"If music be the food of love, play on"
Opening excerpt of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

In Thailand, Richard Lair conducts the Elephant Orchestra in a concert to conserve its dying breed.

Music continues to feature significantly in the artistic realm. This entry aims to pique your interest in all things melodious. Have you considered how science can be interwoven into music? What do rythym and physics have in common?

Continue reading "Musical Musings" »

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What are the final limits of medicine? What should we not try to cure medically, even if we had the necessary financial resources and technology? This book philosophically addresses these questions by examining two mirror-image debates in tandem.

Continue reading "The Limits of Medicine" »

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We've all have an occasional "Al Gore-inspired moment" - where we unplug that mobile phone which has been charging for about three days; made sure that we have separated (in a half-hearted sort of way) the right rubbish from the wrong rubbish; switched at least the energy-hungry light bulb with to a long life energy-friendly bulb. These in one way or another have something to do with energy...just like everything in our day-to-day lives - whether its to keep or cook the food that in turn keeps our bodies turning over, our coffee machine on; our journey to work smooth; our working day efficient and relatively hassle-free; the club lights to burn until we drop into bed where the alarm clock ticks through the night toward another coffee fix.

Continue reading "A short burst of energy" »

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Are alien UFO extraterrestrials visiting? Should we search for extraterrestrial life? How would you react if a real UFO is contacting Earth?

There may be no reason to panic yet, but listen to the following audio clip, which captured a certain eerie, bizarre sound from the planet Saturn by NASA. (1)

Continue reading "Bizarre Callings" »

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Image taken from Library PressDisplay

Good news for your Viagra-using hamster: On his next trip to overseas, he'll bounce back from jet lag faster than his unmedicated friends. Will we, humans, be able to benefit from this discovery soon too? (3)

Guess we could only join in and sing to the tune of Doris Day’s “Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps” for now.

Scientists have discovered that Viagra helped the hamsters they studied, overcome jet lag. This discovery earned them one of the ten awards given, at the 17th Annual Ig Nobel (The name is supposedly a play on the word ignoble and the name "Nobel" after Alfred Nobel, according to Wikipedia) Awards ceremony this year. (1)

The team at Quilmes National University in Buenos Aires, Argentina, came up with the jet-lag study, which found that hamsters given the anti-impotence drug needed 50 percent less time to recover from a six-hour time zone change. They didn't fly rodents to Paris, incidentally -- they just turned the lights off and on at different times. (3)

The Ig Nobel Awards ceremony is famously known for highlighting bizarre discoveries in the field of Science, and this year was no exception. Apart from hamsters taking center stage were others such as the extraction of vanilla flavouring from the unthinkable, cow dung. Other strange discoveries also included the examination of side effects from sword swallowing and whether rats can discriminate between Japanese and Dutch spoken backwards.

Image from OnAsia

Continue reading "Wacky Science Awards" »

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How many of us, stargazers, were the lucky few to view the total lunar eclipse last evening despite the cloudy skies?

A total eclipse of the moon was slated to occur on Tuesday evening, between 5pm and 8pm. The best places to view this phenomenon cited by scientists were namely Eastern Asia, Australia and America.

Continue reading "Blood Moon" »

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Image fron Factiva.com

Blue has been always associated with men, and pink to women. As sexist as it may seem, this old adage has been scientifically proven to be true. It is official everyone, men’s preferred colour is blue, while women tend to gravitate towards the colour pink. (By the way, blue is also the most popular colour.)

This was found in a research led by Professor Anya Hurlbert of Britain’s Newcastle University. She mentioned that women’s preference for pink was due to evolution. She explained that in primitive times “when women were the primary gatherers, they would have benefited from an ability to home in on ripe, red fruits.” (1)

The British researchers, to come to a conclusion, studied 208 young adults’ colour preferences. (2)

Just how did they go about with this study?

Volunteers were asked to select, as quickly as possible, their preferred colour from each of a series of paired, coloured rectangles (1,000 of them). Professor Hurlbert and her colleagues then plotted the results along the colour spectrum and discovered that while men prefer blue, women gravitate towards the pinker end of the blue spectrum. (2)

Apparently, women had a very clear pattern. Their choices were low in the yellow and green regions and rises to a peak in the purplish to reddish region. This shifted their colour preference slightly away from the blue towards the red. The differences were so substantial that experienced researchers were able to predict the sex of a participant by checking their favourite colour. (4)

Whether it is really true that gender-based colours exist, it still looks like this ongoing tradition of "pink for the girls and blue for the boys," is here to stay for a long time.

