Caveman to...Martian Caveman?

 We're talking about sending people to Mars, but at the end of this fantastic journey, where will they live?

Likely in...a cave.

Caves shield from the radiation that bombards Mars (no magnetic field = no global protection). So it's very likely that Martian outposts will be built, at least to start with, inside caves and lava fields. Some of these caves have skylights, so you would be able to grow food in them.

Of course, the small issue is that if there's any life remaining on Mars...it's probably going to be using those caves.

James Webb has finished testing!

 We might even get this thing launched in October. I'll believe it when it hits orbit, but the telescope has completed every one of its preflight tests.

(Note, this thing is now 14 years behind schedule. 14. years.)

It's planned to replace (although not completely) the aging Hubble, which is now 31 years old.

Friday Updates - Apparition Lit Flash Contest

 Time for a free story! Go here to read Ka-thump, which won this month's Apparition Lit Flash Contest and includes one of my favorite things...space lesbians!

Everything else is plodding along. It's really warm this week and my water pitcher died, so not the best week of my life, but I've had far, far worse.

Ocean Worlds?

 Now, here's a plot bunny.

So-called Hycean worlds might harbor life...but not, Jim, as we know it.

These are larger planets with hydrogen-rich atmospheres (too small to be gas giants). Their surface is entirely ocean, so a technological civilization is relatively unlikely.

Or is it?

I mean, these worlds can be as hot as 200 degrees Celsius, but we still think there might be microbes in the ocean.

And there are a lot of them.

Hrm.

Thoughts churning yet?

Mars Snapshots

 Everyone should check these out.

Especially the panoramic video. It's so hard to believe this really is another planet.

The universe is so vast, so wonderful, and we are so small in comparison...and yet so powerful in our own way.

It gives me just that little bit of hope.

Satellite DNA and Species

 Uh, so, it's a tad technical, so bear with me.

It turns out that some of our "junk" DNA, which mutates very rapidly, is bound together by specific proteins.

And these proteins differ between species and this, not different chromosomes, may be the key that prevents species from interbreeding.

Which implies that canines, which interbreed happily, all have the same strategy for holding together their junk DNA.

It also means that a bit of genetic engineering could fix the hybridization problem...

...which means that in the future we might be able to make fertile, true-breeding...

...mules...

I love mules, but that scares me.

Does the Milky Way really have a broken arm?

 Kind of!

While mapping the galaxy we discovered that there's a bunch of nebulas in the Sagittarius Arm that are kind of sticking out at an angle, like a broken bone poking through the skin (eww).

No, we don't know what exactly causes this, but we've seen it in other spiral galaxies (it's harder to map the one you're standing in).

It might well be caused by some kind of gravitational disruption. Perhaps a large, roaming black hole is the culprit?

Who knows, but it's kind of cool.

Updates!

 First of all, this year's Triangulation anthology, containing my story "Homestead," is now available! The theme is Habitats.

So, it's about all the places we have, do, and may yet live. Homestead is about asteroid colonies!

Get your copy here.

Second, I'm pleased to announce that my story "Ka-thump" won this month's Apparition Lit Flash Fiction Contest. It's about space lesbians because, well, we all need space lesbians.

Come to think about it, Homestead has space lesbians too. Are we detecting a theme?

Not Sure About the Name, but It's Adorable

 A new prehistoric mammal has been named Beornus honeyi, but it's about the size of a house cat. So why name it after the giant werebear?

Probably because by the standards of its time, it was a giant. It was a condylarth, which eventually gave way to hoofed mammals. (I'm envisioning it next to an 18 hand draft horse now).

And also because its huge molars gave it puffy cheeks, like Beorn. It was one of three new condylarth species discovered, part of an explosion of diversification after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.

And it's adorable. I want one.

Could You Colonize Mars?

 ...or at least a fake Mars? NASA is looking for people aged 30 to 55, nonsmoker, proficient in English...to spend a year living in a fake Mars colony. It's called an analog mission, and the point is to help us understand and predict the challenges astronauts might face.

Because of the way launch windows work, astronauts will likely have to stay on Mars for a long time and we need to know how they will deal with various (simulated crisis). And work out how to keep them from wanting to kill each other. Ahem.

Of course, you do have to meet some of the astronaut requirements, so this isn't an opportunity for everyone. But...well...here it is.

Bones, Dry Bones

 So, there's a lava tube in Saudi Arabia which is full of bones.

Some of these bones are 7,000 years old.

Some of them are human.

The culprit? Hyenas, who like to collect and stash bones and don't always do anything with them. Judging by the growling, they're still at it.

The cave, Umm Jirsan, promises to provide useful information as bones generally don't preserve well in the desert.

