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In Defense Of Pharmacy

In defense of Pharmacy and Catholic Pharmacists was written during the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign...

NSA Global Data Gathering (Old News)

News (?), Top-Secret (?), Latest revelation (?)Strange, the EU was aware of the NSA (spying) global...

Thoughts on "Conversation with a modern creationist"

Recently there was a post on this site that generated a lot of feedback, Conversation with a modern...

History Of Internal Combustion Engine Design

What are the forces that drive science and technology? How do we get from Wilbur and Orville Wright’s...

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Jim MyresRSS Feed of this column.

Education: University of Cincinnati - B.S. 1972 (Before most of you were born) Xavier University, Cincinnati - M.B.A. 1978

Teaching Experience: University of Cincinnati, College of Pharmacy

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Trepanation: The Legacy Of Ancient Brain Surgery

Trepanation: The Legacy Of Ancient Brain Surgery

Mar 14 2008 | comment(s)

If you read the medical news lately you may have seen a headline title Skeleton May Show Ancient Brain Surgery. This article was about an 1800 year old skeleton found in Veria, Greece. The skeleton was of a woman of about 25 years of age that suffered severe head trauma and underwent cranial surgery, unfortunately evidence shows that she did not survive.

There is an interesting history of skull surgery, known as trepanation, which comes from the Greek word trypanon, meaning auger or borer. Cranial trepanation has caught the interest of surgeons and archeologist since the 1860's, when it was first realized that ancient humans had scraped or cut holes in the skulls of living persons in France and Peru.

Trepanation is serious enough surgical procedure in this day and age, could this procedure have taken place as a routine operation as long ago as 2000 BC? We do have a historical record of thousands of skulls with evidence of this surgery. Sometimes historical records suggest a reality that we find hard to accept.

Science & Math Education - Is Caring And Cash Enough To Make A Difference?

Science & Math Education - Is Caring And Cash Enough To Make A Difference?

Mar 10 2008 | comment(s)

I feel like I am going to be preaching-to-the-choir with this blog. The fact that you are reading it puts you in the "choir." I would encourage all of you to read the first two columns of the article "A New Bottom Line For School Science" by Jeffrey Mervis in Science Vol. 319, p. 1030-33, Feb. 22, 08.

The quote from this article that has me upset is "I don’t use a textbook or assign written homework because so many of them (the students) wouldn’t be able to read it." If this were a quote from a third grade teacher in a rural school for the children of migrant workers, I would still be upset but I could understand the teacher’s dilemma.

Dark Matter And Dark Energy

Dark Matter And Dark Energy

Feb 13 2008 | comment(s)

Dark Matter and Dark Energy

The Science and Technology Facilities Council has provided information that Science Daily has posted as an abstract of an article by Dr. Hong Sheng Zhao titled "Dark Fluid: Dark Matter And Dark Energy May Be Two Faces Of Same Coin." You can read this abstract at the web site below:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080131094056.htm
I would like to teach High School math when I retire, but we

I would like to teach High School math when I retire, but we

Jan 24 2008 | comment(s)

I would like to teach High School math when I retire, but we will see. I went as far as to apply for and be accepted as a graduate student at Drexel University’s external degree program last year, but the cost is astronomical and I am well over sixty years old. This may not happen. I still have the first recreational math book I bought in the early 1960's when I was in High School. My kids can’t understand why someone would enjoy reading math books in the evening and on vacation. I have a special interest in Set Theory and the work of Cantor. I don’t recommend the study of set theory to anyone that is not unipolar manic, which I happen to be. Set theory takes you to some strange places and has lead more than just Cantor to insanity. I have eight children.
Antimatter Cloud

Antimatter Cloud

Jan 23 2008 | comment(s)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080109173722.htm

The above address is a post on Science Daily about an antimatter cloud. This should be of interest to the hard core science types and SiFi fans like myself.

The post describes an antimatter cloud that surrounds the galactic center. This cloud is about 10,000 light-years across. The European Space Agency’s "Integral" satellite has provided clues to the possible origin of this antimatter cloud. This post is well worth reading.