Pneumatise Your Brain

Want to Live on Mars? Private Martian Colony Project Seeks Astronauts

The private Mars One project officially launched its search for astronauts to colonize the Red Planet.

Taiwan: Six more executions signal cruel about-turn on death penalty | Amnesty International

Taiwanese authorities executed six men on Friday night in an apparent about-turn from their earlier stated commitment to abolish the brutal practice.

Bombers' Muslim Background Offers Few Clues To Crime

As police continue a manhunt Friday throughout Boston for the remaining living suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings after a deadly shootout near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge Thursday night, information continues to surface about Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, and his slain brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26. Both had moved to the U.S. over 10 years ago from the Russian area near Chechnya, said an uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, who lives Montgomery Village, Md., in interviews with news reporters. Social media accounts and interviews with friends point to both men being Muslims with an interest in Islamic insurgency movements in their homeland. But the motives that led the men to the killings still remain unknown.

Chechnya and the Boston bombing: link, if established, would be unprecedented

It is so far unclear how significant is the trail that appears to lead from the simmering ongoing insurgency in the mountains of the North Caucasus to the boulevards and suburban houses of North America.

Boston bombing identification attempts on social media end in farce

The benefits come when police can release images of a particular suspect and use the internet and social media as a gigantic wanted poster. The difficulties arise beforehand, he said: “Unless you see someone doing something you know is part of the act of the crime, you cannot say, ‘That’s my suspect.’ You will not see suspicious behaviour from video footage, let alone still pictures. People have their own pet theories, based on racism or another prejudice, as to why something is suspicious. That’s how names get out, which devastates people’s lives and distracts law enforcement.”

Boston suspect captured alive after dramatic finish to day-long manhunt

[President Obama] said there were many unanswered questions, particularly with the news that both men had lived in the US for some time. “Why did young men who grew up and studied here as part of our communities and our country resort to this violence?”

Uruguay’s Equal Marriage Act a step towards full equality in the Americas | Amnesty International

The Uruguayan Parliament’s adoption of the Equal Marriage Act on 10 April will bolster human rights protections and bring an inclusive society for all a step closer, Amnesty International said. 

It’s World Hamster Day! — Cute Overload

Click on titled link to watch video.

Civilization 5's Brave New World expansion introduces trade routes, new culture victory and new civilizations | Polygon

Sid Meier’s Civilization 5: Brave New World expansion will introduce new civilizations and overhaul the existing culture victory and international trade routes, according to Firaxis Games developer Ed Beach.

Nuclear Fusion Could Power Rocket to Mars | Space.com

Nuclear fusion, the energy source that fuels the sun and other active stars, could one day propel rockets that allow humans to go to Mars and back in 30 days, researchers say.

Blame it on the Rain (from Saturn's Rings) - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

A new study tracks the “rain” of charged water particles into the atmosphere of Saturn and finds there is more of it and it falls across larger areas of the planet than previously thought. The study, whose observations were funded by NASA and whose analysis was led by the University of Leicester, England, reveals that the rain influences the composition and temperature structure of parts of Saturn’s upper atmosphere. The paper appears in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

Rain is Falling from Saturn’s Rings

Astronomers have known for years there was water in Saturn’s upper atmosphere, but they weren’t sure exactly where it was coming from. New observations have found water is raining down on Saturn, and it is coming from the planet’s rings.

Saturn's Dazzling Rings Create Water 'Rain' | Space.com

It’s raining on Saturn, and the giant planet’s amazing rings are apparently the cause, scientists say.

Weekend Aurora Alert: The Sun Lets Loose an Earth-Directed CME

The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this view as the Sun let loose with its biggest solar flare of the year so far.

Sun Unleashes Biggest Solar Flare of the Year Yet

The most powerful solar flare of the year erupted from the sun today (April 11) sparking a temporary radio blackout on Earth, NASA officials say.