1.2 billion years ago. Sorry. Bit late with this news.

I sometimes think scientists sit around all day reading pulp SF novels from the fifties while they’re looking for the next big thing to work on.

Plans for a doomsday ark on the moon.

Not saying it isn’t a good idea, but I’m still waiting for ray guns and Lensmen.

Forget about sitting on a cloud - when you’re dead you are going to work! Hard! The Bishop of Durham is an erudite man and has spent a lot of time studying the texts of his religion, and he’s put some interesting thoughts on the topic of the afterlife (from a Christian perspective) to Time magazine.

As an environmentalist and someone who’s been regularly involved in political activism, one of the big gripes for me is when right wing, evangelical Christians use their religious perspective to justify doing nothing about saving the world…and in some cases to stand back in the hope of armageddon in other countries.

The Bishop of Durham not only says they’re wrong, but if they want to be true to their religion they need to be doing the opposite - protecting the globe and not bringing devastation to Middle Eastern countries being somewhere near the top of the list, as Heaven is not going to be up there - it’s down here.

First someone suggests the poor scientists at CERN could destroy the universe, now they’re getting the blame for potentially attracting balloon-headed, spindly-bodied future men.

(Thanks to Lizzy Hill for flagging this one up).

If you’re not all bored at the possibility that a genius like Da Vinci makes his work operate on numerous levels, read this.

Yes, I did.

‘Tiny “smart” devices that can be borne on the wind like dust particles could be carried in space probes to explore other planets, UK engineers say.’

I like this idea. More proof that we are now living in an SF world.

The final design for a “doomsday” vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government.

“Yes,” she says. “Big dog’s penis…”

“In scenes reminiscent of medieval witchhunts, Catholic pilgrims in Glastonbury have attacked pagans and threatened to “cleanse” them from the town.”

“In 10,000 years time humans may have paid a genetic price for relying on technology. Spoiled by gadgets designed to meet their every need, they could come to resemble domesticated animals.”

“Scientists have calculated the year when the human race will cease to exist. It will be October 31, otherwise known as Halloween…”

‘Maybe our universe isn’t real. Yale Philosopher Nick Bostrum has claimed that we are probably living in a computer simulation.’

Just one of ten great, insanely brilliant theories about the origins of the universe.

And you lot think I make this stuff up…

There’s a review of Dominic Sandbrook’s White Heat: A History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties in today’s Sunday Times culture section.

It’s part political history - looking at the coming to power of Howard Harold Wilson - part cultural history of the era. The reviewer, Peter Clarke, concludes that it’s a “lively narrative” with the central concept that the ‘cultural revolution’ of the ’60s maybe wasn’t so revolutionary after all…

You can read the review in full on the Sunday Times website.

–Ariel–

We now know where all the aliens have gone.

TITAN MAY BE RIDDLED WITH CAVES. The highlands of Titan may be riddled with caves, according to the latest images of Saturn’s giant moon. On 30 April, the Cassini spacecraft flew over a large bright region called Xanadu that spans about 4000 kilometres.