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Muslim Chic - London Designer Helps Islamic Culture Get Fashionable

Muslim Chic - London Designer Helps Islamic Culture Get Fashionable

Jan 11 2009 | comment(s)

London South Bank University designer Sarah Elenany says there is a lack of fashionable clothing that meets Islamic cultural requirements so she has launched an eponymous clothing line that unites urban chic with Islamic culture.   Elenany, 24, calls her new label ‘Elenany’ and says she has drawn inspiration from Islamic art and combined it with contemporary styling for a truly innovative brand.
Paleo vs. Neo Carbs (not Cons)

Paleo vs. Neo Carbs (not Cons)

Jan 11 2009 | comment(s)

Dr. Lam has a post on the link between sugar and all the ills of humanity. While I’m certainly for a low sugar diet (and the proscriptions in the post are largely fine), he brings up some points that are just plain weird.

In particular, he quotes (favorably) Robert Crayhon, the dude who created the “Paleo Diet”, in his definitions of what Crayhon calls paleocarbs and neocarbs (no, a neocarb is not a description of Karl Rove):

Pharmacological Agent May Treat Cocaine Addiction

Pharmacological Agent May Treat Cocaine Addiction

Jan 10 2009 | comment(s)

Cocaine is one of the most abused illicit substances in the United States. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), there are 35.3 million people in the US age 12 or older that have used cocaine and there were 977,000 new users of cocaine in 2006.
How do you keep track of comments?

How do you keep track of comments?

Jan 10 2009 | comment(s)

We're always trying to keep the 'footprint' of the site pretty small while maintaining as much functionality as possible.    You've all seen 'new' versions of lots of sites that seem to add a bunch of whiz-bang stuff that developers fell in love with but for most people they take away from the speed and ease-of-use of the site.

Comments are one of those areas where you can have too much or not enough so it's better to just try things and ask what you think.    As an experiment we have added back email notifications for comments but I'll explain in some more detail all the ways you can decide what comments you want and how you want them.

First, by default your Comment Tracker in the upper right:
Sex, The Mosquito And Dengue Fever

Sex, The Mosquito And Dengue Fever

Jan 10 2009 | comment(s)

Dengue fever is a nasty disease found all over the tropics, with names like break-bone fever referring to the severity of the pain it causes.  It is carried mostly by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, but also by related species.  I have just read three reports on the BBC science site of techniques aimed at controlling the fever by attacking the mosquito in its sex life.
Ecstasy Improves Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment, Say Norwegian Researchers

Ecstasy Improves Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment, Say Norwegian Researchers

Jan 10 2009 | comment(s)

People who have survived severe trauma such as events during war, torture or sexual assault can experience after-effects, a condition called posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The symptoms may include anxiety, uncontrolled emotional reactions, nightmares, intrusive memories, sleep and concentration difficulties, evasion of situations that resemble the trauma, and feelings of shame or even  amnesia.

For many, the condition fades away with time but for some PTSD is a chronic condition that needs treatment, which typically involves drugs that help with anxiety and depression and/or psychotherapy.
Darwin's Dilemma Of 1859 Gets A Solution, Say Paleobiologists

Darwin's Dilemma Of 1859 Gets A Solution, Say Paleobiologists

Jan 10 2009 | comment(s)

A solution to the puzzle which came to be known as ‘Darwin’s Dilemma’ has been uncovered by scientists at the University of Oxford in a paper published in the Journal of the Geological Society. 

‘To the question of why we do not find rich fossiliferous deposits belonging to these…periods prior to the Cambrian system, I can give no satisfactory answer’, Charles Darwin wrote in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life in 1859, summarizing what came to be known as ‘Darwin’s Dilemma’ – the lack of fossils in sediment from the Precambrian (c. 4500 – 542 Mya).
The GPS You Already Own - Your Brain

The GPS You Already Own - Your Brain

Jan 10 2009 | comment(s)

Orientation is a puzzle to neuroscience researchers and ever more puzzling to us.   If you've ever been lost, or even just in a strange place, you know the feeling of mild panic.  But once you get your bearings, that feeling goes away.   

Disorientation is unpleasant but our brain quickly sorts it out.  Some researcher suggests that animals and young children mainly rely on geometric cues (e.g. lengths, distances, angles) to help them get reoriented while adults can also make use of feature cues (e.g. color, texture, landmarks) in the surrounding area.

Your brain has two methods to compile detail and help you regain orientation, a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS).   But the question for psychologists is which method do we use more often?
The Desegregation Battle You Never Knew Existed - SAT Testing In The 1950s

The Desegregation Battle You Never Knew Existed - SAT Testing In The 1950s

Jan 10 2009 | comment(s)

Many of the battles to desegregate buses, water fountains and colleges were fought in public but some were virtually unknown and are just now getting attention.  

A new University of Georgia study reveals how two men traveled the Deep South, facing hostility and risking violence, to ensure that students received fair and impartial treatment when it came to standardized testing, an important barrier to getting into many universities even then.
Acoustic Vector Sensor to Improve Underwater Communication

Acoustic Vector Sensor to Improve Underwater Communication

Jan 10 2009 | comment(s)


 Today's underwater acoustic communication relies on scalar sensors to measure the pressure of the acoustic field. However, "a vector sensor is capable of measuring important non-scalar components of the acoustic field such as the particle velocity, which cannot be obtained by a single scalar pressure sensor" according to Ali Abdi, PhD, associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at NJIT.[1]
Deadline coming up to apply for time on TeraGrid distributed network of computers

Deadline coming up to apply for time on TeraGrid distributed network of computers

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

I got this notification from the NSF so I thought I would pass it along - obviously I didn't write it but it's not something we would put in an article and it's too long for a corkboard message.  