Direct Links:
(1) “Girls really do prefer pink.” The Gold Coast Bulletin. 21 August 2007. From Factiva.com

(2) Dayton, Leigh. “Division of sexes is colour coded.” The Australian. 21 August 2007. From Factiva.com

(3) “Women really do prefer pink, researchers say.” Reuters News. 21 August 2007. From Factiva.com

(4) Wainwright, Martin. “Pink for a girl and blue for a boy – and it’s all down to evolution.” The Guardian. 21 August 2007. From Factiva.com

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These days, it is common to donate blood and organs. What is strange (and definitely news-worthy), would be to donate your body for Science.

More than 7000 people from all over the world have done just that. They have agreed to donate their bodies for Plastination, made famous by scientist Gunther von Hagens’ renowned exhibition, Body Worlds.

In this exhibition, most bodies are flayed and dissected, revealing their organs. Others are kept intact and displayed in dramatic action poses, such as a basketball player driving to the hoop or a runner in full stride. (1)

Dr Gunther von Hagens (Front R) with unidentifiued body donors at the Body Worlds exhibition August 12, 2002. The new volunteers are to donate their bodies after they die to the Institute for Plastination, so their bodies may be preserved for the exhibition. REUTERS/Ian Waldie

Colin Hill from Leeds views a whole body plastination at the Body Worlds exhibition August 12, 2002. Hill is to donate his body after he dies to the Institute for Plastination, so his body may be preserved for the exhibition. REUTERS/Ian Waldie

Continue reading "People Donate Their Bodies for Science" »

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Are you concentrating? Just to show that this blog occasionally looks at the world from a slightly complex angle we bring you the Diamond Light Source synchrotron! Wot? Yes, its nothing to do with diamonds and a little to do with light and it synchronises. Got it?

OK you didn't - so let me try to unpack it a bit - you do want to be in on "the dawn of a new era of scientific endeavour" don't you?

Diamond will produce infra-red, ultra- violet and X-ray beams of exceptional quality and brightness, a thousand billion times brighter than from a hospital X-ray tube. These beams will enable scientists
and engineers to dive deep into the basic structure of matter and materials, leading to another level of breakthroughs in the fields of biotechnology, medicine, environmental and materials science.

Continue reading "Diamond is Forever" »

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Would it soon be the last days of mother Earth?

That’s what the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists concluded, when they moved the Doomsday Clock’s time up two minutes to 11:55pm. So now, we’re symbolically five minutes away from apocalypse.

The scientists say the world is in its “most perilous state'' since the Hiroshima bomb in 1945. - 4

Continue reading "Are we nearing Doomsday?" »

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Ever wondered about the possibility of the existence of life on other planets or on the moons? The increasing number of scientific studies and astronomical ventures point to the likelihood of the prevalence of life elsewhere beyond this world we live in.

According to the Scholastic News, the Cassini space probe recently took photos of Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons. The photos indicate signs of water on this relatively tiny satellite.

Water on Enceladus flow through geysers, or holes in the ground through which water and steam shoot up in bursts.

"Life forms require liquid water and organic (natural) materials, and we know we have both on Enceladus now," said Carolyn Porco, a scientist working on the Cassini project.

Enceladus also seems to have been recently active with "water volcanism” or other processes that renew its surface. The fresh, clean ice that dominates its surface gives the satellite the most reflective surface of any body in the solar system.

"Enceladus is the smallest body so far found that seems to have active volcanism," said Dr. Torrence Johnson, Cassini imaging-team member at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Cassini has also confirmed Enceladus is the major source of Saturn's largest ring, the E-ring.

For more information, this article is available in our databases:-

"Signs of Water on Saturn Moon" Scholastic News - grade 3 (English version)2006-05-08: 3.School Library Collection By NewsbankOnline. Infoweb by Newsbank, Inc. December 20, 2006.

