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10 Most Not-So-Puzzling Ancient Artifacts: The Grooved Spheres

10 Most Not-So-Puzzling Ancient Artifacts: The Grooved Spheres

Jun 18 2012 | comment(s)

I’ve seen this article several times now, and I meant to address it the first time, but then I got distracted by something shiny…er I mean work?

$1 Per Student Per Class - The Future Of Education?

$1 Per Student Per Class - The Future Of Education?

Jun 18 2012 | comment(s)

There's a lot of recent talk about open access in academia - taxpayers fund the bulk of academia in modern times so there isn't much benefit to a billion-dollar corporation charging a subscription fee for science research produced there.

But the university system itself, awash in money, new buildings and new employees after two decades of 'a college education is a right' mentality propped up by unlimited student loans, needs a reboot too. There may be a Science 2.0 solution for that in the works.
An International Call To Action To Alleviate Drug Shortages

An International Call To Action To Alleviate Drug Shortages

Jun 18 2012 | comment(s)

Society is in a tough spot. Drug companies are culturally vilified and routinely sued when things go bad - all in return for only a few years of profitability before anyone can make the new drugs they develop - the FDA is constantly under pressure to expedite new drugs to respond to patient needs and governments are increasing pressure and regulation.

 Small wonder there are fewer early stage drug companies and drug shortages.  The situation is even worse in Europe, both in their cultural resistance to modern science and anti-business climate.

India: “Bright Minds” Innovative Technical Paper Winners Contest Announced

India: “Bright Minds” Innovative Technical Paper Winners Contest Announced

Jun 18 2012 | comment(s)

The Aricent Group, a global innovation and technology services company, has announced the result of its annual innovation competition, the 'Bright Minds' Technical Paper Contest. The Bright Minds contest was an initiative rolled out by the company in 2010 to foster a culture of innovative thinking among engineering students in India, and to offer them a platform to present their original and innovative ideas. As part of the contest, every year, the company invites technical papers from engineering students across the country on topics such as Computer Science, Telecommunications, Electronics&Engineering, and Information Technology. The company receives thousands of ideas and the papers are evaluated by a panel of domain experts in the relevant fields. 

The Bones Of John The Baptist Found?

The Bones Of John The Baptist Found?

Jun 17 2012 | comment(s)

The coolest stuff regarding ancient religious history is not found in the Vatican or western Europe at all, it's in the East where a lot less modern growth took place.  There is more stuff that will be buried under the Ilisu dam in Turkey than in all of most countries farther west.  Almost every town in Turkey is a major archaeological site.

So it also goes with places like Bulgaria. I found a really wonderful Byzantine cross on a trip there, from the 18th century (unless you are doing it one time, to experience the paperwork and process of buying and bringing in an antique, I discourage you from doing so) and the place is littered with ancient monasteries and churches.
Transparent Solar Film Uses Tinted Windows To Generate Electricity

Transparent Solar Film Uses Tinted Windows To Generate Electricity

Jun 17 2012 | comment(s)

Heliatek GmbH, a technology company in the field of organic photovoltaics, has announced that its transparent solar films could be used to be integrated between the glass sheets of double glazed windows. These windows would look like tinted glass as the unique vapor deposition technology for the solar films allows for a homogeneous coating of the solar layer without any distracting patterns or irregularities.  

Good Luck Cutting Through Someone Else's Cognitive Dissonance - You Might As Well Be Compassionate

Good Luck Cutting Through Someone Else's Cognitive Dissonance - You Might As Well Be Compassionate

Jun 17 2012 | comment(s)

I was looking through the feeds on the autism blogs directory, as I do everyday, and reading the various thumbnails, clicking through on those blog posts that I thought would be helpful to read, and I was struck again by the diversity of bloggers--the various opinions, beliefs, and experiences of them, and how it can be a bit disconcerting to be hit with this huge spectrum (pun intended) all on one page. 
Higgs News ?!

Higgs News ?!

Jun 17 2012 | comment(s)

While Higgs rumors are appearing in blogs of the usual suspects, I cannot comment on those -and I decided it is better if I do not even link them here (I have grown wary of oversensitive reactions in my colleagues).

The only thing I think I can discuss with you here now is the predictions on the Higgs boson significance level produced by CMS in October 2010 - a couple of geological eras ago, that is. Those predictions can be trusted because 2011 data showed to be perfectly in line with them, both for the 95% CL limits and for the significance -of course the former are valid in the full mass range and provide more verification power than the single significance number, which is only valid if the Higgs boson exists and has a particular mass.
How Fast Do We Get Higgs Mass Plots From Raw Data ?

How Fast Do We Get Higgs Mass Plots From Raw Data ?

Jun 17 2012 | comment(s)

With the approach of Summer conferences -most notably, ICHEP, which alone has set a make-or-die deadline for the LHC experiments- physicists in ATLAS and CMS are frantically producing their results with data collected in 2012.
Nobody Got Pregnant From Eating Squid

Nobody Got Pregnant From Eating Squid

Jun 16 2012 | comment(s)

Honestly, media. *polishes obnoxious academic spectacles* Is it really that difficult to comprehend the difference between "inseminate" and "impregnate"?

