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Hard-nosed Suit Stalked By His Wife's Spirit

Hard-nosed Suit Stalked By His Wife's Spirit

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

In the spirit of Halloween, it seems most appropriate to share Annette Child's encounters with the afterlife.



Margaret Borwhat co-founded the Women's Cancer Advocacy Network (WCAN) in 1997 while waging her own fight against the disease. This resolute woman was a powerhouse to the end and though she peacefully succumbed in body in 2006, her spirit took up the banner for a new dimension of the crusade. She wants us to know that this life is not all there is. And, much to his chagrin, Margaret left her skeptical husband, Don, with an undeniable "foo foo" experience that was the first of endless pranks to prove to him there is an afterlife.


So Much For The Absence Of Natural Selection In Modern Human Populations

So Much For The Absence Of Natural Selection In Modern Human Populations

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

I have recently criticized British geneticist Steve Jones for his claim that modern human societies are no longer subject to natural selection. My arguments were based on basic principles of evolution and population genetics. Now a new study shows that Jones is wrong on the basis of the available empirical evidence and, ironically, that evidence comes from research on the British population!
Major Climate Intervention Study

Major Climate Intervention Study

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

Consistent with their position that greenhouse gas emissions are causing global warming, the Royal Society (United Kingdom) is soliciting submissions to "moderate climate change by deliberate large-scale intervention in the working of the Earth's natural climate system." http://royalsociety.org/downloaddoc.asp?id=5845

The Science Of Halloween, Science 2.0 Style

The Science Of Halloween, Science 2.0 Style

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

Vampires, Mummies, Ghosts, Zombies - we have it all today.   We even have costumes.   Why?  Halloween, like everything else great in life, has a science aspect to it.
Will Global Warming Make Hurricanes Stronger Or Weaker? Yes!

Will Global Warming Make Hurricanes Stronger Or Weaker? Yes!

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

In 2006, Al Gore alleged that Hurricane Katrina had been caused, or at least made worse, by global warming.    Bill Gray, one of the foremost hurricane experts in the world, disagreed.    Who was right?   Weather, and especially hurricanes, are not among things that are easy to predict but global warming is certain to have an impact.   What impact is all depending on what you want to believe.
Researchers Crack McEliece 'Encryption Of The Future' Before It Even Starts

Researchers Crack McEliece 'Encryption Of The Future' Before It Even Starts

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

Don't start feeling too secure about the so-called McEliece encryption system - a candidate for the security of Internet traffic in the age of the quantum computer, the predicted superpowerful computer of the future.

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in The Netherlands have managed to crack it.
How To Host A Mad Scientist Halloween Party

How To Host A Mad Scientist Halloween Party

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

Scientists know how to have a good time. Just ask Yahoo Serious about when he played Young Einstein. That guy really knew how to par-tay! To see for yourself this Halloween, host your very own Mad Scientist Halloween Party. Check out these ideas to really get your party started. You'll be amazed at how easily you can transform your digs into a Spooky Laboratory!

The Science Behind The Perfect Costume: From Homemade Miracles To Storebought Extravagance

The Science Behind The Perfect Costume: From Homemade Miracles To Storebought Extravagance

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

Every year at about this time, I start to wonder what I am going to be for Halloween. Despite my best efforts, it usually takes up a large amount of my brainpower until a few days before Halloween, and then I am so excited about my impending costume debut, I parade it around the house, and end up feeling like an idiot. It’s okay, you can laugh.

Halloween is just one of those holidays. It allows people to express themselves in ways that are simply unacceptable the other 364 days of the year. For one day (or weekend for the adults) you may dress as anything or anyone you can imagine, from the most classic of Halloween costumes, to the latest in vogue celebrity. So if either you want to dress as a devil or Sarah Palin (or both), here are some ideas to get those creative juices flowing so you can fulfill your heart's desire on Halloween.

Go Wild With These Facts And Myths About Halloween's Favorite Animals

Go Wild With These Facts And Myths About Halloween's Favorite Animals

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

Halloween is a holiday with lots of creepy wildlife associated with it, but are they really so creepy? From toads to bats to owls, the National Wildlife Federation shares the facts about these animals and what they are up to at this time of year, which might dispel a few myths.

Bats - are they out for my blood?

Can Hauntings Be Verified By Science?

Can Hauntings Be Verified By Science?

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

It may begin as a feeling of unease that overtakes you as you cautiously make your way inside a long-abandoned house.  The air is thick; musty and stale.  Yet somehow it is laced with the underlying scent  of a burning fire… even though the cold crumbling fireplace hosted its last fire long ago.
 
As your eyes adjust, you begin to notice the stillness. There is absolutely no noise.  In fact, the silence is so oppressive, it presses in on your eardrums like the weight of an ocean… seeking to snuff out the sound of anything that should trespass upon it.  You get the distinct feeling it would like to quiet even the uneven sound of your shallow breaths… and then move on to silence the thump of your increasingly racing heartbeat.
Negative Campaign Ads In Presidential Campaigns Are The Norm, Not The Exception

Negative Campaign Ads In Presidential Campaigns Are The Norm, Not The Exception

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

The 2008 presidential campaign, as reflected in candidates' television spots, has been one of the most negative campaigns in history. A University of Missouri professor analyzed this year's candidates' television spots, including last night's 30-minute ad by Sen. Barack Obama and found that only one other campaign matched this level of negativity.

