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Daniella Martin Wants You To Eat Bugs

Daniella Martin Wants You To Eat Bugs

Jul 14 2011 | comment(s)

Pesky animal rights activists may complain if you eat veal but they can't complain if you eat larvae, right?    Those are bugs and people sitting in trees have to eat something while they keep the forest commission from clearing brush or removing dead trees to prevent wildfires.

The California State Fair is coming up in a few weeks.   It is earlier the last few years, because the old August dates were darn hot and with that sumbitch global warming it was only going to get hotter so they moved it back to July and, today, it is a balmy 70 degrees.   For residents of the once-hot Sacramento area, climate change has been a real boon, though drought in the South shows that they are not so lucky.
The Devil In The Digital? Winning And Losing Through The Modern Environmental Experience

The Devil In The Digital? Winning And Losing Through The Modern Environmental Experience

Jul 14 2011 | comment(s)

I’ve got to be honest.  Graduate student life comes with awesome perks: flexible schedules, fun-loving coworkers, and amazing travel opportunities.  But the green-eyed monster occasionally peers over my shoulder.
Sorry Ray Kurzweil, AI Hasn't Improved Much Since The 1960s

Sorry Ray Kurzweil, AI Hasn't Improved Much Since The 1960s

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

Is there a 'Singularity', an ascension of man being able to become machines or machines becoming sentient, coming in 2045?

Given the current state of artificial intelligence and robotics, that would only happen if we were able to put a man on the Moon in a relative time scale of 3 minutes.  In reality, selling books and tickets to conferences showing "Man + (Black Box Full Of Magic) = SINGULARITY" not much progress has been made in decades much less anything leading us to believe the drastic inflection point needed will be happening any time this century.
The robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks often begins speeches by reaching into his pocket, fiddling with some loose change, finding a quarter, pulling it out and twirling it in his fingers.
Radical Leftists Target Bio-Med Students

Radical Leftists Target Bio-Med Students

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

An activist website called Negotiation Is Over is urging its followers to attack scientists.  

Left-wing kooks are no different than the right wing kind, just their issues are different.   Instead of global warming, they are anti-vaccine, instead of human embryonic stem cells, they are anti-agriculture.  

One way fringe kooks on the left outdo their counterparts on the right is calls to violence.   They're even willing to pay students if they will target biomedical students who use animals in research.  Check this out:


Squid School Surprisingly Near Surface!

Squid School Surprisingly Near Surface!

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

Check out this photo, taken a few weeks ago in La Jolla, Southern California. What do you think is most striking about it?



Some people might be surprised by the sheer number of squid in the photo--but rest assured, that's quite normal. This is the California market squid, a gregarious creature that often travels in large shoals. (Or should I say schools? They certainly seem to be swimming in a coordinated manner.)
Women Fake It Less Than Men

Women Fake It Less Than Men

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

I just finished watching the Women's World Cup semifinal football match, USA versus France, and am currently preparing to watch Japan versus Sweden and an important difference is immediately noticeable about womens' matches compared to men's.

A lot less flopping.

If you are not up on complex technical sports jargon, flopping is when, after a minor collision, you fall down and grasp a body part with a look of excruciating pain on your face, milk the drama to see if it draws a penalty and then look indignantly at the opposing team while you bravely resume as if nothing was wrong.   If you don't watch soccer, think NBA.
Arctic Ice July 2011

Arctic Ice July 2011

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

Arctic Ice July 2011

For much of the written history of the Arctic, exceptional extents of open water were reported in terms of what the explorer, fisherman, whaler or sealer had previously experienced.  That would make such events likely every 20 to 30 years.  However, for each report of open ice in a specific area there is likely to be found in the archives a report from 180 degrees opposite across the pole of a greater than usual ice extent.
Dawn Redwood: Oregon's State Fossil

Dawn Redwood: Oregon's State Fossil

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

Metasequoia, a deciduous conifer, and one of the common fossils found in many of the Eocene sites of the Pacific northwest, flourished in Oregon's forests for millions of years. In honor of this long history, Oregon has named it their official state fossil. 
Goodbye Tuna?

Goodbye Tuna?

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

Recently, all species of scombrids and billfish have been assessed by the IUCN to determine their ranking on the Red List of Threatened Species. And for tuna specifically, the results weren't good at all. Five of eight species aren't doing well.

Critically endangered: Southern Bluefin (Thunnus maccoyii).
Endangered: Atlantic Bluefin (T. thynnus).
Vulnerable: Bigeye (T. obesus)
Near threatened: Yellowfin (T. albacares), Albacore (T. alalunga).


First Dimuon Decays Of B_s Mesons Observed By CDF ?

First Dimuon Decays Of B_s Mesons Observed By CDF ?

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

I was waiting for the announcement in the Fermilab seminar of next Friday, but apparently despite I am still a member I am not well enough informed of what happens inside CDF, the experiment at the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider of Fermilab. So the paper is now public, and you can read the news in the Cornell arxiv: CDF sees an excess of muon pairs which is compatible with originating from the decay of B_s mesons.
How To Activate A Supermassive Black Hole

How To Activate A Supermassive Black Hole

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

There were concerns among people who don't understand physics that the LHC might create a black hole and swallow the Earth.    Obviously in an infinite Universe anything can happen but the precautionary principle taken to such extremes is really only used by groups like anti-environment crusaders, pro-environment crusaders and also anti-vaccine people, etc.  In reality, the energy couldn't kill a fly (see Shut Down The LHC? I'd Rather Not Hurt A Fly).
Pasta Sieve Religious Head Cover In Driver License

Pasta Sieve Religious Head Cover In Driver License

Jul 13 2011 | comment(s)

Niko Alm has after a three year wait finally gotten permission to wear his religious head covering in his driver license photo - progress for religious freedom everywhere.


