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Biofuels production and future perspective

Biofuels production and future perspective

Dec 03 2009 | comment(s)

Energy is a crucial and vital ingredient for the modern development of economic activities of our society. Biofuel is a locally-available source of energy that not only can provide energy to meet the increased energy demand derived from the economic development of developing countries, but also contributes to climate change mitigation and rural development. Forests and trees as well as agriculture activities provide 14% of the total world primary energy used. For developing countries, wood energy is of considerably greater importance than in industrialized countries -about 15% of their energy needs come from woody biofuel (FAO, WEIS, 2000). However industrialized countries depend much more heavily on fossil fuels with only 2% of their energy demand coming from wood.
CIW Hydrogen Compound With Xenon Remarkable For New Methods And Materials In A Hyrogen Economy

CIW Hydrogen Compound With Xenon Remarkable For New Methods And Materials In A Hyrogen Economy

Dec 03 2009 | comment(s)

Podcast Teaser: Why Rationality?

Podcast Teaser: Why Rationality?

Dec 02 2009 | comment(s)

Dear readers, Rationally Speaking is soon going to be (also) a podcast, produced by New York City Skeptics, and co-hosted by Julia Galef and yours truly. Before each (initially biweekly, starting at the end of January) episode we will publish a “teaser” like the one below, introducing the topic of that episode and inviting comments from our readers. Your comments will provide us with additional food for thought, and the most interesting ones will be read and discussed during the show.
Unicorn Tentacles!

Unicorn Tentacles!

Dec 02 2009 | comment(s)

So my friend's setting up her wireless network and asks me about names, and I randomly spout off the phrase "unicorn tentacles". Cause that's a great name for a wireless network.

Then I started wondering if it might be a googlewhack. Of course, knowing the internet, that possibility shouldn't have even crossed my mind. Netfolk are way too obsessed with these kinds of things. (Links go to unicorn stuff, but you can find your own tentacles.)
Calotropis procera is a „spreading shrub or small tree with medicinal properties

Calotropis procera is a „spreading shrub or small tree with medicinal properties

Dec 02 2009 | comment(s)

Dietmar Brandes (2005): Calotropis procera on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Fuerteventura.

NSF Mosaic's 2-decade archive of science

NSF Mosaic's 2-decade archive of science

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

Two things I like are open research and seeing my tax dollars get used effectively.  The National Science Foundation (NSF) just did both in one swoop.  As reported in detail on NASW, over two decades of earlier NSF work is now available online.  The magazine Mosaic just released "An on-line archive of articles published in The National Science Foundation’s flagship magazine from 1970 to 1992."
If Stars Wars characters were on Facebook...

If Stars Wars characters were on Facebook...

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

If Darth Vader friend-requested you and you clicked "Ignore," do you think he would know? I don't think I'd take that chance...

Are You SAD? Updates On Seasonal Affective Disorder

Are You SAD? Updates On Seasonal Affective Disorder

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

The days are getting shorter, and it's dark out when you leave work. If you look out your window at 5 pm and it's dark - I'm not sure how it is on the West Coast, but here on the East Coast this is the case - it can be rather disheartening. Most people sigh and go about their business, but for about 6% of Americans (18 million people), the darkness of the fall and winter months mean depressed mood, increased anxiety, fatigue, increased need for sleep, decreased energy, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, loss of interest and desire to be alone, increased craving for sweets, thoughts of death or suicide - symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Unlocked Key Mechanism Behind Breast Cancer Metastases

Unlocked Key Mechanism Behind Breast Cancer Metastases

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

Abnormally high levels of P-cadherin – an adhesion molecule that enables cells to bind together – occur in about a third of all breast cancers and are associated with poor prognosis. Portuguese researchers , writing in the journal Oncogene1, found that the reason why these cancers are more aggressive is because excessive P-cadherin changes the cancer cells’ internal organization, making them mobile and invasive (invasiveness is the capacity to cross biological barriers such as membranes). Both these characteristics allow the formation of metastases - which is the spread of cancer cells from the original site of the tumour to other parts of the body - increasing the disease aggressiveness and explaining the poor prognoses associated with P-cadherin.
Taking Aspirin, Tylenol Could Decrease Effectiveness Of H1N1 Vaccine

Taking Aspirin, Tylenol Could Decrease Effectiveness Of H1N1 Vaccine

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

Although the H1N1 vaccine is generally believed to be safe and effective, researchers from the University of Missouri have uncovered evidence that taking over-the-counter pain relievers, like aspirin and Tylenol, can reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine because they inhibit the normal function of enzymes that help regulate the immune system.

