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Frankenstein Was Not A GMO

Jul 20 2012 | comment(s)

The Los Angeles Times got a little Huffington Post-ish in an article July 17th about Oxitec's genetically modified mosquito to control dengue outbreaks in various poor countries - and perhaps even in the Florida Keys.

Why Is Generation X So Skeptical About Climate Change?

Jul 20 2012 | comment(s)

We just had Snowmageddon and then heat a heat wave in parts of the US. Local, short-term weather events are suddenly proof of long-term climate change once again, according to journalists and biased bloggers who claim to care about science.

"Generation X", as marketing people call the generation after the Baby Boomers, aren't buying it, despite the fact that awareness campaigns about global warming have gone on for most of their lives.

California Has Highest Whooping Cough Incidence In 60 Years

Jul 20 2012 | comment(s)

California had the highest number of cases of whooping cough (pertussis) in 60 years, despite the fact that it has a readily available vaccine. A new study in The Journal of Pediatrics describes that 2010 whooping cough epidemic and details strategies to decrease the incidence of this infection.

Some science education would be a good place to start. California has a strong anti-vaccine mentality, especially in coastal regions, and results showed much higher incidents of Whooping Cough in those areas, despite those being high income, well-educated communities.

World CO2 Emissions Up, Despite Declines In OECD Countries

Jul 20 2012 | comment(s)

Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), considered the main cause of global warming, increased by 3% last year, reaching an all-time high of 34 billion tons in 2011.

Where Are The Extraterrestrials? The People Speak...

Jul 20 2012 | comment(s)

We live in times of extraordinary discovery. Exoplanets appear to be quite common in our galaxy. NASA’s Kepler Telescope has identified over 2,000 planetary candidates orbiting other stars. And yet the universe appears to be silent – at least when it comes to any detectable signs of alien civilizations, either at present in our galaxy or their remnants from the last couple of billion years.

Antioxidants: In Wild Boars, Redheads Are Bad But Gray Hair Is Good

Jul 20 2012 | comment(s)

Redheads are dangerous to human men but in wild boars, red hair means a danger to themselves.

New research has found that boars with more reddish hair tend to have higher levels of oxidative stress; damage that occurs as toxins from cell respiration build up. The researchers suggest it is because the process of producing reddish pigment eats up a valuable antioxidant that would otherwise be fighting the free radicals that lead to oxidative stress.

Dumpling Squid Prove Sex Ain't Free

Jul 20 2012 | comment(s)

Southern dumpling squid are tuckered out by sex. So say Australian researchers Franklin et al. in the journal Biology Letters. Sure, it's salacious science, but so what?

Dumpling squid: they are frisky. Photo by Mark Norman, published in Biology Letters.

Great Wall Of China Just Got A Little Greater

Jul 19 2012 | comment(s)

The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world but that doesn't mean it's known exactly how big it is.

A five-year archaeological survey done by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) found that the total length of the Great Wall was 13,170 miles long and reached across 15 provinces, more than twice the length previously stated just two years ago, when the same organization reported that the wall was 5,500 miles and stretched across 10 provinces.

Visualizing Science And What It Can Show Us About Solar Heating

Jul 19 2012 | comment(s)

Data visualization is gaining increased importance. Unlike arcane statistics (damned lies), visualizing data can provide context for a very big story - even enormous datasets like the heating and cooling effects of the sun.

Nicholeen Viall, a solar scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., creates images of the sun with broad strokes of bright color splashed across a yellow background. But it's not simply art. The color of each pixel contains a wealth of information about the 12-hour history of cooling and heating at that particular spot on the sun. That heat history holds clues to the mechanisms that drive the temperature and movements of the sun's atmosphere, or corona.

Neanderthal M.D.?

Jul 19 2012 | comment(s)

Neanderthals - Cave Men, in colloquial terms (as if Cro-Magnon emerged in a medieval castle; they all lived in caves if they could) - don't get a lot of respect for being smart. But they probably had a few things going for them, since they survived until around 20,000 B.C.

Maybe even medicine.

50,000-year-old Neanderthal teeth from the El Sidrón site in northern Spain show that they were not just meat-eaters, nor were they eating plants just as foragers. They may even have understood natural medicine.

Thoughts From A "Shill For Monsanto"

Jul 19 2012 | comment(s)

Why Throw-Away Statements Harm the Anti-GMO Movement

As an academic research scientist active at the public interface, I enjoy communicating about complex science topics. With regard to trasngenic (GMO) crops, if you read my blogs, comments left online, or listen to audiences in public discussions, you'll see that they ultimately reach a common point.

Someone always indicates that Monsanto is my employer. Like clockwork.

