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The Stuff From Which We Are Made

The Stuff From Which We Are Made

May 06 2012 | comment(s)

The medium in which light propagates is space. This space can curve. The curvature is not static. So, this space moves. Its behavior can be analyzed by a kind of fluid dynamics. Let us call this method quantum fluid dynamics. It differs from conventional fluid dynamics in the medium that is treated. In conventional fluid dynamics this is a gas or a fluid. Fluid dynamics concerns density distributions and currents. In quantum fluid dynamics these are space density distributions and space current density distributions. They can be combined in quaternionic distributions, where the real part is the space density distribution and the imaginary part is the space current density distribution.

What Is Entropy?

What Is Entropy?

May 06 2012 | comment(s)

Entropy. A subject that comes back again and again and again and again and again in this blog. And so does the question in my inbox: "what exactly is entropy?" On the internet you can find a plethora of answers to this question. The quality of the answers ranges from 'plain nonsense' to 'almost right'.
What Is 'Real' Scientific Understanding? And Does It Matter?

What Is 'Real' Scientific Understanding? And Does It Matter?

May 05 2012 | comment(s)

Smug supposedly 'pro-science' people who seem to embrace science primarily to ridicule religious people don't have all that much science understanding.  Instead, they believe science, including evolution.  Most of them know very little about adaptive radiation or any mechanism of evolution.

Fundamentalism does not just happen among religious types. But most people are not fundamentalists for or against anything, we accept science because a world made up of natural laws makes more sense than one made up of arbitrary (and conflicting) supernatural ones.
Uncle Percy’s Adventures in Space Set To Launch

Uncle Percy’s Adventures in Space Set To Launch

May 05 2012 | comment(s)

The wonders of the solar system are now on display for young kids in the new animated series “Uncle Percy’s Adventures in Space!” Geared to kids aged 4 to 8, the 11-part series is produced by Lowell Observatory.

Created to further Lowell’s educational outreach mission, the series takes kids to the eight major planets, the Sun, the Moon, and, of course, Pluto. In each episode, an animated version of Percival Lowell and a robotic assistant named Miss Kitty travel from the Observatory’s campus to study these solar-system objects in a spaceship version of Lowell’s car, a functioning 1911 Stevens-Duryea nicknamed “Big Red”.
Lung Cancer - Even If You Can't Prevent It, There May Be A Better Way To Kill It

Lung Cancer - Even If You Can't Prevent It, There May Be A Better Way To Kill It

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Among cancer deaths worldwide, lung cancer is the leader. 

It isn't just the tumor cells, the growth of blood vessels controls tumors development and blood vessel growth is controlled by several signalling molecules. Scientists have discovered a molecule, phosphodiesterase PDE4, that plays a key role in this process and they have succeeded in reducing tumor growth in their experiments by blocking it.
Can texting be permanently harming our culture?

Can texting be permanently harming our culture?

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Teenage youngsters around the world are rapidly evolving their communication habits with peers. This modern form of communications bypasses the 70,000 years of gene-culture coevolution that developed our syntatic cultural innovations from early man. Recent evidence has shown that the brain goes through a remodelling process during adolescence. It is possible that neural plasticity facilitates the development of social cognitive skills required during the period of adolescence. Human communication is informed by gestures, voice intonation, and significantly by facial expression. Non-verbal communication signals enable important aspects of trust between those in a dialog. Without these feedback signals the only basis for trust is previous interactions that proved to be reliable.
Astronomers: Paparazzi With Brains

Astronomers: Paparazzi With Brains

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Stars live for a long time - millions of years - but near the end of their lives, some massive stars go through what astronomers call the yellow supergiant phase.

Because the timeframe is so short, cosmically, witnessing a yellow supergiant phase is rare - almost as rare as a Kardashian staying married when ratings slip.  Like with celebrity relationships, if you want to witness the big meltdown you have to stay vigilant in astronomy. And keep your camera running.
'World's Highest Whisky Tasting' Broadcast Live From Mt. Everest Base Camp

'World's Highest Whisky Tasting' Broadcast Live From Mt. Everest Base Camp

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

On Thursday 10th May 2012 at 7PM (BST), the "Walking with the Wounded" Mt. Everest team will take part in the world's highest ever Whisky Tasting event. 

 The broadcast will take place live from Everest Base Camp at 5,364 meters, where the team will 'nose' and 'taste' a selection of Glenfiddich's finest single malt reserves. They will be joined by a  panel of guests live from The London Stock Exchange for no reason I can figure out, other than that stockbrokers love free booze. 
Rebellatrix: Ancient Canadian Killer Coelacanth

Rebellatrix: Ancient Canadian Killer Coelacanth

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

The iconic Coelacanth are fish well-known as ‘living fossils’. Coelacanths were thought to have died out with the dinosaurs and then a living one was caught off the coast of South Africa in 1938, sending waves of excitement throughout the scientific world. 
Update : Psychoacoustics Of Mongolian Gerbils

Update : Psychoacoustics Of Mongolian Gerbils

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

There are new clues in the quest for a fully coherent theory of the perception and neural representation of size-variant human vowels in the Mongolian gerbil.

