Extinction means the end.   The  ultimate fate of our universe  depends on your scientific beliefs. If the universe goes through a repeated series of Big Bangs and Crunches by expanding and contracting, there might be no end. However, the prevailing sense today is that the universe will continue to expand and reach the Big Chill where everything approaches absolute zero, oh, maybe  100 trillion years from now . However, there are too many unknowns, like the effect of dark energy/matter, etc., to know for sure. A more sensible, but equally futile, analysis has to do with the 10 most likely ways for humanity to disappear.  Every few years, some one or organization makes such a prediction.  Here is new effort, a book published on 17July2025,  The Anti-Catastrophe League , by  Tom Ough .  #10 - Asteroids One of the biggest was a 9 mile wide monster that led to the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago. On 30June1908, mere 200 footer (...

Have you noticed that films these days don't say  The End  at the the end?  This  turnover happened  in the 1970's.  Now, there is a rolling credit list for grips, gaffers, etc.  One annoyance I have, though, is that all those production companies want to feature themselves at the beginning, taking up so much time.  Also, have you noticed how many producers there are on each movie? Then there is the end to your life.  For many, this termination is just the beginning of a better existence in Heaven, or the equivalent.  And, boy, do Muslim male martyrs have a surprise coming:   not 72 virgins, but 72 sweet white raisins .  Not to say that other religions also will not be disappointed.  What you are promised has not actually been verified. For me, the end will be nothingness or total blackness or utter gloom.  Now and then I convince myself that it will be eternal peace.  The plus side going for people of faith...

Yesterday I announced my intent to spend future Tuesdays featuring the best of my 14 years of posting this blog.  As Wednesday is my sci-tech day, I will provide a similar alert indicating what science topics I will focus on over next few days and weeks: What is a star?  Part 2 will feature dwarf stars, which are relatively small, and rest somewhere between stars and large planets, from a fascinating  Scientific American  article. Chemistry's quantum future.  Many products developed by industry were pure accidents, like teflon.  Chemistry is nearing a phase of being able to bypass this thing called serendipity. A possible solution to global warming:  the answer might be within our mantle, as seen in a remote desert of Oman. Virus scoreboard:  what can we expect in the future. A new understanding of Alzheimer's:  is microglia the real target? While only 1% of us stutter, as I once did, we getting closer to better understanding and curing ...