5x5

unrepresented: via the intrepid Presurfer, profiles of non-existent countries

feathering one’s nest: archaeologists discover a wealth of paper ephemeral in generations of roosting birds in the roof of a Moscow area cathedral

defence of driving: bizarre, vintage missionary meets Martian drivers’ education film

artist’s rendering: comparative visualisation of five hundred exoplanets

outrageous fortune: historic figures that gamed the system and the legacy of ancient lotteries

minstrel show or executive function

Via the always brilliant Mind Hacks’ Spike Activity that encapsulates weekly developments in neuroscience and psychology come an interesting study that the chemical signals that the blood delivers to the brain are not merely the well-travelled troubadours with reports of far-off happenings and fuel sources they they are generally taken to be but rather selective in their service.
I was always grateful that our bodies were smarter than us. Blood flowing into the folds of the brain does not just blindly acquiesce to the demands of the neurons, it seems, but rather can itself dictate what parts of the brain receive nourishment and assert a political influence after a fashion over the choices we make and priorities assigned. The circulatory system (which also pushes lymph) does not take orders from the brain from conception but like language and motor-skills, is also a learnt behaviour, which really is saying quite a lot about self-discipline. What do you think? What if it’s true that the blood can veto our will or lack of resolve?

gold from the waves, manna from heaven

In one of the darkest ironies that are apt to occur when the sciences and politics collide, chemist Fritz Haber’s double-edged contributions to human understanding enabled the world’s population to increase four-fold in a little more than a generation, giving arguably mankind the means to eat itself out of house and home, and from the same discovery, engineered by his own hand, a more violent and immediate process for mass-slaughter. Under the tutelage of several prominent professors and with a background in the dye-business (albeit organic), Haber invented a method for creating artificial ammonia from from the nitrogen and hydrogen given up already to the atmosphere by plants to return to the fields as a synthetic fertilizer—immediately changing the nature of farming, its scale becoming industrial and less labour-intensive. Awarded the Nobel Prize for this accomp- lishment, which sustains today over half the global population, whom wouldn’t have been born without the food-security Haber helped put in place, the scientist turned to his real passion—which was his quest to harvest grains of gold from the ocean, and Haber proved it was feasible although ultimately economically untenable—before turning to his next commission. As gunpowder was originally a by-product of the ingredients that went into natural fertilizers, Haber’s process of fixing nitrogen was also quickly recognised as a conduit for new weapons that might prove advantageous in the awful trench warfare of World War I that was turning into a impasse, with no progress by either side. After having created untold futures, Haber oversaw the first volleys of poison gas attacks in an unending chain of destruction. Haber also developed the gas mask at this time, anticipating that his methods would be incorporated broadly. Aerosols would figure in both achievements, giving rise to pesticides for growing crops and the gas-chambers of World War II. With a career so haunted, no wonder such an important figure in the coursings of modernity is hardly remembered.

marshmallow laser feast or perception and perspective

Though these human hikers might look like members of Daft Punk lost in the forest, donning their moss-covered virtual reality helmets, fed from a variety of sources and with a perception-enhancing range, these guests are attempting to experience the environment more as the residents do.

As senses go, human ones are pretty narrow but these augmenters first expands one’s horizons through sight and sound, magnifying and increasing the visible spectrum, culled from remote sensing and aerial footage as well, and then rather shamanistically puts the wearers through the rounds of the point of views of various woodland denizens. Check out a video at the link that demonstrates how the virtual reality experience has matured and hints at the invisible worlds it could reveal.

5x5

ser más listos: Mexico makes significant overtures to decriminalising marijuana

cash and carry: the 1M Hauly bag for occasions when one needs to discreetly transport large amounts of banknotes

coronal: new spectacular footage of the Sun‘s activity courtesy of Solar Dynamics Observatory

sea monkey kingdom: classic comic book advertisements too good to be true

the mads are calling: wonderfully campy Bond franchise supervillain subversions