I’m preparing a quiz on the history of science since 1950, for use at my Dad’s 60th birthday. Here are some links to useful timelines I found: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
(These sometimes contradict each other, but of course, when assembling a trivia quiz it’s vital to seek independent verification.)
And now, the rest of my links for this installment.
Astronomy:
- A study of rocks that Jupiter protects us from and what rocks it only makes more dangerous.
- Evidence that quasars can help stars to form.
- Explaining the asymmetry of lakes on Titan.
- Speculation that super earths might be more suitable for life than Earth.
Biology:
- In Australia we’re used to the idea of foreign species invading us, but not to the idea that our species might do the invading. Redback spiders in Japan are an exception.
- Humans inadvertently split one species of bird into two groups.
- Confirmation that proteins traverse DNA helically.
- Amputee controls robotic hand as his own.
24 Dec 2009 at 2:31 am
Found the redback story fascinating. Given our history of invasions, it’s surprisingly difficult to imagine Aussie species getting a foothold elsewhere, isn’t it?
26 Dec 2009 at 10:15 am
Yeah, I think I’ve heard something about certain Australian trees becoming weeds in parts of America, but other than that I can’t think of any more examples.