Our next big crisis...Would you believe phosphorus?

== The crisis you never heard of... unless... ==

 An inspiring TED talk attempts to bring to world attention a coming “phosphorus crisis” — the rapid depletion of this elemental resource that is vital to life — a crisis that I revealed to many of you in EXISTENCE. 

This TED talk: A Simple Solution to the Coming Phosphorus Crisis -- by biologist Mohamed Hijri (in French but with excellent sub-titles) not only clearly elucidates the problem, but also puts forward one element of a solution that could save several billion lives, when the phosphorus deposits dry up. 


== Biology R-us ==

Commencing a bio-science miscellany-fest...

It seems brain regions that contribute to optimal social functioning are also vital to general intelligence and emotional intelligence.

You've heard about this second hand... now the science of how the adolescent brain differs and grows. This fascinating article, Dude Where's My Frontal Cortex, by Robert Sapolsky, tracks the last part of us to mature -- the prefrontal lobes responsible for planning and impulse control. A thorough, insightful, compassionate and well-written piece, with insight into the delayed development of the teenage brain.

Also, it seems that the model of “competitive neuron development” that I wrote about in EARTH (1989) is now viewed as standard biological fact. Astrocytes — a type of glial cell traditionally thought to provide more of a support role in the brain are now seen as critical for some forms of memory, such as object recognition. Terrence Sejnowski, head of the Computational Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, has led this effort. Without astrocyte-driven “gamma waves” mice were unable to recognize that objects are novel in their environment. Even more interesting are the techniques that the Salk folks use to subtly turn these activities on and off, in the brain.

The parts of North America with the greatest diversity of species of birds? Get ready for a shock.

No worries? Fish seem to flourish on anti-anxiety drugs being flushed down to our oceans.

By analyzing the brainwaves of just 16 individuals as they watched mainstream television content, researchers were able to accurately predict the preferences of large TV audiences. 

Um… “Testosterone decreases the ability of the frontal cortex to communicate with and rein in the amygdala.” No kidding?

And straight from the pages of sci fi...

Scientists discover that plants may have their own language at a genetic level that allows parasitic plants to communicate with and hack into the plants that they're invading before sucking them dry. (As you saw depicted in Brightness Reef!) Researchers find that there is an exchange of messenger RNA, sending messages from the parasite to the host -- this may reprogram the host, lowering its defenses.

==Tech Diagnostic Tools for Health==

Google and Novartis announced that they’re teaming up to develop smart contact lenses that monitor glucose levels and automatically adjust their focus -- changing shape depending where the user is looking.

Such “prototype lenses contains a device about the size of a speck of glitter that measures glucose in tears. A wireless antenna then transmits the measurements to an external device. It’s designed to ease the burden of diabetics who otherwise have to prick their fingers to test their blood sugar levels.”

Also possible: Such smart lenses may be used for targeted drug delivery, to enhance night vision, as well as glaucoma testing, and later -- full immersion VR/AR.

Researchers find that tracking involuntary eye movement may provide a reliable diagnostic tool for ADHD -- as well as for monitoring the effectiveness of drugs used to treat ADHD.

How wearable cameras can help those with Alzheimer's: The wearable camera is being touted as the latest must-have accessory for social-media obsessives, but is a real boon for helping people with serious medical conditions recall important events in their lives. 

Science! From TWODA to "P.U." to RNA

This will be a science potpourri....

== Save the world from dopes? ==

Scientists have known for decades that Greenland’s ice sheet is melting, but they may have underestimated just how much water the second-largest ice sheet on the planet is shedding. New research indicates that a key section of northeast Greenland thought to be stable is actually dumping billions of tons of water into the ocean annually after a barrier of ice debris that had blocked its flow finally gave way. "We're seeing an acceleration of ice loss."

"The Greenland ice sheet has contributed more than any other ice mass to sea-level rise over the last two decades and has the potential, if it were completely melted to raise global sea level by more than seven meters,” explains one expert. Between 1990 and 2011, climate change caused ocean surface temperatures around Greenland to rise 1.8 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

An interactive map shows that melting glaciers won't give us "waterworld"… but you might not want to own land where (ironically) most of the folks in the climate denialist cult live.

A side benefit of TWODA* innovation?  Computer simulations have shown that offshore wind farms with thousands of wind turbines could have sapped the power of three real-life hurricanes.

Given current trends, then, we're gonna need innovation even more than ever.

== biology "comes alive!" ==

 Watch this clip from the PBS series DNA. It's four minutes of amazing images, visualizing how DNA gets unzipped, read, re-zipped and turned into something like hemoglobin, all in real-time. This process of information coding, retrieval and manipulation by molecular machines of stunning specificity is going on right now inside every cell in your body.

