Last posts on science

Scientists Create Beer That Could Extend Life

2008-11-18T03:17:41+01:00

Beer drinkers might actually have something to celebrate about. Scientists at Rice University have created a beer that could extend your life.They have named the beverage BioBeer, and the way it works is that it has three genes spliced into a specific brewer’s yeast that produces resveratrol, which is a chemical in red wine thought to protect against diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and other age-related conditions. But don’t expect to toast to this special beer just yet. The team still needs to remove certain genetic markers in the yeast cells, which will also need FDA approval. By filtering the beer they would be removing the medical benefits as well.As far as the drug resveratrol goes, which is currently seeking FDA approval to treat diabetes, the team claims that a glass of BioBeer would have less of the drug than an average glass of wine.More...

Why the beer belly may be a myth

2008-11-07T01:44:00+01:00

Researchers in Britain and the Czech Republic surveyed almost 2,000 Czechs, who are generally regarded as the world's biggest beer drinkers.They found no link between the amount of beer they drink and the size of their stomachs. Writing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, they said claims people are obese because they drink too much beer are wrong. The Czechs traditionally top world league tables on beer drinking, consuming more beer per person than people in any other country. Doctors measured their weight and their waist to hip ratio and body mass index, both used to measure obesity.The scientists found no link between beer consumption and obesity.They said the findings suggested there is no truth in the claim that drinking too much beer makes people obese. more...

Internet might change the way our brains work

2008-11-03T05:35:31+01:00

A neuroscientist has argued that the internet is affecting our brains - and the most tech-savvy people will benefit the most from this evolutionary change and end up sitting atop a new social order.Gary Small, a neuroscientist at UCLA in California who specializes in brain function, has found through studies that internet searching and text messaging has made brains more adept at filtering information and making snap decisions.But while technology can accelerate learning and boost creativity, it can have drawbacks as it can create Internet addicts whose only friends are virtual and has sparked a dramatic rise in Attention Deficit Disorder diagnoses.Small, however, argued that the people who will come out on top in the next generation will be those with a mixture of technological and social skills. Small said this multi-tasking could cause problems.He said the tech-savvy generation, whom he calls "digital natives," are always scanning for the next bit of new information which can create stress and even damage neural networks."There is also the big problem of neglecting human contact skills and losing the ability to read emotional expressions and body language," he said.more...

New Paper Is 500 Times Stronger Than Steel, 10 Times Lighter

2008-10-28T05:09:10+01:00

New nanotube paper is expected to set the mark as the world's strongest material by the year's end, to be used in aircraft.Carbon nanotubes are one of those ubiquitous technologies that will likely see a vast array of uses in decades to come. From cancer treatments to better electronics, there seems to be no limit to the little carbon molecules applications. With production of nanotube sheets advancing rapidly, researchers are expanding their studies to include looking at using sheets of carbon nanotubes as a construction material.Enter buckypaper. Buckypaper on its own looks like a mere thin, filmy paper and looks very fragile. However, this unassuming new paper may revolutionize the face of automobiles, aircraft, and more in years to come. The new paper is composed of intertwined carbon nanotubes. Thanks to nanotubes' excellent flexibility, it can bend like normal paper. Multiple sheets can be stacked for rigidity. However, unlike normal paper, it can be up to 500 times stronger than steel, its creators predict, while being a mere tenth of the weight.more...

Farts Controls Blood Pressure

2008-10-25T02:52:30+02:00

A smelly rotten-egg gas in farts controls blood pressure in mice, a new study finds. The unpleasant aroma of the gas, called hydrogen sulfide (H2S), can be a little too familiar, as it is expelled by bacteria living in the human colon and eventually makes its way, well, out.The new research found that cells lining mice’s blood vessels naturally make the gas and this action can help keep the rodents’ blood pressure low by relaxing the blood vessels to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure). This gas is “no doubt” produced in cells lining human blood vessels too, the researchers said. “Now that we know hydrogen sulfide’s role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension,” said Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Solomon H. Snyder, M.D., a co-author of the study detailed in the Oct. 24th issue of the journal Science. more...

Robotic Plant developed in Korea exhales Oxygen

2008-10-22T02:48:22+02:00

Plants are an integral part of our society. They provide the vital oxygen during photosynthesis, but mankind has always has taken a callous approach towards these live-giving members. Researchers of Chonnam National University have developed a robotic plant that has humidifying, oxygen-producing, aroma-emitting, and kinetic functions. It measures 130 cm tall and 40 cm in diameter and consists of a pot, a stem, and five buds of a flower. The plant can also respond to stimulus. When you come within the 40 cm radius of the flower, the sonic sensors respond by bending the stem towards you and the bud blooms. When left alone, the plant retrieves to the original state. If a person's voice becomes louder than a certain level, the flower buds will come into bloom, and the stem shakes slightly to suggest a greeting. When the room lights up, the buds open and close, and when music is played, the plant dances.

Is It Bye-bye to the Aye-aye, the World's Ugliest Creature?

