Daily Archives: May 4, 2009

New Neutrino Detector To Be Built in Minnesota

May 4, 2009UncategorizedUncategorizedGreg Laden

Which is great, because I understand we have LOTS of neutrinos here ….

The University of Minnesota and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory plan to break ground south of International Falls today on a multimillion-dollar project designed to help understand the universe.

The NuMI Off-Axis Electron Neutrino Appearance Experiment (NOvA) will be the Northland’s second detector studying subatomic particles being shot through the earth from near Chicago. Learning more about the mysterious particles, called neutrinos, will help scientists better understand how the universe formed and how it will develop.

More details.

This is very interesting work. And the Soudan Mines is a very interesting visit, if you are ever in the area. But wear a jacket, it gets cold down there.

Merck Makes Phony Peer-Review Journal

May 4, 2009UncategorizedUncategorizedGreg Laden

An interesting take on the Merk Maneno:

It’s a safe guess that somewhere at Merck today someone is going through the meeting minutes of the day that the hair-brained scheme for the Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine was launched, and that everyone who was in the room is now going to be fired.

from the bioethics blog

Minnesota Governor Race Starts Now

May 4, 2009UncategorizedPoliticsGreg Laden

Congressperson Keith Ellison has endorsed Matt Entenza for Governor of Minnesota.

This is of general interest because of the role of the current Minnesota governor on the broader national scene, and of course, it is important to us Minnesotans.

Here’s Enteza’s web site.

Russia to build floating Arctic nuclear stations

May 4, 2009UncategorizedEnvironmentGreg Laden

Russia is planning a fleet of floating and submersible nuclear power stations to exploit Arctic oil and gas reserves, causing widespread alarm among environmentalists.

A prototype floating nuclear power station being constructed at the SevMash shipyard in Severodvinsk is due to be completed next year. Agreement to build a further four was reached between the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, and the northern Siberian republic of Yakutiya in February.

details

In how many ways is this a bad idea?