Then go on to another great biology video of "The Central Dogma" of protein synthesis. In which RNA polymerase and other active elements are represented as spaceship-like nanomachines. A fantastic instructional video that will leave you entertained and informed… with a cool-oh sound track.

And dig it: single-celled microbes that grow in biofilms have come up with a way to electrically reach out and pull electrons from minerals in the soil so they can stay in the sun.

Ah but science calls for judgment! After years of predicting it would happen -- and after years of having their suggestions largely ignored by companies, farmers and regulators -- scientists have documented the rapid evolution of corn rootworms that are resistant to Bt corn.  Read about how proper procedures were mismanaged and ignoring the scientists is leading to an agricultural problem of real substance.

== Technology, save us, oh deus ex machina… ==

Scientists have discovered a way to take the phosphorus out of our pee (and that’s a lot — we piss out 3 million tons of it each year). In my novel EXISTENCE is where most of you first heard about the coming Phosphorus Crisis. Well now one forecast is coming true. The P.U. or Phos-Urinal (not 'pee-yew') is coming!  (Is it too soon for the predictions registry?)

And more news: U.S. scientists say that emerging photovoltaic technologies will enable the production of solar shingles made from abundantly available elements rather than rare-earth metals, an innovation that would make solar energy cheaper and more sustainable. I spoke of solar shingles even back in EARTH. But the overall lesson is what's important --

-- that there are ways out of our messes, if obstructionists and denialists would stop hating on science and decide to help, instead.  Keep saying one word to them, a word for which they have no reply. TWODA.

Want more wonders? Before teenager Anne Makosinski, apparently, no one on record has thought to use thermoelectric technology to power a flashlight. Peltier tiles produce an electrical current when opposite sides are heated and cooled at the same time, so why not make a hollow flashlight that uses heat from the hand that's holding it?

Google has released a concise list of "Ten Myths About Google Glass." Mostly on target and calming stuff… though very conservative, down-pedaling what everyone can tell is coming… and a whole lot more than just a few sci fi authors will tell you about.

So cool! See an animation of the "Council of Giants" -- a dozen big galaxies that surround our Local Group (which is mostly the Milky Way and Andromeda) in a very thin sheet, constraining our two spirals and having guided their evolution.

Physicists are exploring possible "hidden variables" loopholes in quantum mechanics that might involve elements of the universe holding quasi-conversations - or conspiring to exchange decisions - with each other, in an interchange that scientists are (mostly-whimsically) calling "free will." Few consider this loophole to be likely. But now there appears to be a way to test it, using light from the oldest quasars in the cosmos.

And this eclectic museum is located in Baltimore, Maryland. “The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) looks worth a visit.

== Finding the black boxes from MH 370? ==

How much quicker would we have found the fading pings from MH 370's black boxes, if sea planes or flying boats were still prominent in the world?  Planes had to buzz over the potential debris fields, but for a closer look, or to lower soon-sensors, had to wait till ships with special equipment could arrive.  (Yes, there are military sonobuoys. I'd wager some have already been dropped in secret.)

Most of the time with a "sea plane" they land in a protected harbor, river, or inland waterway. Open ocean landings are quite hazardous, mostly done to rescue personnel, sometimes the sea plane crew then requires rescue. The Japanese may be employing the ShinMaywa US-2 flying boat on this operation, a model also used by India, but lacking the range to be much use in far-distant operations.

There is a new Chinese sea-plane, approved for construction by AVIC General Aircraft Company. The Dragon 600, expanded from the earlier SH-5 sea-plane would be as large as an Airbus 320, could be used for tasks such as emergency rescue, fighting forest fires and sea patrols. .

A pit of aeronautical pedantry, a seaplane has pontoons, a flying boat has a hull that floats on the water. Confusion is understandable when both terms are nearly obsolete. The Spruce Goose, the Catalina, and the Albatross would be flying boats.

Just a thought.  Here is hoping they find the things.  If so, what a validation of dispersed transparency!  The one company whose satellite nailed the travel arc of the plane from just a single radio query ping… they deserve some kind of prize… and we all deserve to have all commercial airliners far better tracked.

 Finally… an announcement for you Mid-Atlantic residents! I will be among the headliners -- along with Patrick Stewart, Brian Greene, George Takei, Kim Stanley Robinson, Stewart Brand, Michio Kaku and some MythBusters -- at the Smithsonian's epic-scale "The Future is Here!" event, in Washington D.C. May 16-17.  Look it up and come if you can!  Brought to you by Smithsonian Magazine (subscribe) and the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination (join!)

