8pm Tickets are available here or by calling 212-864-5400 Group rates are also available by emailing info@soignecompany.com

 

Brain Functions Controlled by Light

Wired Science:  To get a crash course in a neurological research technique that uses light to manipulate brain cells, watch this video.

Optogenetics allows researchers to investigate real-time neural interactions involved in animal movement, memories, behavior and even consciousness. It’s also proving useful in unraveling the pathology of conditions like depression, seizures and anxiety.

 

Delicious Colombian Ants in Season Again!

GLOBAL POST: Emerging from the soil this time of year is something Colombian farmers covet more than anything they can grow: big-butt ants.

Known in Spanish as “hormigas culonas,” the brown, cockroach-size insects are roasted, salted and eaten like peanuts. Considered a delicacy, they can fetch more than 10 times the price per pound of Colombia’s world-famous coffee.

In northern Santander department, about the only place in Colombia where they flourish, the ants are sometimes used as pizza topping. One enthusiastic chef serves beef tenderloin and pork cutlets drizzled in ant sauce.The notion of eating ants may trigger the gag reflex so first-timers are advised to instead focus on their earthy, nutty taste and day-old-popcorn texture.

“The more you eat, the more you want to eat,” said farmer Miguel Angel Paez, 25, who has been gathering ants since he was a boy. “The butt is the best part.”

 

Japan Photo Journal

MAINICHI DAILY NEWS: Tokyo Tower is lit up in white in commemoration of the victims of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on May 11, two months after the disaster. The illumination uses about half the amount of electricity required for the normal illumination by turning off the lights at the top and the bottom of the tower. (Mainichi)

 

Twin Girls Born with Two Heads, One Body

LONDON DAILY MAIL: A woman has given birth to a baby girl with two heads in the Chinese province of Sichuan.

The conjoined twins, who share a single body, two arms and two legs, were born by Caesarean section last week, according to officials.

The sisters are believed to suffer from a condition known as dicephalic parapagus – an extremely unusual form of twin conjoinment where only a single body develops.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1385271/Rare-conjoined-twins-share-single-body-born-China.html#ixzz1M9ClskaA

 

First Suicide from World’s Tallest Building

First suicide from world’s tallest building: The remarkable Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai in January 2010. Owner Emaar Properties said “The concerned authorities have confirmed that it was a suicide, and we are awaiting the final report.”

The dead man apparently hurled himself from the 147th floor. He struck the building on his way down, landing on the 108th floor. An Asian man in his thirties, he took the terrifying plunge following  a reported dispute with his employer.

 

Got Wood? Fierce Competition for Paper Pulp

Canadian Business: The demand for some types of paper, like newsprint and other printing and writing paper will decrease in the next decade but the many other uses for wood fibre will mean dramatic increases in global demand overall, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCooper.

The Canadian forest, paper and packaging industry is facing intense pressure. PwC’s Canadian Forest, Paper and Packaging Leader Bruce McIntyre says: “Companies from a diverse array of industries – energy, utilities, chemicals and potentially many more as biomaterials evolve – will compete with FPP companies for control of forests, or at least access to their fibre, and the best economic use of the resources they provide.”

As a result, demand will outpace supply and increasing competition for fibre will be a key factor of future supply chains.

“The world’s forests will make a reduced contribution to meeting our increasing needs for wood fibre,” says McIntyre. “Many of these forests are economically inaccessible or are sensitive to disturbance. Instead, these forests are going to be valued for their conservation benefits and that will result in restrictions on industrial wood output.”

 

AIDS WALK NYC 2011

The 26th annual AIDS Walk New York will take place on Sunday, May 15 to raise vital funds for GMHC and dozens of AIDS service organizations in the tri-state area. The 10k (6.2 mile) AIDS Walk route begins and ends in Central Park.
AIDS Walk New York is one of the largest, most diverse, and highly anticipated annual events in New York City. Last year, 45,000 walkers and 2,500 volunteers raised $5.7 million for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and advocacy programs. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $116 million to fight AIDS in the tri-state area, and the AIDS Walk movement has raised more than a half-billion dollars nationwide.

 

Well-known Atheist pays tribute to the King James Bible

In the latest Vanity Fair, noted unbeliever Christopher Hitchens argues that our language and culture are incomplete without a 400-year-old book—the King James translation of the Bible. Spurned by the Establishment, it really represents a triumph for rebellion and dissent. Accept no substitutes!