In this week’s News for Nerds, we tackle some pressing issues: finding the right parking spot, our mysterious benefactors in the Gulf of Mexico, the enduring fashion sense of Roman gladiators, and much more. And of course, we do it all in the name of science!

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Let’s get started this week with a very serious story: With the help of Google’s supercomputers, mathematicians at Kent State University have determined that a Rubik’s Cube is solvable from any position in just 20 moves.

That’s right, 20 moves. And what makes it even more incredible is that there are over 43 quintillion possible starting positions. If you’re unfamiliar with the term ‘quintillion’, you’re not alone. We’d never heard of it, either, but it turns out that a quintillion is a billion billion. Which, let’s face it, is a lot.

The team at Kent State has spent more than a decade working on this problem, but they got a lucky break when Google offered to lend a hand. For several weeks, Google’s ultra-powerful computers solved thousands of virtual Rubik’s Cubes every second, working every possible combination until they came up with the magic number.

Twenty moves. Think you can manage that? Either way, you can read the full transcript here.

And as a related bonus story, read about the guy who solved a Rubik’s cube while skydiving. Yes, skydiving!

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Have you heard that there’s a mysterious microbe that’s gulping up spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico?

After the BP drilling rig disaster earlier this year, one of the major questions has been: who is going to clean up all of this oil? At the time, neither BP nor the U.S. government seemed to have much of an answer. But in a serendipitous turn, mother nature herself has stepped in to do what no one else seemed willing or able to manage.

Special microbes, which were previously unclassified, have been turning the toxic oil into nontoxic microbes — and doing so much faster, and much safer, than anyone anticipated.

When these bacteria encounter oil in the water, they consume half of it in 1.2 to 6.1 days. More importantly, they don’t appear to be using up all the oxygen in the water as they eat and grow. The fear had been that large microbe blooms might deplete water oxygen levels, leading to dead zones that could impact ecosystems and fisheries.

This doesn’t by any means excuse the crucial mistakes that led to the disaster in the first place. But it is one more example of the many ways that nature continues to surprise (and look out for) us.

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And now, a public service announcement: stop circling the grocery store parking lot looking for the closest spot. Turns out you’re only wasting your time.

Researchers at Mississippi State University used advanced mathematical theories and probability statistics to conclude that, while circling may cut your walking distance by 27 percent, the amount of time wasted while doing so cancels out any actual time savings.

We’re still waiting for the academic study that will convince people to actually walk their shopping carts back to the cart receptacle and not just leave them in the parking lot, twenty feet away. Stay tuned.

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Anyone who knows me knows that I have a special fascination with the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. For the last six years, the Cassini orbiter has been circling Saturn like someone looking for a really good parking spot, all the while taking pictures and sending back valuable information to the fine folks at NASA.

The most recent images to come from Cassini are some of the best yet. They include especially detailed shots of the moons Enceladus, Tethis and Dione.  (My favorite of Saturn’s moons is definitely Titan.) You can see the new images right here.

Be sure to keep a close eye on Titan as the Cassini mission continues. Many astronomers believe that we have as much to learn about habitable planets from Saturn’s moons as we do from any other celestial bodies in our solar system. It’s a smorgasbord of planetary information, and we’re only just now starting to dig through it.

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There are many lasting legacies of the Roman empire — inventions and advances in everything from language to agriculture to sewage systems. But not everything that the Romans passed down to us should be considered worthwhile.

Take for example this recent story out of England. It appears that an archaeological dig has produced evidence that Roman legionnaires wore — gasp! — socks with sandals.

Researchers excavating a 2,000 year-old site discovered fibers attached to a rusty nail from a gladiator’s sandal, which led to the conclusion that the socks-with-sandals look isn’t confined to modern-day vacationing retirees.

“You don’t imagine Romans in socks, but I am sure they would have been pretty keen to get hold of some as soon as autumn came along,” archaeologist Blaise Vyner told the Telegraph. Which only goes to show that when in Rome, it is not always wise to do as the Romans do.

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Well, that does it for this week’s News for Nerds. Don’t forget to follow Club Galahad on Facebook and YouTube, or to sign up for the Club Galahad Newsletter. There’s more to come next week. In the meantime, keep gettin’ your nerd on!

NASA’s Cassini orbiter has been circling Saturn for more than six years, all the while taking pictures and sending back important new information.

The most recent images to come from Cassini are some of the best yet. They include especially detailed shots of the moons Enceladus, Tethis and Dione.  You can see them right here.

