The USS Loma Prieta’s science department continues to make exciting breakthroughs in a variety of scientific disciplines.We are happy to report that even though Ensign Shawn Alpay has been largely distracted by while writing his fan fiction, the Stellar Cartography department has continued to thrive. Thanks to the efforts of Ensign Alex Ionescu, Stellar Cartography’s SETI @Home project has computed so much astronomical data that the USS Loma Prieta BOINC account now ranks in the top 95th percentile of all SETI @Home team’s worldwide.
At our recent crew dinner, honoring the decommissioning of the SFI based NCC-26848 (we’ve now taken up operations on the newly rebuilt NCC-26848-A), Xeno Psychologist Ensign Melissa Crystal conducted an experiment on the crew’s capacity for taste. Using small strips of chemically treated P.T.C. paper, individual members of the crew place them on their tongues to determine their status as a ‘non-taster’, ‘taster’, or ‘super-taster’. Those who have the abnormal sensory capacity of super-tasters were met with a distinguishing bitter taste from the test strips. Thankfully, adult beverages were on hand to wash away the experiment’s unpleasant aftermath.
Now for a summary of this month’s scientific discoveries from around the Federation:
Scientists Invent a Hangover Free Beer
For years scientists have been trying to perfect alcohol concoctions that don’t get you drunk or have other ill effects and now an exciting step forward has come about. Scientists are getting closer to creating alcohol that has the same great taste, but doesn’t get you drunk or hungover. By adding electrolytes to the beer, they realized that the taste was unaffected but it was helping to keep the drinkers hydrated. As this research continues they may even create alcohol that has absolutely no drunken effects at all. I wonder what they will call this synthetic alcohol…maybe synthehol? Read more about the new beer here.
Implantable Device Records Brain Activity
Researchers have developed a device that can not only record neural activity in the brain but also send electronic charges to it. With devices such as these they can better treat movement conditions like Parkinson’s, and may even help with other brain disorders like depression. Our Starfleet doctors and nurses are very excited about the possibilities of this new way to treat conditions. I just hope a device like this doesn’t get into the hands of those who would use it for ill, like the Romulans. For more on this ground-breaking research, click here.
=^= LT Amy MacKinnon
Chief Science Officer & Cyberneticist
USS Loma Prieta