2008-09-19T02:17:04+02:00

Meet the Aye-Aye, the animals many believe to be the ugliest on the planet. Unfortunately for this creature, it is also one of the most endangered.It is one of those animals that always gets on to top ten lists of the world's ugliest creatures and sure enough, this native of Madagascar is unlikely to win any beauty contests. It is incredibly rare and becoming even more so for a number of reasons. It is the sole member of its genus family, Daubentoniidae, although there seems to have been another species as recently as one thousand years ago.Unfortunately, the Aye-Aye is viewed with great superstition by the indigenous inhabitants of Madagascar and is often killed on sight. There are very few breeding programs of the Aye-Aye in the world. Most successful among the few, however, is the Duke Lemur Center in the USA which has twenty two and there are several programs in the United Kingdom. However, there is no real idea how many Aye-Aye's still exist in the wild and it is considered highly endangered as a species, with a pessimistic forecast predicted for its survival in its indigenous surroundings.

Most diets don't work

2008-09-11T20:50:19+02:00

Just one in every 100 people who go on a diet succeed in shedding weight permanently.However, the high chance of failure did not stop millions of people trying to lose weight last year, spending billions in the process. Independent market analysts Datamonitor, who conducted the research, says that the diet industry is guilty of raising expectations unrealistically.Datamonitor said the makers of diet-related products should ensure consumers were aware they often need to change what they eat in the long term if they want to get rid of excess weight for good. "The appallingly low success rate of diets reflects badly on the diet industry, and this problem must be addressed effectively."The food and drinks industry, as well as retailers, have the influence and financial leverage necessary to produce coherent information campaigns to educate dieters on nutritional matters." In 2002, 230.6 million people across Europe attempted a diet. Of these, only 3.8 million will succeed in keeping off the weight that they have lost for over a year. The research was conducted in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Measles and critical thinking

2008-08-30T18:55:00+02:00

Measles is on the rise again in the United States thanks to celebs and M.G.'s (the respected "Master of Google" degree) pushing the belief -- to desperate parents in desperate situations -- that vaccines cause autism. Read about it here and here.Put really simply: this is why science education and critical thinking skills are so important.

What difference does technology and science make in the abortion debate?

2008-07-29T18:21:08+02:00

The British Parliament recently rejected the argument to reduce the upper limit of abortion for non disabled children, despite reports that babies have a greater chance of surviving before 24 weeks. Dawn Primarolo, the health minister, essentially argued that there was no evidence that technology had made a difference to the abortion debate.[1]

There have been extensive changes in the medical and scientific understanding of the development of the unborn child since 1967. We now have a greater knowledge of the damaging psychological impact of abortion[2], and with this we should examine the provisions that surround abortion in order to allow women to address to issues and be fully aware of the nature and consequences of abortion. Nine out of ten MPs favour a continuous review of the law in the light of new medical discoveries.

Other studies have shown evidence of the foetal pain of abortion,[3] an improvement in survival rates for those born before 24 weeks[4] and a link between abortion and breast cancer.[5] Some of these studies have been disputed, but more and more studies continue to validate these links. Many politicians and experts, including the House of Commons select committee,[6] have preferred to overlook this evidence, rather than consider the developing medical consensus of the damage of abortion to both the unborn child and the mother.

I believe that abortion is the most important and contentious issue our country faces because every year, 200,000 unborn children die by induced abortion, when they do not have the ability to defend themselves. These children, who have the dignity of being members of the human race, do not have the ability to speak for themselves. It looks like the British parliament has no interest in their cause: in the last 18 years in parliament, more than 700 hours were spent debating foxhunting legislation whereas just 3 hours were spent seriously debating the value of unborn children!

Yet it is undeniable that technology has made a phenomenal difference to the abortion debate. Professor Stuart Campbell has created 3D images of babies that have struck hearts and minds helping us to see the human face of the unborn babies.[7] His pictures show babies in the womb sucking their thumb, yawning and smiling. This has helped to communicate the human nature of the foetus- a convincing counter argument for those who just believe it to be a clump of cells. Modern technology has helped us to visualise what normally is hidden inside the womb, helping us to see that a baby inside the womb is not terribly dissimilar to one outside the womb.

Doctor Bernard Nathanson has used the technology of broadcasting to show action and reaction inside the womb. The film shows how a baby, just prior to being aborted, gives to considerable stressful signs and attempts to avoid being attacked by the tools of the abortionist.[8] The film compelling shows how human life is present in the womb and can even struggle to live and communicate inside the womb. This caused a radical change in heart for Doctor Bernard from being ardently pro choice to firmly pro life and his film has changed the hearts of thousands of others.

With such comprehensive legislation preventing discrimination of this disabled in society, why should we be allowed to discriminate in the womb but not on the pavement? In allowing abortion up to and during birth for "serious disability," the Abortion Act is at variance with The Disability Discrimination Act, which aims to end discrimination against the disabled. The Disability Rights Commission has questioned the discriminatory nature of our abortion legislation. Many are still unaware that abortion is still a crime in this country because it has only been partially decriminalised.

Above all, a new sexual revolution needs to occur before abortion diminishes in the western world. This will happen through the rediscovery of modesty and chastity as joyful ways of life. The discovery of compassionate alternatives need to be provided, such as housing, adoption and counselling for those involved in this trauma. Abortion is a tragedy, yet there is healing, compassion, mercy and forgiveness for those who have had this terrible experience.