So what can we see in these pictures? Quite a lot. There are massive geysers (visible from 61,000 miles away), a 90-mile-wide crater, and animated image sequences that highlight some of the most jaw-dropping images that Cassini has captured.

Be sure to pay close attention to Cassini as its mission continues. Many astronomers believe that we have as much to learn about habitable planets from Saturn’s moons as we do from any other celestial bodies in our solar system. In other words, stay tuned.

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Have you ever played the lottery even when you knew you couldn’t win? Ever learn about exercise from an astronaut? Ever feel like the victim of some nefarious mind control?

There’s lots to talk about in this week’s News for Nerds, so let’s jump right in: (more…)

If you are excited at the prospect of finding extraterrestrial life in the universe, pay close attention. You’re about to receive some good news from a reliable source.

If, on the other hand, you’re less-than-keen on meeting our interplanetary neighbors, well… you might want to look away.

A senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute told a convention crowd recently, “I actually think the chances that we’ll find ET are pretty good.” He went on to say, “Young people in the audience, I think there’s a really good chance that you’re going to see this happen.” (more…)

Do you like your personality? I hope so, because the experts are now saying that it’s set. In fact, they say it has been set since you were in first grade. Uh-oh. Also, if you want to improve your memory, the answer is: Take a hike.

That, and more, in a Friday the 13th edition of News For Nerds. Here we go… (more…)

Someday our own Milky Way galaxy will collide with the nearby Andromeda galaxy, extinguishing millions of stars and creating many millions more in their place. And even though that particular collision is a few billion years away, we have this lovely sneak preview to show us just what it might look like.

The picture at left (and the others that you’ll find by following this link) are the result of two enormous spiral galaxies that have been crashing into one another for more than 100 million years.

NASA has been on top of this for some time, and now they’ve combined images from three of their powerful space telescopes to give us the most comprehensive images of colliding galaxies that anyone has ever seen. Among the coolest stuff you’ll see in these photos: star-forming regions with hot interstellar gas left over from supernova explosions. Someday those regions will give way to their own stars and planets, and someday, the Milky Way will go through the very same process (again).

Like so many things in the universe, it’s only a matter of time… and matter.

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If you liked this article, you should read:

Just How Big is the International Space Station?

News for Nerds: August 6

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What makes guys more attractive; Venus, Mars, and Saturn, all in one place (sorta); and a hail of a big stone. All of that, and more, can be found lurking in this week’s News For Nerds. So, c’mon, let’s get our nerd on! (more…)

There’s drama aboard the International Space Station this week. NASA is dealing with what it calls a “serious malfunction” of the cooling system aboard the ISS, and teams of engineers are working around the clock to get it fixed.

Astronauts have already made one space walk in an attempt to replace the pump, and another space walk is likely to take place soon. In the meantime, much of the space station’s equipment is shut off to prevent overheating, but all six of the astronauts living on board are safe.

However, this got us to thinking about just how incredible — and big — the ISS really is. This article is now several months old, but it outlines the outpost’s size in real-world terms that are mindboggling. For instance, the ISS: (more…)

Instead of monkey see, monkey do, it’s now dog see, dog do. Also, black holes have a new role in the universe: they’re magnifying glasses. And you’ve heard of the five-second rule when you drop food on the ground? Well, now scientists have weighed in on it.

That, and more, in this week’s edition of News For Nerds. Let’s get our nerd on right now! (more…)

Well, you don’t see this everyday.

A quasar more than 1 billion light years from Earth is providing unexpected help in the effort to identify distant galaxies. You see, the energy spewing from the black hole at the center of the quasar known as SDSS J0013+ 1523 is acting as a magnifying glass, making it easier to see the areas around (and beyond) it.

The result is that another galaxy, much farther away but in juuusssttt the right position, has come into view for the first time, allowing scientists to get a good look at both galaxies at the same time.

You can chalk this up as another victory for Albert Einstein, who first predicted this phenomenon in his groundbreaking theory of general relativity. Here’s how Space.com describes it:

According to the theory, very large masses warp the space-time around them, even causing light to bend as it travels through the region. Thus, light from faraway objects can sometimes be magnified by the bent space-time to provide a larger and brighter — though also distorted and curved — view.

If you’re interested in this kind of thing — and really, why wouldn’t you be? — there are plenty of other cool resources at your disposal. You can start with this video about the ways that black holes warp time and space, and continue on with this article about the ways that black holes eat up the mysterious space-stuff known as dark matter.

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If you liked this article, you should also read:

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