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The Great Myth Of The Metric System

The Great Myth Of The Metric System

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

The metric system rocks, right? And that's because it's an organic system of measure, derived directly from the circumference of the earth, right? And hasn't been subject to any malingering, gerrymandering, finagling or other debased punking by dirty human hands, right? Um, not exactly.
More On The Omega B Baryon Significance

More On The Omega B Baryon Significance

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

Last May the CDF collaboration published their observation of the  baryon, a particle made by a very exotic "bss" quark triplet. The CDF result came almost one year after a similar measurement was published by the competitor experiment, D0.
Making People Healthier With Text Messaging

Making People Healthier With Text Messaging

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

Despite widespread educational efforts aimed at helping the public make healthy choices, it's understood among experts that people often fail to comply with the advice offered by their doctors and others in the health community.

To correct this deficiency in compliance, some researchers are now proposing that text messaging be used to send out health tips to consumers. Given it's popularity and low expense, they say,  regular text messaging may be just the thing to prompt people to make behavioral changes for the sake of health
Is Rwanda's Lake Kivu A Freshwater Time Bomb?

Is Rwanda's Lake Kivu A Freshwater Time Bomb?

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

A potentially dangerous level of carbon dioxide and methane gas haunts Lake Kivu, the freshwater lake system bordering Rwanda and the Republic of Congo.

Scientists can't say for sure if the volatile mixture at the bottom of the lake will remain still for another 1,000 years or someday explode without warning. In a region prone to volcanic and seismic activity, the fragility of Lake Kivu is a serious matter. Compounding the precarious situation is the presence of approximately 2 million people, many of them refugees, living along the north end of the lake.
Children Of Attentive Parents Smoke Less Pot, Say Psychologists

Children Of Attentive Parents Smoke Less Pot, Say Psychologists

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

Psychologists earlier this month confirmed what most parents likely already know about their  teenage children. The more they're involved in their kids' lives (Specifically, by knowing where their children are, who they're with and what they're doing), the less likely it is they will engage in illicit behavior--like smoking marijuana.
What is the Most Useless Cephalopod Trivium?

What is the Most Useless Cephalopod Trivium?

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

Possibly I have found it:
Species of Opisthoteuthis are the most compressed, in the anterior-posterior axis, of any cephalopod.



Mmmm! Syrup, anyone?
Skin Color Says A Lot About Your Health, Researchers Claim

Skin Color Says A Lot About Your Health, Researchers Claim

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

People associate all kinds of physical features with good health; a slim waistline, full head of hair, and chiseled abs are all typical examples. Now researchers are suggesting that another feature may tell an awful lot about a person's health--their skin color.

With the publication of a new study in the International Journal of Primatology, a team of scientists say that the color of a person's skin affects how healthy and therefore attractive they appear, and have found that diet may be crucial to achieving the most desirable complexion.
What Football Fans Can Teach Us About Human Emotion

What Football Fans Can Teach Us About Human Emotion

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

If you don't think there's anything to learn by observing a bunch of drunk college students while they watch football and yell at the TV, you're missing out on a valuable cultural lesson.

By studying the emotional reactions of college football fans to their favorite teams' on-field performances, communication experts say they have gained important insights into the relationship between entertainment and human emotion.

Ohio State University researchers studied fans of two college football teams as they watched the teams' annual rivalry game on television. They found that fans of the winning team who, at some point during the game, were almost certain their team would lose, ended up thinking the game was the most thrilling and suspenseful.
Putting The Brakes On Evolution Could Help Keep Antibiotics Effective

Putting The Brakes On Evolution Could Help Keep Antibiotics Effective

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

Drug resistant infectious organisms pose a very serious threat to society, and are perhaps one of the biggest challenges that medical researchers face in their fight to keep people healthy.

