“Man was made at the end of the week’s work, when God was tired.” (Mark Twain)
We will make a small peek from our telescope at the end of our week’s work, and present a short selection of news in science that caught our attention. It is important to rethink science each week, and this is especially valued in the publishing world, and especially, again, among open access publishers who are at the moment, almost exclusively active in STM fields (science, technology, medicine). It is also important to access your leisure-reading material on Friday.
This week Discovery shuttle came back to Earth to find its place at a museum. A photo gallery of its “greatest hits” was published in Wired Science magazine. The shuttle brought first human-like robots into space on its final flight. Wired also published this week some impressive data maps which are exhibited as true pieces of art. Wired showcased some personal favorites. An article on brain-manipulating fungi that turn ants into “zombies” in Brazilian forests was also published by Wired. “Before dying, ants anchor themselves to the leaf, clamping their jaws on the edge or a vein on the underside. The fungi then takes over, turning the ant’s body into a spore-producing factory. It lives off the ant carcass, using it as a platform to launch spores, for up to a year.”
The biggest full moon in 19 years is expected next week, called Supermoon. Its appearance is linked to massive natural disasters in the past, from earthquakes to floods, the likes of which we have seen recently in Japan. Thus, our final news is sadly the one about Japan being slammed by Tsunami after massive earthquake, as reported by The Independent. Just recently, we have published a book on Tsunami Threat, available on our open access reading platform InTechOpen. Not quite a leisure content, but one that raises awareness.
InTechOpen Blog 