Blue Whale Beached — Flipper to be Amputated? – “I’m as sorry as anybody that that animal perished,” said Humboldt State University mammologist Thor Holmes (pictured above atop the whale). But to find “a fresh, female blue whale in a place that’s accessible—that is amazing.” The following video helps you get a sense of the size:

Is this haunting picture proof that chimps really DO grieve? – “United in what appears to be deep and profound grief, a phalanx of more than a dozen chimpanzees stood in silence watching from behind the wire of their enclosure as the body of one of their own was wheeled past…”

Unity Game Dev Platform – Is now free…

Secrets In A Seed: Clues Into The Evolution Of The First Flowers – “Approximately 120-130 million years ago, one of the most significant events in the history of the Earth occurred: the first flowering plants, or angiosperms, arose. In the late 1800s, Darwin referred to their development as an “abominable mystery.” To this day, scientists are still challenged by this “mystery” of how angiosperms originated, rapidly diversified, and rose to dominance…”

Quantum gravity theories wiped out by a gamma ray burst – “What a photon it was: a 31GeV gamma ray picked up by the orbiting Fermi Telescope. Because of the timing of its arrival, an entire class of quantum gravity models suddenly seems unlikely. More data of this sort may be coming soon, as scientists have now confirmed the oldest supernova yet detected, dating from just 630 million years after the big bang…”

Darwin and culture – “The public reception of scientific ideas depends largely on two factors: people’s ability to grasp factual information and the cultural lens through which that information is filtered. The former is what scientists tend to focus on when they give popular accounts of issues such as climate change. The assumption is that if they explain things very, very clearly, everyone will understand. Unfortunately, this is an uphill battle…”

Animal Mummies – “Wrapped in linen and reverently laid to rest, animal mummies hold intriguing clues to life and death in ancient Egypt…”

America’s hidden gems: The 20 least-crowded national parks in 2009 – “Mention Yellowstone or Rocky Mountain national parks, and Americans can quickly conjure images of Old Faithful or Longs Peak. Likewise, Californians can easily picture the desert cactus of Joshua Tree and Half Dome in Yosemite. But mention secluded Kobuk Valley in Alaska or the remote Channel Islands off the Southern California coast and the mental image may not come as quickly. These 20 least-visited of the 58 national parks in the U.S. offer the same types of natural beauty, exotic wildlife and adventurous outdoor activity as their more popular counter-parks do — but with smaller crowds and enough adventure to satisfy even the most daring…”

No men OR women needed: Scientists create sperm and eggs from stem cells – “Human eggs and sperm have been grown in the laboratory in research which could change the face of parenthood. It paves the way for a cure for infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own…”

Dangling stockings reveal whales’ sex drive – “For the first time, testosterone and progesterone – two key hormones that signal whether whales are pregnant, lactating or in the mood to mate – have been extracted from whales’ lung mucus, captured in nylon stockings dangled from a pole over their blowholes as they surface to breathe.”

Curry spice ‘kills cancer cells’ – “An extract found in the bright yellow curry spice turmeric can kill off cancer cells, scientists have shown…”

If we eliminate net neutrality

Internet speed and costs around the world – “Top 20 nations in ITIF Broadband rankings…”

UW’s Meltwater House is Inspired by Glaciers: Solar Decathlon – “The roof is an inverted apex, with a ridge beam running lengthwise like a valley down the house’s center, then rising to high points on each side. Clerestory windows tracing the chaotic roofline proceed as out-of-square polygons around the house’s perimeter…”

Intel’s next-gen memory closer to reality – “Its 64-megabit capacity isn’t momentous on its own–Numonyx announced a 128Mb device in 2006 and Samsung said in September it’s producing a 512Mb chip. But what is significant are two major advances in making the decades-old idea practical…”

World’s Scariest Foods – “Welcome to our international culinary chamber of horrors, where succulent spiders, gleaming sheep guts, and deadly seafood await your delectation. (Cue evil laugh and lightning bolt.)…”

Russia’s “Nuclear Spaceship” – “He said that the ship will have a megawatt-class nuclear reactor, as opposed to small nuclear reactors that powered Soviet satellites. The Cold-War era Soviet spy satellites had reactors which produced just a few kilowatts of power and had a lifespan of just about a year….”

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