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Californians Worry About Extreme Genetic Engineering

Californians Worry About Extreme Genetic Engineering

Apr 08 2012 | comment(s)

What happens when genomics and synthetic biology labs get together?  Anti-science people flip out.  Because, you know, anti-science hippies think scientists are inhuman crazies without families who only care about breaking the laws of nature (maniacal laugh).
Eileen Riley-Hall’s Parenting Girls On The Autism Spectrum

Eileen Riley-Hall’s Parenting Girls On The Autism Spectrum

Apr 08 2012 | comment(s)


As almost every parent of an autistic child knows, there is no shortage of books out there on autism, but true gems are rare. Eileen Riley-Hall’s new book Parenting Girls on the Autism Spectrum is just that, though, a true gem and a must-have book for anyone with daughters on the spectrum.
Parenting Girls on the Autism Spectrum
Bad Advice And Bombs

Bad Advice And Bombs

Apr 07 2012 | comment(s)

A few months ago, I read Electric Universe by David Bodanis (ISBN 1400045509).  There are two chapters on radar during the Second World War, #7 dealing with Britain’s defences and #8 dealing with the area bombing of Germany, a tactic down to ‘Bomber’ Harris, which to this day gives rise to doubt in Britain, such that we feel a conflict between honouring the bomber crews who sustained the heaviest proportional loss of all our armed forces, and disturbance at the methods of their commander, who went for mass

Heart Attacks Caused By Viewing Soccer Matches - The Science

Heart Attacks Caused By Viewing Soccer Matches - The Science

Apr 07 2012 | comment(s)

“Viewing a stressful soccer match more than doubles the risk of an acute cardiovascular event.”

This disturbing conclusion was published in a 2008 study based on data regarding 4,279 Bavarian medical emergency cases. The number, and character, of adverse cardiovascular events which occurred during the FIFA World Cup (held in Germany from June 9 to July 9, 2006) were compared with those in a control period. Not only was there double the incidence of cardiac problems, but their time of onset starkly correlated with the beginning of the matches. [see graph at right]

Michigan Grad Students Can't Unionize

Michigan Grad Students Can't Unionize

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

If you get into a Ph.D. program, are you there to learn and do research, like an academic, or are you there to earn a wage, like a corporate researcher?  Basically, are you still a student or are you an employee?

A group of Michigan students who had sought to unionize a year ago has been denied. A few weeks back, Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation clarifying that graduate student research assistants are not public employees as recognized by the state Public Employment Relations Act. So they can't form a union.
Global Warming In 12,000 B.C.

Global Warming In 12,000 B.C.

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

A dramatic sea-level rise occurred at the onset of the first warm period of the last deglaciation, known as the Bølling warming, approximately 14,600 years ago. This event, referred to as Melt-Water Pulse 1A (MWP-1A), corresponds to a rapid collapse of massive ice sheets 14,600 years ago and resulted in global sea-level rise of ~14 m. 

The Tahiti Sea-Level Expedition 310 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) was carried out in 2005 by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) and the ECORD Science Operator (ESO) on behalf of IODP. 
Interplanetary Colonization: I Don't Think So

Interplanetary Colonization: I Don't Think So

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

Periodically it seems that the subject comes up regarding human colonization of space and then all manner of problems and difficulties are discussed with various people taking their respective sides on the physics that's possible and what isn't.

However, I would offer a different perspective on this and argue that it isn't a physics problem.  This isn't about speed, about time, or about energy, although these are problems.  The problem is about biology.

More specifically, the problem is about the passengers we have to take.  Not humans, not embryos, or not some cryogenically preserved individuals.  The problem is bacteria.
News Mob: A Flash Mob With Actual Value

News Mob: A Flash Mob With Actual Value

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

Usually, when the majority of reporters in a newsroom rallies around coverage of a single story or event something really big is breaking. Maybe a mass shooting, a tsunami, or a terrorist attack.

Or, if you happen to work for the Orange County Register, it’s opening day for the Los Angeles Angels — April 6, 2012 — and you’re part of the newspaper’s first official “news mob.”

So what exactly does an Angels news mob cover?
Future Versus Past: Google Searches Correlated To GDP

Future Versus Past: Google Searches Correlated To GDP

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

Countries with a higher per capita gross domestic product (GDP) are more likely to have searches for information about the future than information about the past, according to an analysis of Google search queries in Scientific Reports.

Is there a link between online behavior and real-world economic indicators?  Maybe.
Mystery Of Modeling Sand - Part Fluid, Part Solid

Mystery Of Modeling Sand - Part Fluid, Part Solid

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

Sand is so fundamental it seems simple - like a magnetic field, just because an industry is built around something doesn't mean we understand it - but granular material like sand is actually tricky to model. From a distance, flowing sand resembles a liquid, streaming down the center of an hourglass like water from a faucet, but up close individual grains slide against each other, forming a mound at the base that holds its shape, much like a solid. 
Guar gum from Cyamopsis tetragonoloba : a success story of Professor Randhawa at IIT, Roorkie.

Guar gum from Cyamopsis tetragonoloba : a success story of Professor Randhawa at IIT, Roorkie.