On Thursday I reported that a woman's mouth had been inseminated by a squid she was eating. To be specific, squid spermatophores (packages of sperm) implanted themselves into her mucus membranes, and had to be removed by a doctor.
Culture War: Industry Scientists Are Unethical

Culture War: Industry Scientists Are Unethical

Jun 16 2012 | comment(s)

Advances in medical and surgical care are hard-won, requiring rigorous, carefully interpreted research and development. There is painstaking clinical work to translate basic discoveries into useful diagnostics, drugs, and devices. Despite the obastacles, the achievements made in the past half century are unmistakable: a 50 percent reduction in cardiovascular mortality despite an epidemic of obesity; a dramatically decreased cancer mortality rate; and the conversion of AIDS from a death sentence to survival with good life quality.
A Fly In The Mathematical Ointment

A Fly In The Mathematical Ointment

Jun 16 2012 | comment(s)

For about a day I had been trying to read Real Clear Science, particularly the article linked Evolution Debate: Blame Atheists.  Alas, every time I visited the site I got a message:
This site is temporarily down and we are working on restoring service. Sorry for the inconvenience.
It’s now back up, but in the interim I have taken the opportunity, since I run on OScar from Sesame Street Systems, to have a Grouch.  Fear not, North Americans, it is directed at my fellow Brits.
Changing Concept of University : 1946 to 2012

Changing Concept of University : 1946 to 2012

Jun 16 2012 | comment(s)

University of Rajasthan, which was the only university founded in the State of Rajputana in 1946 and is now known as Rajasthan, was meant for the entire Rajasthan population of around 20 million. Its constitution was framed in 1946 based on Gurukul philosophy;  the king will support education but not interfere in its functioning. Hence the highest body of the University i.e. syndicate, shall have 4 Government representative and one Director of College education and the rest will be from amongst the University system. 
The Descent of Religion: Its Evolution from Nurturing to Bullying...and Back!

The Descent of Religion: Its Evolution from Nurturing to Bullying...and Back!

Jun 15 2012 | comment(s)

I'm thoroughly impressed with "The Descent of Religion: Its Evolution from Nurturing to Bullying...and Back!" by Liz Carr-Harris.　 It is a singular work of research; fearless in its questioning of scientific consensus. I think Liz's choice of title is unfortunate.　 "The Descent of Religion" is a deceptive title. Her work is of such sweeping scope and originality, comparing it to books like "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris, or "The Faith Instinct" by Nicholas Wade is a disservice.　 Carr-Harris's book is of the same caliber as the profound just published "The Social Conquest of the Earth" by Edward O. Wilson.　

The Anti-GMO Campaign’s Dangerous War On Science

The Anti-GMO Campaign’s Dangerous War On Science

Jun 15 2012 | comment(s)

This November, Californians will vote on an initiative that would require any food containing ingredients derived from genetically modified crops to be labeled as such.

Backers of the “California Right To Know Genetically Engineered Food Act” are pitching it as a matter of providing information to consumers, who, they argue, “have a right to know what’s in the food we buy and eat and feed our children, just as we have the right to know how many calories are in our food, or whether food comes from other countries like Mexico or China.”

How does cancer actually kill you?

How does cancer actually kill you?

Jun 15 2012 | comment(s)

Cancer is scary, right?

One of the reasons that cancer is so viscerally frightening is that it is so tightly associated with death.

But how does cancer actually kill a person?

This may seem like an obvious question, but the answers were not so obvious even to me a cancer biologist and cancer survivor so I've done reading and it is actually quite interesting.
What Is Anti-Science?

What Is Anti-Science?

Jun 15 2012 | comment(s)

Too often we see the "anti-science" label being tossed around and invariably we get behind our respective barricades and prepare for the barrage of arguments thrown at each side.

However, the question we should be asking is why a different point of view should automatically be considered "anti-science".  After all, how is "anti-science" even manifest?  Is it simply the denial of facts?  Is it simply the denial of research?

I suppose that any of those might be sufficient to consider someone anti-science, yet for people to have an opposing opinion, doesn't it suggest that exactly the opposite has occurred?  That they have facts and research.  They simply don't agree with each other.
Anti-Shale Gas Activists

Anti-Shale Gas Activists "Study It To Death" Strategy Threatens Natural Gas Development

Jun 15 2012 | comment(s)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s rumored retreat on fracking shows just how powerful an anti-science, fear-based campaign can be. If reports are correct, Cuomo will restrict fracking to a few counties in which gas shale is far below the water table, and allow a veto to localities that are dominated by anti-fracking radicals. It's all in the name of ensuring the safety of drinking water, he purportedly believes--or protecting his political base.

Cuomo's decision validates the anti-frackers’ “study it to death” strategy. Their goal is to create the illusion that horizontal fracturing pollutes drinking water — even though the Environmental Protection Agency has publicly (if reluctantly) acknowledged that there is not one documented case of such pollution.

Rockets, Asteroids, Gold Rushes And ... Conferences?

Rockets, Asteroids, Gold Rushes And ... Conferences?

Jun 14 2012 | comment(s)

A Mojave rocket company, an asteroid hunter, and a web pundit walk into a conference.  The badge person says, "what is this some kind of joke?"

Okay, we gotta get to space somehow.  Here's what's new in the private space race industry.  What ties these 4 newsbits together is it's all about having fun.

SatMagazine (March 2012) reports
Bee Part of the Solution June 13th to 26th, Says Whole Foods

Bee Part of the Solution June 13th to 26th, Says Whole Foods

Jun 14 2012 | comment(s)

As part of their celebration of National Pollinators Week, Whole Foods Market wants to raise $180,000 to restore pollination habitats. For every organic cantaloupe sold at Whole Foods Market stores from June 13 to 26, they will donate 25 cents to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers a 1:1 match for all donations made to Xerces. 

Not sure how that last bit works but it tells me Science 2.0 needs a government lobbyist.