[1]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7059169.stm

[2] Abortion has been shown to be damaging to mental health. Fergusson D et al. Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2006; 47(1): 16-24. Reardon DC et al. Psychiatric admissions of low-income women following abortion and childbirth. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2003; 168 (10): 1253-6 Coleman PK et al. State-funded abortions versus deliveries: a comparison of outpatient mental health claims over 4 years. American Journal Orthopsychiatry. 2002; 72,1: 141-152. Coleman PK et al. A history of induced abortion in relation to substance use during subsequent pregnancies carried to term. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2002; 187,6: 1673-1678

[3]Anand KJS et al. Neurodevelopmental Changes of Fetal Pain. Seminars in Perinatology. 2007; 31:275-282.

[4] Hoekstra RE et al. Survival and long-term neurodevelopmental outcome of extremely premature infants born at 23-26 weeks gestational age at a tertiary centre. Pediatrics. 2004; 113: e1-e6. Riley K et al. Changes in survival and neurodevelopmental outcome in 22 to 25 weeks gestation infants over a 20 year period (abstract). European Society for Pediatric Research, Annual Scientific Meeting. 2004

[5]Brind J et al. Induced abortion as an independent risk factor for breast cancer: a comprehensive review and meta-analysis. J. Epidemiology and Community Health. 1997; 50:465-467

[6]http://hfebill.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=5&id=20&Itemid=32

[7] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3846525.stm

[8] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjNo_0cW-ek

Watson and Crick describe structure of DNA

2008-07-24T05:35:00+02:00

In the late nineteenth century, a German biochemist found the nucleic acids, long-chain polymers of nucleotides, were made up of sugar, phosphoric acid, and several nitrogen-containing bases. Later it was found that the sugar in nucleic acid can be ribose or deoxyribose, giving two forms: RNA and DNA. In 1943, American Oswald Avery proved that DNA carries genetic information. He even suggested DNA might actually be the gene. Most people at the time thought the gene would be protein, not nucleic acid, but by the late 1940s, DNA was largely accepted as the genetic molecule. Scientists still needed to figure out this molecule's structure to be sure, and to understand how it worked. In 1948, Linus Pauling discovered that many proteins take the shape of an alpha helix, spiraled like a spring coil. In 1950, biochemist Erwin Chargaff found that the arrangement of nitrogen bases in DNA varied widely, but the amount of certain bases always occurred in a one-to-one ratio. These discoveries were an important foundation for the later description of DNA. In the early 1950s, the race to discover DNA was on. At Cambridge University, graduate student Francis Crick and research fellow James Watson (b. 1928) had become interested, impressed especially by Pauling's work. Meanwhile at King's College in London, Maurice Wilkins (b. 1916) and Rosalind Franklin were also studying DNA. The Cambridge team's approach was to make physical models to narrow down the possibilities and eventually create an accurate picture of the molecule. The King's team took an experimental approach, looking particularly at x-ray diffraction images of DNA. In 1951, Watson attended a lecture by Franklin on her work to date. She had found that DNA can exist in two forms, depending on the relative humidity in the surrounding air. This had helped her deduce that the phosphate part of the molecule was on the outside. Watson returned to Cambridge with a rather muddy recollection of the facts Franklin had presented, though clearly critical of her lecture style and personal appearance. Based on this information, Watson and Crick made a failed model. It caused the head of their unit to tell them to stop DNA research. But the subject just kept coming up.Franklin, working mostly alone, found that her x-ray diffractions showed that the "wet" form of DNA (in the higher humidity) had all the characteristics of a helix. She suspected that all DNA was helical but did not want to announce this finding until she had sufficient evidence on the other form as well. Wilkins was frustrated. In January, 1953, he showed Franklin's results to Watson, apparently without her knowledge or consent. Crick later admitted, "I'm afraid we always used to adopt -- let's say, a patronizing attitude towards her."Watson and Crick took a crucial conceptual step, suggesting the molecule was made of two chains of nucleotides, each in a helix as Franklin had found, but one going up and the other going down. Crick had just learned of Chargaff's findings about base pairs in the summer of 1952. He added that to the model, so that matching base pairs interlocked in the middle of the double helix to keep the distance between the chains constant. Watson and Crick showed that each strand of the DNA molecule was a template for the other. During cell division the two strands separate and on each strand a new "other half" is built, just like the one before. This way DNA can reproduce itself without changing its structure -- except for occasional errors, or mutations.The structure so perfectly fit the experimental data that it was almost immediately accepted. DNA's discovery has been called the most important biological work of the last 100 years, and the field it opened may be the scientific frontier for the next 100. By 1962, when Watson, Crick, and Wilkins won the Nobel Prize for physiology/medicine, Franklin had died. The Nobel Prize only goes to living recipients, and can only be shared among three winners. Were she alive, would she have been included in the prize?

