Canadians In SPACE!

Good News on Any Day!

This is as exciting for me as the good old days when the new phone books arrived. I was beside myself to hear that Commander Chris Hadfield, American Tom Marshburn and Russian Roman Romanenko safely lifted off at 7:12 a.m. ET (6:12 p.m. local time) in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, where temperatures were hovering around –30°C. 

This will be Commander Hadfield's third time in space, but what makes this trip SO exciting is that he will be serving as the Commander of the International Space Station starting in March 2013. A new service launched by NASA (Spot the Station) allows you to sign up and receive a notifications when the ISS is visible from your location!

Also exciting about this trip to space for Commander Hadfield - he will be co-writing a song with Barenaked Ladies lead singer, Ed Robertson. The song will be called "Is Somebody Singing" or "ISS". It is set to premiere on February 8 on CBC-TV, radio and at music.cbc.ca.

There are other more scientific things he will be participating in, but I am just excited that he is up there. YAY Cmdr. Chris Hadfield!!

And, if you are a part of the Twitter-verse, follow Cmdr Hadfield: @Cmdr_Hadfield. He has posted some great photos of the days leading up to the launch of the Soyuz Spacecraft.

Photo Contest Extraordinaire

It isn't a Friday and it isn't exactly an installment of Great News, but here are the finalists for ATCC's first photo contest. Check it out. And VOTE!!

http://www.atcc.org/CulturesandProducts/PhotoContest/tabid/2007/Default.aspx

Great News, 26 Jan 2011

Well, who couldn't use an extra dose of AWESOME in their week? Bring it, I say! Here is my meager contribution:

1. Want a brown paper sack with $1000? Submit your Awesome idea to the Awesome Foundation in Toronto before 15 February, and take your Awesome chances: Awesome Foundation.
2. Genius! Bacteria that is. Tel Aviv researchers have found a way to measure the intelligence of bacteria, and it turns out, some are quite intelligent: Genius Bacteria.
3. And, well - this is kind of Old News, but it could be Awesome Old News if you are into astrology. With the (re) introduction of the thirteenth sign, your zodiac sign may have shifted. For a more comprehensive look at how this change may have affected you: The New Zodiac.

Now. Go have an Awesome week. 

Great News, 09 Jan 2011

Here is the official Great News episode #2 for 2011. Already a whole week of the new year has flown by and I am amazed at all of the great things that are happening.

1. Who doesn't love to see baby animals? Take a look at this pair Golden Lion Tamarin monkeys born at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on 27 December 2010: Zoo Babies.
2. A good friend gave me a gift that just keeps on giving for Christmas. I don't mean to brag - but I thought that I would share it with you too. I have a subscription to Scientific American! I have glanced over the website before, but here is a link to it just for you: Scientific American.
3. Score big for curiosity! Eight ten year olds at Blackawton School in Devon, UK conducted a study about how bees see colour and patterns. Their findings are published in the peer-reviewed Royal Society journal, Biology Letters. BlackawtonBees.

And now you should go make some great news of your own. Do it. 

Great News, 01 Jan 2011

My apologies for the long delay since my last installment of Great News. It's not for a lack of Great News, it's just been a busy season in our household, and now that the boy is walking - well things are even busier. Here goes the first Great News of 2011:

1. This probably isn't new News for people in the area, but for the rest of the world what could be better than a burger off the periodic table? The Miracle Of Science Bar + Grill in Cambridge, MA serves it all up geek-chic: Miracle of Science Bar + Grill.
2. Well, leave it to the microorganisms... how cool is this? Rock paintings in Australia are still colourful works of art not because of the paint the ancient artists used, but because of a black fungus and possibly a red-pigment producing bacteria: Ancient Rock Paint BBC News.
3. The top ten finalists for the illusion of the year award 2010 were announced, and the winner is - well take a look for yourself and while you are at it take a look at the other 9 finalists: Illusion Contest 2010.

Well, that's all I've got for this episode. As a friend pointed out today's date is 11-01-01, which is pretty cool and hopefully marks the beginning of a fantastic year for you. 

Great News, 19 November 2010

My sincere apologies for the missed posting last week. I don't know what happened exactly. To make up for it, here is some really exciting (some may say GREAT) news for you:

1. An exoplanet (a planet that orbits another star) was discovered, and it is from a DIFFERENT GALAXY: Found: An Exoplanet From Another Galaxy
2. Microbiology is cool, just ask researchers from Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme. They found bacteria capable of surviving in the most extreme environments in the deepest part of the earth's crust: Life Found in the Deepest, Unexplored Layer of the Earth’s Crust
3. Who doesn't love a good square dance? How about square dancing fun with an educational element? Here is some Friday fun for you.
4. How could I end the week without at least mentioning the royal engagement? Yahoo.

Now go have a great weekend.

Great News, 05 November 2010

Where does a whole week go? I swear when I got to my desk this morning that it was Wednesday. Now that I am back from our traditional Friday lunch, I have realized that I am a couple days short of a week. Here is great some news for the week:

1. So, this isn't exactly Great News, but the final mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery has been postponed until November 30th (the launch was delayed because of a leak in the hydrogen tank). This mission will be taking the Robonaut 2 into orbit:  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts133/discovery_final_flight.html
2. Is it even possible? In an article published this week in Nature, scientists at Laval University have discovered that they can immunize bacteria, essentially preventing them from building resistance to antibiotics: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/11/05/antibiotic-resistance-bacteria.html
3. Using a new drug-engineering technology used at Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, researchers have developed a nanobioconjugate to treat a notoriously difficult form of brain cancer, Glioblastoma multiforme: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/cmc-ch110410.php.

Have a terrific weekend everyone, and as always - let me know what's on your mind.