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

"This gum prevents ice crystal formation and also creates the smooth, silky sheen in shampoos.
Baseball, Beanballs And The Psychology Of Revenge

Baseball, Beanballs And The Psychology Of Revenge

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

It's baseball season.  That means some time this week you are sure to witness the following; a pitcher hits a player with the ball.  The opposing pitcher retaliates by hitting another player with a ball.  The benches look like they are about to clear, an umpire will issue a warning (or not) and things will escalate until, surely, a fight breaks out.

The Iron Dice of World War I and the many mysteries of how it actually came to fighting has nothing on the psychological machinations of America's national pastime.
Teaching Skepticism In Science Classes Instead Of Facts

Teaching Skepticism In Science Classes Instead Of Facts

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

Every few years, an international test is given and American students finish in the middle of the pack.  They went up during the 2000s but American kids have never been at the top - international students learn facts and American kids learn 'how to think'. Americans were 11th out of 12 countries taking the international assessment the first time it was given in the early 1960s.  They are not testing what American students are learning.

Given the rampant criticism educators, the government and students get from cultural pundits ('dismal', 'being left behind', etc.) each time one of those assessments is given, it seems like a non-starter to try and change education to teach more critical thinking.
Remeber National Flag and remain healthy ?

Remeber National Flag and remain healthy ?

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

In a meeting at Varanasi one emienent scientist pointed out that remember the nantional flag of India and remain healthy.I have due respect and regards to whatever meaning was ascribed to our founders of the nation but this write up is for associating the national flad colours to health food. I want to share with you what he said. He said our Natoinal flag has three colours 1. Kesaria ( somewhat reddish orange) at the top row. 2. White in the middle row 3. Green in the lower row 4. A spoke in the centre. Our body needs a variety of vitamins, minerals , and nutrients and what he said that if we take all these three colours in our diet regularly meaning thereby that a. Take orange, reddish , or coloured fruits which contain high amount of flavonoids and other vitamins .
Is That A Squid on Your Face?

Is That A Squid on Your Face?

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

It was the year 2000, I think, and I was on a college field trip to the tidepools. The class was Invertebrate Zoology, so we were flipping rocks over and listing off the phyla as fast as we could identify them. Then someone lifted a big slab and gasped: there was a red octopus, chowing down on a shore crab.

I remember this scene so vividly in part because I love octopuses, but also because of a comment the professor made: "This is remarkable, because it's really quite rare to see an act of predation in the wild."

Surprising perhaps, but true. Predation events tend to happen very quickly. Predators are vulnerable while they're eating, so they snarf down their food at lightening speeds and/or hide while they're eating--like the octopus.
Misperception And Weight Loss: If You Don't Think You Are Fat, You Won't Lose Weight

Misperception And Weight Loss: If You Don't Think You Are Fat, You Won't Lose Weight

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

Self-esteem programs have worked.  Of 3,500 college applicants, more than a third couldn't report their weight accurately. The heavier they were, the less accurate their estimates. Overweight and obese men were even more likely to underestimate their weight than overweight and obese women.

The results were part of the Up Amigos project, a collaboration between collaborators at the University of Illinois and the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potos in Mexico. In physical exams, the height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of 3,622 18- to 20-year-old applicants to the Mexican university were recorded; the aspiring students also completed surveys in which they reported their weight status.
Next-Generation Vaccines: Tricking The Immune System

Next-Generation Vaccines: Tricking The Immune System

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

A protein found on the surface of immune cells called dendritic cells recognizes dangerous damage and trauma that could signify infection. Dendritic cells are critical for raising the alarm about the presence of foreign invaders in the body such as viruses, bacteria and parasites as well as tumor cells and other dead or damaged cells. Also known as antigen-presenting cells, they digest and present molecules from damaged cells to other immune cells that recognize foreign invaders and launch an immune response.
Visual Spatial Attention: Treating Dyslexia Before Reading Age

Visual Spatial Attention: Treating Dyslexia Before Reading Age

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

A new study says it has ended the long-lasting debate on the causes of dyslexia and also opened the way to a new approach for early identification and interventions for the 10 percent of children for whom reading is extremely difficult. 

For children with dyslexia, the trouble begins even before they start reading and for reasons that don't necessarily reflect other language skills. Researchers say their new report reveals a causal connection between early problems with visual attention and a later diagnosis of dyslexia.
Microarray Meets Mammography - Detecting Breast Cancer In A Drop Of Blood

Microarray Meets Mammography - Detecting Breast Cancer In A Drop Of Blood

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

Early cancer diagnosis is vital for treating breast cancer - and one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, according to an article in Molecular&Cellular Proteomics - but early detection is still challenging as testing by mammography remains cumbersome, costly, and in many cases, cancer can only be detected at an advanced stage.

A team based in the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine has developed a new microfluidics-based microarray that could change how and when cancer is diagnosed.
Robocopters Versus Pirates - Coming This Summer To A Theater Of War Near You

Robocopters Versus Pirates - Coming This Summer To A Theater Of War Near You

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

The Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS), a sensor which is a mix of high-definition cameras, mid-wave infrared sensors and laser-radar (LADAR) technology, will start airborne tests this summer. It will be placed on a robotic helicopter called Fire Scout and carry advanced automatic target recognition software, so sensor prototype will allow Fire Scout to autonomously identify small boats on the water, reducing the workload of sailors operating it from control stations aboard Navy ships.

Look out pirates. You're now that much easier to find.