Sans ceiling hypothesis

2008-06-17T11:00:00+02:00

As any system inherently controls itself, any system can also inherently be controlled: we need only to know how it controls itself to control it. There must be some interaction between the system and part of the rest of the universe as the existence of the system would otherwise not be relevant. By controlling that part of the universe we could control that interaction, and in this way, interact with this system. If we find out how to do this, we can fully control the system, and any phenomenon that is part of it. With that knowledge, we can control anything. The only barrier to omnipotence, then, would be a barrier to omniscience.It follows that anything in the universe can be controlled, merely because the universe itself can control itself, and we are part of that universe. If it is connected to our universe, it can be controlled - if it isn't connected to our universe, it doesn't really exist to us. There is therefore no limit to what we can achieve except for the limit to what the universe itself can achieve - that is, the limit to what exists in the universe. If the complexity of the universe is infinite, so the complexity of our knowledge of it will become, and therefore so will the complexity of our technology.The idea that there is no limit to technology is known as the sans ceiling hypothesis.For a discussion on whether or not the universe can be infinite in complexity, see the Infinity Principle:http://cloudscape.blogspirit.com/archive/2008/04/28/the-infinity-principle.htmlRelated entries, on the eventual "theosis" (deification) of intelligent species such as ourselves:http://cloudscape.blogspirit.com/archive/2008/04/28/god-theory-part-i-analytical.htmlhttp://cloudscape.blogspirit.com/archive/2008/04/28/the-god-theory-part-ii-holistic.html

Not an occasion for hatin' on postmodernists

2008-05-28T15:06:41+02:00

Some of the ScienceBloggers have picked up on a story about a teacher who threatened, via email, to sue her (freshman comp!) students for harassment. It's quite obvious that the woman was simply litigious -- she also tried to sue her superiors because they "ignored" the harassment -- and couldn't handle her students' challenging her. (I wish more students would disagree with and challenge me in class.) Unfortunately, this one case of a teacher's thin-skinned childishness is being used in the science blogosphere to attack postmodernism in general, which I think is unfortunate and reflects a continued misunderstanding of the term and philosophies it encompasses.Sure, some postmodernists will argue that science is just one "way of knowing," but their aim is to question beliefs that we accept as "natural" because of religious and social norms, not to present a drippy New Age form of relativism. The scientific method is in my view the most effective and safest "way of knowing" in the medical field; people who sell magic water make me angry too. But the ways in which many scientists and proponents of the "new" atheism on the blogosphere praise Enlightenment seems to me philosophically problematic: while the "scientifically study the natural, reject the supernatural" aspect of it makes sense, the (implied) "only (certain privileged) humans can shed light on what's been kept in the dark" aspect can be somewhat unsettling. Historically, there's a little bit of colonialism buried in Enlightenment, a factor that should be acknowledged.Basically, just because there are perhaps more than a handful of New-Agey relativists out there who call themselves postmodernists doesn't mean that postmodernism runs counter to science.

New currency for space travelers

2007-11-18T13:57:00+01:00

Scientists have come up with a new currency designed to be used by inter-planetary travellers.It is called the Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination, or Quid.It is designed to withstand the stresses of space travel and has no sharp edges or chemicals that could hurt space tourists. "None of the existing payment systems we use on earth - like cash, credit or debit cards - could be used in space," said Professor George Fraser from the University of Leicester."Anything with sharp edges, like coins, would be a risk to astronauts while the chips and magnetic strips used in our cards on Earth would be damaged beyond repair by cosmic radiation," he added.

My Brain Made Me Do It

2007-10-31T12:25:00+01:00

Ouch. My brain hurts.

"The claim 'my brain made me do it' suggests that I am not my brain; even that my brain is some kind of alien force. One of the founding notions of neurolaw, however, is that the person is the brain. If I were my brain, then 'My brain made me do it' would boil down to 'I made me do it' and that would hardly get me off the hook. And yet, if I am not identical with my brain, why should a brain make me do anything? Why should this impersonal bit of matter single me out?

"The brain is, of course, the final common pathway of all actions. You can't do much without a brain. Decapitation is, in most instances, associated with a decline in IQ."

from Why blame me? It was all my brain's fault: The dubious rise of 'neurolaw,' by Raymond Tallis at TimesOnline.

Recent Reading

2007-09-30T20:25:00+02:00

Recent online reading of interest: of Girard, desire, imitation and fashion; musing on death and life; findings of sloppy science; essays on climate change and human responsibility; the anniversary of Sputnik; and how hypocrisy traps make some of us squirm.

>> Death and the garden, Shelley, not looking out the window, obituary motifs, and thoughts on decay in The glad reaper: Our obituaries editor finds solace in a garden, a correspondent's diary (by Ann Wroe) in The Economist:

"More than I used to, I note the premature browning of leaves and grass, the erosion of statues and stones, the rotting of things. The odd pangs and pains in my own body I now surmise to be Death knocking, or leaving a calling card, with a promise to come back later.

"Is this morbid? Some friends and colleagues think so, joking nervously about 'the Grim Reaper' and 'Grave-Watch', muttering of coffin counts. But to me it is simply part of a continuum: death in life, life in death. Everything in nature springs up, flourishes, dies, springs up again: we do the same. Bodies form and decay all the time. What the spirit does, being outside nature, has the potential to be much more interesting. But since we have forgotten that life, if we ever knew it, we are left with physical dissolution, and we don't like it much."

