Thursday 11 July 2013

NET GLEANINGS 037

Mammals can 'choose' the sex of offspring (males are preferred):
That includes humans.

Far more accurate way of defining temperature achieved:
'Scientists at the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have performed the most accurate measurement yet of the Boltzmann constant. While the impact of such an achievement is not immediately obvious, the measurement could revolutionise the way we define temperature, replacing the standard method that has been used for over 50 years.'

IBEX has now mapped the structure of our solar system's comet-like tail:
'NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft recently provided the first complete pictures of the solar system’s downwind region, revealing a unique and unexpected structure.'

The post has excellent graphics.

Marsha Ivins, Shuttle veteran, celebrates her spacecraft:
'I’d been off the planet for 13 days—12 days, 20 hours, 20 minutes and 4 seconds to be precise—when the space shuttle Atlantis touched down on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California on February 20, 2001. It was the 102nd mission in the Space Shuttle program, and the 23rd for Atlantis. It was my fifth and final space flight and I knew going into it that it would be my last. I’d had a good run...a pretty incredible run, and three of my five flights had been aboard this same ship...'