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The Shaky Science Behind Forensics

“Forensic science was not developed by scientists. It was mostly created by cops, who were guided by little more than common sense. And as hundreds of criminal cases begin to unravel, many established forensic practices are coming under fire. PM takes an in-depth look at the shaky science that has put innocent people behind bars.” w/ photos

The Analysis Of Wake Turbulence

“Cool, it would have been cool if they showed a smoke screen test with the winglets.” — freakeryan

Bees Building Wax Nests

“Fascinating BBC footage of bees constructing wax defenses for eggs within their specially constructed nests.”

Lesbian Sex Positions For Dummies

“So, here are a few basics as a refresher for us all and as some handy (no pun intended) hints and tips for you lovely ladies who haven’t given it a bash yet… So to speak. Jump right in girls, the water’s warm!” w/ photos

How A Hurricane Is Born

“A fascinating look at how a little girl walking in the sand of the African desert could cause a hurricane 4,000 miles away in the USA. Great video from BBC show The Science of Superstorms.”

Why Flamingos Stand On One Leg

“It is one of the simplest, but most enigmatic mysteries of nature: just why do flamingos like to stand on one leg? The question is asked by zoo visitors and biologists alike, but while numerous theories abound, no-one has yet provided a definitive explanation. Now after conducting an exhaustive study of captive Caribbean flamingos, two scientists believe they finally have the answer… Flamingos stand on one leg to regulate their body temperature.” w/ photos

Fast Food Makes You Less Intelligent

“Fast food can make you less intelligent, according to new research. A high-fat diet over less than 10 days was found to damage the short-term memory of rats used in the experiment from scientists at Oxford University. The research team studied rats fed a low fat diet, comprising 7.5 per cent of calories as fat, and compared them with rats fed a high-fat junk food diet, with 55 per cent of calories as fat. It found that after four days the muscles of the rat on the high-fat diet were less able to use oxygen to make energy needed to exercise, causing an increase in heart size. After nine days, the high-fat rats made more mistakes in a maze, taking longer to complete it. On the other hand, the low-fat rats were running 50 per cent further by this period… Dr Gerald Weissmann, editor of the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology, who published the study, said: “It’s nothing short of a high-fat hangover.” w/ photos

The Taxi Of Tomorrow

“A driverless taxi has been unveiled which could make traffic jams, petrol fumes and crowded buses a thing of the past. The futuristic pod has no driver, and no opinionated chatter to accompany your journey, but instead a button set in the wall with the word ’start’ written beside it. The four-seater cab was unveiled at the Science Museum in London yesterday and will be in use from next year taking passengers between car parks and Terminal 5. The man behind the mission, Professor Martin Lowson, who has a background in space travel and worked on the Saturn V Rocket, said: ‘They could have the same effect on transport this century as the rocket had on the 19th.’ He added: ‘We believe that our PRT system can transform cities in the 21st century to provide the optimum form of environmentally friendly urban transport, relieving congestion and reducing emissions.” w/ photos

Our Ancestors Did NOT Evolve From Apes

“The famous sequence that shows the evolution of man from knuckle-dragging ape to an upright human may be flawed, a new study has revealed. Researchers who examined the wrist bones of several primate species believe our early human ancestors never used their knuckles to walk like gorillas. Instead they evolved from other apes who spent most of their time in trees and descended to the ground upright.” w/ photos

Beer Is Good For Female Bones

“Drinking beer regularly could stop bones from going brittle, according to scientists in Spain. A study found that the bones of women who drink beer regularly are stronger, making them less likely to suffer from osteoporosis. It is thought that the high level of silicon in beer slows down the thinning that leads to fractures and boosts the formation of new bone, the journal Nutrition reports. Beer is also rich in phytoestrogens, plant versions of oestrogen, which keep bones healthy. Bones are made up of a mesh of fibres, minerals, blood vessels and marrow, and healthy ones are denser with smaller spaces between the different parts. The researchers asked almost 1,700 healthy women with an average age of 48 about their drinking habits. They then underwent ultrasound scans of their hands, which showed the bones belonging to beer drinkers to be denser.” w/ photos