SF/F Links: March Roundup Part One

This is a little later than usual, but so be it. There will be a roundup at the start of April, most likely, rather than two roundups for March, although I'll still call it a March Roundup. I got behind due to finals. In any case, here are a load of links that might be of interest to you all (more to come):

• Universe Today
• Galileo returns to the Vatican. Yup, they're putting up a statue for him. About damn time. On the subject of Galileo, New Scientist had a controversial question about whether or not scientists should exhume his body to do DNA tests to figure out if the person buried with him, presumably his daughter, is actually his daughter. Quite honestly I really don't care. This is the same as arguing that Shakespeare didn't write his plays. Who cares?
  
• Venus' south pole has some weird weather patterns and it's sort of stumped scientists. Imagine when you pull the plug out of a drain and watch the water go down. Yeah, something like that.
• Apparently scientists are thinking about putting an "Ark" on the Moon. What does that mean? Basically a giant computer run complex that holds seeds and genetic info and what not in case we all blow ourselves to pieces.
• Not necessarily news, but scientists believe that all the little bits that formed together and created life might have been brought here by meteorites. This is apparently due to having found meteorites with rich concentrations of amino acids, which are rather important after all.
• I wrote about germs becoming three times more likely to spread disease a while back, but Universe Today has an article on it which is quite interesting here. There's a lot more talk about what this means for long space missions too.
• We might be able to find small, terrestrial planets around Alpha Centauri, which is every SF fan's wet dream. All we need is five years a a moderately sized telescope. I'm in.
• More reasons why Pluto is so much better than Venus and Mercury, who are still planets (I feel sorry for Pluto...this is nothing short of racism): Pluto has two more moons, Nix and Hydra. Eat that Venus!
• Kessler Syndrome: the idea that space travel will become impossible without hitting something. Yeah, this is a problem we may be facing pretty soon. We need a giant garbage machine to go up there and eat up all that stuff and turn the material into convenient little metallic bobble-heads. That would be cool.
• Write, Pam, Write! has an awesome list of seven writing tips. Check it out!
• Strange Horizons has part one of an awesome article on the realities of space warfare! (Courtesy of SF Signal)
• The Devil Frog! That's right, scientists have uncovered information about a giant frog that lived a long time ago when dinosaurs still roamed. Sixteen inches doesn't sound like a very large frog, but that's pretty freaking huge in the frog world! There's a bit more about it here.
  
• Star Wars Toys that will never be made. Hilarity ensues. (Courtesy of SF Signal, I think)
• A supersaturated view of the moon. That translates to a really freaking cool looking rendition!
• Don't know where I found this, but how about a list of nine of the most baffling theme parks around the world? Yeah, coolness!
• 25 ways to break your procrastination habit. Yeah, I need to pay attention.
• 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Milky Way Galaxy. Too bad one of them isn't "cause it's freaking awesome". (Courtesy of SF Signal)
• The only reason Bungie, the company that made the Halo games, is any good.
• One of the Mars Orbiters discovered an ancient Mars lake that might have been inhabitable once. (No, there wasn't any water)
• New Scientist has an article that suggests that hardy bacteria could survive in Lunar soil (not in the vacuum though). That's pretty cool.
• Listverse
• Top 10 Badass Swords. Poke!
• Top 10 Most Overlooked Mysteries in History. This one is youtyreally freaking cool! By the way, I want to see this Voynich manuscript!
• io9
• A wristband your boss can use to track your emotions. Yeah, cause we need people to have MORE control of our lives.
• Sand Dollars (you know, those really interesting shelled critters with the cool shells?) apparently clone themselves when in danger, which is fascinating to think about. Imagine if you could clone yourself on command.
• These are hilarious. Pictures of scifi things that look like things in real life!
• 8 Unstoppable Rules For Writing Killer Short Stories! Yes!
• There's been a breakthrough in how digits are grown, meaning that we might be able to "naturally" grow replacement digits. Now that's cool right?
• We once figured that sleep patterns were primarily controlled by changes in light, well new studies suggest that TVs can also have an effect. I'm screwed, since a computer screen isn't that much different. Crap.
• Would you inject your breasts with nanoparticles if they could be used to detect cancer? If I had breasts I would, but since I don't...regardless, nanotech is the wave of the future.
• This is interesting: plants develop new reproductive systems in cities. They go from being dispersing systems (the seeds fly to some other spot) to nondispersing (they just lend next to the parent) because it's more efficient. That's neat! Evolution for the win AGAIN! Eat it creationists!
• 20 SF Novels That Will Change Your Life. Self explanatory right?
• Nanocrystals that absorb carbon dioxide. Cool? Yes, I think so.
• Robots are going to fight our wars for us. There's some good and some bad about this. I might have to rant later.
• Scientists have found krill living as deep as 9,800 feet in the ocean below Antarctica. That's good news for those of us hoping to find little aliens on Europa and what not.
• Rule 34: No exceptions. Yes, this picture is hilarious!
  
• Futurismic
• Immune system in a jar. That's the title I'm going with. So, a virologist basically says we can use canned immune systems to test vaccines properly. Aside from the hilarity of this idea, it's actually really smart.
• Rainbow Bookshelf. That's all that needs to be said.
• This image of an orbital sunrise is gorgeous. Just look at it.
• APOD has a gorgeous image of two galaxies colliding. This is sort of what will happen when we eat up Andromeda. Yes, we're going to eat you Andromeda, so get over it and stop bitching. Or perhaps you'd like to see sand dunes thawing on Mars?
• Geekend talks about the singularity and the future of science fiction: the singularity, apparently, will be the end of SF as we know it. Then in a counter rant he talks about how SF will only die in that near-future sense, which is what I've said before. (Courtesy of SF Signal)
• Treat soldiers with the respect they deserve. If you don't, you're a commie. What? You might be.
• On the journey for newer energy sources here comes one that would use a turbine that could produce energy out of our water pipes and the like. Meaning, flushing the toilet will actually become good for the environment.
• Pat's Fantasy Hotlist has this image that is, needless to say, hilarious.
• Quite beautiful robotic artwork! Check it out!

There you go! Enjoy!

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