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Causal Controversy

Causal Controversy

Jul 14 2013 | comment(s)

CAUSAL CONTROVERSY  -- James Ph. Kotsybar

The cosmos, once conceived as a clockwork, 
we now believe was begun with a Bang 
that’s thought to have come from a quantum quirk 
of uncertainty from which matter sprang. 

The laws of physics, carefully described 
from observations of cause and effect,
 to which for generations we’ve subscribed, 
have come into question as incorrect. 

Determinism’s been made obsolete. 
Probability’s the new ruling force. 
Newton’s been shown to be incomplete, 
and we’re no longer sure who to endorse, 
since Einstein refused to get up and dance 
with random dervishes spinning with chance.
Ulnar Collateral Ligament Surgery Doesn't Hurt Baseball Player Careers

Ulnar Collateral Ligament Surgery Doesn't Hurt Baseball Player Careers

Jul 14 2013 | comment(s)

Baseball players who have undergone ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery have able to return to the same or higher level of competition for an extended period of time, according to results presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Chicago. 

What Is The Small Blue 'b' Next To Articles In The Sidebar Blocks?

What Is The Small Blue 'b' Next To Articles In The Sidebar Blocks?

Jul 14 2013 | comment(s)

If you look in the sidebar blocks you will see content from other sites and next to them is a small blue 'b'.



If you have article writing enabled, that's designed to make it easier to blog about something. Click the 'b' and a blog entry is automagically created with a snippet from the article and the link. 

So clicking 'b' creates:
Content of the Universe

Content of the Universe

Jul 14 2013 | comment(s)

The Universe is very large and expanding at a rate of 160,000 MPH. Only 5% of the matter of the Universe is visible to us as planets, stars, galaxies, etc. The rest is a goulash of Dark Energy and Dark Matter.

Of all humans who have ever lived, 5% are alive today. The other 95% are dead. But do their spirits live on in digital form? Could that account for the Dark Energy (in the clouds) and Dark Matter (underground)?

I will take your bets.
Lake Qinghai In China Dates Back Almost 5 Million Years

Lake Qinghai In China Dates Back Almost 5 Million Years

Jul 14 2013 | comment(s)

Lake Qinghai is the largest interior plateau lake in North China and has long been sensitive to climate change and the environmental effects of Tibetan Plateau uplift. 

Long, continuous, terrestrial lacustrine sedimentary records are extremely rare but an almost continuous 626 m long sediment core of ancient Lake Qinghai have been obtained from an in-filled part of the southern lake basin, which documents both the age of the origin of the lake and the evolution of the East Asian monsoon during the Late Cenozoic.

Extinction (And Size Reduction) Resulted From The Early Triassic Global Warming Event

Extinction (And Size Reduction) Resulted From The Early Triassic Global Warming Event

Jul 14 2013 | comment(s)

The end-Permian mass extinction is the most severe biodiversity crisis in the history of life. 

Immediately after the extinction, many marine taxa suffered a dramatic size reduction (i.e., the 'Lilliput Effect') and compiled data show that recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction was not a smooth process but included several episodes of environmental disturbance and three further episodes of extinction.

The third episode of extinction occurs near the Smithian/Spathian boundary (SSB), around 1.8 million years after the end-Permian extinction and was recently associated to an episode of extreme warmth - true global warming. 

Acne Treatment Clinical Trial - Results Using Bioactive Milk Proteins

Acne Treatment Clinical Trial - Results Using Bioactive Milk Proteins

Jul 14 2013 | comment(s)

Biotechnology company Quantec Ltd has presented the results of its US clinical trial of its patented complex of bioactive milk proteins product - called IDP - which was conducted at clinical research facility in California and completed in February of 2013.

IDP was the active ingredient in a specially formulated skin cream that went head-to-head in a double blind study against a premium, US-based clinical brand of acne treatment cream (containing 2% salicylic acid plus retinal). Results were presented at the New Zealand Dermatological Society Annual Meeting in Coolum, Australia last week.  
Positive Data In RXI-109 Second Phase 1 Multi-Dose Study For Abnormal Dermal Scars

Positive Data In RXI-109 Second Phase 1 Multi-Dose Study For Abnormal Dermal Scars

Jul 14 2013 | comment(s)

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, an RNA-targeted technologies company, today announced positive results from their second placebo-controlled Phase 1 study with RXI‑109, an sd-rxRNA compound that targets Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF), and is being developed for the treatment of abnormal dermal scars such as hypertrophic scars and keloids in conjunction with scar revision surgery.

In this study, subjects received small skin incisions in their abdomen and were treated with 3 intradermal doses of RXI‑109 over a 2-week period. This dose escalating study consisted of 3 cohorts of 3 healthy volunteers each. Subjects received RXI‑109 on one side of the abdomen, and placebo on the other side.
The Importance Of Finger Lengths (for Sumo Wrestlers)

The Importance Of Finger Lengths (for Sumo Wrestlers)

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

A new paper has been published regarding the significance of 2D:4D (the length ratios of the 2nd (index finger) and 4th (ring finger).