William Benoit, professor of communication in the College of Arts and Science, found that in television spots from 1952-2004, candidates averaged 40 percent attacks in their ad statements. In this year's race, the statements in Obama's ads were 68 percent negative compared to 62 percent for Sen. John McCain.

Can This Blood Test Predict Obesity?

Can This Blood Test Predict Obesity?

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

According to new research from the Monell Center, the degree of change in blood triglyceride levels following a fatty meal may indicate susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. The findings open doors to new methods of identifying people, including children, who are at risk for becoming obese. 

Triglycerides are a form of fat that is transported in the blood and stored in the body's fat tissues. They are found in foods and also are manufactured by the body. 
While Prevalent, Sexual Problems In Most Women Psychological, Not Medical

While Prevalent, Sexual Problems In Most Women Psychological, Not Medical

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

The largest such study ever published finds that while about 40 percent of women surveyed report having sexual problems only 12 percent indicate that those issues are a source of significant personal distress. The report led by a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physician appears in the November issue of Obstetrics&Gynecology. 
Can Your Doctor Correctly Read An EKG?

Can Your Doctor Correctly Read An EKG?

Oct 31 2008 | comment(s)

You have a burning chest pain and a doctor looks at a squiggly-lined graph to determine the cause. That graph, an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), can help the doctor decide whether you're having a heart attack or an acid attack from last night's spaghetti. Correct interpretation may prompt life-saving, emergency measures; incorrect interpretation may delay care with life-threatening consequences. Currently, there is no uniform way to teach doctors in training how to interpret an ECG or assess their competence in the interpretation.
Hubble Space Telescope Resurrected Despite Servicing Mission Delay

Hubble Space Telescope Resurrected Despite Servicing Mission Delay

Oct 30 2008 | comment(s)

Just last month, Hubble Space Telescope's main instruments were idled by a computer failure, but not to worry, thanks to NASA engineers, who successfully transferred the work of the failed science data downlink computer to a backup system, Hubble is up and running just a couple of days after the orbiting observatory was brought back online.
Genetic Dead End - 5300 Year-Old Oetzi Has No Modern Relatives

Genetic Dead End - 5300 Year-Old Oetzi Has No Modern Relatives

Oct 30 2008 | comment(s)

The 5,300 year old human mummy dubbed Öetzi (or ‘the Tyrolean Iceman’)  is highly unlikely to have modern day relatives, according to new research published today by a team of scientists from Italy and the UK.

They have sequenced Öetzi’s entire mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome, which is passed down through the maternal line, and found that he belonged to a genetic lineage that is either extremely rare or has died out.

The research has generated the oldest complete Homo sapiens mtDNA genome to date, and overturns previous research conducted in 1994 on a small section of Öetzi’s mtDNA, which suggested that relatives of Öetzi may still exist in Europe.


Be The Beatles - Legendary Pop Icons Get Their Own Video Game For The First Time

Be The Beatles - Legendary Pop Icons Get Their Own Video Game For The First Time

Oct 30 2008 | comment(s)

Can't get enough of The Beatles?   Two days ago we disclosed that a mathematician using Fourier transform had unlocked the secret of the 'mystery' chord in "A Hard Day's Night" and now The Beatles are back again - in a video game.

Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Harrisongs Ltd, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, have agreed to present The Beatles music in an interactive video game format, to be published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix.

UPS Drivers, The Icosian Game And How Right Hand Turns Can Save The Earth

UPS Drivers, The Icosian Game And How Right Hand Turns Can Save The Earth

Oct 30 2008 | comment(s)

Last year, the New York Times reported that UPS managed to save 3 million gallons of gas in 2006 by altering the routes of delivery trucks to avoid left turns. According to the article, the company uses software called “package flow” to map out daily routes for drivers. Clearly, the method or “algorithm” this software employs to design efficient routes has sizeable economic (and greenhouse gas) consequences. And, not only is it far from perfect, but the general routing problem is so difficult that, well, if in the course of reading this article you happen upon an efficient solution, you will become immediately famous, at least among computer scientists.
Vigorous Exercise May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk By 30 Percent

Vigorous Exercise May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk By 30 Percent

Oct 30 2008 | comment(s)

Normal-weight women who carry out lots of vigorous exercise are approximately 30% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who don't exercise vigorously, according to a study of more than thirty thousand postmenopausal American women reported in Breast Cancer Research.  So a sedentary lifestyle can be a risk factor for the disease – even in women who are not overweight.
Tree With 45 Million Year Fossil History Shows Effects Of Ancient Climate Change

Tree With 45 Million Year Fossil History Shows Effects Of Ancient Climate Change

Oct 30 2008 | comment(s)

A "living fossil" tree species is helping a University of Michigan researcher understand how tropical forests responded to past climate change and how they may react to global warming in the future, according to research in the November issue of  Evolution.

Symphonia globulifera is a widespread tropical tree with a history that goes back some 45 million years in Africa, said Christopher Dick, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who is lead author on the paper. It is unusual among tropical trees in having a well-studied fossil record, partly because the oil industry uses its distinctive pollen fossils as a stratigraphic tool.