Weekend Links

From a book I happen to be reading at the moment:

Our bodies are of course what get left out of a theory that treats architecture as a language, a system of signs. Such a theory can’t explain the physical experience of two places as different as Grand Central Station and my little shack, because the quality of those experiences involves a tangle of mental and physical, cultural and biological elements that the theory can’t account for, blinded as it is by old Western habits of regarding body and mind as separate realms. Taking the side of the mind in the ancient dualism of mind and body, this theory can only explain that part of architecture that can be translated into words and pictures, published in magazines and debated at conferences. An architecture that ignores the body is certainly possible; the proof is all around us. But I doubt it will ever win our hearts.

—A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams by Michael Pollan, pg. 214.

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And Now, The Links

• Conquering cancer with implants? Bioengineered vaccines and magnetic nanodiscs show promise
• Air Force space plane shooting for April launch
• Ares team pressing forward with plans for Ares I-X Prime flight, for now
• SpaceX founder weighs in on Falcon 9 launch readiness – Can’t wait to see Falcon 9 and Dragon work. Good luck, folks.
• Blue Origin Update on Opportunities for Research – Quiet, but still active. Looking forward to what these folks do in the long run.
• New space telescope to hunt for stealth asteroids
• Martian meteorite surrenders new secrets of possible life – The return of ALH84001. Welcome back.
• Fresh claim for fossil life in Mars rock
• Martian "Lake Michigan" Filled Crater, Minerals Hint
• Rainbow trapped for the first time
• Superconductors can come in from the cold
• LHC smashes protons together for first time
• Carfree Times no. 56 – Always worth a look.
• The Future of Trains: In-Depth Reports
• US bets $150m on high-risk renewable energy – Pretty small bet, considering the stakes.
• First osmosis power plant goes on stream in Norway
• Nuclear fuel: are we heading for a uranium crunch?
• World's last bastion of stable ice now thawing
• One for the Ages: Bristlecone Pines Break 4,650-Year Growth Record
• Extinction Countdown: New species galore in discoveries around the world
• Military Divorces Edge Up Again In 9th Year Of War – I knew a Navy officer who was “Dear John”-ed during W.’s initial attack on Iraq. Unfortunately, he has lots of company.
• Obama Pushes Hundreds Of Lobbyists Off Federal Advisory Boards
• Krugman: Tax The Speculators
• Feelin' the Heat – Blue Cross/Blue Shield asks for trouble, gets it.
• 'Godfather of Spam' sentenced to four years in prison