Author Archives: Michael Ricciardi


About Michael Ricciardi

Michael Ricciardi is a well-published writer of science/nature/technology articles and essays, poetry and short fiction. Michael has interviewed dozen of scientists from many scientific fields, including Brain Greene, Paul Steinhardt, and Nobel Laureate Ilya Progogine (deceased). Michael was trained as a naturalist and taught ecology and natural science on Cape Cod, Mass. from 1986-1991. His first arts grant was for production of the environmental (video) documentary 'The Jones River - A Natural History', 1987-88 (Kingston, Mass.). Michael is also an award winning, internationally screened video artist. Two of his more recent short videos; 'A Time of Water Bountiful' and 'My Name is HAM' (an "imagined memoir" about the first chimp in space), and several other short videos, can be viewed on his website (http://www.chaosmosis.net). Michael currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

B.C. Government Formally Rejects Proposed ‘Northern Gateway’ Tar Sands Pipeline

Posted on by
1
spirit bear

Citing significant safety concerns, the government of British Columbia, Canada, has announced its formal rejection of the proposed ‘Northern Gateway’ tar sands pipeline which would, if approved and built, bring 500,000 barrels of (diluted bitumen) oil straight through the pristine rainforest along the ‘Spirit Bear Coast’, en route to points east and south (mostly, China, and S. America). Regular readers of planetsave may recall my 2011 post concerning this issue and the dwindling Spirit Bear* … Read More

Stress and Existential Anxiety Increase ‘Belief in Science’, New Study Finds

Posted on by
1
sign of faith

The old adage “there are no atheists in fox holes” may be true for the more religiously inclined, but much less so for the more rational or scientific-minded amongst us. A recent study by psychologist at University of Oxford, in the UK, finds that a certain “faith” in the explanatory power of Science increases when subjects were experiencing stress or anxiety. They surmise that this “belief in science” serves the same purpose — amongst non-religious … Read More

New Laser Cloaking Technology Creates ‘Time Holes’ – Allows You To ‘Erase History’ [VIDEO]

Posted on by
3
interference pattern

When Alice went down the rabbit hole, she may have felt that she might never get back (though she did eventually). But some types of information can be sent into a ‘time hole’ and truly never come back. A team of engineers (Lukens et al) at Purdue University has developing an optical (laser-based) cloaking method that can hide high-speed data streams such as those  transmitted through telecommunication systems. The new method makes possible “ultra-secure message … Read More

Tiny Ancient ‘Hybrid’ Primate Revealed to Be ‘Crucial Link’ In Anthropoid Evolution

Posted on by
Reply
tiny primate ancestor A. achilles

Fifty five million years ago, a tiny, proto-primate species weighing less than one ounce (28.35 grams) lived, ate, mated and died amongst the lush vegetation and tree-ringed lakes of a tropical forest that once flourished in central China. We know of this creature — officially named Archicebus achilles — thanks to a well-preserved (nearly complete) fossil found in the hardened sediment of what was once an ancient lake bed. The fossil was found nearly ten … Read More

Particle Physics News: Entangling Photons From Different Times, First Direct Viewing of Electrons & A Puzzling New ‘Particle’ Debated

Posted on by
Reply
particles in space-time fabric

  Entanglement of Photon Pairs From Two Different Times In the bizarro sub-atomic realm of quantum physics, a particle can occupy two different states at the same time (a state known as superposition), and, two particles (like two particles of light, or photons) can become entangled — a curious, coupled state in which an action (like a measurement) upon one particle instantly causes a correlated change in the other. For example, a photon can be … Read More

Biologists Discover Secret To Salamander Limb Regeneration

Posted on by
Reply
axolotl, Mexican salamander

Salamanders aren’t just cool looking, detritus-dwelling amphibians. Salamanders are wonders of nature; they have the remarkable ability to regenerate their limbs, tails and even their retinas, spinal cords and some parts of their hearts and brains. Even following “deep tissue” wounds, salamanders are able to achieve scar-free repair of these injuries. What’s more, this regenerative capacity is not limited to young salamanders — it is possible at any stage of the amphibian’s life-cycle. But just … Read More

Amphibian News: Killer Fungus Found In Third Major Amphibian Group, USGS Amphibian Survey Findings ‘Alarming’

Posted on by
Reply
caecilian amphibian

Two important amphibian news items to report here…the first regards the spread of the lethal Chytrid fungus into Caecilians (a third major grouping of the Amphibia); the second item: a report on the recent USGS survey of US amphibian populations. Rare Amphibian Group Now at Risk from Frog-killing Fungus Frogs (and toads), salamanders, and Caecilians — a lesser known amphibian looking somewhere between a large worm or a smallish snake — represent the three major … Read More

Top Ten New Species Of 2013 — A ‘Musical’ Sponge, World’s Smallest Vertebrate, A ‘Paleolithic’ Fungus, A ‘Trifecta’ Find, & More!

Posted on by
3
Lightning raoch - Lucihormetica luckae

The list is here!… Yes, the annual list of ‘Top Ten’ New Species has been announced. Organized annually by the Institute for International Species Exploration (IISE) at the University of Arizona, an international committee of experts reviewed animal, vegetable and microbial species culled from 140 top nominations out of a total candidate pool of 18,000 species — all discovered (and properly named according to taxonomic rules) in the previous calendar year (2012). Top Species selections … Read More

3D-Printed Pizza In Space! NASA Funds ‘Food Replicator’ For Space Station [VIDEO]

Posted on by
1
tessting foord replicator in micro gravity

Regular readers of PS are aware that we have covered many news items of late involving the remarkably versatile technology known as 3D printing/rapid prototyping in which 3D computer design software, laser printing and materials science combine to create real (3 dimensional) objects or materials. This tech has been used to “print” various useful items: solar energy cells, new pharmaceutical compounds (anti-cancer drugs) and even human embryonic stem cells (for organ/tissue replacement therapy). More recently, … Read More

Extreme Political Views Caused By The ‘Illusion of Understanding’

Posted on by
Reply
debate cartoon

  Have you ever tried to engage in a balanced discussion or debate over, say, macro-economics or maybe foreign policy — subjects that are complex and contingent upon many factors — and found yourself frustrated in your attempts by an extreme/unyielding ideological viewpoint? Well, the next time you’re confronted with an extreme (and typically over-simplified) political viewpoint, you might try asking that person to explain their viewpoint, that is, ask them to detail how they … Read More