Smithsonian.com

One of the first headlines I ever wrote was for a letter-to-the-editor on a story about rhesus monkeys. I called it Rhesus Pieces, and have been disrespecting the man who invented the word “pun” ever since.

Fast-forward to today: I give you the above title and image, which scientists are calling a “graceful dance of interacting galaxies.” Hubble captured the merging of this pair of galaxies, known as Arp 87, named for astronomer Halton Arp who discovered it in the 1960s. (No relation to “Faust Arp,” a track on the new Radiohead album that’s also twisting the universe by being offered for free–yet still selling well.)

Gas, stars and other particles from the galaxy on the right have drifted outward and been caught in the gravitational pull of the galaxy on the left, creating that spiral effect. To me it looks rather like the cosmic version of God touching Adam’s hand in the Sistine Chapel. Or perhaps the galaxy on the right is full of E.T.’s, reaching for that bright orange star at the top that looks fittingly like an orange Reese’s Pieces.

(Courtesy NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team)

Last week, Science published a paper reporting the creation of an adhesive based on the sticky foot of the tree frog. These fascinating feet are made of tiny pads separated by channels that flush away liquid to help the critters grip wet surfaces. Similarly, the new adhesive contains grooves that keep tape sticky even when it’s re-used several times.

I guess you could say the paper had traction, because today Science published yet another report on a new superglue–this time based on mussels.

I’ve written about tree frogs but not mussels (unless you count signing the bill at some seafood restaurant), so I don’t understand the process that well. The basic idea seems to be that proteins help these gooey creatures stick to any surface. A trio of scientists from Northwestern have mimicked these proteins then added some bits of metal, polymer and ceramic to create a thin gluey film.

Now that’s what I call a sticky situation.

(Courtesy of Haeshin Lee and Phillip Messersmith, Northwestern University)

This week the MacArthur Foundation announced plans to convene a group of scientists, law makers and some really good thinkers for a discussion on the ethics of using neurotechnology in the legal system. Presiding over the $10 million effort, called the Law and Neuroscience Project, is honorary chair Sandra Day O’Connor.

A couple months ago I wrote that the perfect lie detector remains elusive. Unless something’s changed since then, lie detectors of any sort–from the polygraph to brain scans–are virtually inadmissible in court.

Some believe lie detection could one day be as important in trials as DNA is. But a court-ready lie detector has been “ten years away” for half a century, and the general feeling I got from reporting the story was that it might forever be a decade beyond the present.

Neuroscience could impact the courtroom beyond lying, though, says the project’s director, Mike Gazzaniga. So it’s not too early for jurists and scientists to start a dialogue on the topic, especially since the first party deals necessarily in absolutes and the other in shades of gray. Compromise and mutual understand will take some time.

But for now, at least, your secret love for “Melrose Place” is safe from the jury.

Two scientists have come up with a novel way to fight global warming: enormous pipes that would pump cold, nutrient-rich water from the bottom of the ocean to the top, stimulating algae growth and absorbing carbon dioxide.

James Lovelock, a reknowned scientist famous for his Gaia hypothesis, and Chris Rapley, director of London’s Science Museum, are the authors of the proposal, which was outlined in their letter to the editor in the current issue of Nature.

Lovelock and Rapley’s vision is of anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 pipes, 33 feet across and 330 feet long, bobbing up and down in the ocean. Valves inside the pipes would create water circulation, bringing more water to the top of the ocean. The ultimate goal would be that the water circulation would help algae grow, which would then absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. The increased algae would also produce a chemical that fosters formation of sunlight-reflecting clouds.

Critics say that the circulating water system might actually introduce more CO2 into the atmosphere: the deep water rising the surface might “exhale” it before absorbing it back. It’s also unknown what effects the pipes would have on marine life.

Currently, Lovelock and Rapley are working on prototypes and say “we can do a small-scale trial and discover any problems, giving us opportunity to back off if need be.”