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Introducing Hackademe!

Introducing Hackademe!

Jan 31 2010 | comment(s)

My latest online project: Hackademe!
Hack: A clever use of technology, software, or modified items to solve a problem or increase efficiency.
Academe: The community of scholars and students engaged in higher education and research; also known as academia or acadème.
Hackademe: A website devoted to sharing clever uses of technology, software, or modified items to solve problems related to information overload, time management, organization, productivity, and other challenges faced by academics on a daily basis.

Climate Change: See For Yourself.

Climate Change: See For Yourself.

Jan 31 2010 | comment(s)

     I have been following with interest the columns and blogs related to climate change, most recently from Patrick Lockerby, who agrees with the evidence for human-caused global warming, and Karen Barnes, who comments on Jesse Ventura’s conspiracy theory.  Perhaps thoughttul readers of Scientific Blogging will be interested in seeing the actual data that supports global warming. Here is a NOAA website that succinctly summarizes the main lines of evidence.

Random Noise #18 : We Was Robbed

Random Noise #18 : We Was Robbed

Jan 31 2010 | comment(s)

Random Noise #18 : We Was Robbed


Well, of course, that should be 'we were robbed', according to the rules of conventional grammar.  But the phrase 'we was robbed', often written as 'we wuz robbed' has become part of the lexicon of humor in the English language.

There are many kinds of robbery.  I suppose that George III might have said 'we wuz robbed' in reference to the Treaty of Paris 1783.  It must have been hard on the poor guy to lose so many colonies over so little tax1.
Ethanol is corn's food for thought

Ethanol is corn's food for thought

Jan 31 2010 | comment(s)

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- A flailing economy and record crops have worked to pull corn prices some 20% off their 2009 peak, but analysts say the move's only a temporary setback with an economic recovery underway and ethanol demand on reliable footing, ready to lend a hand. "Nearly a third of the domestic corn output in the U.S is being used for ethanol production and this volume is set to expand even further going forward," analysts at Commerzbank wrote in a recent research note. "This should push up prices." Ethanol, which is made primarily from corn in the United States since the nation is the world's largest producer and exporter of the crop, is a fuel additive used in reformulated gasoline. Asia's Week Ahead: Full Economic Slate
Cassia fistula an Ayurvedic medicinal plant

Cassia fistula an Ayurvedic medicinal plant

Jan 31 2010 | comment(s)

Ayurveda consist of two words ‘Ayur’ and ‘Veda’. It is a Sanskrit term and it literally means the science of life (Sharma, 1979). The scope of Ayurveda is vast. It not only deals with the prevention of disease and promotion of health and longevity but it also cures the disease. It also deals with rejuvenation. It can also be called the science of living and it is upveda of Atharva veda. It treats an individual as a whole and not only the symptoms or the affected parts, unlike modern medicines.
Government Funded? Not Me, Guv'nor!

Government Funded? Not Me, Guv'nor!

Jan 31 2010 | comment(s)

Government Funded?  Not Me, Guv'nor!

it has only been possible to find one scientist, worldwide, who
supports catastrophic warming&isn't clearly government funded
- so says Nick Craig in his blog a-place-to-stand.


Ah!  A challenge!  I do so love a challenge!

I most definitely do not 'support catastrophic warming' - that would be crazy! 
Sing A Song Of Science : Blaze Away

Sing A Song Of Science : Blaze Away

Jan 31 2010 | comment(s)

Sing A Song Of Science : Blaze Away

Blaze away can mean 'fire at will'.  In that sense, let's keep 'blazing away' at pseudoscience.
Blaze away can also mean 'burn away', 'be consumed in flame'.


Two recent news items regarding pseudoscience gives cause for celebration as we watch a couple of our troubles blaze away.

#1 - The man who single-handedly triggered the autism / jabs scare, Andrew Wakefield, has been struck off by the GMC
Self-Aggrandising Pseudoscience Castigated - Wakefield Struck Off By GMC

Self-Aggrandising Pseudoscience Castigated - Wakefield Struck Off By GMC

Jan 31 2010 | comment(s)

Self-Aggrandising Pseudoscience Castigated - Wakefield Struck Off By GMC


Following the longest medical misconduct inquiry ever held in the U.K., Andrew Wakefield has been struck off by the GMC, the General Medical Council.  The GMC, an independant charitable organisation, is responsible in the UK for the registration of medical doctors and for the supervision of their conduct.  The GMC enjoys a global high reputation for its ethics and integrity.

Brian Deer has exposed much wrongdoing by Wakefield and has been the subject of a (withdrawn) libel suit by him.  He reports in the UK's Sunday Times, 31st Jan 2010:
The Fascinating Search For Rare W Decays

The Fascinating Search For Rare W Decays

Jan 30 2010 | comment(s)

W bosons are amazingly interesting objects. Almost thirty years after their discovery -by Carlo Rubbia and his collaborators of the UA1 experiment at CERN- they continue to provide critical information on the theory of electroweak interactions. The front of particle physics has moved quite a bit further from 1983, and yet the weapons we use todat to try and conquer unexplored land have not changed much. Today I wish to summarize one particular search that has been done by the CDF experiment at the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider, one which tries to catch W bosons as they decay in a very uncommon way.
Are Grassroots Methods the Best Choice for Habitat Improvement?

Are Grassroots Methods the Best Choice for Habitat Improvement?

