Kettle

I remember reading about this a while back. If I remember correctly the procedure was performed on a guy who'd been having serious seizures for about 12 years. Post-op, I think that the seizures stopped without the interference of medication and he was able to function normally.

How likely is it, do you suppose, that ETs/aliens will have radio communication - could it not be possible that there are 1000s of other potential forms of communication that we could employ at our current stage of technological development but we just stumbled across radio first and stuck with that? Could radio also occupy a relatively small "niche" in our evolution so in 100 years it could be completely obsolete - a small amount of time if you're hunting for messages from aliens. By the same token, what are the chances that our radio communications reach an inhabited world at the same time that the aliens are using radio and vice versa? Pretty slim I would imagine....

That "gentleman's" rant only highlights his own complete and utter ignorance regarding anything even remotely technical. He probably even subscribes to AOL

I really enjoyed WC3 (until I got to one of those ludicrous timed assault levels) but then again I am a complete RPG nut so I probably enjoyed all of the rpg elements - it was alot slower than its predecessors but I quite liked that. Still not a patch on Total Annihilation though - the God of RTSs. PS. am really looking forward to World of Warcraft

Hello. A couple of entertaining movies here just in case anyone is bored. 1. Why it's generally a good idea to have lessons before trying to fly a helicopter. http://www.hovercontrol.net/trainingvideos/helocrash.wmv 2. Woah! Just look at what they can do with Ascii art these days http://pcfil.com/matrix.html?D0=1000000000 set your monitor to high res to reap the full benefits Anyone else got anything fun?

Heh - here's another one for you. Apparently (according to Bill Bryson), we each have 1 billion atoms in us that once belonged to Shakespeare or Genghis Khan or even both (but not Elvis - he hasn't been dead long enough for all his atoms to sufficiently "dissipate").

Try this... Tell her to close both eyes then hold her hand over one eye so she is holding it closed. Get her to open her eyes whilst still holding one closed then ask her to take her hand away and see if she can keep that eye closed. That should be a start at least. Or just

I think it would be viable as Silicon is generally very similar to carbon. However, due to its properties any silicon-based life forms would be extremely rigid and inflexible. I guess that means it would also develop and grow very slowly. So some kind of plant could probably exist but a mobile animal would pose more of a challenge.

science of mind is what brings that which cannot be named, because structure hinders ....

About 2,000 professional astronomers from around the world are gathering in Australia for two weeks of debate about the state of the universe. Their meeting, which begins in Sydney on Sunday, is the 25th general assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Much of the conference will deal not so much with what lies in the stars, but what lies between them - the so-called dark matter of outer space which makes up the biggest proportion of the universe that can't be seen with normal telescopes. Closer to earth, scientists will discuss progress in exploring the planets, the search for inter-terrestrial life and the European projects to build what could become the world's biggest optical telescope in the mountains of Chile and a giant radio telescope in western Australia. The future of Antarctica will be given special attention because scientists believe the cold dry air above the continent and its unique magnetic characteristics provide ideal conditions for astronomical observation. There's no better place on earth, they say, to explore the effects of exploding stars and the make-up of the sun. http://www.astronomy2003.com/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3061925.stm

But looking back at an object after having travelled away from it at the speed of light wouldn't *really* be time travel - you wouldn't be actually experiencing the past as such.

The Cat's Eye (if it counts - there's a star in the middle of it) - it looks pretty and is a bit of a mystery Eta Carinae would be close in at #2 though.

Blimey - well done for finding that

So do you know how mushrooms with 36,000 different sexes fit into all this? How do they reproduce and what (in a generalised way obviously) are the essential differences between sexes?

I think it means "annoy" or "offend"

It never hurts to have a few different perspectives for an explanation - makes it easier to understand and corroborates the information

Er - kind of. So, forgetting all about Einstein and Relativity for a moment, we would find it easier to travel back in time because events in our past have already been established but we can't travel to the future because it hasn't been established. Have you been watching Time Cop by any chance? I've been looking about for some information on studies that people have already done on time travel and found this little gem: http://freespace.virgin.net/steve.preston/Time.html It's pitched at about my level too which is great Basically, it describes lots of theories for time travel.

... an absolute necessity for the ongoing survival of our race. We need to get off this rock to protect ourselves against disastrous events that could annihilate our species - don't keep all your eggs in one basket.

I think that the advantages with lots of sexes all comes down to maths. To quote the article: If we had a hundred sexes, and could mate with any one of them, our chance of finding a partner in our surrounding environment would be 99%....If there are only two sexes, then on average, half the time the person you meet is not going to be a potential mate But with multiple sexes comes a higher possibility and risk of mutation so it really comes down to a balancing act. Sorry - I'm just paraphrasing the article but I hope that explains why a more complicated group could be considered beneficial. Edit: Something has just occured to me - aren't mushrooms really just the fruiting body of a funghi? So they're not really an organism in their own right...?

I just dredged this article up: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/specials/sheffield_99/447058.stm it doesn't so much explain why we have 2 sexes as why we don't have several thousand

Heh - I see the start of a 101 useful things to do with a politician thread

Apologies if this has already been covered.... Would it be worth having a forum within each topic for Questions and Answers? Literally just a place for people to chuck out questions and people to suggest answers - much like you see in the backs of magazines and journals. ?

Aha Thanks Btw - am I okay asking stuff like this? I mean, are n00bs with no grounding in science (but a huge fascination with it) welcome to post idiotic questions everywhere or are these forums for serious discussion between people with degrees in Cosmology etc? Maybe it might be worth having a forum subsection in each group devoted to Q&As - where someone can ask a question and people can suggest answers - much like you get in the back of magazines

w00t \o/ way to go, Sayonara

Yup - I knew about the basic properties of ice (that it floats, is less dense etc) but it was the part about the oceans not, in fact, rising should the ice caps melt that took me by surprise (just never put 2 and 2 together I guess - either that or I'm a sucka for hollywood science )