SciGuy

Beginning tomorrow this blog format will change

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:47:39 -0600

Here at chron.com we're switching our blog software from Moveable Type to Word Press. For users the change should be pleasant, like an early September cool front. Here are the details from from our blogging guru Dwight Silverman: At Chron.com,...

First launch attempt of shuttle Endeavour's final flight has been scrubbed

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:24:31 -0600

A problem with a heater for an auxiliary power unit forced NASA to scrub its first attempt to launch space shuttle Endeavour on its final voyage into space today. Due to time needed to troubleshoot the problem, NASA estimates the...

Here's what we're really giving up with the shuttle's retirement

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:54:02 -0600

On Friday space shuttle Endeavour will probably launch, ferrying a fantastic science experiment known as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. I wrote about it in today's paper. This is quite a large science experiment, weighing 15,000...

Putting Wednesday's historic tornado outbreak into perspective

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 06:42:05 -0600

Last week forecasters predicted a major outbreak of tornadoes this week, and unfortunately they were all too correct. At least 178 people (and probably many more) were killed Wednesday across the southeastern United States, including many dozens in the state...

The Big Question: Will we cure cancer by 2040?

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:42:02 -0600

Recent medical history is riddled with predictions foretelling the end of cancer. Four decades ago Richard Nixon declared war on cancer. There was renewed optimism in the late 1990s. Then, in 2003, then National Cancer Institute director Andrew von Eschenbach...

The Texas drought may be historic, but don't blame global warming

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:14:05 -0600

Texas is in the midst of a significant -- for some parts of the state, historic -- drought. The drought has garnered national attention, and some commentators have suggested it is due, in part at least, to human activity that...

Revisiting the organ donation standards: NY rapist in line for a heart transplant

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:39:22 -0600

Two months ago we discussed a proposal to change the way donated human organs are allocated to patients. At present patients essentially get in line. The United Network for Organ Sharing, has proposed that, instead of giving priority primarily to...

Blacks more likely than whites to exhaust savings to prolong life

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 06:51:11 -0600

As part of a recent study (published in Cancer) of 4,214 patients newly diagnosed lung or colorectal cancer, the participants were asked the following question: If you had to make a choice now, would you prefer treatment that extends life...

Russia: No U.S. spacecraft allowed on station until safety concerns satisfied

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 10:47:23 -0600

NASA has publicly denied any concerns about its relationship with Russia after the space agency retires the shuttle fleet (see here, for example). And although NASA will be reliant on Russia for transport to the International Space Station, the United...

Weekly weather: No drought relief, but August-like nights come to an end

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 06:52:49 -0600

Welcome to your Monday morning weather update, in which I'll attempt to sum up the immediate past, present and future of weather on the bayou. Houston's basic weather pattern doesn't change much this week, with our historically warm and dry...

Will fewer humans in space lead to more robot explorers?

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:13:35 -0600

The space shuttle program ends this summer and although there are some promising developments with commercial space and NASA has its own plans to build a new generation of rockets, it may be a very long time before a rocket...

Scientists take a step closer to being able to kill all the mosquitoes

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:06:38 -0600

So let's say you want to wipe mosquitoes from the face of the Earth, ending the reign of the summertime swarming and biting and disease-carrying pests. No more swatting. No more swollen red bumps. No more itching. No more scratching....

100 percent of Texas now in a drought. Any relief on tap?

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:32:49 -0600

Unfortunately, as the state's wildfires burn, the great Texas drought of 2010-2011 continues to worsen. This morning's latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows conditions further deteriorating, with fully 100 percent of Texas now in at least a moderate...

Is the nuclear energy "renaissance" reverting to the dark ages?

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 06:57:04 -0600

Two weeks ago we discussed the possibility of the Fukushima nuclear disaster affecting U.S. nuclear energy policy. Some 60 percent of readers said they believed the accident would cripple the future of nuclear energy. I agreed with the majority of...

Several astonishing views of Texas wildfires

Eric Berger / Houston Chronicle — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:24:09 -0600

This has been a terrible wildfire season in Texas. Since the beginning of the year the Texas Forest Service has responded to 810 fires that have burned 1.4 million acres and destroyed 370 homes and other structures. Every heavy air...