If SpaceX has its way, scenes like this will be taking place in South Texas.
In a somewhat unusual occurrence, a book review was our most popular story this past week: Before the Lights Go Out, which focuses on renewable energy, efficiency, and our electric grid, set off a lively discussion, as well. Other popular stories included plans for Mars exploration that date from the 1960s, as well as an application to create a "commercial Cape Canaveral" on the coast of South Texas.
Why you should read the book Before the Lights Go Out: In her book Before the Lights Go Out Maggie Koerth-Baker (science editor at BoingBoing) presents a realistic look at the state of energy and hard choices that need to be made regarding the energy crisis in the United States.
NASA's 1966 plan for a mission to Mars: Serious plans for a surface exploration of Mars were underway as early as 1966. The ideas that ensued were prescient, if sometimes simplistic.
Tennessee governor allows bill targeting science education to become law: Tennessee has become the first state to pass a law protecting educators who "teach the controversy" about evolution and climate change.
SpaceX considering a new 'Commercial Cape Canaveral' in Texas : After announcing last year that it was searching for at least one more launch site, SpaceX appears to have settled on Cameron County, Texas. The choice may cement Texas as a new world player in commercial space flight.
It wasn't your imagination: US experienced warmest March ever: NOAA has released its data on the US temperatures in March. If you got the shorts out of the closet early this year, you weren't alone.
New autism studies find new mutations, many genes behind the disorder : Researchers have now sequenced every protein coding gene in groups of autism families, and the results suggest that new mutations are a major contributor to the disorder.
Surprising Indonesian earthquakes set record: A pair of massive earthquakes occurred earlier today off the coast of Indonesia, setting a new record for strike-slip faults.
An open Bering Strait blocks off sudden swings in climate: The film The Day After Tomorrow is (extremely loosely) based on the climate impacts of shutting down ocean circulation in the Atlantic. A new study suggests that this is less likely in the future than it was when sea level was lower.
Composite material brings metal-air batteries a step closer: Scientists are developing a new catalyst that results in a metal-air battery with better stability over charge-discharge cycles.
Elusive Majorana fermions may be lurking in a cold nanowire: Majorana fermions are particles that act as their own antiparticles: if two of them collide, they annihilate. Researchers may have found quasiparticles (particle-like quantum states arising from multiple particles) that act like Majorana fermions in a thin wire connected to a superconductor.
A pair of geologic clocks get updates: Two papers published recently in Science present changes to a couple of radiometric dating techniques that will tweak the ages we've previously assigned to events that took place early in our planet's history.
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