• Space ventures want your videos

    Get the scoop on the "Why Space Matters" video contest, and check out http://www.VisitNASA.com.

    By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News


    What better way to celebrate the glories of space exploration than to make a video about it? How about making a video about space exploration, and winning a trip for four to one of NASA's space centers? That's the top prize in the "Why Space Matters to the Future" video contest, sponsored by the centers in cooperation with the Coalition for Space Exploration.

    Contest organizers are looking for videos up to two minutes in length that explain the values and benefits of space exploration, for this generation and future generations. The deadline for entries is April 7. The viewing public will get a chance to vote for their favorite, and a panel of judges will keep the people's choice in mind when they select the winner on April 17 — just after the global spaceflight celebration known as Yuri's Night.

    The winning video will earn its maker a VIP trip for four to one of NASA's visitor centers: the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Space Center Houston in Texas, or the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Alabama. Check the coalition's website or VisitNASA.com to check out the contest instructions, review the official rules and upload your video.

    Another space-themed video contest is coming up on a deadline this week: The Golden Spike Company is asking its Indiegogo supporters to send in videos touting the potential benefits of lunar exploration. Golden Spike plans to offer expeditions to the moon with a price tag of $1.4 billion or so for two-person round trips. Its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign is aimed at raising $240,000 for public outreach and engagement efforts — and the video contest is meant as a perk for the venture's contributors.

    Video entries for the first round can be submitted via email to Angelica@tntcommgroup.com through Friday. Selected videos will be posted to Golden Spike's YouTube channel and put up for a public vote. Winning entries will be eligible for prizes such as lunar-lander models. TNT Creative Group's Tina Lange explains how it all works in the video below:

    Golden Spike Company has launched a video competition for anyone who contributes to the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Submissions for the first round of the competition will be accepted until Friday.

    More about space ventures:

    Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

  • Fiery flick wins the Flame Challenge

    Ben Ames' Flame Challenge animation goes to the gates of hell to explain a flame.

    By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News


    What is a flame? Scientists were challenged to explain the concept in terms an 11-year-old could understand, and a grad student specializing in quantum physics has taken the prize for a cartoon that's as entertaining as it is educational.

    After sifting through more than 800 entries from 31 countries, organizers of the Flame Challenge announced on Saturday that the winner is Ben Ames, a 31-year-old Missouri-born researcher studying quantum optics at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. And if this physics thing doesn't work out, Ames can always fall back on his obvious skills as an animator/writer/musician.

    "When I learned about this wonderful contest, I had finally found a project where I could put all of my interests to use," Ames, a graduate of the University of Utah, told The Salt Lake Tribune.

    The contest was the brainchild by Alan Alda, an actor who's best-known as the star of the long-running "M-A-S-H" sitcom and has gone on to become the host of science-rich programs such as "Scientific American Frontiers." In a Science editorial published three months ago, Alda reflected on the difficulties that some teachers have when they try to communicate scientific concepts in terms that kids can understand.

    He recalled an exchange he had with a teacher at the age of 11. "What's a flame?" the young Alda asked. The teacher replied simply and unsatisfyingly: "It's oxidation."

    "That was a discouraging moment for me personally, but decades later I see the failure to communicate science with clarity as far more serious for society," Alda wrote. So, in cooperation with Stony Brook University's Center for Communicating Science, Alda set up the Flame Challenge to have scientists answer his schoolboy question as best they could. The twist was that the primary judging would be done by thousands of 11-year-olds across the country.

    Scientists sent in poems, essays, songs, videos and graphics to define a flame. Any of the entries from the contest's five finalists would do the trick, but Ames' seven-minute animation — starring a long-bearded prisoner, a scientist and a happy little devil in Hades — was the standout.

    The lesson is summarized in Ames' original song, featured at the end of the clip: "The fuel loses mass, and turns to a gas," he sings. "Before the next change is through, some atoms shine blue. When the process is complete, it gives off heat. Extra carbon will glow, red, orange, yellow."

    Pretty hard to beat that, don't you think? For his efforts, Ames won a flame-shaped trophy, a T-shirt and a trip to the World Science Festival in New York, where the winner was announced. 

