Geekend Update: De-Extinction, Voyager 1, and the Higgs Boson

[Ashley Esqueda]

De-Extinction, Voyager 1, and the Higgs Boson

Your weekly look at the most interesting science stories in the ever-expanding universe.

For more on the stories this week, you can read about the Higgs Boson [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/shortcuts/2013/mar/18/scientists-clone-extinct-frog].

To submit your favorite science stories or intro suggestions, send us an email here: GeekendUpdate@escapistmag.com

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[LordFish]

I know exactly what Ashley is talking about. I read a beginners guide to Quantum Physics not too long ago, and even basic news articles still make my brain leak out of my ears.
Great show Ashley, cringe-worthy puns as always

 

[wolf thing]

it's the Higgs fields that gives things mass not the Boson, the Higgs boson is a particle which is given off when the field is disturbed like when to particles are accelerated into each other. also Bosons are a type of particle which adhere to Bose?Einstein statistics, the higgs is just on of the elementary boson which include Y, G and others.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

The Lazarus project? Seriously?

We endure years of science fiction shows/books/games using that term as a supposedly "cultured" and "intelligent" reference to anything remotely related to resurrection and now scientists have actually named a real project the same thing?

Well at least it lends some credibility to Commander Shepard.

 

[Alfador_VII]

The first thing that came to my mind about Voyager leaving the Solar System was V'ger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but of course that evolved from Voyager 6, which doesn't exist, so nothing to worry about...

 

[kailus13]

Why would you want to bring back the dodo? All the creatures throughout time as an option and people are considering the ugly, flightless, useless thing?

 

[ellieallegro]

I need more puns!! I like the transitions between stories but I would definitely try to include a bumper at the end of the show like bloopers or a funny outtake.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Why would you want to bring back the dodo? All the creatures throughout time as an option and people are considering the ugly, flightless, useless thing?

They are supposedly delicious.

 

[kailus13]

Why would you want to bring back the dodo? All the creatures throughout time as an option and people are considering the ugly, flightless, useless thing?

They are supposedly delicious.

They were so disgusting that sailors named it "the disgusting bird" (can't be bothered to look up the actual word but that's the translation). They were easy to catch though, because they had no survival instincts whatsoever.

 

[Camaranth]

They are supposedly delicious.

That was the a species of Giant Tortoise which came very close to being killed off. Supposedly it went decades before receiving a scientific name because none of the samples made it back to London as the sailors were eating them all.

More OT: Still loving this show. I remember talking about doing something similar to this with my friends at uni but nothing ever came of it. nice to see it being executed at such a high standard. Keep it up, please!

Not sure you really need an intro, I kinda like the cold opening. maybe a theme tune with a 10 second montage of the clips used in that weeks stories.

 

[Antari]

I love nostalgia and all but seriously?? Mother nature killed them off for a reason. Besides I don't see this progressing towards a Jurassic Park. More like Triceratops Burgers at McDonalds.

Great episode! Brilliant!

 

[JamesStone]

Why would you want to bring back the dodo? All the creatures throughout time as an option and people are considering the ugly, flightless, useless thing?

The more useless a creature is, the lesser shall be its impact on the ecosystem. Would you like to live in a world filled with Saber tooth tigers? ´Cause I wouldn't.

OT: In a direct contrast to the new Top 5 show, this just keeps getting better and better. Good job, Ashley!

 

[kailus13]

Why would you want to bring back the dodo? All the creatures throughout time as an option and people are considering the ugly, flightless, useless thing?

The more useless a creature is, the lesser shall be its impact on the ecosystem. Would you like to live in a world filled with Saber tooth tigers? ´Cause I wouldn't.

OT: In a direct contrast to the new Top 5 show, this just keeps getting better and better. Good job, Ashley!

Yes but why would you bring back a species knowing they's quickly be killed in the wild. You'd have to put them in a conservation area, or a zoo. At which point you may as well get a better animal in there. Like say, a saber tooth tiger.

 

[JamesStone]

Why would you want to bring back the dodo? All the creatures throughout time as an option and people are considering the ugly, flightless, useless thing?

The more useless a creature is, the lesser shall be its impact on the ecosystem. Would you like to live in a world filled with Saber tooth tigers? ´Cause I wouldn't.

OT: In a direct contrast to the new Top 5 show, this just keeps getting better and better. Good job, Ashley!

Yes but why would you bring back a species knowing they's quickly be killed in the wild. You'd have to put them in a conservation area, or a zoo. At which point you may as well get a better animal in there. Like say, a saber tooth tiger.

I guess that if something went apeshit and it escaped, it wouldn't be such a risk. Imagine Jurassic Park if it was filled with Dodos. The movie would end in 15 minutes!

Now seriously, I guess that if something during the clonage process goes wrong, it's best to start with a relatively innocous species, like a frog or a stupid bird. No idea why the Mammoth is on the initial list. Probably to show something cool as shit I guess.

Captcha: Baby boomer

Oh, the irony.

 

[Buster]

The Lazarus project? Seriously?

We endure years of science fiction shows/books/games using that term as a supposedly "cultured" and "intelligent" reference to anything remotely related to resurrection and now scientists have actually named a real project the same thing?

Well at least it lends some credibility to Commander Shepard.

I had the same reaction. With the fact that it is a project for bringing dead things back to life I am seriously beginning to worry about what lies orbiting Pluto...

I sure hope you guys didn't miss this story from a few weeks back...
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.403050-College-Student-Unveils-Working-Mass-Effect-Medi-Gel

 

[Buster]

The Lazarus project? Seriously?

We endure years of science fiction shows/books/games using that term as a supposedly "cultured" and "intelligent" reference to anything remotely related to resurrection and now scientists have actually named a real project the same thing?

Well at least it lends some credibility to Commander Shepard.

I had the same reaction. With the fact that it is a project for bringing dead things back to life I am seriously beginning to worry about what lies orbiting Pluto...

I sure hope you guys didn't miss this story from a few weeks back...
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.403050-College-Student-Unveils-Working-Mass-Effect-Medi-Gel

I saw that. Good breakthrough for medicine but combined with the Lazarus project means that we are probably due to have a few of our spaceships suddenly blown up by the Turians at some point in 2157 (GREAT first impression BTW!)

All joking aside, while both of those terms are completely generic, I'm pretty sure they were chosen deliberetaly BECAUSE they were used in a popular sci-fi franchise. First off, the creators get to show that they are genre savvy and have a sense of humor. Secondly, they garner a lot more attention from people who are familiar with those names and ,if/when it becomes available as a product, people will still remember it, making it 100 times easier to market. Well, at least in the case of medi-gel, though it would still be funny as hell if people could purchase a ressurection in the future.

 

[kburns10]

That shirt is awesome! I gotta figure out where Ashley got it from.

Also, would be weird to bring back extinct animals like the DoDo. Not sure how I feel about that yet..

 

[Basement Cat]

I know exactly what Ashley is talking about. I read a beginners guide to Quantum Physics not too long ago, and even basic news articles still make my brain leak out of my ears.
Great show Ashley, cringe-worthy puns as always

Ditto.

The first thing that came to my mind about Voyager leaving the Solar System was V'ger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but of course that evolved from Voyager 6, which doesn't exist, so nothing to worry about...

V'ger! Me, too! Then Ashley had to ninja both of us.[footnote]It's probably for the best--if she hadn't then half of these responses would be Star Trek jokes.[/footnote]

snip

Keep up the good work, Ashley! This is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows. It's quick, snappy, informative, and touches on subjects I'm not learned about. Biology I get but I'm not so good with physics.