Washington Science Fiction Association Small Press Award!

 I'm a finalist!

"Guest Athletes," which was published in Dimensions Unknown III: The Phantom Games from Excalibur Books (the one based in Tokyo as there is, unsurprisingly, more than one Excalibur Books).

I'm in the kind of company authors dream of. Find the full list of finalists here, and it includes two Hugo nominees.

So, yes, I'm celebrating this weekend.

The award will be presented at Capclave, October 1-3, Rockville Maryland.

It's unusual in that the voting is completely blind and in theory neither the jury nor the voters know either the author or the publisher. Of course, there might be cases when somebody read a story before, but they keep it as fair as possible.

Thank you John Paul Catton for buying the story.

Apish Hello And Goodbye

 We have formalized and ritualized ways of starting and ending social interactions.

Turns out? So do our closest relatives. Chimps and bonobos both do various signals to say hello and goodbye. Bonobos, which are more advanced socially, do it more.

Also, in bonobos, the better they know each other? The shorter the entry and exit signals.

Oh, and just out of interest, one of them is holding hands. They hold hands as a way to show the intent of socialization.

Just how old is the handshake, anyway?

Mutant "Spiders" For the Win

 Let's hope none of them bite anyone named Peter (or Miles).

Scientists have genetically engineered daddy-long-legs/harvestmen (which despite their appearance are scorpions, not spiders) into, well, daddy short legs.

The experiment was designed to test genetic engineering tools and also to improve our understanding of the arachnid genome.

But no biting any young men, okay?

We Probably Don't Want To Clone These...

...probably. But scientists found two mummified cave lion cubs, one of which is in such good condition she still has whiskers. Sparta, as they've called her, honestly looks like a well-played-with plush.

 One useful piece of information from this? They were a different color from the adults we've found, indicating that cave lions probably, like many other mammals, had different baby coats.

The cubs were very young and probably died in an accident. I am still feeling sorry for the grieving mother all those thousand years ago.

There Be Dragons!

 Well, not any more, but Thapunngaka shawi, a species of pterosaur with a 22 foot wingspan used to soar over the Australian outback...back when it was mostly a vast inland sea.

It has large wings, a small body and a huge, huge head. (The name means Shaw's Spear Mouth).

So, what did it snap up with those huge jaws? Most likely...fish. It would have been able to fit a lot of them in there.

Nom.

Friday Updates!

 Yes, I actually have news this week!

First, my application to be on programming for Discon III has been officially accepted. Obviously, with the con not happening until December, I don't have any details yet...but watch this space.

Second, my story "So Simple," is a runner-up in the Theme of Absence Philosophical Science Fiction and is now available to read free on their site here. It's a quick read and I would love it if people left comments.

Okay, so...uh...stars talking?

 Some quantum physicist in London is now claiming that an advanced alien civilization is modifying the light coming off stars to communicate.

It's conceivable, but reeeally? That's something out of a Hamilton or Reynolds novel, not something that seems to make sense.

Oh, and it uses quantum entanglement. And it's encrypted by naturally hiding it, so we don't notice.

Sorry, Dr. Rudolf, this sounds like a pure conspiracy theory. I like it, but I don't buy it.

Derailing your Train of Thought

 Who hasn't used this metaphor? I've occasionally extended it to my train of thought going crashing off a cliff.

Now we've discovered that our brain circuits...uh...yeah...they actually work that way. Something called dentate spikes act as little switches to move information processing around in your hippocampus.

So, use that metaphor with confidence, because your itty bitty brain train probably just did switch to a new destination, leaving you stuck desperately trying to find the old one.

Why Are Birds the Only Dinosaurs Left?

 We use "bird-brained" as an insult and somehow see birds as stupid creatures. But new research has demonstrated why they alone survived the mass extinction event.

It could be because they were the smartest group of dinosaurs.

Birds appear to have a more developed forebrain, which may have allowed them to adapt to the post impact world faster than they could evolve (the key advantage of intelligence).

So next time you're tempted to insult somebody's intelligence by comparing them to a bird, think twice.

It might even be a compliment.

You Little Fur Thief!

 Birds steal fur. I mean, we were pretty sure, but scientists have now properly observed and catalogued the behavior.

And now we know who's fur they prefer: Predators.

And they do it more in higher latitudes. The scientists keep coming up with all kinds of reasons why they prefer wolf fur over horse fur.

My thought:

Because predators spend more time lazing around, they have thicker fur. So maybe it's just about keeping their eggs warmer.

The animals don't seem to mind. Maybe the birds prefer fur that's about to shed anyway and it's like a good grooming...