Featured Articles

Western Alaska Identified As Potential Hot Spot For Avian Flu Transmission

Western Alaska Identified As Potential Hot Spot For Avian Flu Transmission

Jul 07 2013 | comment(s)

Birds in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of western Alaska have been discovered having low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses with Eurasian genes, supporting the hypothesis that the area is a potential point of entry for foreign animal diseases such as the more highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, according to U.S. Geological Survey scientists.
Massive star forming cores and outflows found by analysis of astronomical data

Massive star forming cores and outflows found by analysis of astronomical data

Jul 06 2013 | comment(s)

Like gems hidden in mountains of sand, I have sifted through vast amounts of data which have been gathered by surveys covering wide areas of the sky at particular wavelengths, and found likely star forming cores, hints of circumstellar disk and outflows in regions of massive star formation. The procedural lesson from my masters thesis is that there are discoveries waiting to be made by comparing data sets gathered at different frequencies, and by conducting coordinated multi-spectral surveys of massive star forming regions. 

Pocono IndyCar 400 - An All-Solar Racetrack

Pocono IndyCar 400 - An All-Solar Racetrack

Jul 06 2013 | comment(s)

The 400-mile IndyCar race July 7th at Pocono Raceway will be the first open-wheeled event at the 2.5-mile, triangular-shaped track since 1989.

Pocono Raceway's triangular design, known as "The Tricky Triangle," makes it truly unique. Pocono is the America's only professional race circuit with three turns, three different radii and three variant degrees of banking.
Solar Impulse Completes Solar-Powered Flight Across America

Solar Impulse Completes Solar-Powered Flight Across America

Jul 06 2013 | comment(s)

The Solar Impulse airplane, brain-child airplane of Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg (who co-piloted the entire journey) that can fly day and night without fuel or polluting emissions, has ended its cross-country journey in New York City. Solar Impulse is an unique adventure that seeks to put some emotion into solar power and also a flying laboratory to find innovative technological solutions for today’s solar challenges.
ACS Salary Survey For Chemists

ACS Salary Survey For Chemists

Jul 06 2013 | comment(s)

The American Chemical Society recently published its 2012 salary survey for Chemists and can be found here: http://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/careers/salaries/surveys/salaries-2012.pdf

As Figuer 1 shows, the median salary for all (degree level) chemists took some serious hits during the recent recession:


Perhaps more importantly, by 2012 the median salary for Chemists was not only $1,300 less than 2008 but factoring in the effects of inflation the median salary for chemists was a full $7,900 less than in 2008.
Fight Barnacles And Global Warming

Fight Barnacles And Global Warming

Jul 06 2013 | comment(s)

Barnacles are a major problem for both small boats and large ships because they accumulate on the hulls and can reduce the fuel economy of a vessel by up to 40 per cent. 

That means CO2 emissions rise accordingly.
'Organic' Milk Needs Supplements To Match Conventional

'Organic' Milk Needs Supplements To Match Conventional

Jul 06 2013 | comment(s)

'Organic' milk has a lower concentration of elements like zinc, iodine and selenium than milk produced by conventional farming methods, due to the absence of mineral substances in the diets of the cows reared. 

According to researchers at the University of Santiago de Compostela, animals on organic farms should have their diets supplemented with iodine because it is a very important element for children and pregnant women.
Eat Less, Move Less, Live Longer

Eat Less, Move Less, Live Longer

Jul 06 2013 | comment(s)

Don't be bold. Risky behavior can lead to premature death.

Female mice with the highest life expectancy are less active and less explorative, they also eat less than females with a lower life expectancy. Behavioral biologists from the University of Zurich found a correlation between longevity and personality for female house mice, and a minimum amount of boldness is necessary for them to survive. 

Anna Lindholm and her doctoral student Yannick Auclair investigated whether this also applies to animals by studying the behavior of 82 house mice. 
Barbie® Studies

Barbie® Studies

Jul 05 2013 | comment(s)

Academics have been examining Barbie® for more than a decade now.

