Archive for the ‘science’ Category

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Summer Solstice, the Longest Day of the Year

January 24th, 2012 by admin | No Comments | Filed in science

The longest day of the year, also known as Summer Solstice, occurs on either June or December of each year depending on whether you are in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. Summer Solstice is an instant in time that occurs when the axial tilt of our planet’s semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. It is also the day when the sun can be seen at the highest, northernmost point in the sky.

North Season

North Season. Image via

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice occurs either June 20 or 21 on each year. While in the Southern Hemisphere, it occur either on December 21 or 22. This year, 2012, the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will be June 20, 23:09 UTC and December 21, 11:12 UTC in the Southern Hemisphere. In the US, Summer Solstice marks the first day of Summer.

So how long does Summer Solstice last, you may ask? Well, actually just in an instant.

Alan Billis Donates Body For Ancient Egyptian Mummification

October 19th, 2011 by admin | 1 Comment | Filed in human body, people, science

When Alan Billis was dying, one of his wish was to donate his body to be mummified using the same techniques that ancient Egyptians performed on King Tutankhamun. Well, he got his wish granted by a reality TV show who filmed the entire procedure. The result is a documentary entitled “Mummifying Alan: Egypt’s Last Secret”.

Alan Billis donates body for mummification

Alan Billis donates body for mummification. Image via

Billis, a 61-year-old taxi driver, died in January 2011 after suffering from lung cancer. He heard about the search for a body donor to undergo the mummification procedure that scientist has been working on recreating for years. A self-confess documentary film lover, he said he had just one regret of the procedure – that he will not be around to see it.

Alan Billis and wife

Alan Billis and his wife who supported his decision to be mummified. Image via

4.5-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite Hit French Family Home

October 13th, 2011 by admin | No Comments | Filed in science, xo feat

Martine Comette of Paris, France, got a feat more rare, a lot rarer, than hitting the lottery jackpot – her family house was hit by a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite. The space rock hit the house while they were on vacation, so they didn’t know they have an “alien visitor” until their roof started leaking. The roof tiler who checked the roof discovered the rock in the attic insulation.

4.5-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite hit French family home

4.5-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite hit French family home. Image via

The egg-size, three-ounce meteor is called a “chondrite”. Meteor expert Alain Carion identified it by the “black fusion crust that characterizes the crossing of the Earth’s atmosphere”. It came all the way down from an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Exoplanet TrES-2b, the Darkest Known Planet in our Galaxy

September 29th, 2011 by admin | 1 Comment | Filed in discovery, science

Scientists has found the darkest planet ever known in our galaxy – the exoplanet TrES-2b. This giant world is the size of Jupiter and was discovered by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. It detected it lurking around the yellow sun-like star GSC 03549-02811 some 750 light years away in the direction of the constellation Draco.

Exoplanet TrES-2b, darkest known planet

Exoplanet TrES-2b, darkest known planet shown in artist’s conception. Image via

So how did the scientists come up with conclusion about it’s color? They found out that this gas giant reflects less than 1% of the sunlight that’s shining on it, making it darker than any planet or moon seen up to now. Scientists predict that it’s darker than coal or a dark acrylic paint, hence it absorb 99% of the light that shines on it.

Han Chinese Male, the Most Typical Person in the World

September 24th, 2011 by admin | 2 Comments | Filed in science

Have you seen the face of the most typical person in the world? Look no further, his picture is below.

According to National Geograpic Magazine, the most typical person in the world is a 28-year-old Han Chinise man – there are over 9 million of them. He is right handed, makes less than $12,000 a year in average income, has a cellphone but no bank account.

Face of the world's most typical person

Face of the world’s most typical person.

So how did researcher come up with this face? They average every single photos of 190,000 of them and come up with this composite face of a man. But he will not be typical for a long time. Researcher estimated that by the year 2030, that person will come from India.

See the video below.

Brazilian Wandering Spider, the Most Poisonous Spider in the World

May 9th, 2011 by admin | 2 Comments | Filed in animal, science

The Brazilian Wandering Spider is the most poisonous spider in the world. This highly aggressive spider can be found in tropical South and Central America. They are so called “wandering spiders” because they wander the forest floor at night in search of food, rather than reside in a lair or in a web.

Brazilian wandering spider - world's most poisonous spider

Brazilian wandering spider – world’s most poisonous spider. Image via

This spider specie is also called armed spiders or banana spiders. Their venom contains a potent neurotoxin known as PhTx3. This neurotoxin causes loss of muscle control and breathing problems which can result to paralysis and eventually asphyxiation to any victim. This deadly venom makes the Brazilian wandering spider the deadliest spider in the world and appeared in the Guinness Book of World Record in 2010 as such.

