It’s time again for Tuesday Science News. In only a few days I’ll be at my family reunion in Central Oregon where we’ll be camping at about 7000 ft above sea level on the shore of a lake in the caldera of a giant volcano. While it’ll be nice to see family, what I’m really excited about is getting to try out some new camping gear.

There’s also a chance that my nephew just might have his eye gaze computer. If he doesn’t have it in time for the reunion, then he certainly will by the family rafting trip next month. Either way, I’m very excited to hear what he has to say.

• Climate change skeptics held a recent conference in Washington, DC. What’s changed is that they no longer deny global warming or even that human produced green house gases are contributing. Their gripe is over how much humans are responsible for and focusing on limiting efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions, including developments in renewable energy. So I guess there’s been some progress, but to oppose renewable energy is just ridiculous. Not having to buy fuel will lower energy costs in the long run and fossil fuel supplies are finite after all. (Full Article)
• There was a brief pause in global warming a few years ago that may have been caused by the sulfur output of Chinese power plants. Unfortunately sulfur isn’t a good plan to curb climate change since it might erode the ozone layer. Besides, who really wants acid rain? (Full Article)
• Water boatmen, a tiny aquatic insect measuring only 2 mm, can “sing” at as many as 99.2 decibels. This loud noise makes it one of the loudest animals of all, and by far the loudest when compared to its size. This loud mating call is produced by rubbing its penis. That’s right, noisy masturbation to attract mates. Even though this works for this insect, it probably won’t work for you, in fact if you try it in public you just might get arrested. (Full Article)
• One in three adults in the US suffer from chronic pain. Sadly the war on drugs is making it harder for patients to get the medication they need and there is inadequate research in finding new medications and other treatments. I’m lucky that my chronic pain is tolerable, well usually. There was the flair up last week from an old back injury from when a quad and a 15 year old me rolled about 20 feet down a dune and the quad came down on top of me with the handle bar sticking me about 3 inches from my spine. Opiates and muscle relaxers saved the day, but I’m glad to be done with them and clear headed again. I am kind of curious if anyone was able to tell that something was different from my blog posts last week. (Full Article)
• Several companies are hoping to make biofuel out of E.coli within 5 years. It’s already conceptually proven in the laboratory, they just need to figure out how to get enough fuel out of it before it can be made commercially available. Wouldn’t that be cool if the same kind of bacteria that gives people food poisoning after eating at the wrong restaurant could also get them to the hospital afterwards? (Full Article
• Germany’s recent E.coli outbreak was caused by contaminated food from an organic farm. For those who aren’t aware, organic farming shuns the modern scientific developments that make food less likely to bring with it various bacteria, fungi, and toxins, such as E.coli. The organic movement needs to embrace at least some scientific methods of keeping food safe, or it will lose it’s current unjustified reputation of being safer and healthier than conventional food. (Full Article)
• Jelly Fish have clogged the intake water filters for a Scottish nuclear power plant’s cooling system causing it to be shut down temporarily. (Full Article)
• A 515 million year old fossil shows that highly developed compound eyes evolved very early. (Full Article)
• Space debris came within 250 meters of the International Space Station last week. Notice was late enough that they couldn’t move the station out of the way and the risk of collision was high enough that the crew were in their Soyuz escape craft ready to evacuate if needed. (Full Article)
• NASA’s next Mars rover may do some mountain climbing. (Full Article)