Nov/090
Holy Mars Orbiter, Batman!
In August of 2005 NASA launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, In March of 2006 it arrived at Mars and began to study the terrain and atmosphere in great detail. Over the last 4 years the MRO has gathered more data on Mars than the sum of all other missions to Mars combined[2].
Today let’s take a look at some of the amazing pictures it has returned. All of the amazing detail of the images you see on this page are provided by HiRISE which is one of 6 instruments carried on-board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter…
Barchan Dunes in Chasma Boreale
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (link)
HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona Tucson and has the most powerful telescopic camera ever flown to another planet at its disposal. As of October 8th, 2009 the HiRISE project has released into the public domain almost 1.2million images, totaling just under 38Terabytes of data[3].
Sand Dunes
Nov/090
Yo-Yo Ma : Appassionato
It’s not often that I feel compelled to write and about music, but every once in a while something stands out as being so worthy of praise that it would almost be a crime not to. After months of listening and consideration, I believe that Yo-Yo Ma’s Appassionato is just one such thing.
In a collection of recordings spanning almost 3 decades, Ma has put together a fantastic story about his passion for music. Each track guides you effortlessly into a new chapter, all magnificently decorated with the nuance and detail that you might expect from a well written book. From the lighthearted introduction of “Going to School” by John Williams, to the provocative and enduring conclusion of “Gabriel’s Oboe” by Ennio Morricone; Ma’s careful selection of recordings tells the story of his love for music that my words cannot do justice.
You may preview all the tracks on Amazon’s page. Share and enjoy.
Nov/090
Kandel on Memory Storage
In response to a blog post I wrote recently, a friend kindly pointed out that I seemed to have overlooked the work of Dr. Eric Kandel and others with respect to molecular changes that occur in neurons during learning. In 2000 Eric Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize along with Arvid Carlsson and Paul Greengard for their work detailing such molecular changes. As it turns out because of their work, we actually have a pretty fantastic understanding about how things are committed to short and long-term memory, as well as the general way in which synaptic connections relate to the storage of things in memory.
Nobel Lecture 2000
My friend also provided a link to the lecture that Kandel gave while he was in Stockholm accepting the Nobel Prize. I must admit that very little of the talk made complete sense to me, partly because the camera man chose not to show the screen while Kandel was using his laser pointer to go through the diagrams, and partly because I’m not a molecular biologist. A few very cool insights did come out of watching the lecture, that are interesting enough to share…
- Sometimes you need to follow the carrot right over the edge of a cliff, just to see what happens. Gravity isn't so tough.
- RT @StuMcDnld: Unaddressed assumptions will absolutely ruin relationships. Honest communication is imperative in ALL areas of life.