>> Girard and the world of fashion: The Forces of Beauty and Desire in Fashion Imitation:

"It would hardly be controversial to mention beauty and desire in the same sentence. We desire to be beautiful, to own beautiful objects, to be with beautiful people. ... Our daily experiences assure us that desiring something is a conscious, spontaneous act. The things we desire are the things we have chosen. But what if this is not the case? What would this mean for a theory of beauty?

"Rene Girard ... views desire as something that is formed in the relationships people have with each other rather than as something found within individuals themselves. Perhaps more importantly, he stresses that imitation underlies the relationships in which desire is created. ... As an example, my best friend who is more beautiful than me wants to buy a dress. The theory of mimetic desire says that I also want the dress, not because I believe it to be a beautiful dress but rather because it is a dress that is desired by my beautiful friend.

"Two important points emerge from this scenario. The first is that my desire to have the dress is a direct response to the way in which I compare myself unfavourably with my friend. Moreover, by owning the dress she likes, I hope to take on the qualities I admire in her but perceive to be lacking in myself. In essence, I am trying to become my friend when I copy her desires. As Girard states, 'aware of a lack within ourselves, we look to others to teach us what to value and who to be.' Desire is therefore about self-identity. Advertising can be seen to exploit this insight."

>> I didn't read this but heard it yesterday on NPR's Weekend Edition: Khrushchev, Schorr Look Back on Sputnik. On the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the world's first human-made satellite, Sergei Khrushchev, the son of then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, and Dan Schorr, who was then Moscow Bureau chief for CBS News, talk with Scott Simon about its significance. I don't know why, but my attention was riveted as I listened to the interview.

>> Also worth listening to, Scott Simon's reflections on the Larry Craig case: What makes Scott squirm:

"It's the exultation among so many that another hypocritical politician has been exposed. ... There are those who believe Mr. Craig deserves his humiliation because he's a hypocrite ... I guess by now I have seen enough of life that I prefer to see someone as a real, complicated human being ... Human life, including sex, abounds with hypocrisy, faithlessness, carelessness, and people who say 'I love you' when they only mean, 'I want you.' People who say 'My spouse doesn't understand me,' when they really mean, 'My spouse knows me too well.' Most adults can supply their own examples. ... I wonder if people who applaud Larry Craig's arrest ... really want to arm the police with a moral license to set traps that catch people in hypocrisy. That's the kind of trap that most of us would step into someday."

>> Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic (1993-2003), writes about the morality of environmental and political choices in his op-ed piece, Our Moral Footprint, in the NYT.

Havel's essay seems a response to current Czech Republic president (since 2003) Vaclav Klaus's op-ed of June 2007, What is at risk is not the climate but freedom, in the Financial Times, in which Klaus says that "the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity now ... [is] ambitious environmentalism. ... This ideology wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central (now global) planning."

Havel eventually asserts, as does Klaus, that the climate and the Earth are not at risk, but Havel's take on it is markedly different from Klaus's:

"The end of the world has been anticipated many times and has never come, of course. And it won’t come this time either. We need not fear for our planet. It was here before us and most likely will be here after us. But that doesn’t mean that the human race is not at serious risk. As a result of our endeavors and our irresponsibility our climate might leave no place for us."

Before he gets there, he more pointedly contends:

"It is also obvious from published research that human activity is a cause of change; we just don't know how big its contribution is. Is it necessary to know that to the last percentage point, though? By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren't we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays? ... We can't endlessly fool ourselves that nothing is wrong and that we can go on cheerfully pursuing our wasteful lifestyles, ignoring the climate threats and postponing a solution. ...

"I’m skeptical that a problem as complex as climate change can be solved by any single branch of science. Technological measures and regulations are important, but equally important is support for education, ecological training and ethics -- a consciousness of the commonality of all living beings and an emphasis on shared responsibility."

>> Sloppy Science Studies: Most Science Studies Appear to Be Tainted By Sloppy Analysis in the WSJ. I'm almost to the point of not believing any scientific study, even replicated ones, certainly not based on summaries reported in the mainstream media, and I probably don't know enough science or remember enough statistics to trust my own judgment reading the original studies. (Of course, why should I believe this guy's findings, either?):

"Dr. [John] Ioannidis is an epidemiologist who studies research methods at the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece and Tufts University in Medford, Mass. In a series of influential analytical reports, he has documented how, in thousands of peer-reviewed research papers published every year, there may be so much less than meets the eye. ...

"These flawed findings, for the most part, stem not from fraud or formal misconduct, but from more mundane misbehavior: miscalculation, poor study design or self-serving data analysis. 'There is an increasing concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority or even the vast majority of published research claims,' Dr. Ioannidis said. 'A new claim about a research finding is more likely to be false than true.' The hotter the field of research the more likely its published findings should be viewed skeptically, he determined."

Update, 4 Oct 2007: Related to this: "The facts never speak for themselves, which is why scientists need to 'frame' their messages to the public," an article by Matthew C. Nisbet and Dietram A. Scheufele, in The Scientist.com:

"The dominant assumption is that ignorance is at the root of conflict over science. According to this traditional 'popular science' model, the media should be used to educate the public about the technical details of the issue in dispute. Once citizens are brought up to speed on the science, they will be more likely to judge scientific issues as scientists do and controversy will go away. The facts are assumed to speak for themselves and to be interpreted by all citizens in similar ways. ...

