ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 735

Monster Black Hole Awakens After 26 Years of Slumber

Space





Photo credit:

Artist's impression of a black hole sucking up matter from its companion star in a binary star system. ESA/ATG medialab.

Something is stirring out there in the inky blackness of space. After 26 years of keeping quiet, a monster black hole has finally woken up, and its high-energy bursts can be detected all the way from Earth. But there's nothing to fear, this black hole is an old acquaintance. Since awakening from its stellar slumber, the scientific community has been scrabbling around, trying to detect its latest energetic burst in different frequencies all across the globe.

California Moves to Ban Religious and Personal Vaccine Exemptions

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Adam Gregor/Shutterstock

Lawmakers in California have taken an important first step toward limiting vaccination exemptions for schoolchildren. The bill, which was approved on Thursday, prohibits parents from preventing their children from being vaccinated for personal or religious reasons.

Atheist Experience #923: Emotional Manipulation

The Atheist Experience #923 for June 21, 2015, with Tracie Harris and Don Baker. Emotional Manipulation. Don and Tracie talk abou the use of emotional manipulation in the marketing of religion and controlling believers.

We welcome your comments on the open blog thread for this show.

► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/

YouTube comments are at present disabled in our channel, to the displeasure of some. However, each video has a prominent link to the associated open thread that appears on our blog. In the past we’ve tried opening up the channel to comments, but we found that a very high number of episodes wound up being flooded with a combination of spam, long winded apologists, and various obscene or misogynistic comments directed at various hosts by people with an axe to grind. This seems to be the nature of YouTube comment sections, in our experience.

We do moderate the blog, the same way that we moderate chat during the show, as well as comments on our Facebook group. For comment sections that are “officially” associated with our show (and, to a much lesser extent, channels that may give the unintended appearance of being official), we prefer not to play host to straight up ad hominem attacks and bigotry. As a general policy we do not block commenters simply on the basis of disagreement with our point of view. However, we do prefer discussion environments that don’t actively chase off more reasonable contributors.

——-

The most up to date Atheist Experience videos can be found by visiting http://atheist-experience.com/archive/

You can read more about this show on the Atheist Experience blog:

► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/

WHAT IS THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE?

The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin.

The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.

We define atheism as the lack of belief in gods. This definition also encompasses what most people call agnosticism.

VISIT THE ACA’S OFFICIAL WEB SITES

► http://www.atheist-community.org (The Atheist Community of Austin)

► http://www.atheist-experience.com (The Atheist Experience TV Show)

More shows and video clips can be found in the archive:

► http://www.atheist-experience.com/archive

DVDs of the Atheist Experience can be purchased via:

► http://www.atheist-community.org/products

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme song: “Listen to Reason,” written and performed by Bryan Steeksma.

► http://www.youtube.com/bryansteeksma

► http://www.myspace.com/bryansteeksma

NOTES

TheAtheistExperience is the official channel of The Atheist Experience. “The Atheist Experience” is a trademark of the ACA.

Copyright © 2014 Atheist Community of Austin. All rights reserved.

You Could Have Your Very Own Jetpack by Late 2016

Technology





Photo credit:

Martin Jetpack In Flight. Martin Jetpack.

It’s the news we have all been waiting for: jetpacks will be going on sale to the public late next year.

You’ll finally be able to soar to school, wing your way to work and descend upon your mortal enemies with a state-of-the-art Martin Jetpack.

Too Much Of This Vitamin Could Give You Acne

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Nadya Lukic/Shutterstock

Given the fact that it's required for our nervous system to function properly and is vital for the production of blood, vitamin B12 is pretty essential for our bodies. But while many believe that you can never have too much of a good thing, it seems that this is not the case here. According to new research, an excess of this vitamin could prompt skin breakouts.

New Ebola Test can Rapidly Diagnose the Disease in Minutes

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Leonie Pauw/Shutterstock

A new Ebola test that can diagnose the disease within 15 minutes is just as effective as the standard practice, a study suggests. The test, which only needs a drop of blood, is especially useful for health workers in remote areas.

NASA Observatory Captures Stunning Solar Flare

Space





Photo credit:

NASA/SDO

A magnificent solar flare was sighted by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in the early hours of Thursday morning (June 25). Constantly monitoring the sun’s activities, the observatory captured the striking image shown below.

Solar flares are powerful surges of radiation on the sun caused by the release of magnetic energy, which can last for minutes or even hours. While the radiation emitted from such flares isn't strong enough to harm us, it can agitate the atmospheric layer in which GPS and communications signals operate.

Holograms Heading to the International Space Station

Technology





Photo credit:

Screenshot from NASA Testing Project Sidekick video. NASA

NASA has released a new video of a test flight in its Weightless Wonder jet, which simulates weightlessness when the jet freefalls to Earth. This isn't just for fun, though: the ethereal, free-floating passengers are equipped with some unassuming glasses that could revolutionize life on Earth, in space, and maybe even on Mars.

A Brief History of Timekeeping

It’s time for another leap second! Join SciShow as we celebrate by exploring the long and strange history of timekeeping.

Hosted by: Michael Aranda

———-

Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters — we couldn’t make SciShow without them! Shout out to Justin Ove, Justin Lentz, David Campos, John Szymakowski, Peso255, Jeremy Peng, Avi Yaschin, and Fatima Iqbal.

———-

Like SciShow? Want to help support us, and also get things to put on your walls, cover your torso and hold your liquids? Check out our awesome products over at DFTBA Records: http://dftba.com/scishow

Or help support us by becoming our patron on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/scishow

———-

Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow

Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow

Sources:

Lexus Claims They’ve Created A Hoverboard

Technology





Photo credit:

And it looks VERY sexy. Lexus.

A casually attired lone figure rides into view on a skateboard. Dismounting with all the grace of a Russian ballerina, the individual saunters over to a waiting hoverboard. “There’s no such thing as impossible,” superimposes the ostentatious quote from Lexus Chief Engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi on the promo video trailer. “It’s just a matter of figuring out how.”