Brazilian Wandering Spider close-up

Brazilian Wandering Spider close-up. Image via

Brazilian wandering spider sitting in a tree bark

Brazilian wandering spider sitting in a tree bark. Image via

In 2007, doctors found out that this specie’s venom has another effects to male victims. Aside from the painful effect of the venom, males also experience hours-long erection. They later found out that the venom contains a chemical that inhibits the penis boost.

Uranus, the Coldest Planet in our Solar System

May 6th, 2011 by admin | 2 Comments | Filed in science

Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, is the coldest planet in our solar system. It has a minimum temperature of 49 K (–224 °C). To put it into perspective, the coldest temperature ever recorded on earth was only 184 K (-89.2 °C)

Uranus and it’s five moons. Image via

What makes Uranus so cold is it’s location and it’s composition. It is 2.88 billion kilometers away from the sun, compared to Earth’s 149 million kilometers. It is compose mostly of gases (molecular hydrogen and helium), ice and rocks, and the strong winds all the more lower it’s already low temperature.

Planet Uranus - picture taken from Voyager 2

Planet Uranus – picture taken from Voyager 2. Image via

Uranus was first discovered in 1690 by John Flamsteed. By then, it was considered to be a star – not a planet. Though it is visible to the naked eye like the other five classical planets, it was never recognized as a planet by ancient planetary observers because of its dimness and slow orbit. Then in March 13, 1781, William Herschel found out that it was actually a planet. It was the first planet to be discovered since ancient times and was named Herschel, after it’s discoverer – William Herschel. Then it was changed to Uranus, the Greek god of sky, to keep the greek/roman mythology names in tradition.

Masseter or Jaw Muscle, the Strongest Muscle in the Human Body

May 2nd, 2011 by admin | 7 Comments | Filed in human body, science

If we define muscular strength as the ability to exert a force on an external object – ex: lifting an object, then the masseter or jaw muscle is the strongest muscle in the human body. The strongest force this muscle was able to produce has a bite strength of 4,337 newtons or 974.996386 pounds force. It was measured by the Guinness Book of Records in 1992 from a man of Inuit (Eskimo) descent. By comparison, the bite strength of an average man is between 117 to 265 pounds.

Masseter or jaw muscles

Masseter or jaw muscles. Image via

The masseter muscle is a thick and somewhat quadrilateral muscle. It consist of two parts, superficial and deep. It originates in the lateral part of the cheek bone and inserts in the angle of the mandible. They acts to raise the jaw and clench the teeth. This muscle’s primary function is to chew food.

Head and neck muscles

Head and neck muscles. Image via

The larger superficial portion, arises by a thick, tendinous aponeurosis from the zygomatic process of the maxilla, and from the anterior two-thirds of the lower border of the zygomatic arch. While the smaller deep portion is much smaller, and more muscular in texture. It arises from the posterior 3rd of the lower border and from the whole of the medial surface of the zygomatic arch.

−89.2 °C, the Coldest Temperature Ever Recorded on Earth

April 15th, 2011 by admin | 3 Comments | Filed in natural phenomenon, nature, places, science, world record

The coldest temperature ever recorded on the surface of the Earth took place in Russian Vostok Station in Vastok, Antarctica. Researchers were able to measure a chilling −89.2 °C or −128.6 °F on July 21, 1983.

Panoramic view of Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica

Panoramic view of Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica. Image via

Located at 1,300 km from the South Pole, Vostok Station is one of the coldest uninhabited places on Earth. It is the most remote of all the Antarctic research stations and with elevation of 3,488 meters above sea level. During winter season, the temperature averages at -65°C or -85°F. The warmest temperature ever recorded was 12.2°C or 10°F – still below freezing.

Russian Vostok Station Researchers with their drilled ice cores

Russian Vostok Station Researchers with their drilled ice cores. Image via

During the summer, the station typically is manned by 25 scientists and engineers and goes down to 13 during the winter. The cold is not just the challenge in this place but other factors such as, the humidity which is almost zero, strong wind which sometimes blows at 60 mph, low oxygen due to its elevation, and the polar night which lasts several months.

Chemical Name of Titin, the Longest Word in English Languange

April 7th, 2011 by admin | 9 Comments | Filed in science, world record

The protein called Titin is not only the biggest known protein in the world, it’s chemical name is also the longest word in the English language and in the world. It composed of 189,819 letters. Though you cannot found this word in a dictionary and some argue that it’s not a word, Titin’s chemical name has been use in many medical journals. It’s full chemical name starts with methionyl… and ends …isoleucine.

Titin is a form of protein in humans that is encoded by the TTN gene. Considered a giant protein, it functions as a molecular spring and is responsible of the elasticity of the muscle.

Giant protein called Titin

Structure of the biggest protein called Titin. Image via

In case your wondering, here’s the first part of chemical name of Titin (don’t ask us how to read it):

methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine

And here’s the full chemical name: link

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