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Supermicro Starts Integration Service In Europe

Supermicro Starts Integration Service In Europe

May 31 2010 | comment(s)

Co-founder Of Apple To Speak At The Opening Of Hult San Francisco

Co-founder Of Apple To Speak At The Opening Of Hult San Francisco

May 30 2010 | comment(s)

Some Thoughts On Parenting, And Then Research Based Blogging: Culture And Autism

Some Thoughts On Parenting, And Then Research Based Blogging: Culture And Autism

May 30 2010 | comment(s)

When I did my master's degree, I split my areas of interest: my thesis and several projects leading up to it focused on a fairly complex intersection of how personality traits, explanatory style, religious well-being and spiritual well-being impacted satisfaction with life and adaptive coping in individuals dealing with pain. I wanted to focus my attention on something that didn't revolve around autism, that directly impacted me, and certainly impacted my mother, and before her, her mother. But I kept getting drawn back to autism, in an intense need to understand everything I could first about my son, and as I dedicated projects towards aspects of autism, to my daughters as well.
Aging And Angelman Syndrome -- Is There A Link?

Aging And Angelman Syndrome -- Is There A Link?

May 30 2010 | comment(s)

Is there a link between aging of the brain and the neural defect that underlies Angelman Syndrome?  A new study suggests the answer is yes.   A surprising result that may help the development of new treatments to improve outcomes for children with Angelman Syndrome and encourage healthy aging.
The Science Of Grilling

The Science Of Grilling

May 30 2010 | comment(s)

Cooks want to tell you grilling is an art or a craft.   We know better.  Grilling, like anything worth doing, is a science.   Anything that has been around for a million years is a science and fire has been considered by millenia as the thing that put humans on the map so nothing is more fundamental to anthropology, evolution and archeology than man, meat and fire.
Mirids: A Case Study For Indirect Ecological Effects Of GMOs

Mirids: A Case Study For Indirect Ecological Effects Of GMOs

May 30 2010 | comment(s)

The development of genetically modified organisms has been a potentially explosive topic for those who see themselves as scientists, environmentalists, or just plain eaters-of-food. 

Although some evidence suggests that GMOs can be enormously beneficial, particularly in developing countries (1), others have suggested that most of the gains are attributable to other factors than the engineered traits (2).  Ever since I first learned about genetic engineering and the court battles between farmers and biotech giants, I have generally thought of the controversy of GMOs as more socially than scientifically controversial.
Science Quotes

Science Quotes

May 30 2010 | comment(s)


"No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer." 

Thomas Browne (1605-1682)



"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery."

Love Thine Enemy

Love Thine Enemy

May 30 2010 | comment(s)

Love Thine Enemy


It is exceedingly rare that the scientist and the believer can stand on the same platform and present the same message to the world in the form of a law of universal application.  What is scientific, you may ask, about an injunction to love our enemies?  I hope to explain that point.

Lives of great men all remind us
  We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
  Footprints on the sands of time.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - A Psalm of Life


Where science meets belief
Bad Logic - Bertrand Russell Mischief

Bad Logic - Bertrand Russell Mischief

May 30 2010 | comment(s)

I'm not a Russell fan so his followers will have different opinions. One particular quirk of symbolic logic is the reason for this column. First it should be said that symbolic logic owes a great debt to Bertrand Russell for early work on that branch of mathematics.

My complaint is mainly one situation that occurs when a contradiction is found in a logical sequence.

The rules allow almost any type of mischief to be attached to remove the contradiction, whether the attachment has any validity or not. A link is given to a good introductory text on symbolic logic for people with little background in mathematics.
Psychrolinguistics

Psychrolinguistics

May 29 2010 | comment(s)

Psychrolinguistics

I was going to title this 'cryolinguistics', but someone else already invented the term.   You have to admire the linguistic skills of anyone who can come up with a Department of Zaphodian Cryolinguistics
60 Years Of Post-Apocalyptic Fiction: A Chronological Curriculum Of The Ultimate Catastrophe

60 Years Of Post-Apocalyptic Fiction: A Chronological Curriculum Of The Ultimate Catastrophe

May 29 2010 | comment(s)

What does the Neanderthal genome have to with post-apocalyptic science fiction? It may seem like odd inspiration, but Neanderthals have aroused my interest in one of the most venerable genres of science fiction. Last summer I was awaiting the release of The Road movie, reading a piece of classic post-nuclear sci-fi (John Wyndham's 1955 The Chrysalids), and thinking about some recent news stories on the (then) forthcoming Neanderthal genome sequence.

