Archive by date | September 2009

Merkel wins German election

German science is already feeling the impact of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s victory in the Sunday’s general election.

Merkel is abandoning her previous ‘grand coalition’ with the left-leaning Social Democratic Party and will instead form a government with the more right-of-centre Free Democratic Party.

Quotes of the day

“Palau will declare its territorial waters and extended economic zone to be the first officially recognized sanctuary for sharks. … The purpose of this is to call attention to the world to the killing of sharks for commercial purposes, including to get the fins to make shark fin soups, and then they throw the bodies in the water.”

Palauan President Johnson Toribiong discusses his country’s move to set up the world’s first shark sanctuary (AP).

“Capturing the full energy efficiency potential in the state requires more than simply providing rebates to support the installation of the latest and greatest widget.”

California Public Utilities Commission President Michael R. Peevey comments on the approval of a $3.1 billion energy-efficiency programme (WSJ).

“By verifying the production of element 114, we have removed any doubts about the validity of the Dubna group’s claims. This proves that the most interesting superheavy elements can in fact be made in the laboratory.”

Heino Nitsche, head of the Heavy Element Nuclear and Radiochemistry Group, comments on the creation of element 114 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, confirming the work of a Russian group.

Things to do in Qom

Things to do in Qom

If you find yourself traveling through central Iran, you might want to visit the historic city of Qom. While you’re there you should check out the Mar’ashi Najafi Library, with over 500,000 handwritten texts; the Shrine of Fatima-al-Massumeh, one of the holy sites of Shi’a Islam; and of course the Namak Lake, a large salt lake just 100km outside the city.

Ice on Mars!

Ice on Mars!

Hey! There’s ice on Mars! Just over a year ago the Great Beyond noted the frequency of stories telling us that water existed on Mars. Well, we now have another story saying the same thing. This time, observations from HiRISE, the high resolution camera on board NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have shown ice below the surface, revealed after meteorites have walloped into the planet’s surface. The ice was spotted when it was first uncovered, and monitored for 200 days. Just as was expected, the ice faded away and turned to vapour. So ok, maybe I’m a bit cynical about being  … Read more