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Albrecht Von Haller – Views And Outcomes

Albrecht Von Haller – Views And Outcomes

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)


 Now here’s an interesting chap.
 
The Göttingen Academy of Sciences [1] was founded in 1751 with Albrecht von Haller (1708 – 1777) [2] as the main driving force in the setting it up.  He had very definite views on what an academy should be.  The historian Morris Kline writes:–

This Week's Topic:

Autism

Effects Of Autism Reversible?

Researchers studying the differential expression of microRNA say they may have discovered a way...

Arthur & Autism Planet With Indy

The PBSKids show "Arthur" ran an episode featuring a new character, Carl, who has Aspergers Syndrome...

Surging Autism Diagnoses Driven By Social Influence

The surging number of autism diagnoses is driven in part by social interaction between parents...

Autism And Vaccines: Why People Still Believe The Hype

Early last month, the now-famous paper by Dr Andrew Wakefield that supposedly linked vaccines to...

The Power Of The Brain Through The Window Of Savants

Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant and author of the recent book Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour...

Autism Epidemic? Please stop the insanity!

This study was released today, regarding the incidence of Autism in the population. According to...

Again, Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism

The evidence is in. The scientific community has reached a clear consensus that vaccines don’t...

Vaccine Wars: The Phantom Menace

It's been 9 months since I read Autism's False Prophets and participated in a discussion over at...

Vaccine/autism Link Gets Double Shot In The Arm

Parents and advocates who believe vaccines cause autism were dealt a double blow this week. On...

Autism And Schizophrenia Share Common Origin Says Researcher

Schizophrenia and autism probably share a common origin, according to Dutch researcher Annemie...

Progress In The Hunt For Autism Genes

Much of the coverage of autism in the media focuses on the arguments of advocates, scientists,...

Autism And Brain Scans: Snake Oil Or The Real Deal?

A segment on ABC’s Good Morning America May 19 caught my attention, so much so that I spent a...

Autism: Study Says Thimerosal Mercury Doesn't Have Time To Accrete In Baby Bodies

February’s issue of Pediatrics offers a study saying there is reason to rethink blaming the spike...

A Critique Of A Multiply-Published Article On Ice Sheet Collapse

A Critique Of A Multiply-Published Article On Ice Sheet Collapse

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

A Critique Of A Multiply-Published Article On Ice Sheet Collapse



An article in AIG News, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists Quarterly Newsletter No. 97 August 2009, purports to state that collapse of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is impossible.

In this critique I demonstrate the writers' use of straw man arguments and other unscientific methods to support their arguments.

I commence with the authors' abstract and conclusions.  The body of the text will be dealt with in due course.

Why the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets are Not Collapsing.
Cliff Ollier and Colin Pain

Abstract:
Energy self reliance, why make your own wind generators?

Energy self reliance, why make your own wind generators?

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

The US average wind speed is 12.5 mph.
If you double the wind speed you increase power potential by times 8.
If you double the diameter of your blades increase power potential by times 4.
 Last check on current average market prices I'd put solar at $10 (USD) per watt, wind at $1 per watt (if you buy rather than build, this is about why you should build).
 Those are some of the standard basics of wind electric generation.
 If I felt photovoltaic (aside from just assembly) was something I could build at home I'd likely write about that.Some background to the author of this blog:

Meditation on the Brain - a Podcast with Richard Davidson

Meditation on the Brain - a Podcast with Richard Davidson

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

This is an interview of Prof. Richard J. Davidson on Shrink Rap Radio, hosted by David Van Nuys, discussing his research on meditation and the brain. Davidson tells that his research shows that meditation has a beneficial effects on the mind and quantitative effects on brain functions. Even novice meditators show immediate changes, with experienced long term meditators showing more pronounced changes to their brainwave patterns. One thing he has noticed is that, given each individual starts with a slightly different brain structure, different meditation techniques have varying degrees of effects. One thing he would like to see in the future is a way to establish which technique is most suitable for each individual, without

The Third Life

The Third Life

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

“The Role of Abathur (the Third Life) in the Mandaean Story of Creation.”
A Brief Guide to Ignoring Bad Science Teachers

A Brief Guide to Ignoring Bad Science Teachers

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Much has been written about how inspirational teachers can turn students on to a subject they perhaps would otherwise have let drift away. But what do you do if you're really into a subject but have a poor teacher who is doing their best to turn you off?

