Author Archives: John Pullen

The title above is from an often-used phrase, “The next war will not be over oil, but over water.” Let’s face it, water is one of our most precious natural resources. Freshwater is vital to the survival of the human race. You might think that in your part of the world, there is no problem;Continue reading “The Next War will be Over Water”

The race to the Moon is on again. After America through NASA’s Apollo space program, 12 astronauts have walked on the lunar surface. No other country has sent anyone else there – yet. But now several candidates are in the race. And it is a race. Those who get there first and set up aContinue reading “The Nuclear Moon”

From time to time, hurricanes occur in certain parts of the world. Indeed, some of these regions have hurricane seasons. It is also noticeable that due to climate change, hurricanes are beginning earlier and finishing later. They are more frequent and they are often more powerful than they were in years past. They can causeContinue reading “It’s a Hurricane – But Not as We Know It”

For geologists studying the ancient history of the Earth, reaching as far back to even when it formed, they search for rocks which can date from billions of years ago. This is not an easy task, because the further back you look, the fewer examples appear to exist. So, when geologists recently uncovered rocks whichContinue reading “The Oldest Rocker in the World”

Meteors hit our atmosphere many times a day. However, we are rarely aware of them as they are mostly particles the size of dust or small stones. They will not reach the surface of the world because they will burn up many miles above the Earth. Now and again, a larger meteor will get allContinue reading “The Meteorite Which Dropped in to Visit”

If you are of a certain age, I am fairly sure you will answer a resounding “Yes” to the above question. I have felt time is passing quickly for a number of years now, and most of the people I talk to agree with the title. If you think back to your childhood, time reallyContinue reading “Does Time Pass Quicker as We Age?”

We hear a lot about Artificial Intelligence, or AI. A lot of it is good, telling us that we will be able to do things far more quickly than before. There are, of course, warnings which come with such forward jumps in technology. The fact that AI systems may, in the future, evolve autonomously, andContinue reading “AI Predicts Hurricanes Quicker”

Boat graves are not unknown. They have been discovered in Scandinavia and in Britain. There is the famous large boat grave found in Suffolk, which is now part of a museum. Many of the artifacts found in the grave are on show in the British Museum in London. The Vikings would bury their chiefs andContinue reading “Buried in a Boat with Her Dog”

It is a question with no definite date. Today, lager is the most popular beer drunk around the world. My apologies to those “real ale” drinkers who do not really rate lager that high. It is an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars and around the same figures for the number of barrels brewedContinue reading “When Was Beer Invented?”

The first thing to note is that we are not talking about replacing someone’s tongue which may have been lost in an accident. At least, not yet. An artificial tongue has been designed to help to identify chemicals in a liquid environment. Don’t be disappointed, it is still interesting. Our tongues contain taste buds whichContinue reading “Artificial Tongue Licks the Problem of Taste”