• Fall Colors and Autumn Leaves. Before you go out to view the fall foliage this year, take a look at this post by David Bradley at SciScoop Science Forum!  Researchers are seeking an explanation as to why leaves in the U.S. mainly turn red, while in Europe they mainly turn yellow.
• When you can’t wait for relativistic rockets. Before you start packing your bags for your intergalactic vacation, you should read this post by Greg Fish at weird things.  He discusses the hype and reality behind an article in Popular Mechanics on a new proposal for relativistic rocket flight, and its connection to the LHC.
• When telescopes get really, really big. Rita Tojeiro at we are all in the gutter describes the use of gravitational lensing to probe the earliest and most distant parts of our universe, essentially turning entire galaxies into telescopes!
• Reexamining Ardipithecus ramidus in Light of Human Origins. Finally, Eric Michael Johnson at The Primate Diaries takes a critical look at one new interpretation of human origins to arise from Ardi, and shows that the lure of a good narrative often leads people to speculate beyond the available evidence.

Check back next Monday for more “miscellaneous” highlights!