Category Archives: Weird Science

DURHAM, N.H. — It looks so simple – catching a fly ball. But of all of the balls hit into the outfield, the straight shot is the most difficult to catch. And if it’s twilight, it’s even worse. Ken Fuld, … Continue reading →

The songs of the humpback whale are among the most complex in the animal kingdom. Researchers have now mathematically confirmed that whales have their own syntax that uses sound units to build phrases that can be combined to form songs … Continue reading →

The Pentagon’s defence scientists want to create an army of cyber-insects that can be remotely controlled to check out explosives and send transmissions. The idea is to insert micro-systems at the pupa stage, when the insects can integrate them into … Continue reading →

The Dutch have a long history with chocolate. Although native Mexicans and their Spanish conquerors first used the bitter bean–and reported on its tonic powers–a Dutchman was the first to extract modern cocoa and neutralize its bitterness with alkali. The … Continue reading →

Researchers have long wondered why certain fundamental characteristics of grammar are present in all languages, and now a team of scientists at the University of Rochester has found evidence that these properties are built into the way our brains work. … Continue reading →

A giant pacific octopus attacked a Seaeye Falcon ROV working off Vancouver Island as it was locating and recovering receivers tracking pacific offshore salmon migration. The incident was caught on the ROV’s video by Mike Wood of SubOceanic Sciences Canada. … Continue reading →

This is very cool – a complete database of all 800 active satelites in orbit around the earth, including military and "secret" intelligence sats. Who knew that the US still has more satellites than all the other countries combined (413 … Continue reading →

LYON, France, Dec. 2 – The world’s first person to wear a new face awoke in the northern city of Amiens, France, on Monday – 24 hours after doctors put her to sleep – and looked in the mirror. The … Continue reading →

After a lifetime surrounded by some of his generation’s biggest frauds, psuedos, pretenders and scam artists, the Dowbrigade has a finely attuned Bullshit Detector. Some would say this is an example of the "It takes one to know one" school … Continue reading →

Connecting with nature can improve your health and wellbeing, say researchers in this week’s BMJ. The theory is known as ecotherapy: restoring health through contact with nature. Use of wildlife in some therapies is reported to improve quality of life, … Continue reading →

Just in case any readers may have gotten the impression from the previous posting that the Dowbrigade is in any way tolerant or ambivalent about illegal drugs, let us draw your attention to the following exhibition. These wax figures are … Continue reading →

BEIJING, Nov. 11 (Xinhuanet) — In the Jurassic era when dinosaurs ruled the earth, a 13-foot monster crocodile nicknamed "Godzilla" might be the king of sea, described scientists Thursday. Totally unique among marine crocodiles, "it is one of the most … Continue reading →