Check out the extensive collection of eBooks on the mysteries of the Outer Space at NLB's eResources.
Here are some interesting eBooks:

The Moon
Planet Library
by Kerrod, Robin.

What's Inside the Moon?
What's Inside Library
by Kosek, Jane Kelly.

Saturn
Planet Library
by Kerrod, Robin.

Saturn
Gateway Solar System
by Vogt, Gregory.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy
by De Pree, Christopher Gordon.; Axelrod, Alan
Publication: New York Alpha Books, 1999.

DIRECT LINKS:
Scholastic News - grade 3 (English version) : Signs of Water on Saturn Moon
http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:SLCT

Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia, December 16, 2006- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enceladus_%28moon%29

NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, July 29, 2005- http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=592

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Pluto: Demoted!

Pluto has been a mystery for many years. Tiny and far-off, Pluto was the most unknown planet in our Solar System since its discovery in 1930. Tiny indeed, as even the moons in the solar system are bigger than this ex-planet. Pluto’s status as a planet has been an ongoing debate amongst astronomers for the past few months due to its puny size, its solid icy surface and its peculiar elongated orbit. International Astronomical Union (IAUcame to a decision finally, and it has been officially declared worldwide that Pluto is no longer considered to be a planet. It is time to forget one thing we learnt in school - we no longer have 9 planets, instead there are only 8 left.

Pluto is now part of a newly established category classified by IAU called “dwarf planets.” Along with dwarf planet Pluto, two other dwarf planets have been introduced namely Ceres and 2003 UB313 (a temporary name for this dwarf planet).

Pluto is considered to be an exceptionally large Kuiper object, part of a field of debris in the outer solar system called the Kuiper Belt. Early this year, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the unmanned "New Horizons" probe. This spacecraft will take eight years to reach the Pluto-Charon system. The probe will study the dwarf planet up-close while it also would investigate other Kuiper Belt objects.

Our solar system is a world of wonders indeed. Read about it and its counterparts. Immerse yourself in all the glorious facts about our solar system.

Check out the extensive collection of eBooks on our solar system at NLB's eResources.
Here are some interesting eBooks:

The Solar System
Planet Library
by Kerrod, Robin.

Schaum's Outline of Theory and Problems of Astronomy
Schaum's Outline Series
by Palen, Stacy E.

Astronomy Demystified
McGraw-Hill "Demystified" Series
by Gibilisco, Stan.

Direct Links:
1. Pluto. (2006). The New Book of Popular Science. Retrieved September 27, 2006, from Grolier Online http://nbps.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assettype=t&assetid=a4002
400-h
2. Villard, R. (2006). The Solar System. The New Book of Popular Science. Retrieved September 27, 2006, from Grolier Online http://nbps.grol/cgi-bin/article?assettype=t&assetid=a4001300-h

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"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."
Thomas A. Edison

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Many of you must have been wondering what's the sudden fuss about blogs. Let us the enlighten you about the current buzz.

Definition of Blog
Blog, which is a shorter term for weblog, is basically a journal that is available on the web. It is also known as a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Entries contain commentary and links to other Web sites, and images as well as a search facility may also be included. A blog with video clip entries instead of text is a "video Weblog". People maintained blogs long before the term was coined, but the trend gained momentum with the introduction of automated published systems, most notably Blogger at blogger.com.
Source: Google’s Web Definition of Blogging

Continue reading "What's the fuss about BLOGS?" »

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We've been using it for a few years but now - it's official! - Google is a verb - whether that is in the lower case preferred by the Merriam Webster Dictionary where it is a transitive verb meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web."
or you go with the Oxford English Dictionary where the capitalisation is retained: " To use the Google search engine to find information on the Internet. or {trans.) To search for information about (a person or thing) using the Google search engine.

Continue reading "Google, the Verb" »

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INVENTION offers many benefits as a unit of study. It teaches valuable process, subject integration, and critical thinking skills. It is the ground floor of an economy, and as such, offers a great way to teach about the intimate relationship between technology and our standard of living.

Continue reading "Invention in the Classroom" »

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Innovation Resource Guide

Innovation is often touted recently but what is innovation exactly? Traditionally, it is commonly associated with inventors and their inventions. We would like to invite you to think otherwise. Seen from a broader perspective, a lot of things can be considered as candidates of innovation: from changing to a new work process, to writing a new book, painting a new perspective and even cooking a new dish.