I think many scientists show signs of their curiosity at an early age. They may not know exactly where they will end up but they know that they need to know. Whether it's a fascination with why the Moon doesn't fall to Earth, with how your tropical fish procreate or what your cat's dreaming about, the first step towards knowing is to ask.
'Flying Vaccinator': The Answer To Malaria?

'Flying Vaccinator': The Answer To Malaria?

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Genetic engineering may one day turn the Anopheles mosquito, the transmitter of malaria, into a natural 'flying vaccinator' for the disease, a new study in Insect Molecular Biology suggests.

Scientists have successfully generated a transgenic mosquito expressing the Leishmania vaccine within its saliva. Bites from the insect succeeded in raising antibodies, indicating successful immunization with the vaccine through blood feeding.

The research, led by Associate Professor Shigeto Yoshida from the Jichi Medical University in Japan, targets the saliva gland of the mosquitoes, the main vectors of human malaria.
Autism And Vaccines: Why People Still Believe The Hype

Autism And Vaccines: Why People Still Believe The Hype

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Early last month, the now-famous paper by Dr Andrew Wakefield that supposedly linked vaccines to the onset of Autism, was formally retracted by the Lancet, the journal that published it back in 1998. This was a monumental decision, considering it was the conclusions drawn from this paper that launched the firestorm of debate around the safety of vaccines, and likely the cause of the current vaccine crisis.
Water On Jupiter-Like Corot-9b?

Water On Jupiter-Like Corot-9b?

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

The newly discovered gas giant Corot-9b may have an interior that closely resembles those of Jupiter and Saturn in our own Solar System, according to a new paper published today in Nature.

Some evidence also suggest that the exoplanet, discovered last Spring, may also be temperate enough to allow the presence of liquid water.  

Corot-9b orbits its star every 95.274 days, a little longer than Mercury takes to go round the Sun. It is the first transiting planet to have both a longer period and a near-circular orbit. Its orbit is slightly elliptical but at closest approach to its parent star it reaches a distance of 54 million kilometers.
'Bystander Sexism' Affects How Women Think Of Men

'Bystander Sexism' Affects How Women Think Of Men

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

When men make sexist comments, they insult all women within earshot and negatively influence how they feel towards men in general, say researchers writing in Sex Roles.

The University of Connecticut team examined women's reactions to overhearing a catcall remark and, in particular, how observing a specific sexist incident impacts women's feelings and attitudes towards men.

They asked 114 undergraduate female students to watch a video and imagine themselves as bystanders to a situation where a man made either a sexist catcall remark ("Hey Kelly, your boobs look great in that shirt!") at another woman or simply greeted her ("Hey Kelly, what's up?").
Blocking GM-CSF Protein May Prevent Smoking-Induced COPD

Blocking GM-CSF Protein May Prevent Smoking-Induced COPD

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Blocking the protein Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) can reduce or prevent cigarette smoke-induced lung inflammation in mice and may lead to new treatments for smoke-related disease, specifically chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The findings appear in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Vocalizing Positive Emotions: Socially Learned Or Evolved?

Vocalizing Positive Emotions: Socially Learned Or Evolved?

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Humans use a wide range of cues, both verbal and non-verbal, to communicate different emotions.

But vocalizing some positive emotions may be a socially learned behavior, as opposed to a product of evolution, according to a new study in PNAS that looked at non-verbal emotional vocalizations in two different cultural groups.
Our Genes Don't Make Us Unique?