Despite the trouble that antibiotic resistance has caused for modern medicine over the years, researchers at the University of Gothenburg are taking on an innovative project that may help put this evolutionary phenomenon in check.
RuBisCo, Stars, Drake And The

RuBisCo, Stars, Drake And The "Riddle Of Life"

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

RuBisCo Stars, Frank Drake and the "Riddle of Life"

December 4, 2009.

Tropical Chuckanut

Tropical Chuckanut

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)



The siltstones, sandstones, mudstones and conglomerates of the Chuckanut Formation were laid down about 40-54 million years ago during the Eocene epoch, a time of luxuriant plant growth in the subtropical flood plain that covered much of the Pacific Northwest.
Agrtotechnology OF CROPS FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOENERGY

Agrtotechnology OF CROPS FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOENERGY

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

Agrtotechnology OF CROPS FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOENERGY Dr. Ashwani Kumar Professor of Botany Hon Director, Life Sciences Energy Plantation Demonstration Project Center, Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, 302004. Phone 00 91 141 654100 Fax 00 91 141 565905 Email. msku4@hotmail.com Summary:
Beneficial Biofuels: The Food, Energy and Environment Trilemma.

Beneficial Biofuels: The Food, Energy and Environment Trilemma.

Nov 16 2009 | comment(s)

Beneficial Biofuels: The Food, Energy and Environment Trilemma. Dr. Ashwani Kumar Professor of Botany (Emeritus) Former Hon Director, Life Sciences and Head Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, 302004. Phone 00 91 141 654100 Fax 00 91 141 565905 Email. msku4@hotmail.com Summary:
An Animal Cruelty Rant

An Animal Cruelty Rant

Nov 15 2009 | comment(s)

A story in the local newspaper related how a pit bull was turned into the animal shelter after having been found abandoned in a ditch with all of its teeth filed down to the exposed roots, emaciated by starvation (weighing less than 40 pounds), and having just given birth to 9 puppies that morning.  The mother also had a few pressure sores from where bones rubbed against skin.  All the puppies still had the umbilical cords attached and were wet.

This level of human cruelty and stupidity is beyond understanding and one wonders what could be done to bring such behaviors under control.
Cloned Cows

Cloned Cows

Nov 15 2009 | comment(s)

A recent article, "Cloned Cows: Less In, More Out" raised the question of food safety, since its sale was approved by the FDA last year.

However, my concerns are much more fundamental.  The article indicates that cloning is beneficial so "that we get more beef for our buck".  Suggesting that there is an economic incentive to ensure that we produce beef more efficiently.  However, I'm not clear how this would be achieved since the costs that go into the cows would be offset by the other expenses produced such as patent rights (U.S. Patent 6590139).
Nature Through The Eyes Of A Genius

Nature Through The Eyes Of A Genius

Nov 15 2009 | comment(s)

Sunday Science Book Club

The Voyage of the Beagle, by Charles Darwin

Mapping The Large And Small

Mapping The Large And Small

Nov 15 2009 | comment(s)

We are aware of the large and small. We can, for example, taste and smell the earthy but invisible Streptomyces coelicolor. This soil-dwelling bacterium might have been in the first rock on Earth. Some estimates mention a time that was almost 3.8 billion years ago. 

 

Here is the Streptomyces coelicolor chromosome as it was mapped by S. D. Bentley et al. in 2002. 

The Evolution of the God Gene

The Evolution of the God Gene

Nov 15 2009 | comment(s)


Gross generalizations about atheists remain in style. A letter in response to a Sunday New York Times article in the Week in Review section, by Nicholas Wade.

Dear Mr. Wade,
Evolution of the God Gene

Evolution of the God Gene

Nov 15 2009 | comment(s)




Nicholas Wade has a new article on the evolution of religion.

Evolution of the God Gene http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/weekinreview/12wade.html?hpw

He seems to be making the case for a conciliatory relationship between religion and science. Here is what he says:



Wind energy and climate change

Wind energy and climate change

Nov 15 2009 | comment(s)

wind energy and climate change