Pollocks? Bollocks!
After centuries of selfishly spoiling our faith in paintings—suggesting that man didn't originate in the Garden of Eden, sea storms aren't caused by Poseidon and Jesus wasn't white—scientists have done it again. A physicist claims six small paintings believed to be created by Jackson Pollock are not the work of Jack the Dripper. Alex Matter, son of photographer Herbert Matter and painter Mercedes Matter, both friends of Pollock, found the paintings among his parents' belongings. University of Oregon physicist Richard P. Taylor analyzed the patterns in the found art and compared them to fractals he'd previously found in 14 indisputably authentic Pollocks. According to a report in Nature, none of them contained patterns similar to the geometry of real Pollacks. Oh, snap! The findings don't conclusively prove that the paintings are inauthentic, but museums probably won't be trying quite so hard to get their hands on them now.
(sources: New York Times, Nature)
Japan Rallies Around Decapitated Giant Radish
It takes a village to raise a radish, especially if they're trying to raise a radish from the dead. Last summer, residents of the Japanese town of Aoi noticed a giant daikon radish pushing its way through the pavement, working for its right to grow. This Navy Seal of radishes was dubbed Dokonjo Daikon or "the radish with a fighting spirit." One dark night, however, a murderous vandal lopped off the top of Dokonjo Daikon. Some of the townspeople packed the top in a cool box and transported it to an agricultural research center, where scientists said the prospects looked grim. The radish will never become whole again, but the town is now trying to regenerate the radish via its seeds or DNA. The whole country has shown its sympathy through an outpouring of condolences to the town and support for the radish regeneration efforts. Who knew a whole country could care so much about a vegetable? Oh, that one's just too easy...
(source: BBC)
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Going Deutsch
How the mighty have fallen. Just weeks ago, 24-year-old NASA press officer, George C. Deutsch, a White House appointee, was censoring scientists left and right, demanding that the word "theory" accompany any mention of the Big Bang in public affairs materials and trying to bar reporters from speaking with top climate scientist James Hansen. But what took down this not-so-beloved 2003 Texas A&M grad was his status as an even-less-beloved 2003 Texas A&M dropout. After blogger Nick Anthis unearthed the truth about Deutsch on Monday, and the school confirmed that he had never graduated, Deutsch resigned his post. Deutsch's boss said that under NASA policy he could not give a reason for the resignation. I think we have a pretty good idea. Take that, science hater.
(source: New York Times)
Pantin' in Scranton
If you have asthma and you live in Scranton, PA, get out now. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has named the northeastern town the worst city in America for people who have asthma. The organization weighed pollution, ozone levels, pollen counts, public smoking bans and a host of other factors when making its list of the 100 worst US cities for asthma sufferers. Richmond, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Milwaukee rounded out the top five. Washington came in at 27, Dallas was 50th, New York was 58th, Boston was 70th and San Francisco was 91st.
(source: WebMD)