One of the first to do so was senior professor Albert Magro of Fairmont State University, who, in 1997 presented his paper ‘Why Barbie is perceived as beautiful.’ (Perceptual and Motor Skills, 85, 363-374) His experimental examination of evaluations involving 495 individuals came to the conclusion that Barbie® had the following attributes -
Cold Activation Of Brown Fat Can Be A Heart Attack Hazard

Cold Activation Of Brown Fat Can Be A Heart Attack Hazard

Jul 05 2013 | comment(s)

Scientists recently discovered surprising evidence that more brown fat (as a result of cold treatment) could increase a person’s risk of getting a stroke or a heart attack. The finding could explain why more people die of cardiovascular diseases during the winter months.
Speaking With a Forked Tongue

Speaking With a Forked Tongue

Jul 04 2013 | comment(s)

Speaking With a Forked Tongue

My regular readers will likely have noticed that I thoroughly enjoy chasing down the truth behind things which are commonly accepted as facts.  I am fortunate to have the gift of being able to spot cracks in arguments as well as glaciers.

I am currently heavily engaged in a legal matter concerning a witness in court who, shall we say,  seems to have been somewhat uninterested in assisting the court in its determination of the true facts.

There is a phrase about not telling the truth, not now so common as when I was a child, but still in frequent use: "he speaks with a forked tongue".
Party Like It's 1776

Party Like It's 1776

Jul 04 2013 | comment(s)

Party Like It's 1776


"These colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states"
Our Anthropomorphic Bias

Our Anthropomorphic Bias

Jul 03 2013 | comment(s)

There was a recent article discussing the observation of death and the chimpanzeesattitude towards it.

Of course, this gave rise to the usual round of questions and points regarding human interpretations of these actions and raised the question of anthropomorphism.  Yet, this was precisely one of the more absurd elements that was involved in these discussions.
Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection: In-Vitro Technique Raises Autism Risk

Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection: In-Vitro Technique Raises Autism Risk

Jul 03 2013 | comment(s)

About 5 million children worldwide have been born by IVF since 1978, and 1.4 percent of total births in the U.S. annually and as many as 4.4 percent in western Europe result from the procedure, according to government and industry figures. 

Across all types of IVF procedures, compared with spontaneous pregnancies, a study found no increase in the risk of autism, but in one type there was.
Is Law A Science?

Is Law A Science?

Jul 03 2013 | comment(s)

Is Law A Science ?

In a recent article The Science Of Law I asserted that law, or more properly jurisprudence, is a science.  The basis for that assertion was that both science and law are founded in the Baconian method.

In this comment, A Bear In The Woods, said in rebuttal:
Sorry Vulcan, Kerberos and Styx Know All The Right People

Sorry Vulcan, Kerberos and Styx Know All The Right People

Jul 03 2013 | comment(s)

The International Astronomical Union, which declared itself the arbiter of names for the entire universe, is in hot water with "Star Trek" fans. A social media campaign, including endorsements by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, put Vulcan at the top of the list of polls aimed at naming two moons (P4 and P5) orbiting Pluto but the IAU vetoed it anyway, according to the SETI press release.

Well, they also once vetoed Pluto itself - that 2% of astronomers got rid of a whole planet is the only reason anyone has ever heard of the IAU. Their own arbitrary rules instead say Kerberos and Styx, which placed second and third, win out. What rules? 
Nanog Study Challenges Assumption About Gene Expression In Embryonic Stem Cells

Nanog Study Challenges Assumption About Gene Expression In Embryonic Stem Cells

Jul 03 2013 | comment(s)

The transcription factor Nanog plays a critical role in the self-renewal of embryonic stem cells and is expressed in a manner similar to other pluripotency markers, according to a new paper This finding contradicts the field's presumptions about this important gene and its role in the differentiation of embryonic stem cells. 

Gerovital H3: Banned Fountain Of Youth Drug Favored By Hollywood Makes A Comeback

Gerovital H3: Banned Fountain Of Youth Drug Favored By Hollywood Makes A Comeback

Jul 03 2013 | comment(s)

Gerovital H3, one of the "fountain of youth" miracles drugs that crop up once a generation, was banned in the United States in 1982, but the alternative medicine crowd that never let go of homeopathy after hundreds of years is reviving it. Anti-aging and longevity clinics now promote Gerovital H3 in pill form and as intravenous infusions.

Gerovital H3 is the dental anesthetic procaine hydrochloride (novocaine) but in the 1950s it was abused, unsurprisingly, by the Hollywood elites who gravitate toward fad diets and miracle treatments.

Industrial Farm Workers Carry Drug-Resistant Bacteria Associated With Livestock

Industrial Farm Workers Carry Drug-Resistant Bacteria Associated With Livestock

Jul 03 2013 | comment(s)

The noses of industrial livestock workers in North Carolina contained
drug-resistant bacteria
- livestock-associated Staph
- while the noses of antibiotic-free livestock workers did not, according to a new paper.  Workers were not experiencing Staph infections at the time of the study.