Winning Science August 7, 2013

Today we start off something pure and wholesome…Dino Sex! We all know dinosaurs come from eggs (a select few from actual science, the rest of us from watching Jurassic Park) yet scientists don’t know how dinosaur sex worked. They have several theories, however there is unfortunately no fossil record to give us some insight into this necessary act. And of course some dinosaurs, like the stegosaurs, appear to have a tougher time than other.

Maybe he just wants a hand job.

Despite not being able to find any evidence of dino sex in the fossils, scientist have found a pair of preserved turtles that were bumping uglies.

Mars One is looking for applicants for a one way mission to Mars. There plan is to send groups of 4 colonists, 2 men and 2 women, to set up permanent residence on the red planet. 78,000 people, mostly men, have applied for the program so far. I wonder how many of them are just trying to get away from someone or something that’s annoying them.

While this is a huge risk, given the basic collapse of NASA’s manned space program, we need this kind of pioneer attitude from private companies and citizens if we’re going to move beyond our own world. There is very little difference between this endvour and Europeans coming to North America 600 years ago.

Paypal founder Elon Musk is preparing to announce plans for a high speed train running from LA to San Francisco. The idea of high speed rail is nothing new, but what is making this announcement so interesting is that Mr. Musk is claiming he can do it for a tenth of what the government say it can do it for. I’d love to see him prove Uncle Sam wrong, and to have a successful high speed rail line running in the US as a model for future rail lines.

I am a little skeptical as most rail lines in the world don’t operate at a profit, but Elon Musk has proven he can turn various industries on their heads, so he is one of the few people I think has a chance to make this feasible.