    Now the Flame Challenge is asking 10- to 12-year-olds to suggest the next scientific concept to explain. What questions would you put on the list? Even if you're not an 11-year-old, feel free to pass along your suggestions as comments below, and we'll try to get them to the right folks at the Center for Communicating Science.

    More about communicating science:

    Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

  • Come on in, the water's fine: Pick your favorite picture

    By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News




    A contest sponsored by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science has been recognizing the top underwater pictures taken by amateur photographers since 2005, but this year is different: For the first time, Internet users are being asked to select a "fan favorite" from five nominees. The voting runs through Sunday, and the People's Choice will be revealed along with other winners on April 18. Which is your favorite?

    Courtesy of UM Underwater Photo Contest

    The sun glints behind a jellyfish seen from the waters below.

    Courtesy of UM Underwater Photo Contest

    A crab and its eggs make a colorful display.

    Courtesy of UM Underwater Photo Contest

    A single fish is framed by a school of smaller swimmers.

    Courtesy of UM Underwater Photo Contest

    A penguin peers into the camera as it floats by.

    Courtesy of UM Underwater Photo Contest

    Colorfully striped fish make their way through an underwater scene.

    The arrangement of the pictures reflects the current standings in the "People's Choice" poll. Those rankings could change as the week goes on. For now, the identity of the photographers is being held back, although at least one of the nominees is making a personal plea on the University of Miami website. That's where you can register your vote — or "votes," since you can click for your favorite once a day through Sunday. Stay tuned for the big reveal on April 18.

    More about underwater photography:

    Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

  • DARPA drone competition takes off in videos

    GremLion proof-of-flight video submitted for UAVForge Challenge.

    By John Roach, Contributing Writer, NBC News

    A competition that aims to harness the world's most creative engineering minds for building next-generation military drones is heating up with proof-of-flight videos of the contraptions posted online.

    There are plenty of quadcopters that will make kids stuck with off-the-shelf RC choppers drool. Top judging in the first round went to a Death Star-like ball on wheels called the GremLion. It's neat trick? A mid-section that pops open to reveal a pair of rotors.

    The GremLion was designed by a team at the National University of Singapore and is shown off in the awesomely narrated video above.

    The SwiftSight Unmanned Aerial System is controlled with a tablet computer.

    However, the video most liked by viewers, as of this writing, demonstrates a tablet-controlled quadcopter called SwiftFlight. The video's production includes Hollywood-esque on-screen pop-up explanations of the action.

    icarusLabs Milestone 2 UAVForge entry

    Another crowd pleaser is a video describing icarusLabs's entry, a winged aircraft that hovers inside an office before taking to the skies. It buzzes a park with sustained winds of 10 miles per hour, something we know thanks to the detailed reportage.

    The next phase of the competition will be live demonstration of the concepts later this month. A fly-off of the 10 top designs will be held this spring. The winner will receive a $100,000 prize, a subcontract with a manufacturer to develop the concept, and an opportunity to demonstrate it to the military. 

    For more videos and information on the competition, head on over to UAVforge.net.

    — via IEEE

    More on drones:

    John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. You can also follow him on Twitter.

    For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

    Where nations used to compete to get into space, now the competition focuses on private businesses, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into next-generation spaceships. Msnbc.com science editor Alan Boyle reports from inside the rocket factories on the future of spaceflight.

  • Biochemist bags top Google prize

    Google

    Winners of the Google Science Fair's top prizes include, from left, Lauren Hodge in the 13-14 age category; Shree Bose in the 17-18 age category and Grand Prize competition; and Naomi Shah in the 15-16 age category.

    By Nidhi Subbaraman

    Shree Bose, an aspiring young scientist from Fort Worth, Texas, won the top prize in the Google Science Fair for her project on ovarian cancer's resistance to cisplatin, a common chemotherapy drug.

    Bose's stash of geeky goodies includes $50,000 in scholarship money, a ticket for a 10-day trip to the Galapagos Islands, a chance to visit one of four big science institutions ... and a custom-made set of blocks from Lego, one of the sponsors of the contest.

    Shree Bose with Vint Cerf, Google's vice president and Chief Internet Evangelist.