"... Arguments in favor of the popular science model are not very scientific. In fact, they cut against more than 60 years of research in the social sciences, a body of work that suggests citizens prefer to rely on their social values to pick and choose information sources that confirm what they already believe, often making up their minds about a topic in the absence of knowledge. A second challenge to the popular science model is that in today's media world, by way of cable TV and the Internet, the public has greater access to quality information about science than at any time in history, yet public knowledge of science remains low. The reason is that a small audience remains attentive to science coverage, but the broader public literally tunes out, preferring other media content."

Handy Climate Change Guide

2007-05-21T21:51:48+02:00

The handy New Scientist "Climate Change: A Guide for the Perplexed" succinctly refutes or explains the 26 most common climate change myths and misconceptions, such as: Chaotic systems are not predictable, They predicted global cooling in the 1970s, CO2 isn't the most important greenhouse gas, The lower atmosphere is cooling, not warming, We are simply recovering from the Little Ice Age, Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming.

Science Sunday

2007-04-29T18:35:00+02:00

Two items of interest:

1. Computer Programming

Are some people wired to be programmers while others aren't? Or is the way programming is taught what makes the difference? Or is the only difference between those who make good programmers and those who don't that the former group understands that programming is very strict and follows the same rules every time, while the latter group doesn't get it?

Separating Programming Sheep from Non-Programming Goats (or vice versa on the animals, as some programmers would have it) at Coding Horror cites a couple of papers positing, in his words, that "most people can't learn to program: between 30% and 60% of every university computer science department's intake fail the first programming course. Experienced teachers are weary but never oblivious of this fact." The authors of one of the papers cited explains the difference between potential programmers and non- by "their different attitudes to meaninglessness."

The authors of the paper claim that the primary hurdles in computer science are:

1. assignment and sequence (putting a value on a labelled container)

2. recursion / iteration (repeating operation over and over)

3. concurrency (analogy for that here)

... in that order.

When a simple (in structure) programming test is given, the results divide the students "cleanly into three groups:

* 44% of students formed a consistent mental model of how assignment works (even if incorrect!)

* 39% students never formed a consistent model of how assignment works.

* 8% of students didn't give a damn and left the answers blank.

"The test was administered twice; once at the beginning, before any instruction at all, and again after three weeks of class. The striking thing is that there was virtually no movement at all between the groups from the first to second test. Either you had a consistent model in your mind immediately upon first exposure to assignment, the first hurdle in programming-- or else you never developed one!"

They go on:

"Formal logical proofs, and therefore programs -– formal logical proofs that particular computations are possible, expressed in a formal system called a programming language -– are utterly meaningless. To write a computer program you have to come to terms with this, to accept that whatever you might want the program to mean, the machine will blindly follow its meaningless rules and come to some meaningless conclusion. In the test the consistent group [i.e., those with a consistent mental model, those presumably with programming aptitude] showed a pre-acceptance of this fact: they are capable of seeing mathematical calculation problems in terms of rules, and can follow those rules wheresoever they may lead. The inconsistent group [presumably sans programming aptitude], on the other hand, looks for meaning where it is not. The blank group [those who left the answer blank] knows that it is looking at meaninglessness, and refuses to deal with it."

Try the sample test question if you want to see where you fall, but most of all, read the fascinating comments!

2. A Call for Science that Matters

Aaron Swartz at Raw Thought asked readers to "post your favorite study -- the one that makes you sit up and say 'wow, this result ought to change everything.' And readers have. Study content varies wildly and includes the evils of free street parking, perception of physical force, the inherent irrationality of humans, the goodness of nuclear energy, the goodness of cities and the larger the better, eradication of child abuse as a way to eradicate all other social ills, the relationship between incompetence and inflated self-assessment, and so on. (As usual, there is also junk offered in the guise of scientific experiment.)

Today I'm into this study on vitamin D and cancer prevention. I'm a little non-objective about it, though, as I always think hanging out in the sun is a good and noble idea.

The Buddhist perspective of globalisation

2007-04-24T00:05:25+02:00

The Buddhist view of globalisation is embedded in its cardinal doctrine of interdependence or dependent co-arising (paticca samuppada in Pali), also translated as dependent co-origination, conditioned genesis, or conditioned co-production.

Samyutta Nikaya explains paticca samuppada as a four-part formula: “This being, that becomes; from the arising of this, that arises; this not being, that becomes not; from the ceasing of this, that ceases” (Macy1991, 39).

Accordingly, nothing can exist independently or autonomously. Trinh Xuan Thuan explains that according to this concept, “The world is a vast flow of events that are linked together and participate in one another.

There can be no First Cause, and no creation ex nihilo of the universe, as in the Big Bang theory. Since the universe has neither beginning nor end, the only universe compatible with Buddhism is a cyclic one” (Thuan 2001, 206).

