The current space shuttle mission had been delayed for so long that I began to think they wouldn’t get to go until the space station was a bustling community of colonists. Station assembly missions continued taking priority over research. But now that they’re finally up, let’s take a look at what they’re up to. There are over 80 experiments on board, and 30 of those come from NASA’s Office of Biological and Physical Research. Most of their projects, not surprisingly, involve living in space, especially effects on the human body, but there are also experiments that may improve earthquake safety and firefighting techniques. Accompanying the astronauts onboard are an ant colony from Syracuse, NY, spiders from Melbourne, Australia, carpenter bees from Liechtenstein, Medaka fish from Japan, and silkworms from China. Those are all student experiments, mostly studying the effects of weightlessness on the creatures. I doubt they have enough silkworms for this, but wouldn’t it be neat to have a hanky spun in space?

Yesterday’s NY Times’ Patents column concentrated on new cosmetic industry patents. Maybelline has patented their “lash building” mascara, which applies tiny fibers to eyelashes in order to plump them up. It contains “thousands of little tube-shaped rayon fibers about a half-millimeter in length” and is also supposed to lengthen lashes. In 2002, L’Oréal patented a skin lightening cream which is marketed to eliminate under-eye circles. The main ingredients are also used in laundry detergents to brighten colors, and in existing skin bleaching products for liver spots and scars. These two patented products have something more in common than being cosmetics. The mascara is being marketed to Asian women to specifically address our “short, stubby lashes.” And the skin lightener is touted in the patent as being “particularly effective on Asian skin.” They don’t just mean under-eye circles, they mean the entire face. It’s the westernization of Asian beauty as chronicled by the patent office.

Beyond the cats cradle string game, “World-Wide Webs: String Figures From Around the World.” (via Yahoo’s What’s New)

No, it’s not a link to the Borg Collective, it’s a showcase of wearable computing setups. (via Nooface)

Piano maker Steinway is seeking its oldest existing piano. To see if yours is in the ballpark, check its serial number against their handy “How Old Is My Steinway?” chart.

“Query by Humming” may be coming soon to a search engine near you. The Fraunhofer Institut in Germany created the MP3 audio format and now they have a solution to “name that tune.” It matches pitch differences to a database of songs. Other companies are creating similar software. Wouldn’t if have been neat to hum a tune into Napster and have it fetch matching mp3s for you? Composers could check to see if they are unintentionally plagiarizing.

Matt Pfeffer has started a news digest called Today’s News which is his version of what is newsworthy, without any extra fluff. Part of it is a fun category called Non-news which is perfectly named. Some of those items feature amusingly pointed headlines like “German man doesn’t fly plane into building.”

Anil Dash goes to town on one of my favorite topics (I’ve posted ~10 times about it), the diamond deception. Unfortunately, he publishes it on the day I discover a teeny tiny chip in the sapphire on my engagement ring. That’s what I get for dragging my knuckles on a stone church floor (I wasn’t praying; I was reattaching pews after a concert). Tears were shed.

Thanks for all the Ninas Mr. Hirschfeld. The NY Times obituary is appropriately extensive.

An large collection of telegraph keys with links to even more information about the telegraph. (via larkfarm)