Should we be strapping these to our torsos?

We’re all a little bit radioactive now. Thanks to atom bomb tests in the mid-20th century, it’s possible to use radioactive (but harmless) carbon-14 to date not only bristlecone pines and putative Noah’s Arks but also, in a recent Karolinska Institutet study, Grandma and Grandpa’s artery fat.

The technique used in this study—radiocarbon dating—is widely employed by archaeologists and geologists to determine when organisms like fossilized trees or plants lived. All organisms absorb carbon-14 along with normal carbon-12 in a ratio that mirrors how much of each type is present in the atmosphere. (Carbon-14 is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere by cosmic rays, and then mixes throughout the atmosphere and into the oceans.) When an organism dies, the carbon-14 starts to decay at a known rate—half the atoms become nitrogen-14 in about 5,700 years—and the amount left in the tissue when it’s dug up can be used to back-calculate its age.

The above-ground atom bomb tests of the Cold War era raised the amount of carbon-14 in the air; after the tests stopped, atmospheric radiocarbon declined at a very precisely recorded rate. Using this information, scientists ...

What’s the News: Scientists have for the first time directly linked freeway vehicle emissions with brain damage. Scientists used a new technique that involved trapping airborne toxins along Los Angeles’ 110 Freeway, freezing them in water, and exposing lab mice to the toxins. “As a society, we need to figure out ways to minimize the level of the very, very nasty particulates we are dumping into the air we breathe,” University of Southern California gerontology researcher Todd Morgan told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s having terrible consequences.”How the Heck:

The researchers used a particle sampler to collect “fresh ambient particulate matter” along the CA-110 Freeway near Los Angeles City for 30 days. After gathering grime on filters, they then soaked the filters in water for 30 minutes before freezing the water-toxin cocktail.
Frozen pollutants only remain chemically stable for around 3 months, so after collecting freeway toxins, the scientists brought the toxic ice cubed back to their lab soon after. They thawed the ice and released the toxins into the air breathed by their lab mice, exposing them to the fumes for a total of 150 hours ...

UPDATE:  SOLVED by Patrick at 12:24 CDT

Hola!  What’s everyone up to this fine Saturday?  I’m pleased to report that I’ve almost caught back up with myself, and am now running only one blog post behind.  I did this amazing feat by working through several nights, past a case of food poisoning, and dumping everything else off on Tom.  I’m fortunate he has such a gracious personality, or he would surely wring my neck.

Before we get going today, I want to clarify a small point of confusion which cropped-up last week:  When I tell you that someone has “solved the riddle in my email”, the riddle is still open.  What I’m referring to is when someone emails their guess to me in order to play riddle, but doesn’t wish to “win” because they’ve already done so on the current cycle.  There are several who do this, and I like to give them credit in the comments.

Moving right along, I have an interesting riddle for you today, slanted slightly from what you’re used to solving.  You should find this a fun little exercise to get your neurons warmed-up.  You will be looking for something in the real world, today.  Ready?

NASA/CalTech, Thomas Jarrett

Think big.  Really big.

This is defined by… well, nothing.

I can say with all confidence that this is a noun.

Chernobyl, USSR archival photograph

You’re used to thinking of this as a thing.

As it’s applicable in astronomy, it’s a modern discovery.

This is not something you’ll find in your neighborhood, astronomically speaking, unless it’s located between your ears.

Taken from the JAANUS website, gorgeous image of gorintou

You might be more familiar with this as a concept.

Or, perhaps, as a place in which you would not wish to find yourself.

You find this everywhere; in accounting, SciFi, law, mechanical engineering, nuclear engineering, computer programming, mathematics, music, housing, cards… really, in all facets of your life.

Box artwork for Sonic Shuffle, Dreamcast, all rights reserved, North American version

Chew on that for a while.  While you’re chewing, enjoy this funny Roger sent to me.  Thanks, Doll!  You made my day.

We love you, Trudy!

UK readers: exciting new science writing competition opens

Fantastic! Bravo! The Guardian and Wellcome Trust have launched a new science writing prize for young talent. A similar prize (now defunct) organised by Roger Highfield at the Daily Telegraph helped to kickstart my career. All aspiring UK science communicators should enter this. Read Alok Jha’s advice too.

Top thirteen picks

Douglas Fox tells the story behind the story of his Antarctica features (with pitch letters too). A must-read for journalists and people who like good things.

The Man Who Dreamed He Was A Beetle. Robert Krulwich’s touching obituary for Tom Eisener.

“The anti-nuclear movement…has misled the world about the impacts of radiation on human health.” George Monbiot does an about-turn of opinion faced with evidence (or a lack of it) – the essence of good scepticism. In his own blog, he shouts “Citation needed” at the anti-nuclear industry

“The bacterial cause of cholera, rendered effectively untreatable. Think about that for a moment.” Maryn McKenna on NDM-1 in New Delhi water and sewage

What do you do if your pilot gets sucked out the cockpit window? A truly harrowing account.

Superb post ...