Rex, the million-dollar #bionic man on display in London – an annotated graphic

Here, boy! Rex, the million-dollar, world’s most complete bionic man has been built using artificial limbs and organs borrowed from laboratories around the world. The idea is to show how technology is being used to replace missing or damaged parts of the human body.

Rex boasts close to 70 per cent of his body built from artificial devices, including eyes, ears, heart, pancreas, kidney, hands, arms, feet and ankles.

E&T news covered the story of bionic Rex going on show at the London Science Museum in more detail earlier this week.

Click on the graphic for an expanded view.

World’s most complete bionic man

Top scientific achievements of 2012 – an annotated graphic

It may well already be 2013 and naturally here at E&T Towers we’re all tremendously future facing, relentlessly pursuing the new and strange, but we can still find time to honour and celebrate the top scientific achievements of 2012 with this natty infographic. God particles, DNA, genomes, X-rays, Martian landings and robot hands – hats off to you all, boffins!

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Top scientific achievements 2012

NASA’s Mariner II Venus fly-past in 1962 – an annotated graphic

On 14 December 1962, NASA’s Mariner II passed within 35,000km of Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to successfully fly by another planet. From this historic voyage, we learned that Venus rotates in a counter direction to most planets in our solar system, has a high-pressure carbon dioxide atmosphere and continuous cool cloud cover. Thanks, Mariner II!

Whither Mariner II now? Endlessly circling the Sun, in a heliocentric orbit. Space debris: a serious problem for our immediate galaxy.

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Mariner II’s Venus fly past

 

NASA’s SOFIA airborne observatory takes flight – an annotated graphic

Well, would you look at this – a flying observatory. Cool! NASA’s latest science wheeze is the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy – or SOFIA to her friends.

A 15-tonne telescope mounted on a jumbo jet, this joint US-German venture (there are two countries you might not immediately put together) is beginning its first full cycle of science  flights. Question: how do stars form and evolve? No problem – SOFIA’s on it.

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SOFIA telescope takes flight

Super telescopes and ESA heavy-lift rockets – two annotated graphics

Having already celebrated the Pacific total solar eclipse earlier today, now seems like as good a time as any to punt these two space-related graphics out there for all to enjoy. It’s all about looking up in to the sky and getting big stuff up there, eh?

For your delectation and edification, we present the new generation of super-telescopes (begging the question as to why everything has to be super these days, whether it’s storms or telescopes) and the European Space Agency’s next-generation heavy-lift rockets. They don’t come cheap, you know.

Click on the graphics for an expanded view.

New generation of super-telescopes

Next-generation heavy-lift rockets

Total solar eclipse, Australia to South America – an annotated graphic

Advanced warning for our Antipodean friends in northern Australia not to panic later today when the sky goes dark and the sun seems to disappear: it’s just a total solar eclipse.

As it happens, the best view of it will be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so anyone bobbing about in a boat east of New Zealand and directly above Antarctica will enjoy the spectacle for the longest time, but lots of people in countries between NZ and South America will get the chance to see at least a partial eclipse. We love an eclipse here at E&T. When the birds fall silent because they think it’s night time: eerie.

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Total solar eclipse 13-14 November 2012

How much do you really love science? The T-shirt test…

When it comes to your passions, your intellectual proclivities, there’s nothing like wearing your heart on your sleeve. Proclaim to the world what makes you tick, what drives you on, what gets you out of bed in the morning.

One effective way to transmit to the universe the depth of your feelings on any given subject is via the medium of the T-shirt. This one made us laugh out loud here at E&T HQ earlier this week, but we should warn you that it does contain language that we all hope never to hear our own children using. We’re all grown ups here, though, right? We can’t be held responsible for the content on other websites, OK? OK.

With that caveat firmly in mind, enjoy this Imaginary Foundation Bonkers Collection T-shirt. Bad font, great picture!

Magnetic soap to clean up #oil spills – an annotated graphic

In the current issue of E&T magazine, we report on how scientists working on engendering simple soap with new properties may have uncovered vast new potential for advanced cleaning.

A University of Bristol team has dissolved iron in liquid surfactant to create a soap that can be controlled by magnets. The discovery could be used to create cleaning products that can be removed after application and used in the recovery of oil spills at sea.

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Magnetic soap could clear oil spills

Professor Stephen Hawking at 70 – an annotated graphic

In honour of Professor Stephen Hawking’s 70th birthday, we thought we’d share this graphic detailing the major events in his life – a brief history of Stephen Hawking, if you will.

You might also like to read this E&T news story, about how Hawking may lose his iconic computerised voice, due to his worsening medical condition.

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Stephen Hawking profile

Jupiter’s moon Europa could hold water – an annotated graphic

We figured that space watchers everywhere might appreciate this cutaway graphic, illustrating how Jupiter’s moon Europa could foster life.

New research suggests that an ocean of water just beneath the icy shell of Europa might support life.

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Jupiter's moon Europa