***

You have until January 15, 2009 to apply for allocations of high-performance computer time and storage resources that are available through the TeraGrid for the allocation period of April 1, 2009, through March 31, 2010.
Book Swapping: Reuse, Recycle, and Rediscover

Book Swapping: Reuse, Recycle, and Rediscover

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

Once upon a time, I worked in an office that had a beat-up, steel bookcase in the break room.  This was our unofficial lending library, where anyone could drop off a book they had read and were willing to part with, and swap it for another selection on the shelf that had been left by someone else. 

The concept is a simple one, and probably still exists today on bookshelves in buildings across the country.  But the next generation of the lending library is here.  And now you can browse available books - as well as movies, music, and games - from bookshelves far beyond just those found in your local neighborhood or office.
An -ometer for everything?

An -ometer for everything?

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

Here at the University of Reading, the good folks of the Association for Science Education have been holding their annual conference, and RU staff members like myself are invited to participate.

The event manifests itself by an exhibition marquee taking up the larger part of our central lawn, and various traders and institutions are plying their wares.  One which caught my eye was
a Mobile Science Lab – Data logging & computing in a single product
with 65 varieties of probes: humidity, temperature, oxygen for starters.  The brochure describes it as a


  • Student computer with built-in data logger, removing logger/PC communication problems (I like that aspect!!)

Now Obesity Is Caused By The Recession Too?

Now Obesity Is Caused By The Recession Too?

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

Adam Drewnowski, director of the Nutrition Sciences Program at the University of Washington in Seattle,  says that an ongoing recession will lead to even more obesity.    Drewnowski has a PhD in Psychology but is also Professor of Epidemiology and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine.  That's a broad range of expertise for any scientist, and I respect that, but in the nearly two years since Scientific Blogging and our cadre of my favorite science bloggers has been in existence we've had a lot of articles discussing the causes of obesity- and recession may not be the silliest, but it is top five.
Picture: Sundog

Picture: Sundog

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

SundogPicture: Sundog on the right, the Sun on the left.

Picture was taken in Finland, Lahti  3.1.2008. Sundogs exist, when there is ice in atmosphere which reflects the Sun light. The phenomenon is not that rare, but usually you do not have camera with you. This one was taken with mobile phone.
Science vs. Speculation on the Origins of Life

Science vs. Speculation on the Origins of Life

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

"Raw materials were not an issue" for the evolution of the first life on earth, argues Henderson Cleaves, a researcher at the Carnegie Institution, quoted in Carl Zimmer's Science essay on origins of life research (subscription required for full text). There is good reason to believe that there were plenty of organic compounds floating around on the earth 4 billion years ago. The big problem, as Zimmer notes, is how you get from the primordial soup, Darwin's "warm little pond", to an organized, self-reproducing system.
MYA Defies The Credit Crunch For An Uplifting Start To 2009

MYA Defies The Credit Crunch For An Uplifting Start To 2009

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

LEEDS, England, January 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- 1st - 7th January 2009 Sees 25% Increase in Figures From Last Year!

MYA Cosmetic Surgery, one of the UK's leading cosmetic surgery providers, has reported a staggering 25% increase in enquiries compared to the same period last year. MYA looked at figures from the 1st - 7th January 2009 and compared them to the previous year. These figures support statements made last year from various companies in the industry that the current economic situation is having little or no impact in the demand for information, consultations made and cosmetic surgery procedures booked. In further support of this MYA also reports an increase in booked surgery in December 2008 compared to December 2007.

New Year: New Start! Earn Hard Cash And Beat The Crunch With Your Own Internet Business In 2009

New Year: New Start! Earn Hard Cash And Beat The Crunch With Your Own Internet Business In 2009

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

LONDON, January 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

Looking for an extra source of income? Need a second job as the credit crunch bites? Start earning hard cash now on your own website, selling whatever you want with your own secure online shop.

Maurel Prom: Prudent Cash Management

Maurel Prom: Prudent Cash Management

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

PARIS, January 9 /PRNewswire/ -- In light of the turbulence that has hit US financial markets with global repercussions, Maurel Prom has decided to reassure its shareholders about its choice of investments.

A cautious approach has protected the company from the recent troubles. However, in such a difficult environment, the company will be pursuing a prudent policy in 2009.

Further information: http://www.maureletprom.com

Halcyon Software Launches Job Scheduler V 4.0

Halcyon Software Launches Job Scheduler V 4.0

Jan 09 2009 | comment(s)

LONDON, January 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Halcyon Software has today announced the launch of the latest version of Job Scheduler systems management application for the IBM System i range of servers. Job Scheduler v 4.0 is designed to enable systems operators of all levels to create and run advanced scheduling patterns tailored to suit a company's specific business operations. V6R1 compliant and including advanced FTP scripting language, Job Scheduler v 4.0 also offers automated conversion from the proprietary JBA Job Scheduler to Halcyon's more versatile equivalent making it the most flexible yet robust product of its kind currently on the market. New additions enable multiple dependencies, allowing the user to submit jobs which spawn and monitor other jobs in their own entities.