Insolites

2007-04-21T11:41:39+02:00

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bombThe human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death.Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field.The catfish has over 27,000 taste budsSome lions mate over 50 times a day.Butterflies taste with their feet.The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.Elephants are the only animal that cannot jump.A cat's urine glows under a black light.An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.Starfish have no brains.Polar bears are left-handed.Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.

“Homeopathy makes the water cry”

2007-04-19T19:32:46+02:00

Homeopathy, you have certainly heard about what we call soft medicine based on the hypothesis according to it the water keeps the trace of each body that was in contact with it, and that since the universe creation. Thus, this science attribute a “memory” to the water.If the water had memory, it would remember such terrible horrors, crimes, deception, injustice, hate and sadness. It would taste again, while revising the memories, the blood of innocents poured in its ocean, sea, lac and streams...because nothing appease the barbarian thirst of human and that killing to survive strong or dying proud, honors the the warrier’s memory.It would taste again the pestilential cupidity of the black gleaming dirty oil poured, telling bylaw, it happened “accidentally”....blemishing its vividness and assassinating its soul seeing that we have to take advantage of ressources that nature mother offers generousely. It would suffer from the biterness of each tear washed by its rain, every tear dropped from the eyes of orphans traumatised by the violence and to whom we prescribe the oversight as the only cure.It would dampen the dust covering the minors’ faces ...patriotic minors who gave their life to carburate the hellish machines to accomplish their objective. The sweat of exploited children to fill the economic gaps of third world countries...When i think of all burden that the poor water is abiding, all that rot diluted in its memory...the reason of the drinkable water rarity is an obvious fact. And i complain to the water, sympathize to its pain, cry its despair; and i wish for it a liberating amnesia and for us to remember of all what we did to it.Homeopathy is making the water crying...crying because of remembering our dirtiest crimes against it, our mis-use of its sources...Keep it without memory, it would be easier to continue its journey of life in peace.

Hypertension - Treatment of High Blood Pressure

2007-04-10T03:15:00+02:00

It may sound like ancient marketing spiel, but there are good reasons why the Japanese call reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) the "mushroom of immortality." Although it won't make you immortal, it has been used as a high blood pressure treatment for over 2,000 years. For the past 30 years there has been more scientific study into reishi as a treatment for high blood pressure symptoms, and it hasn't been found wanting.You have many choices to make before and during treatment of high blood pressure symptoms. Patients already receiving standard high blood pressure treatment such as statins often seek out complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for treatment of high blood pressure."Complementary medicine" is medicine used alongside standard treatment. "Alternative medicine" is medicine used instead of standard treatment. Ask your doctor what approach you can safely try, complementary or alternative, and how to safely add reishi to your high blood pressure treatment.Reishi is known to lower blood pressure, blood cholesterol and triglycerides, and also strengthen the heart. Ask your doctor these questions about reishi for the treatment of high blood pressure:1.- What possible benefits can I expect from reishi? (The short answer is: a lot! Besides its use as a high blood pressure treatment and a heart-healthy herb, it can regulate the immune system, inhibit tumors, resolve allergies, improve lung function, boost endurance, and treat insomnia, liver disorders, anxiety, herpes, HIV, asthma and bronchitis.)2.- What are the potential risks of taking reishi? (Reishi is an extremely safe, non-toxic treatment of high blood pressure and has no known side effects, with the exception of detox symptoms for the first few days of taking reishi if the body is overly toxic. These include dryness of the mouth, throat and nasal areas, stomach upset, and loose stools.)3.- Do the possible benefits outweigh potential risks? (As a high blood pressure treatment, you must decide. High blood pressure symptoms or detox symptoms?)4.- Will taking reishi change the way my prescription medication works? (Very possibly. Studies confirm reishi is often such an effective treatment of high blood pressure symptoms that it may alter effects of prescription hypertension drugs. So it's possible dosages of prescription medications for high blood pressure treatment may need to be adjusted by your doctor.)5.- Are there studies showing this approach to treatment of high blood pressure symptoms is beneficial? (Dozens.)Many people try reishi as a high blood pressure treatment and say it that helps them feel better in other ways, as well as lowering blood pressure. Often, a drop in high blood pressure symptoms when taking reishi can be noticed after just 10 days. Many patients report the full benefits of taking reishi for two months. Reishi can be taken by a healthy person as well to prevent a variety of ailments.Reishi should not be a substitute for your doctor's recommended treatment of high blood pressure symptoms. If you decide you want to add reishi to your high blood pressure treatment protocol, it is very possible that you may soon need a lower dosage of prescription medication, and only your doctor can adjust that. Of course, your doctor wants you to be healthy. Armed with a wealth of information about reishi as a high blood pressure treatment, hopefully you will be able to get your doctor's cooperation in carefully monitoring your blood pressure after you start taking reishi and making necessary adjustments to your medications.

