Imagine you wanted to predict when sheep would chew. (Don't ask why...just imagine.) Here's how you would do it: attach speakers to the tops of sheep heads to broadcast chewing sounds. Collect chewing sounds and their times in a massive database. Feed these data into a neural net, which would recognize input (times) and output (chewing or not chewing) and eventually learn to predict when one leads to the other.

This is what neural nets do: they predict the future by quantifying the past.

This is what your next doctor's visit will sound like after you get your genome sequenced:

Theories of physics rest on fundamental assumptions and those assumptions are based on how the real world works, and often produce amazingly precise predictions. 

The most comprehensive theory of elementary particles to-date, Quantum Field Theory, explains nature's electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear forces (though not gravity).

Introduction

The use of non-human animal models has allowed the fast progression of scientific discovery over the last several centuries. These experiments have lead to great discoveries that have allowed for the alleviation of suffering, sickness, and disease in both humans and animals. Over the years there have been changes in the way we view the rights of animals that have lead to better treatment of models, and discoveries of methods that reduce the need for experimentation on animals. However, we have not yet reached the point that their use is not necessary. If the use of animals in experimentation is to continue, there are many ways of limiting and minimizing suffering while maximizing the benefit from their use.

One balmy July afternoon, when the fresh-faced optimism from having completed my PhD had seriously begun to wear off, I went to lunch with a famous scientist.  This jovial, moustached man did something to really surprise me; he told me the truth about this career path I had chosen: a life in science. 

Arctic Tipping Points - #7: Can The Arctic Recover?


In Arctic Tipping Points - #6: Are We There Yet? I attempted to show that there are multiple feedback mechanisms which are capable of causing a composite positive feedback effect in which Arctic sea ice once reduced beyond a limit will disperse very rapidly and will fail to recover.

Since I published that Article - April 29 2010 - I have investigated the matter further.  Current satellite data and historical reports combine to suggest that this year's Arctic sea ice loss will be the greatest ever seen in human history.

When light is used to transmit information,  modulated light pulses travel along optical fibers, which can become weaker due to optical attenuation in the fiber and so are refreshed in signal regeneration stations along the way, where the signals are amplified and filtered.

But when light itself, or more precisely its optical frequency, is the information, and when this information is to be transmitted with extreme precision, conventional amplification techniques reach their limits.

A neutrino has a mass, physics says, but it is elusive to figure out and extremely hard to measure – a neutrino is capable of passing through a light year (about six trillion miles) of lead without hitting a single atom.

J' Recuse!

I must declare my interest right up front.

I am deeply concerned that we are leaving behind us a legacy of planet-wide pollution and despoilation for those who follow us as custodians of our planet.

I am not anti-oil.  I do, however, strongly favor regulation of the oil industry on the lines of the aviation industry.

If the aviation regulators grounded all BritAv JingoJets after one such airliner lost its tail in midair, would anyone think it sane to seek a court injunction against that safety notice?

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman should have recused himself, rather than make statements such as:

"If some drilling equipment parts are flawed, is it rational to say all