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Bags of Rubbish

Bags of Rubbish

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

Bags of Rubbish

Bad science is problem enough, but when the media gets hold of it, it can become worse science. It can become a part of an 'everybody knows that' truth which is, in reality, global myth. When that 'truth' circles back to the politicians, they may enact knee-jerk laws which cause more problems than they solve.

Such is the case with the British Government's attitude to environmental issues.

How to WRAP up the pollution problem, British Government style.
Where Does Everything Come From? The Life And Death Of Stars

Where Does Everything Come From? The Life And Death Of Stars

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

    Last week I described how a boulder-sized meteorite exploded in the skies over Murchison, Australia, forty years ago. The remarkable mix of organic compounds discovered in samples of the meteorite, which included amino acids, confirmed that some of the compounds required for the origin of life could have an extraterrestrial origin, as John Oro had proposed  ten years earlier. But where did the organic compounds come from, and how were they synthesized? 
60,000 Year Evolutionary Gap Between African Pygmies And Neighboring Farmers

60,000 Year Evolutionary Gap Between African Pygmies And Neighboring Farmers

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

The central African belt is a fascinating look back in time for humanity because the largest group of hunter–gatherers of Africa, the Pygmies, still inhabit the region and they coexist with neighboring farmers. 

All African Pygmies, inhabiting a large territory extending west-to-east along Central Africa, descend from a unique population who lived around 20,000 years ago, according to an international study led by researchers at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. The research concludes that the ancestors of present-day African Pygmies and neighboring farmers separated ~60,000 years ago. 
Components Of Mind According To Ancient Scriptures Of India

Components Of Mind According To Ancient Scriptures Of India

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

ABSTRACT: The components (or faculties) of mind according to ancient scriptures are explained with inferences and interpretations. Connection of the components with states of mind known as dreamless sleep, sleep with dreams, wakefulness, trance and para-trance are given. Analogy of the working of the components with the parts of a computer, and with feedback control systems in Electrical Engineering are given. Through analysis, it is shown that the spine works like the CPU of a computer. 1. INTRODUCTION No metaphysical problem is more vigorously discussed by the present day psychologists than that of mind and body. Most of us assume that all thinking takes place in the brain. It is only since a few decades that
In The Works - A Natural Biological Pacemaker

In The Works - A Natural Biological Pacemaker

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

A natural, biological pacemaker; that's what a heart is, right?  Sure, but our hearts can wear out and while artificial heart pacemakers have saved and extended the lives of thousands of people, but they have their shortcomings – such as a fixed pulse rate and a limited life.

Could a permanent replacement biological solution be in our future?   Richard Robinson and colleagues at New York's Columbia and Stony Brook Universities certainly think so, and their work published in the latest issue of The Journal of Physiology outlines how we can bring it a step closer to reality.
Arctic Sea Ice - Is It Getting Thinner Or Not?

Arctic Sea Ice - Is It Getting Thinner Or Not?

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

Because global warming - whoops, climate change - became a political football rather than a scientific one, there are a lot of people attacking methodology and motive.   1990 does seem like a pretty arbitrary date for CO2 emissions until you realize that's right after the merger of Germany and all they, a key advocate of proponent, had to do to meet their target was close some World War 2 era Soviet factors in East Germany to meet their target.  And France just had to open up some more nuclear power plants (no CO2, but do American environmentalists think that is better?).
Where Does Space Begin? The Answer Is ...

Where Does Space Begin? The Answer Is ...

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

Where does space begin? Scientists at the University of Calgary have created a new instrument that is able to track the transition between the relatively gentle winds of Earth's atmosphere and the more violent flows of charged particles in space – flows that can reach speeds well over 1000 km/hr. And they have accomplished this in unprecedented detail. 

Data received from the U of C-designed instrument sent to space on a NASA launch from Alaska about two years ago was able to help pinpoint the so-called edge of space: the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space.

With that data, U of C scientists confirmed that space begins 118 km above Earth.
Enteric Nervous System - Understanding How The 'Second Brain' Works

Enteric Nervous System - Understanding How The 'Second Brain' Works

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

Researchers from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) in the Faculty of Medicine at University of Calgary have uncovered the first evidence that neurons talk to ‘glial’ cells in the digestive tract: a discovery that could help find a way to regulate and restore balance in the gut for the one in 10 Canadians suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the more than 200,000 Canadians suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 
Scorpion Divergence In ''Evolution Canyon''

Scorpion Divergence In ''Evolution Canyon''

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

Scorpions possess resistance to high temperatures and the ability to conserve water for long periods of time, and as a result thrive in hot and arid parts of the world. But is this global distribution also seen at a more local level?   Doctoral student Shmuel Raz and colleagues at the University of Haifa, Israel show that this is indeed the case, even when European-like and African-like habitats were separated by no more than 100 meters. 