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Sientifically talking :“Life is summarized in Respiration, Alimentation and Sex”

2007-04-07T19:12:17+02:00

Talking scientifically, without considering feelings (love, passion, mercy...) or considering entertainment (art..) or whatever, there are three MAIN MAJOR and VITAL needs that we can’t live without: Alimentation, Respiration and Sex. It has been proved that our body depends on those three key words to maintain life: If one of them is missing, the basic metabolism will enter in disorder and end with death. We all agree that respiration is on the top of the list: no one can live without air...and personally, if they close my noise and mouth and will be told to chose between Billions of $ or that one deep fresh breath that i will be struggling for, of course the air will define my life more than the money...it is really precious.Thinking of the alimentation, the example of the house comes to my mind: to build a house, we need materials for construction; same thing with the body: to build our structure we need materials also...our materials are brought via nutrition and food. But, some houses may be destroyed if the basics are not well done...a strong wind can take it in his journey. The body is same, if we don’t eat the necessary demanded components (water, glucides, proteins, lipids, minerals, vitamines and fibers) we will be stuggling with some sickness and diseases.When it comes to sex, different points of view may be elaborated according to religion, belief... but at the end sex is a simple matter of priorities. It was classified as an indispensable element for life. If we begin with the body...the body doesn’t know where to lead us, exept into more and more sensations of the flesh....sensations that must, by certain physiological laws, eventually cause the body to become immune to sensation, needing ever more and more stimulation....until finally like a drug, the tolerance level is reached. That fulfilling sensation and activity is required by the body and the brain...and no one can escape it. If your reason and mind do, your body won’t; and vice versa. Sex is not a sin; only the mis-use of its energy is a sin. No one can live without sex, if they don’t do it with a partner, they must be doing it secretly by themselves...Breath deep to be conscious of the air value. Eat healthy to protect your life and boby. Find love to enjoy sex because “Using the body as an instrument for sex alone, without feelings or love, is like listening to a symphony but using only one speaker.”

Fibromyalgia (FMS)

2007-04-07T11:50:00+02:00

Fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal pain and fatigue disorder for which the cause is unknown. Fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and the soft tissues of the body.Who gets Fibromyalgia?According to statistics, it is commonly seen in women between the ages of 20 and 56. Men are also prone to Fibromyalgia, just not as much.Symptoms:Sleep abnormalities are seen as one of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has been closely associated with FMS. Another sign of Fibromyalgia is an increased sensitivity to pain and touch, as well as hot and cold.Some treatments/remedies for FMS are:Massage TherapyCraniosacral Therapy (Light therapeutic touch; is not Massage Therapy)Neuromuscular Therapy (Therapeutic)Relaxation MassageSteam packsAccupunctureMassage therapy is known for being a very therapeutic and healing modality to help release some of the pain and stress of Fibromyalgia.A thorough medical examination by a Board Certified Medical Physician, D.O., Chiropractor is essential with a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. Then, a prescription for therapy is advised - to be obtained from a licensed practitioner in massage.Massage therapy relaxes the muscles and helps further the oxygen and blood flow to the areas of tightness, pain or sensitivity. Massage also helps encourage the endorphins to produce more energy and less tiredness, as well as a relaxed state of mind and body.If you have seen your doctor and he or she has diagnosed you with Fibromyalgia, you could benefit significantly from the various types of massage and alternative treatments mentioned in this article. Check with your doctor to see which of the above options may be best for you.

”Intelligence is what you do when you don't know what to do.”

2007-04-01T16:24:22+02:00

Bright, dull, smart, stupid, fool, clever, slow, smart...bla bla bla...Well, today i met with a very old classmate who attended the same elementray school i did. i went back in the time...14 years back; i remmembed that white cute boy sitting besides me, he was sooo shy and not talkative at all. We used to call him “the danky”. There is a reason for that : when the teacher asked him once “Which animal gives us milk?” he was blocked for a while then, with a little pressure he answered: “The mouse”. Since that day, he was pointed as the most stupid guy on earth. He quit elementary school at the age of 10. It was painful for us to see people at young age staying at home without doing anything...for us we call it “Failure”.Time passed, i graduated from high school with A and attended my engineering school. The difference between me and him is that he was naturally an engineer without attending any school or college. Yes, i thought that i was smart and successful because at the age of 8 i could know which animal gives us the milk, because i graduated with A and because i’m following engineering career. For me that was the intelligence.Today i discovered that intelligence can’t be measured by how many diploma you get, how many years you studied and how much IQ u got. Today, i learnt that being intelligent is to know what to do, when u don’t know what to do. That boy was lost when he got out of school, but he knew how to develop his hidden skills to overcome the surname of “Danky”.Now, he has his own store to fix computers. His business is very successful. He was talented for computer repairing and meanwhile working half time with a company...very well know brand. Thanks to that natural given talent, he was able to build his private house, buying more than a car, and offering himself a nice vacation every year. While me, supposing to be smarter than him, i’m still stuggling; and worse yet, many years left to achieve what he did in few years...It is evident to know that “cow gives the milk” at the age of 8. But it is not enough to consider that person smarter than the one who said “the mouse does”. Is intelligence a property of the brain, a characteristic of behavior, or a set of knowledge and skills?

Mathematicians unlock major number theory puzzle

2007-02-28T21:47:15+01:00

Mathematicians have finally laid to rest the legendary mystery surrounding an elusive group of numerical expressions known as the "mock theta functions." Number theorists have struggled to understand the functions ever since the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan first alluded to them in a letter written on his deathbed, in 1920.