Bora Zivkovic

Obama Invokes Kennedy in Speech Given in Berlin

spiegel.de — Not even the unseasonably hot summer haze could damper the enthusiasm as crowd members clutching fluttering German and American flags filed into Berlin's Pariser Platz on Wednesday. It's here, on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate, where President Barack Obama was to make his first public speech in the German capital city as the leader of the United States.

Why Male Dark Fishing Spiders Spontaneously Die After Sex

wired.com — It's an unusually cruel fate even in the twisted world of spider sex: When male dark fishing spiders copulate, they die - death is the unavoidable consequence of the mechanism by which males transfer sperm to females.

New U.S. Climate Strategy Coming within Weeks: Obama Adviser

scientificamerican.com — President Barack Obama will target carbon emissions from power plants as part of a second-term climate change agenda expected to be rolled out in the next few weeks, his top energy and climate adviser said on Wednesday.

New Indictments for Ex-BP Executive, Engineer over Gulf Spill

scientificamerican.com — Federal prosecutors unveiled new criminal indictments on Wednesday against a former BP Plc executive and a former BP engineer charged with obstructing investigations into the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Ice restrains the floodgates

scilogs.com — Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists - There's a new Titanic under construction, a grandiose ocean liner with its maiden voyage set for 2016. The Australian billionaire undertaking the recreation of the original RMS Titanic intends Titanic II it to be a near-perfect replica of the ill-fated steamship which sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg.

Illusion of the Week: “U Can’t Parse This” Illusion Dance

blogs.scientificamerican.com — Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen L. Macknik are laboratory directors at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Follow on Twitter@illusionchasers. This illusion is remarkably resilient to our best cognitive efforts to assign the correct arms and legs to each of the dancers. Our visual system insists in grouping adjacent body parts by color (and congruent motion).