I was struck by the thought that the last Neanderthals lived in what could be thought of as a post-apocalyptic world. They were going extinct. Did they notice? What kind of world did the last survivors live in?
Computer, Adapt Thyself

Computer, Adapt Thyself

May 29 2010 | comment(s)

Computing networks of tomorrow will be evolving meshes of different processors, various legacy and newer hardware, and numerous software and operating platforms spanning generations - making it costly, bordering on impossible, to rely solely on human programmers to build and manage so many diverse systems.

The ancient Greeks believed that, above the terrestrial sphere, the universe was filled with a mysterious element called ether or aether - the ‘fifth element'.   In 19th century physics, ether was believed to be the substance that filled all of space, basically an undefined thing like 'dark matter' that is necessary or the universe does not make sense.
Enivronmental pollution and environmental destruction and population explosion must be seen in close proximity and measures to check all are required to save the planet.

Enivronmental pollution and environmental destruction and population explosion must be seen in close proximity and measures to check all are required to save the planet.

May 29 2010 | comment(s)

"According to the Met office, the heat wave sweeping the state had low-lying Una sizzling at 44.8 degrees on Wednesday, while Mandi recorded 44.8 degrees, Dharamshala 38.2 degrees, Kullu 38.6 degrees, Solan 36.5 degrees and Kalpa, in the shadow of Kinner Kailash peak in Kinnaur district, 25 degrees.
Said octogenarian apple orchard owner Rattan Chand, "Having lived more than 80 summers here, I can only say that the summers are getting worse with each passing year. And this summer is certainly one of the hottest I have seen." " News paper report.
No Dice - The Probability Of Yahtzee*

No Dice - The Probability Of Yahtzee*

May 29 2010 | comment(s)

While going through old boxes of miscellaneous detritus, I came upon several sheets of paper from my health journalism grad school days. The scribes packed a lot of wisdom into those articles and bullet points, and I'll share various nuggets of knowledge in upcoming articles.1
Desperately Denying Arctic Warming

Desperately Denying Arctic Warming

May 29 2010 | comment(s)

Desperately Denying Arctic Warming

This is the age of rapid public access to satellite images.  If you want to know what is happening to the Arctic ice you can see for yourself.

There are some people who don't want you to look.  They want you to read their drivel instead, and go away believing that the Arctic ice isn't really melting, or if it is then that is nothing unusual.

On Saturday, May 01, 2010, Paul Driessen wrote a piece of blatant propaganda called "(Desperately) Looking for Arctic warming".  It was "co-authored by scientist Willie Soon".
http://townhall.com/columnists/PaulDriessen/2010/05/01/desperately_looki...

The article has been multiply published, see e.g.
A Brief History Of The Psychology Of Religion

A Brief History Of The Psychology Of Religion

May 28 2010 | comment(s)

When I'm not delving into the science and pseudoscience surrounding autism, I have other areas of interest that I turn my attention to. The psychology of religion is one of those areas of interest.




Introduction to the subject:

Jedi Infiltrate SpaceCamp, Destroy NASA

Jedi Infiltrate SpaceCamp, Destroy NASA

May 28 2010 | comment(s)

NASA is dead.  Jedi killed it.

Used to be, growing geeks wanted to go to Space Camp.  To fly rockets, to mimic operating a shuttle, to #$^ing be an astronaut.  It was engineering and space heaven.  Based on an idea tossed out by rocket god Wernher von Braun and given life in 1982 by a state agency, it was all about to know what it’s like to train like an astronaut.

"We have band camp, football, cheerleading; why don't we have a science camp?" [von Braun]

Shire Receives LIALDA(R) Paragraph IV Notice Letter From Zydus Pharmaceuticals

Shire Receives LIALDA(R) Paragraph IV Notice Letter From Zydus Pharmaceuticals

May 28 2010 | comment(s)

Anti-Science Debunking Conservatives And Progressives Agree On (And Some They Don't)

Anti-Science Debunking Conservatives And Progressives Agree On (And Some They Don't)

May 28 2010 | comment(s)

Conservatives have long lamented the politicization of science.  And why wouldn't they?  Scientists as a bloc haven't voted Republican in decades and when Republicans limit science, there is an outcry (and even whole books!) but when a Democrat limits science the outcry is pretty much limited to ... me.   Conservatives have not, for example, lamented the politicization of talk radio because they do much better there.