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*TWODA: Things We Ought to Do Anyway…to alleviate climate change… but that will help us economically, politically, internationally even if 99% of scientists prove wrong about climate warnings!  Increasing research and developing methods of energy efficiency should be on the table, even if you are a climate skeptic! The fact that you are NOT eagerly negotiating TWODA measures proves one thing.  You are no "skeptic" but a member of the denialist cult.

Rockin' science. A comet aimed at Mars? Telepathic rats. And more….

Quick announcement: Join me at the Tucson Festival of Books  this Saturday and Sunday. My panels include: “Gender Roles in Sci Fi and Fantasy” on Sat at 2:30 pm. “Where’s my hoverboard? Pop Culture in the Sci Fi Lanscape” on Sat 4-5 pm. “Worldbuilding in fiction” on Sunday 11:30 am.

Then, on Monday March 11 see me in Chicago at Bucket o' Blood Books:  7 pm at 2307 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago 60647. BYO Books to be signed.

== NEW Sciences ==

Science and the Great Delusion: Watch a video of my interview on Mendelspod.com - a regular podcast about biological sciences and the future. But you know me… I soon veer into society, history, anthropology, the scientific process and so on!

"Quantum Biology?" "Neuroparasitology?" "Recombinant memetics?" Read about Eleven New Sciences (beat that Galileo!) in a survey by George Dvorsky. Heh.  I have used them all in stories, some going back thirty years.  Where were you guys!

 == Heavens above ==

2013's first naked eye comet:  This month, March 9-15 have a look just above the horizon where the sun has set for Comet PANSTARRS. A  great show isn't guaranteed… many comets fizzle! (I studied em for my doctorate.) But we're overdue for a gaudy one. Another possibility… Comet ISON… will blaze this November through December.

The Mars panoramas just get better and better. Curiosity's self portrait amid the walls and plains and central mountain of Gale Crater is simply wonderful.

Now let's combine topics: Comets and Mars! It looks like Mars may actually get hit by a comet in 2014. As it stands right now, the chance of a direct impact are small, but it’s likely Mars will get pelted by the debris associated with the comet. Phil Plait calculates that if (not too likely) an impact actually happens, it would have an explosive yield of roughly one billion megatons: That’s a million billion tons of TNT exploding. Or, if you prefer, an explosion about 25 million times larger than the largest nuclear weapon ever tested on Earth. There is an immature part of me that soooooo wants to see that! It could even re-awaken the red planet, a bit.

Speaking of re-awakenings... White Dwarf stars are elderly, having burnt out their early, gaudy phases (like our own sun) and shrunk to little larger than the Earth.  They were never thought likely places to find candidates for life, having probably cindered any former solar system during a red giant phase. Only now… Infrared observations have revealed disks of dust surrounding some white dwarfs, which could be the birthplace of a new generation of planets. Moreover, such planets could orbit VERY close in and be within a very very close "goldilocks zone." Moreover, one that transits-eclipses the White Dwarf star would not be swamped out (since the WD is so dim).  Rather, the planet's atmosphere would be subject to transmission spectroscopy by the new James Webb Telescope. Cool!  (Sorta.)

Speaking of eclipsing transits... see awesome first view of the Moon as a smaller thing passing in front of the Earth.   And a spectacular view of Venus glimpsed through the rings of Saturn -- as seen by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

New Dimension: Nebulas are even more amazing in 3-D!  Finnish astrophotographer J-P Metsavainio has animated these space images in 3-D for a stunning effect.

And getting cosmic. Astronomers have directly measured the spin of a black hole for the first time by detecting the mind-bending relativistic effects that warp space-time at the very edge of its event horizon -- the point of no return, beyond which even light cannot escape.

Black holes can apparently pulsate bubbles of inaudible sound through the surrounding galactic cloud, "57 octaves below B flat above middle C," notes astrobiologist Caleb Scharf in Gravity's Engines: How Bubble-blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars and Life in the Cosmos -- a new look at how black holes may profoundly influence the evolution of the cosmos... and ultimately the appearance of life.

== And let's include time! ==

Scientists have discovered a 200-kilometre-wide (125-mile-wide) impact zone in the Australian outback they believe was caused by a massive asteroid smashing into Earth more than 300 million years ago.  That's about the same size as the crater remnant found in the Yucatan, from the rock that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

A fascinating new book by Marlene Zuk, Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet and How We Live,  dissects the romantic-nostalgic notion that infests both the left and the right… that humans were and remain better suited and adapted to the ways of life experienced by our ancestors, than we are for the crowded, stressful, and complex requirements of modern existence. "Recognizing the continuity of evolution also makes clear the futility of selecting any particular time for human harmony," when we were perfectly adapted to our environment, writes Zuk. Certainly the nostalgists have a point; there are challenges that we must rise up to meet, and some of us are better at coping and thriving in a modern world than others.  But there is very strong evidence that we are not the same, genetically and in many other ways, as our forbears who hunted across the savannah. We have changed. Are changing. And will change more in the future.