Jan 30 2010 | comment(s)

In Oregon there are two main avenues of habitat improvement: top down and bottom up.  The top down method involves public agencies using public money to restore habitat on public (and sometimes private) lands. The bottom up or grassroots approach is more complex.  Generally if a private individual in Oregon wants to improve habitat in Oregon, they join a Watershed Council. Watershed Councils are wonderful meeting places for people with diverse backgrounds, interests, and philosophies. Watershed Councils also receive funding (public and private) to conduct restoration on private and public lands.  The majority of the funding comes from OWEB, while smaller fractions come from the ODEQ, the BLM, the USFS, NWFW, USFWS, et cetera.
Whois James Delingpole?

Whois James Delingpole?

Jan 30 2010 | comment(s)

Whois James Delingpole?

Never heard of him?  I'm not surprised, really. 
James Delingpole is a writer, journalist and broadcaster who is right about everything.
Who said that?  James Delingpole.

He's a blogger.  A journoblogger if you like.  Not an investigative journalist.  Not a scientist.  A blogger.

Here's an extract from a recent blog.
King Coal And The Heat Values Of Fuels

King Coal And The Heat Values Of Fuels

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

King Coal And The Heat Values Of Fuels


A Potted History Of The Human Use Of Coal

The term 'coal' covers many different materials with a common property: they are materials high in carbon which were formed from plant residues under pressure and over geologically long periods.

BCE 13,000 - black amber, or jet, is known to have been used1 for ornamental purposes in Britain.
BCE 2 - 3,000 - natural outcrop coal used for fuel in Britain.
CE 200 - 400 - exploitation of surface coal fields on, by modern standards, a small scale.
CE 1200 - 1300 - trade has developed in coal; mining is in development.
CE 1600 - 1700 - experiments with steam engines, leading to
Blowing Things Up: Is It Science?

Blowing Things Up: Is It Science?

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

We scientists have a desperate need to make our science interesting to everyone-- including ourselves. Our terminology reflects this. In astronomy, we have the Big Bang. In comp sci, computers Crash. In engienering, "Test to Destruction".

But at some point, usually when I'm in a classroom, my science audience wants me to do something extreme. Mix chemicals until they explode. Shatter a rose in liquid nitrogen. Fire off a rocket. Something 'kinetic', in the sense of lots of fragments of something once whole being rent a'sunder.

As usual, parody best covers the dilemma, as with this week's "The Onion" science headline: Science Channel Refuses To Dumb Down Science Any Further.
Real Time Wriggle!

Real Time Wriggle!

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

Scheikunde


is Dutch for Chemistry, and literally means "Separation Science".  Now, if one has a carpet made of 85% polypropylene and 15% wool, how does one go about separating them?

Have no fear!  Nature already has a solution.  I found these cocoons (about half a centimetre long) on the surface of said carpet, and decided to look at them under a video microscope.  This is what we saw:

VIDEO


As you can see, these caterpillars emerged from the cocoons and resumed their analysis, selectively removing the wool fibres from the polypropylene matrix. 

Hi-resolution Evolution: A Repeat Performance

Hi-resolution Evolution: A Repeat Performance

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

What kinds of genetic changes are required to evolve significant changes in body shape and size? The availability of affordable, state-of-the-art DNA sequencing and array technology has made it possible to study evolution at a level of molecular detail inaccessible just a decade ago.
The War Of The Wells

The War Of The Wells

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic good
The Dublin Statement on Water and Economic Development

In a warming world, will people fight over dwindling water supplies?  Will there be water wars?  What has economics to teach us about this?  As glaciers recede, as lakes and rivers dry up, what then of the laws of supply and demand?  What then of property rights and the free ride principle*?

..........................................................
The War Of The Wells
Smokers At Risk From Their Own Secondhand Smoke? Really?

Smokers At Risk From Their Own Secondhand Smoke? Really?

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

Anti-smoking activists have made some ridiculous claims about smoking and the associated health risks. In recent years, studies have suggested that movies encourage teenagers to pick up the habit, any exposure to secondhand smoke is dangerous, and that such a thing as ‘third hand smoke’ exists. But a new study in Environmental Health may be the greatest example of exaggeration on the issue ever.
Methane Hydrate Could Augment Natural Gas Supplies

Methane Hydrate Could Augment Natural Gas Supplies

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

A new report from the National Research Council suggests that naturally occurring methane hydrate may represent an enormous source of methane, the main component of natural gas, and could ultimately augment conventional natural gas supplies. Although a number of challenges require attention before commercial production can be realized, no technical challenges have been identified as insurmountable.

Moreover, the U.S. Department of Energy's Methane Hydrate Research and Development Program has made considerable progress in the past five years toward understanding and developing methane hydrate as a possible energy resource, the report claims.
Researchers Sequence Genome Of Glioblastoma Cell Line

Researchers Sequence Genome Of Glioblastoma Cell Line

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

Writing in PLoS Genetics, UCLA Researchers say they have performed the first complete genomic sequencing of a brain cancer cell line, a discovery that may lead to personalized treatments based on the unique biological signature of an individual's cancer and a finding that may unveil new molecular targets for which more effective and less toxic drugs can be developed.
Is Your Five-Year-Old Obese?

Is Your Five-Year-Old Obese?

Jan 29 2010 | comment(s)

A new study in Acta Paediatrica suggests that parents of four and five-year-olds may be unaware that their children are at an unhealthy weight.  Half of the mothers who took part in the new study thought that their obese four or five year-old was normal weight, as did 39 per cent of the fathers.

When it came to overweight children, 75 per cent of mothers and 77 per cent of fathers thought that their child was normal weight. More than 800 parents of 439 children took part in the study, carried out by researchers from the University Medical Centre Groningen in The Netherlands. Five per cent of the children were overweight, four were obese and the rest were normal weight.