    Lauren Hodge and Naomi Shah were also winners in the judges' eyes. Hodge won in the 13- to 14-year-old category for her project on the effects of marinades on carcinogens in grilled chicken. Shah looked into the effect of air pollution on asthma — research that won her the top prize in the 15- to 16-year-old category. Shree Bose was the winner in the 17- to 18-year-old category as well as the winner of the Google Grand Prize. 

    All three winners were given trophies made of Lego blocks. 

    Google announced the science-fair competition in January and was flooded with 7,500 project entries from more than 10,000 participants in 90 countries. Judges whittled this list down to 15 finalists in the three age groups. 

    The winners were selected by a cast of research bigwigs, including the director general of CERN, the editor-in-chief of Scientific American, National Geographic explorers, science filmmakers, and Google's own director of research, Peter Norvig. 

    The teens who made the list of finalists investigated problems we already have, and some even built solutions. Who wouldn't want a safer sailboat or a safer herbicide? 

    The finalists in the 13- to 14-year-old age group are: 

    • Michelle Guo - Alzheimer's disease
    • Anand Srinivasan - prosthetics technology
    • Lauren Hodge - carcinogens in marinades 
    • Daniel Arnold - railroad switch designs to prevent derailments 
    • Luke Taylor - "Programming in Pure English" 

    The 15- to 16-year-olds stepped it up a notch:

    • Dora Chen - facial recognition for dementia patients 
    • Naomi Shah - air pollution and asthma
    • Harine Ravichandran - power lines and efficient electricity transmission 
    • Gavin Ovsak - submersible water turbines
    • Skanda Koppula - mapping the ocean floor

    The 17- to 18-year-olds that made the finals were: 

    • Shree Bose - ovarian cancer and drug resistance
    • Christopher Neilson - a better GPS using stereoscopic cameras
    • Vighnesh Leonard Shiv - music algorithms 
    • Shaun Lim Hsein Yang - UV light as a natural herbicide
    • Matthew Morris - improved keel design for safer sailboats 

    After a weekend of visiting and touring the Google HQ in Mountain View, Calif., the 15 finalists presented their projects to the judging panel before the awards ceremony.

    The prize winners were announced at a gala event at Google's headquarters, presided over by Mariette DiChristina, the editor-in-chief of Scientific American. There were other speakers, too: Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who joked that he wanted to hire all 15 finalists; and inventor Dean Kamen, whose advice to the young scientists included the Google motto: "Don't be evil." 

    More on science contests:

    Nidhi Subbaraman writes about science and technology at msnbc.com. Find her on Twitter, and join our conversation on the Cosmic Log Facebook page.

  • Hubble goes pop

    Boby Pirovics / ESA / Hubble

    "Hubble in Warhol" pays tribute to two pop icons at the same time.

    Quick! Name a telescope! The title of this item may have been too much of a tip-off, but if you were to ask the typical bystander, chances are the Hubble Space Telescope would be the first name to come to mind.

    One reason behind Hubble's popularity has to do with the "triumph-over-adversity" angle: The space telescope was launched with an off-kilter mirror, but was revived in a series of spacewalks. It had a close brush with death several years ago, but underwent a final fix last year and is now better than ever at the age of 20.

    The biggest reason for Hubble's iconic status would have to be the iconic imagery it has sent back over those 20 years: the Pillars of Creation, the Eye of God, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field ... heck, even the Cosmic Finger of Friendship. Hubble's pictures have become powerful cultural symbols of the final frontier, just as 19th-century Western landscape paintings portrayed the grandeur of an earlier frontier.

    So it's fitting that the European Space Agency's Hubble team is marking the 20th anniversary of the telescope's launch with a pop-culture contest. Until the end of this month, anyone can submit imagery that references Hubble. So far, the entries run the gamut from an Andy Warhol tribute, to ads and album covers, to "Hubble-on-burnt-toast."

    Winners will be selected by the end of July in several superlative categories: most artisitic, weirdest, funniest, largest and smallest. The prizes include an iPod Touch preloaded with Hubble videos and images, plus Hubble-themed books, prints and postcards. Check out the European Hubble website for submission instructions, rules and restrictions.

    If you need further inspiration, click through our collections of "Hubble's Greatest Hits" and the "Latest, Greatest Hits." And if you need further let's-go-crazification, check out The Onion's article on the Hubble Space Kaleidoscope.