A joint research team from the Kochi Branch of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), the Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University and the Institute of Social and Economic Research, Japan, measured the finger lengths of 142 Japanese professional sumo wrestlers :

"Sharknado" - Mother Jones Hasn't Been This Excited Since "The Day After Tomorrow"

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

"Sharknado" Is Pure Liberal Propaganda. But Is It Also Scientifically Possible?" went the title of a Mother Jones article before a sensible editor considered the possibility that there might be 5 people in the world who aren't aware that Mother Jones loves liberal propaganda and changed it to the more sensible "Can a "Sharknado" Really Happen?"
50 Sexy Scientists

50 Sexy Scientists

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

This isn't worthy of ridiculing in an article. Or a blog. Or even a cool link - but in a forum post, sure, why not?

Something called Business Insider compiled a list of its 50 Sexiest Scientists. No one from Science 2.0 is on it but that isn't the only sign this is poorly researched. The big red flag is that a lot of these don't even have ages, which means the authors saw a Scientists Are Sexy Facebook page (or whatever) and spent 5 minutes copying and pasting them because, you know, anything on Facebook is apparently public domain or simply for sale,(1) including your avatar they want to stick in their magazine.
FINE TUNED FOR LIFE

FINE TUNED FOR LIFE

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

FINE TUNED FOR LIFE  James Ph.Kotsybar

Ours is the perfect universe, it seems, 
for forming atoms that will let suns burn. 
Anthropically, there are few other schemes 
to give such a magnificent return. 

The arbitrary masses we’ve discerned 
for subatomic particles create 
a balance of the forces, we have learned, 
whereby life is allowed to generate. 

Change any of the known parameters 
Such as electrons’ quantum charge or spin 
Or nuclear hadron diameters, 
and chemistry itself might not begin. 

In barren fields of force nothing could grow. 
RIGGED FOR SUCCESS

RIGGED FOR SUCCESS

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

RIGGED FOR SUCCESS  James Ph. Kotsybar

There’s a philosophical anecdote 
that’s relevant to physicists today: 
One must stay afloat, rebuilding the boat, 
when, out at sea, safe harbor’s far away. 

The cargo is loaded, voyage begun, 
and progress made can’t be abandoned now, 
although perhaps the work that must be done
 involves the ship’s revision stern to prow. 

On board materials may not be best, 
such as one could acquire in dry dock, 
but sailors can’t afford to take a rest 
nor even step back, detached, to take stock. 
Not necessarily atheistic

Not necessarily atheistic

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

SCIENTIFIC TESTAMENT

-- James Ph. Kotsybar

 

A scientist trusts in whathas been proved

through repeatedexperimentation.

Assertions of faith willleave him unmoved

Oral-lyn Buccal Insulin Spray Results From Phase III Study Of Type 2 Diabetes In India

Oral-lyn Buccal Insulin Spray Results From Phase III Study Of Type 2 Diabetes In India

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

Generex Biotechnology has announced the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial of Generex Oral-lyn, their buccal insulin spray product, in preparation for the approval for marketing and commercial distribution of the product in India, to be trademarked there as Oral Recosulin.

The International Diabetes Federation currently estimates there are over 50 million people with diabetes in India.
The Precautionary Principle Review

The Precautionary Principle Review

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

There is an interesting series of articles published by the Guardian discussing various aspects and opinions regarding the precautionary principle.  It has certainly been invoked sufficiently on this site to warrant some independent reading, so have a look.

The precautionary principle is a blunt instrument

What's all the fuss about the precautionary principle?
Perfect Rebuttal

Perfect Rebuttal

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

Perfect Rebuttal

  Wouldn't it be nice if you could find a perfect rebuttal, a perfect test of truth, a piece of evidence which perfectly, completely and utterly negates what a witness has said in court.  I have found such a rebuttal.  It is a litmus test for perjury.

  I have recently discovered a most peculiar fact of law which has been staring me in the face for very many years.  The reason, perhaps, that I did not notice it before is that my focus was more on the forensic scientific methods, rather than the lawyerly methods of proving that there has been a miscarriage of justice.
A Computer Model Of The Brain - That Daydreams

A Computer Model Of The Brain - That Daydreams

Jul 13 2013 | comment(s)

Researchers have created a virtual model of the brain based on the dynamics of brain cells and the many connections those cells make with their neighbors and with cells in other brain regions - and it daydreams like humans do.

The group hope the model will help them understand why certain portions of the brain work together when a person daydreams or is mentally idle. This, in turn, may one day help doctors better diagnose and treat brain injuries.

How Do Top Articles Sort?

How Do Top Articles Sort?

Jul 12 2013 | comment(s)

Top Articles are just what you think, the pieces being read the most that day.  However, there is a cap on how far back the system goes. We have articles that have had millions of readers so they would have taken up a lot of top spots long after they were first published - that isn't really fair to newer pieces that don't benefit from a good search engine spot.
How Long Can Titles Be?

How Long Can Titles Be?

Jul 12 2013 | comment(s)

Titles can be 120 characters before it creates a problem. You can make them longer but they get truncated in the database and that disconnects it from the articles counter.

So if you have a gigantic title and it only looks like you have had 1 reader, it's just messing up the traffic counter on that particular article. People are still reading it but you will need to see the traffic in your Dashboard stats instead.

Succinct titles are better, anyway. If the title of your piece is longer than a whole Twitter message, it is too long.