Fluid Dynamics Pix & Mars Pix / America releases the majority of fake research / Binocular Rivalry phenomenon

APS Physics has recently uploaded an image gallery of fluid dynamics imagery.  Some of them are absolutely stunning.  Visit the Gallery on APS

Image Credit:Corrie White Igor Kliakhandler


Some recently released pictures on the surface of Mars:

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University | Source page on JPL

Image Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech | Source page on JPL


53% of 788 faked research papers retracted from 2000-2010 were written by US authors.  (fairly recent Article on PhysOrg) Apart from being an embarrassing statistic, it reminds us to keep an eye out for the wacky and fun articles, and remain skeptical.  You might remember the recent article that proliferated on the Internet, the UN Ambassador to Aliens hoax.  When it comes to media, too interesting to be true may be a warning flag akin to "too good to be true."

"Binocular Rivalry" is an involuntary phenomenon that allows only one of our eye's input to be recognized when each eye is presented with different input.  New research using this phenomenon, along with brain scanning, is furthering our understanding of consciousness.  Article on Max Planck Society 

Image Credit: Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics



In frivolous news, elephant shrews help pollinate plants because they like sticky treats!  Article on PhysOrg

Image Credit: Wester/Naturwissenschaften