 The role of these enzymes, called COX enzymes, is not yet understood completely, and
medications that inhibit them may have adverse side effects. Recent research has discovered that drugs that inhibit COX enzymes, such as COX-2, have an impact on the effectiveness of vaccines. This new research indicates that inhibiting COX-1, which is present in tissues
How Do You Treat Cancer? Fool It Into Committing Suicide

How Do You Treat Cancer? Fool It Into Committing Suicide

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

Cancer researchers at the University of Oklahoma have found a way to turn ineffective new cancer drugs into deceptive cancer-killers. By using a patented chemical compound called SHetA2, the researchers tricked cancer cells into responding to new treatments and committing suicide. Their new study appears in the journal Gynecologic Oncology.

"This discovery means that we can use our non-toxic cancer prevention pill to improve treatment for people who already have cancer," said Doris Mangiaracina Benbrook, Ph.D., principal investigator on the project. "All studies to date have not found any side effects of taking our drug, giving hope that we can prevent cancer in healthy people, and improve treatment for cancer patients, without increasing toxicity."
Public's Foreign Policy Opinions Based On White House Rhetoric

Public's Foreign Policy Opinions Based On White House Rhetoric

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

Political scientists from the University of Missouri say that the general public knows very little about foreign policy, and what they do know is based primarily on "rhetoric" from whatever president occupies the White House.

They also suggest that plainly stated, easy-to-understand foreign policy explanations from presidential administrations are likely to receive public support, while complicated, convoluted policy explanations are likely to face greater public skepticism. The findings are published in Political Research Quarterly.
People Who Hate Their Government Kill Other People, Historian Claims

People Who Hate Their Government Kill Other People, Historian Claims

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

According to one historian, the anti-government rallies that made their way across the country last summer, known as tea parties, may explain more about Americans than their views on high taxes and gun control.

 Ohio State University historian Randolph Roth claims that the distrust of government on display at the tea parties earlier this year has appeared sporadically throughout America's history and may be linked to homicide rates. In short, when Americans begin routinely complaining about how they hate their government and don't trust their leaders, they commit more murders.
Facebook Profiles Reveal Accurate Personality Portraits

Facebook Profiles Reveal Accurate Personality Portraits

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

Contrary to the widely held assumption that people use facebook and other social networking sites to make idealized impressions of themselves, a new psychology study suggests that facebook and myspace profiles are actually utilized for genuine social interaction and portray accurate personality images as a result.

To conduct the study, the researchers collected 236 profiles of college-aged people from the United States (facebook) and Germany (StudiVZ, SchuelerVZ). The researchers used questionnaires to assess the profile owners' actual personality characteristics as well as their
ideal-personality traits (how they wished to be). The personality traits included: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness.
A Little Stress Could Speed Recovery After Surgery

A Little Stress Could Speed Recovery After Surgery

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

The right kind of stress response in the operating room could lead to quicker recovery for patients after knee surgery, according to a new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. The results could be used to develop methods for predicting how well patients will fare after they leave the hospital.
SOME POTENTIAL PLANTS FOR BIO-ENERGY

SOME POTENTIAL PLANTS FOR BIO-ENERGY

Dec 01 2009 | comment(s)

SOME POTENTIAL PLANTS FOR BIO-ENERGY ASHWANI KUMAR AND AMIT KOTIYA Bio-Technology Lab,Department of Botany University of Rajasthan, Jaipur - 302 004 Energy Plantation Demonstration project and Biotechnology Center. Email. msku31@yahoo.com
Don't Ghettoize Innovation

Don't Ghettoize Innovation

Nov 30 2009 | comment(s)

This isn't news anymore (see here, and here), but Bruce Alberts, Editor-in-Chief of Science has weighed in on the out-of-whack system of incentives in the biomedical sciences:
Avoiding The Easy Way In Science

Avoiding The Easy Way In Science

Nov 30 2009 | comment(s)

Our neurological structures are made mainly for survival; curiosity (a main tool for living) and its satisfaction are deeply inserted, by evolutionary genetics, into our central nervous system because of the need to find solutions to make sure survival. You can react in a rush moment like you never thought before, in order of the life maintenance, and until later think about the efficacy of your instinctive reaction. So our brain works to find solutions to the daily challenges of life, like most of the living species do so.


'Psychological Contagion of Myth and Suspicion'

'Psychological Contagion of Myth and Suspicion'

Nov 30 2009 | comment(s)


A perspective piece by Danielle Ofri of the NYU School of Medicine, in last week's New England Journal of Medicine (subscription required) nails the H1N1 vaccine hysteria:

After repeated delays, H1N1 vaccine finally arrived in our clinic earlier this month to the uniform relief of the medical staff. But my formerly desperate patients were now leery. "It's not tested," they said. "Everyone knows there are problems with the vaccine." "I'm not putting that in my body."
Carnival of Physics

Carnival of Physics

Nov 30 2009 | comment(s)

The Carnival of Physics is an event organized by Gravità Zero and Gravedad Cero, two sites of scientific outreach in Italy and Spain. I participate with three recent articles which are published on their site. Most other contributions are in Italian and Spanish, but you might still find it interesting to visit the two sites (which feature different contributions). Among the sponsors of this enterprise are WIRED, El Pais, Publico, and La Stampa.