Greenland's Petermann Glacier Calves Again

Jul 19 2012 | comment(s)

Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland has calved again. As always, it's a big 'un, this iceberg, about the size of Manhattan.

Don't be too concerned. It is not a global warming disaster scenario, this baby iceberg is about half the one that came off in 2010. It happens about every year. That doesn't stop the Associated Press from getting hysterical. They got Andreas Muenchow, Associate Professor from the University of Delaware to say, "It's dramatic. It's disturbing. We have data for 150 years and we see changes that we have not seen before."

Engineering: Men Cancel Cheerleader Performance And Women Protest

Jul 19 2012 | comment(s)

If you believe that disparity between male and female salaries is sexism or at least gender bias, well, you may have a point. There's no doubt that, outside single women and men, there is a pay difference (lower for women) and an hours worked difference (more for men), so no matter which side you choose in the argument, you have a valid data point.

Silymarin: Herbal Remedy For Hepatitis C Does Not Work

Jul 19 2012 | comment(s)

Silymarin is an extract of milk thistle. Millions of people use this herbal remedy to treat chronic liver disease but it doesn't do much for patients, according to a new study.

Milk thistle fruit extracts have been widely used by patients in treating liver disease based on previous evidence showing that it has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and potentially anti-viral properties so the new study set out to assess true efficacy in a group of hepatitis C patients who were previously unsuccessfully treated with interferon-based therapy – the standard anti-viral method used to treat the disease.

2011 Journal Impact Factor Highlights - More Than Half Improved

Jul 18 2012 | comment(s)

According to the "2011 Journal Citation Reports" (JCR) published by Thomson Reuters, Elsevier saw 58% of its journal Impact Factors increase from 2010 to 2011, which mirrored the overall trend - 54% of other journals also increased.

Impact Factor helps evaluate a journal's impact compared to others in the same field by measuring the frequency with which recent articles in a journal have been cited in a particular year - that, in turn, helps funding groups evaluating grant proposals to establish a metric for how valuable a researcher's work is to the broad science world. The 2011 Impact Factor takes into account citations in 2011 to papers published in 2009 and 2010.

Aedes Albopictus: Wings Of The Asian Tiger Mosquito Clipped

Jul 18 2012 | comment(s)

A new flightless strain of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has been created by Oxitec scientists, a breakthrough that could help stop the spread of this dangerous and invasive pest.

Aedes albopictus is a serious nuisance biter, but is also capable of transmitting dengue fever, Chikungunya, West Nile Virus and a host of other diseases. In the last few decades it has spread throughout the world where it has gone from bothersome pest to increasing health concern.

The Asian tiger mosquito is difficult to control using conventional methods rely; chemical pesticides harm other insects and become increasingly ineffective as mosquitoes develop resistance.

Organic War - Two Largest Milk Suppliers Sue Each Other

Jul 18 2012 | comment(s)

Organic food has terrific marketing. Despite being mega-corporations in a multi-billion dollar business, they have convinced their customers they are all small and unique and wholesome; kind of like Apple has managed to do with its technology products.

You know it is big business when companies sue each other over an employee and 'trade secrets'.

UCF 1.01: Earth-Sized Exoplanet - Maybe - Is Only 33 Light Years Away

Jul 18 2012 | comment(s)

A newly discovered exoplanet is two-thirds the size of Earth and a relatively close 33 light years away.

But is it really a planet? UCF 1.01 is being called an exoplanet candidate. The reason is because a measured mass is needed to verify that it is a planet, but even the most sensitive instruments currently available are unable to measure exoplanet masses this small.

UCF 1.01 is so close to its star it orbits in 1.4 days. The planet's surface likely reaches temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and it probably has no atmosphere. Its surface may be volcanic or molten.

Microbes Plus Organic Waste Means 73% Energy Recovery In Biofuels

Jul 18 2012 | comment(s)

Microbes have been evolving for millions of years to efficiently digest organic material. Now researchers are tapping these natural processes to maximize energy output from the breakdown and use it to power farms and even waste facilities.

One process, developed by researchers at Michigan State University, mimics the natural mechanism of waste digestion and generates 20 times more energy than existing processes by creating ethanol and hydrogen for fuel cells.

Methane Levels In California Get Some Respect

Jul 18 2012 | comment(s)

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, has been underrated in the quest to discuss carbon dioxide, but it shouldn't be - it has about 23 times the warming effect of CO2. And methane levels are at least one-and-a-half times higher in California than previously estimated, says a new study.

Researchers recently combined highly accurate methane measurements from a tower with model predictions of expected methane signals to revise estimated methane emissions from central California. They found that annually averaged methane emissions in California were 1.5 to 1.8 times greater than previous estimates, depending on the spatial distribution of the methane emissions.