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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Martian Meteorites Found To Contain Methane


An international team of researchers has discovered traces of methane in Martian meteorites.

The researchers examined samples from six meteorites of volcanic rock that originated on Mars. The meteorites contain gases in the same proportion and with the same isotopic composition as the Martian atmosphere. All six samples also contained methane, which was measured by crushing the rocks and running the emerging gas through a mass spectrometer. The team also examined two non-Martian meteorites, which contained lesser amounts of methane.

The discovery hints at the possibility that methane could be used as a food source by rudimentary forms of life beneath the Martian surface. On Earth, microbes do this in a range of environments.

Read the story

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Robbie the Robot vs. Battling Billy (1957)

From Tales of the Unexpected #10 (DC Comics)

Monday, June 15, 2015

The All-Seeing Eye by Jack Kirby (1956)

From Tale of The Unexpected #12 (DC Comics)


Of course Kirby would never let a good idea go to waste. Here's the 'Evil Eye' again in FF #54:

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

How To Build The Perfect Campfire


Today in Nature Scientific Reports, engineering professor Adrian Bejan shows that the best campfires are roughly as tall as they are wide. The shape is the most efficient for the flow of air and heat.

"Our bonfires are shaped as cones and pyramids, as tall as they are wide at the base. They look the same in all sizes, from the firewood in the chimney, to the tree logs and wooden benches in the center of the university campus after the big game," Bejan said. PR


Why humans build fires shaped the same way. 2015. Bejan, A. Nature Scientific Reports

Thursday, May 28, 2015