Turning to the future… I've received many messages from folks intrigued by my mention (in Existence) of a "phosphorus crisis" in the 2040s.  For many, the novel was the first they'd heard of this, but the problem has been visible on the distant horizon for some time.  Phosphorus is the rarest element in chemical life and ready reserves are being mined-out. A time will come when we all use PhosUrinals (or PUs) to reclaim as much as we can. Here's one more article you might find interesting: Should you be worried about your meat's phosphorous footprint?

== Bold endeavors ==

Looking toward the next big thing in physics: Seven experiments that could rock the paradigm in physics: The LHC, the Planck probe, LIGO, LISA Pathfinder, Dark matter searches via DAMA/LIBRA, nuSTORM Neutrino factories, and quantum transmissions.

The next Genome style project? "The Obama administration is planning a decade-long scientific effort to examine the workings of the human brain and build a comprehensive map of its activity, seeking to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for genetics."  BHO mentioned sci & tech in his SOTU more times than any other president, even Clinton.

India is testing out an idea that marries solar panels with irrigation canals. A 1 MW project has been built over nearly half a mile of the Narmada Canal in the state of Gujarat in India, and it will not only produce electricity but also conserve land and water by putting solar panels over a waterway rather than over fertile ground. It also should reduce evaporation of the canal water by an estimated 237,750 gallons of water each year. And why aren't we doing this in California?

One of the technologies we are looking at in NASA's NIAC program is robotic construction of lunar habitats.  Both candidate methods envision a site in Shackleton Crater at the moon's south pole… a little harder to get to but there may be water ice below the surface and a solar power station erected on the crater rim would get sunlight all month long instead of only 2 weeks at a stretch.  One technology (see a cool video) would sinter lunar dust into rigid walls, one of the few methods that would need no binding agent carried up from Earth and no (or little) use of the precious water that may be needed for other purposes.

== Making Porfirio - more leaps for rat-kind ==

Duke University researchers imbed an implant that gives Lab rats a sixth sense -- to detect infrared light -- by sending a sensor's signals to a part of the brain assigned to touch. "It could be magnetic fields, radio waves, or ultrasound. We chose infrared initially because it didn't interfere with our electrophysiological recordings."  One key finding was that enlisting the touch cortex to detect infrared light did not reduce its ability to process touch signals.

The Brain is Not Computable: One of the researchers who created the infrared-detecting mice has also taken on the whole notion that Moore's Law will soon empower us to mimic human brains (and then better) in silicon - a core tenet of belief among "singularity-transhumanists." Miguel Nicolelis, a top neuroscientist at Duke University, says computers will never replicate the human brain and that the technological Singularity is “a bunch of hot air.” The neuroscientist instead thinks that humans will increasingly subsume machines (an idea, incidentally, that’s also part of Ray Kurzweil’s transhumanist predictions).

It had to happen. A Duke neuroscientist was able to link two rats' brains—using electrode implants—so that they could communicate through their minds, even solve puzzles. See how far this might be pushed, with parrots in a scene in Existence.

Will my rat-forecast from Existence come true sooner than expected?

== Cool Tech ==

Clay tablets infused with copper or silver molded into cheap filters can purify water for six months. Made with clay and sawdust… firing burns off the sawdust, leaving a ceramic with very fine pores. The filter is then painted with a thin solution of silver or copper nanoparticles that serve as a highly effective disinfectant for waterborne pathogens.

Graphene supercapacitors could make batteries obsolete.

The coming of "drone journalism"… now in real life, though portrayed down the road a bit, and controlled by Smart Mobs in Existence.

An oddly hypnotic wave pendulum. Watch the video.

Making music with gloves… quite interesting & “futuristic”….. Skip the 1st 7 minutes.

== Our friends in sea and time ==

A Megapod:  Thousands of dolphins spanning across seven miles of ocean were sighted off the coast of San Diego.

Have you seen this about a 19th-century human-whale "treaty"?  Australian whalers had an agreement with a local pod of Orcas known as “The Law of the Tongue.” The Orcas would herd baleen whales close to the shore of the Port of Eden, blocking their escape routes, at which point harpoon boats would set upon – and kill – the whales. The tongues of the baleen whales would be cut off by the whalers and delivered to the orcas as a food tribute. The humans and orcas would cooperate in other ways as well.

And finally...Scientists from the Senckenberg Research Institute reconstructed these models of nearly-alien faces of our hominid ancestors based upon skulls, bone and teeth fragments gathered from around the globe.

==See more of my articles about Space: Where are we headed?