Shmuel Raz and colleagues studied the communities of scorpions in a valley near Mount Carmel in Israel which has been dubbed "Evolution Canyon." Evolution Canyon" has steep slopes and runs approximately east-west, which means that the south-facing slope receive up to eight times as much solar radiation as the north-facing slope .
Soybean Isoflavone Chemicals Reduce Menopause Effects

Soybean Isoflavone Chemicals Reduce Menopause Effects

Apr 09 2009 | comment(s)

Soy aglycons of isoflavone (SAI), a group of soybean constituent chemicals, have been shown to promote health in a rat model of the menopause. The research in  Nutrition&Metabolism shows how dietary supplementation with SAI lowers cholesterol, increases the anti-oxidative properties of the liver and prevents degeneration of the vaginal lining.

Random Noise 7 : Discover a Syzygy

Random Noise 7 : Discover a Syzygy

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)

The Scientific Method : Discover a Syzygy

This is one of my musings on etymology.
The term 'musing' is derived from the notion that our ideas are inspired by the Muses.
That in turn gives the notion of a museum as a place in which a person might be inspired.
Welcome to the museum called the Chatter Box.

Syzygy comes from Late Latin syzygia, a conjunction, which in turn came from Greek syzygos, from syn, meaning 'together' and zygon meaning 'yoke'.

Syzygy  means 'aligned',  'conjoined' or unified.
It expresses a perception of unity arising from a coordination or alignment.
Who Do You Want Your Child To Be?

Who Do You Want Your Child To Be?

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)

Recently I saw this Horizon programme on BBC2: Horizon - 2008-2009 - 8. Who Do You Want Your Child to Be?
A plan to beat evolution

A plan to beat evolution

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)



Can we really design an insecticide that gets around the evolution of resistance?

Check out this paper in PLoS biology today on how to make an evolution-proof insecticide against malaria-bearing mosquitos.

The trick, argue the authors, is to design a pesticide that kills only older mosquitos, avoiding strong selection for resistance:
Hemophilia Be Gone! (Thanks RNA Splicing)

Hemophilia Be Gone! (Thanks RNA Splicing)

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)

Science has come one step closer to developing practical methods of gene therapy. Viable gene therapy means treatment for currently untreatable diseases including the vast amount of genetic disorders affecting millions world-wide.
Hypersexual? Compulsive Gambler? Blame Dopamine (But Only If You Have Parkinson's Disease Too)

Hypersexual? Compulsive Gambler? Blame Dopamine (But Only If You Have Parkinson's Disease Too)

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)

According to a new study published by the Mayo Clinic, patients with Parkinson disease (PD) have another problem to deal with. Researchers have found that one in six patients taking therapeutic doses of
certain prescription drugs for management of PD have developed troubling behavioral symptoms. The most problematic symptoms include compulsive gambling and hypersexuality.
An introduction to the topic of autism research from an autistic perspective

An introduction to the topic of autism research from an autistic perspective

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)


Welcome to my new blog, which stands somewhere between the hurly burly of my personal blog and the quiet backwater of my academic blog.

Why this blog?

I currently have a book in preparation, on this topic, which is proceeding alongside my research, and I want this blog to become a public reflection of that, helping me to focus my ideas, and also for me to share my avenues of thinking.

It has concerned me for sometime, that knowledge for knowledge sake is not always a good thing if it is pursued without regard either to the consequences of the research for public policy, or the consequences of the research to the ‘stakeholder’ group either as recipients of that public policy or as the actual ‘subjects’ of the research itself.
If I could do college over again...

If I could do college over again...

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)



This is what I would do: Princeton's Integrated Science curriculum. This is how science should be taught:
Nano Changes Rise To Macro Importance In A Key Electronics Material

Nano Changes Rise To Macro Importance In A Key Electronics Material

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)

By combining the results of a number of powerful techniques for studying material structure at the nanoscale, a team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working with colleagues in other federal labs and abroad, believe they have settled a long-standing debate over the source of the unique electronic properties of a material with potentially great importance for wireless communications.

The new study* of silver niobate not only opens the door to engineering improved electronic components for smaller, higher performance wireless devices, but also serves as an example of understanding how subtle nanoscale features of a material can give rise to major changes in its physical properties.

Discovered - A New Molecular Mechanism Linking Viral Infection To Cancer Susceptibility

Discovered - A New Molecular Mechanism Linking Viral Infection To Cancer Susceptibility

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)

Portuguese scientists discovered a new molecular mechanism that allows gamma herpes viruses to chronically infect patients and helps to explain why these patients present an abnormally high incidence of the lymphocyte (or white blood cell) cancer lymphoma, particularly when their immune system is compromised.

The research, just published in the advance online edition of The Embo Journal, reveals how these viruses mimic the host molecular machinery to shutdown NF-kB –a key regulatory protein complex involved in cell division and death – on infected lymphocytes, and how this - probably by disrupting the cells normal regulatory systems - creates the conditions for the development of lymphomas.
The Recipe For Chimpanzee Reproductive Success? Bring Home The Bacon (Literally)

The Recipe For Chimpanzee Reproductive Success? Bring Home The Bacon (Literally)

Apr 08 2009 | comment(s)

Before the invention of boxed chocolates, Corvettes and bling-bling, all a man had to do for sweet lovin' was provide his special ladies with meat.  Studies of extant hunter-gatherer societies show that literally bringing home the bacon leads to greater reproductive success.  Highly skilled hunters also partake in more extra-marital affairs and in polygamous societies, have more wives.