At its heart, innovation is a process and a journey. NLB has specially produced this guide just for you, hoping to highlight the various milestones and pit stops that populate the landscape for people who undertake such journeys. Yes, it is possible for everyone to embark on such a journey and become an innovator – we also hopes that this guide could serve as a good starting point for your voyage.

You can get a hardcopy of this resource guide at all the library counters from the 16th August onwards. But if you are in a hurry to get on your research you can read and print out the resource guide here.

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National Library Board has chosen the month of August to discover local innovators and innovations. Put on your thinking cap and start inventing!

The programmes by the Economic Development Board and its partners at the beginning of the month will serve to debunk the notion that creativity and the ability to invent is the realm of specialists, while the Innovation Symposium co-organised by the alumni associations of Imperial College and University of Illinois will focus on institutional innovation and how it relates to the lay man.

Before you start cracking your head to think about your own inventions, do come down and take a look at our We Can Invent! Innovation Exhibition By Economic Development Board of Singapore, ">Singapore Inventors Development Association (SIDA) and I-KAST Asian Network Pte Ltd at National Library, The Plaza from the August 5 till the August 13.

This exhibition will showcase local inventions at different stages of development, from idea to prototype to market-ready state. Focal points of the exhibition will be SIDA's iTable and a showcase of the Optical Fibre Fabric technology by I-KAST and GDH. Exhibitors will interact with interested members of the public, answer questions and brainstorm ideas.

We would like to also take this opportunity to introduce to you our diverse range of e-content available through our site, which showcases a fair selection on Science and Technology. Over the next few weeks we will be featuring more specific resources but what we would like to do, just to get things started, is to highlight some of the Science and Technology databases and what they offer.

1. Columbia earthscape
· Earth sciences

2. Dialog - Material Safety Data Sheets
· Collection of material safety data sheets

3. Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI)
· Data on designers, craftspeople, studios, workshops, and firms etc.

4. Dialog - SciSearch
· Science, technology, biomedicine, and related disciplines

5. Grolier - The New Book of Popular Science
· Fun Facts, Careers articles, science in the news, games, puzzles and brainteasers

6. Nature.com
· All fields of science and technology including Biotechnology, Cancer, Drug Discovery, Earth Sciences, Materials Science and Microbiology.

7. ProQuest Science Journals
· Computers, engineering, physics, telecommunications, and transportation.

8. Science Online
· Broad range of scientific disciplines. Suitable for students aged 12 to 18.

9. xreferplus Science
· Digitised versions of Collins Dictionary of Astronomy, Wiley Dictionary of Developmental Biology and Embryology, The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics and more.

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Many of us get locked out of our homes. We forget to take our keys and end up waiting in our neighbour’s house for a family member or housemate to come rescue us from our keyless, homeless state.

Which is why I know we wish we had the Q Branch key chain. It had lock-picks that could open 90 percent of the world's locks, stun gas, and an explosive. James Bond (1) used all three features in The Living Daylights. While we may not need the explosive, we could certainly do with the key chain’s unlocking mechanism and the stun gas may come in handy if someone tries to attack us from behind while we’re trying to unpick our own locks.

I thought of the genius who came up with such a neat gadget. Where would James Bond be without Q? Probably dead. Played most famously by a true English gentleman, Desmond Llewelyn, Q is the ultimate go-to guy for madcap inventions that help Mr. Bond save the world from nutty villains.

Someone told me that Q was a “boffin”. At first, I thought it was a relative of a puffin but as he tried to educate me with the Oxford English Dictionary, I soon learnt that a boffin is a person engaged in scientific or technical research.

“A perfect description for our Science and Technology category!” I thought. So, here we are at The Boffin Booth – a place for anyone interested in everything scientific and technical (we certainly have sizeable e-content on these subjects). “Booth” is also my personal homage to a bonafide boffin, Major Boothroyd a.k.a Q.

Direct links:
(1) Lane, Anthony. "MONDO BOND.(analysis of the James Bond films)." The New Yorker 78.33 (Nov 4, 2002): NA. Pop Culture Periodical Collection. Thomson Gale. National Library Board Singapore. 8 Aug. 2006 

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