Previous investigations in the US (see: Science 2.0, Beachcombing in Academia, February 15th 2012) found that Mongolian gerbils can easily be trained to recognise vowel sounds in human speech.
ClinicalTrials.gov Registered Trials Weak When It Comes To Size And Methodology

ClinicalTrials.gov Registered Trials Weak When It Comes To Size And Methodology

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Clinical studies, the central means by which preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies are evaluated,  that were registered between 2007-2010 were dominated by small, single-center trials and contained significant heterogeneity (different in nature, difficult to compare) in methodological approaches, including the use of randomization, blinding, and data monitoring committees, according to an analysis in JAMA. 
Pseudopulex Jurassicus: Giant Insects Annoyed Dinosaurs Also

Pseudopulex Jurassicus: Giant Insects Annoyed Dinosaurs Also

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Giant flea-like animals, possibly the oldest of their type ever discovered, bit creatures much larger than they are 165 million years ago - and lived to talk about it.

These flea-like animals, were similar to modern fleas but 10 times the size of a flea you might find crawling on your family dog – with a proboscis and an extra-painful bite to match.  Dinosaurs were likely not amused.
Scientists Thought Clovis Hunters Were First To Cross From The Arctic To America. They Were Wrong.

Scientists Thought Clovis Hunters Were First To Cross From The Arctic To America. They Were Wrong.

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

For most of the past 50 years, archaeologists thought they knew how humans arrived in the New World. At the end of the last ice age, sea levels dropped and big-game hunters living in eastern Siberia followed their prey across the Bering land bridge and into Alaska. Then they swept across the unpopulated continent. Archaeologists called these presumed pioneers the Clovis culture, after distinctive stone tools were found at sites near Clovis, New Mexico, in the 1920s and 1930s.

Any evidence of humans in the New World before the Clovis time was dismissed, sometimes harshly. That was the case with a Washington-state mastodon kill first described around 30 years ago but then largely ignored.
Red Brains, Blue Brains: Republicans Are Stupid - The Stupid Premise Of A Stupid Book

Red Brains, Blue Brains: Republicans Are Stupid - The Stupid Premise Of A Stupid Book

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

“Let’s play “Jeopardy.” Round One: Science Literacy. Category: Evolution. For $500: Which is the largest demographic group to reject Darwin’s theory of evolution?”

Embryo Brains Can Wake Earlier Than Previously Thought

Embryo Brains Can Wake Earlier Than Previously Thought

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

A new imaging study shows the brains of embryonic chicks can 'wake' long before chicks are ready to hatch out of their eggs - but it took loud, meaningful sounds. Playing meaningless sounds wasn't enough to rouse their brains.

As modern medicine continues to push back the gestational age at which prematurely born infants can reliably survive, pediatricians have worried about the effects of stimulating brains that are still 'under construction'. It turns out that,like adult brains, embryo brains also have neural circuitry that monitors the environment to selectively wake the brain up during important events.
The Tiniest Squid Is Also The Winningest Squid

The Tiniest Squid Is Also The Winningest Squid

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

I love four things about this story.

First: there is an All England squid catching championship. Did you know that? I did not know that.

Second: the weather this year was so bad the competitors were almost completely skunked. Almost.

Third: This is the cutest trophy shot I have EVER SEEN.


Photo: Robin Howard/BNPS
Ron Paul, Libertarians And...Scientists?

Ron Paul, Libertarians And...Scientists?

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

A surprising number of scientists defy the 'liberal' stereotype and are more libertarian than they are given credit for (including by conservatives and liberals) - no surprise there, liberal and libertarian derive from the same root word for freedom and freedom is essential to quality science.

Writing on PolicyMic.com, Cameron English interviews RealClearScience editor Dr. Alex Berezow, who argues that scientists and Ron Paul have a lot in common.  Not a shock, Paul had a good showing among academics.  
Being An Unruly Kid May Be A Mental Disorder

Being An Unruly Kid May Be A Mental Disorder

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

It's been said that science fiction can sometimes turn into science fact.

In that same vein, it may be that stories from The Onion (More U.S. Children Being Diagnosed With Youthful Tendency Disorder) may one day become part of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Find The Winning Move

Find The Winning Move

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

To the couple of positions I posted yesterday from the Chess Tournament I played this weekend, let me add one I played on round II, when I was white against Fausto Scali, the blind player. The position arose from the Advance variation of the French defense (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5), which however we reached with a transposed move-order (1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.e5). In the position below, black has just played an inaccuracy in an already slightly worse queenless middlegame:


Should You Read Science Press Releases Or Science Papers?

Should You Read Science Press Releases Or Science Papers?

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

We carry some press releases on Science 2.0 and of course that is what Science Codex in our sidebar is. It's been an intentional effort since the communications arm of Science 2.0 began in 2006. The first, and most important reason, for that is because we think the audience is smart and don't need journalists putting context to most stories. Our audience just wants to know first so if something looks interesting, it will hit this page on the minute the embargo lifts. Everything else is written by scientists or at least (mostly) knowledgeable people(1).