Our Genes Don't Make Us Unique?

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Our genes may not be the basis for human individuality, according to new studies in Science and Nature. The key may actually lie in the sequences that surround and control our genes.

The interaction of those sequences with a class of proteins, called transcription factors, can vary significantly between two people and are likely to affect our appearance, our development and even our predisposition to certain diseases.

The discovery suggests that researchers focusing exclusively on genes to learn what makes people different from one another have been looking in the wrong place.
Global Warming To Blame For Earlier Butterfly Emergence

Global Warming To Blame For Earlier Butterfly Emergence

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Butterflies are emerging over 10 days earlier in Spring than they did 65 years ago, and anthropogenic global warming is probably at fault, according to a study in Biology Letters.  

The study found that mean emergence date for adults of the Common Brown butterfly (Heteronympha merope) has shifted 1.6 days earlier per decade in Melbourne, Australia. Early emergence is causally linked with a simultaneous increase in air temperatures around Melbourne of approximately 0.14°C per decade, and this warming is known to be human-induced.
Dogs Came From The Middle East, Biologists Say

Dogs Came From The Middle East, Biologists Say

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Dogs likely originated in the Middle East, according to a new genetic analysis published this week in Nature.

The study reports genetic data from more than 900 dogs from 85 breeds and more than 200 wild gray wolves (the ancestor of domestic dogs) worldwide, including populations from North America, Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. Researchers used molecular genetic techniques to analyze more than 48,000 genetic markers.

The data include samples from Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran — but they have not pinpointed a specific location in the Middle East where dogs originated.
Tree Rings Reveal Fire History Of Ancient Sequoias

Tree Rings Reveal Fire History Of Ancient Sequoias

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

A 3,000-year record from 52 of the world's oldest Sequoia trees shows that California's western Sierra Nevada was drought-ridden and often on fire from 800 to 1300, according to a new study published in Fire Ecology.

During those 500 years, known as the Medieval Warm Period, extensive fires burned through parts of the Giant Forest at intervals of about 3 to 10 years. Any individual tree was probably in a fire about every 10 to 15 years.

Knowing how giant sequoia trees responded to a 500-year warm spell in the past is important, the authors say, because climate change will probably subject the trees to such a warm, dry environment again.
Evolution + Creation = Both True?

Evolution + Creation = Both True?

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

I've read 3 Bibles cover to cover, and, I am a science addict.
I hear often about Creation verses Evolution, Religions seeking to disprove Evolution, and Evolution seeming to represent disproving creation. I would like give some time (though not equal in the stated environment) to discus a third possibility, that both, are describing the truth.
 So I would like to introduce a hypothesis inclusive of both, to post the hypothesis, with evidence that supports it, and let that stand on its own merit.

Understanding Climate : #3 - Tilting At Seasons

Understanding Climate : #3 - Tilting At Seasons

Mar 17 2010 | comment(s)

Understanding Climate : #3 - Tilting At Seasons


The tilt of the earth's axis gives us our seasons.

But not in an obvious way.


Understanding climate science requires a cross-disciplinary approach.  This is the second part of the mainly astronomical section.  In part 2, I introduced the idea of, in a manner of speaking, building a model of our earth-moon-sun system.  Here I continue with a discussion of seasons and their primary astronomical causes. 
The Cost Of Biological Entropy Management

The Cost Of Biological Entropy Management

Mar 17 2010 | comment(s)



Information processing and entropy management - that's what organisms are about, right? Information and entropy are terms that get people excited, and yet it's extremely difficult to integrate formal ideas about information, free energy, entropy, etc. (much of this from modern statistical mechanics) into a meaningful biological framework. People (including myself) love to toss around terms like entropy and information, but in most cases I have encountered, efforts to apply these concepts to molecular/cellular biology are hopelessly vague and unhelpful. Once you get beyond the level of individual proteins in biology, it's difficult to apply some of the traditional concepts of physical chemistry.