In Austria, a license or ID photo cannot show the person with her head covered, except if the person is religious, in which case law and order are not so important. Niko Alm, an entrepreneur and blogger, belongs to the holy church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which is the one and only true god, praise it and kill all infidels. Niko cannot possibly ascent to the one true Italian-mushroom sauce heaven if his driver license would show him naked. A pasta sieve must be worn.

Kickstarter Science Catches On

Kickstarter Science Catches On

Jul 12 2011 | comment(s)

Must be a zeitgeist thing.  Our own Ground Station Calliope kickstarter fundraiser succeeded, to help fund our Science 2.0 Project Calliope.  Now the NY Times is reporting that other scientists have also been using kickstarter to fund science.  They cite missions in the $4-15K range, and give it the catchy term 'substitutional funding'.
(Squid) Brains Are Actually Not Computers

(Squid) Brains Are Actually Not Computers

Jul 12 2011 | comment(s)

New neurological research, using, of course, the ever-popular giant axon of squid, shows that neurons are pretty darn clever at picking signal out of noise. And what's more, they're sensitive to context:
Neurons are often compared to transistors on a computer, which search for and respond to one specific pattern, but it turns out that neurons are more complex than that. They can search for more than one signal at the same time, and their choice of signal depends on what else is competing for their attention.
Take that, transistors! Neurons are way smarter than you.

Well, at least squid neurons are.
In A Bad Econony, Light Bulb Ban Loses Support

In A Bad Econony, Light Bulb Ban Loses Support

Jul 12 2011 | comment(s)

In 2007, with the economy chugging along, environmentalists believed light bulbs were killing the world.   Companies like General Electric (GE) and Royal Philips Electronics (PHG), two of the biggest light bulb producers, were happy to oblige and helped Congress develop a de facto incandescent ban.  The law didn't outright ban bulbs, it simply set a new standard only newfangled, more efficient bulbs could meet.

A lot has changed since 2007 - the replacement bulbs are either dangerous (CFL) or not very good (everything else) - and people have seen through the clever Energy Independence and Security Act name and realized they are going to be paying a lot more and accomplish little in the way of energy independence.
Spider News: Messy Webs and Tarantula Hearts

Spider News: Messy Webs and Tarantula Hearts

Jul 12 2011 | comment(s)

Good morning/afternoon/evening, and welcome to the Spider News. Today, we have two arachnid novelties for you.

Firstly, old age affects us all, even spiders. Researchers have found that, as spiders age, their webs become messier (see figure 1).



Figure 1: Web from a silver-sided sector spider (Zygiella x-notata) aged 17 days (a youngster) on the left, and from a spider aged 188 days (middle-aged) on the right.
(Credit: Mylène Atoneux, Nancy University) 
Julian Barbour Versus Minkowski And Me

Julian Barbour Versus Minkowski And Me

Jul 12 2011 | comment(s)

Julian Barbour is an independent theoretical physicist who has gained some attention of late. Minkowski is dead. From my soapbox here, I will channel Minkowski in this gentlemen’s disagreement. Links to Julian’s work will be provided, they are worthy of your time. Nothing I say against Barbour’s ideas are personal, they are all technical in nature, as is my way. I have a bullet with “The Nature of Time” written on it. At this moment, I am not sure if it will kill the paper. I will have to find out and report the result at the end of this blog.
Coffee and Catharsis - How are you helping?

Coffee and Catharsis - How are you helping?

Jul 12 2011 | comment(s)

Many of my clients are expressing deep fears about the future. They are concerned quite naturally about their families, personal finances, and so forth, but also about global affairs. I am pleasantly surprised that so many people are now keeping up with current events, but it does add another problematic dimension for my clients who are already overwhelmed with issues.

Without exception, they feel powerless with regard to decisions made behind closed doors by those in authority. As a therapist, my task is to help people learn how to help themselves.

Going Topless: The Loss Of Top Predators Drives Ecosystem Shifts

Going Topless: The Loss Of Top Predators Drives Ecosystem Shifts

Jul 11 2011 | comment(s)

I don’t care how long (or short) of a time you’ve spent lounging in the Stanford bubble. If you haven’t popped out yet to see a sea otter, I have an assignment for you: Drop everything and get to the coast. Charismatic fur balls await.

Today, sea otters are the poster children of cuddle appeal, but their endearing behaviors were lost on the fur hunters of the 1800s. Otter fur lined jackets (and the fur trade lined pockets), but soon otters no longer lined the Pacific Coast.

The sea otter, however, is a “keystone species” — its impact on our coastal ecosystems is disproportionately large compared to its natural abundance in the marine community — so its removal had profound effects that we only noticed recently, as the otter staged a dramatic return over the last 70 years.

'Artificial Molecules' -- Researchers Build Antenna For Light

'Artificial Molecules' -- Researchers Build Antenna For Light

Jul 11 2011 | comment(s)

Researchers are reporting the construction of what they term "artificial molecules" and say they can use the technology to engineer a new generation of nanomaterials that control and direct the energy absorbed from light.

Including an antenna that can build itself.

Traditional antennas increase the amount of an electromagnetic wave – such as a radio frequency – that is absorbed, and then funnel that energy to a circuit. These nanoantennas instead increased the amount of light that is absorbed and funneled it to a single site within their molecule-like complexes. This concept is already used in nature in light harvesting antennas, constituents of leaves that make photosynthesis efficient.