Headlines of the day
Rubber ducks aid climate research (CNN)
Mostly with their money. You know, the royalties from that Rubber Duckie song.
Pig holds woman prisoner in her house (CNN)
Two legs or four?
Homeland Security Detects Terrorist Threats by Reading Your Mind (Fox News)
You mean, "God, I'm hung over-nice ass-if only the Mets had a closer-Wake me up before you go go-what ever happened to her-you moron-I like tater tots-hope i'm not late-why did Sister Norbert say that in Latin class-I gotta eat something." could get us pulled out of line? Don't you just hate it when Dylan is right?
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Making Science More Better For You on 09/23/08
Headline of the day
Abe Vigoda still alive, thank you very much (CNN)
We're going to avoid the obvious "sounds fishy" line. We are however, pleased that while the world crumbles around us, CNN is keeping us posted on Tessio's health. While we're at it, how's Hal Linden doing?
We're going to avoid the obvious "sounds fishy" line. We are however, pleased that while the world crumbles around us, CNN is keeping us posted on Tessio's health. While we're at it, how's Hal Linden doing?
Friday, September 19, 2008
Making Science More Better For You on 09/19/08
Headlines of the day
Brother says he was stabbed over Hot Pocket (South Bend Tribune.com)
Wife and husband charged in brawl at baby shower (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Brawl and Bawl?
Va. town tries to prove existence of 'ghost cats' (AP)
Okay, here's the pitch. I got it. Picture a musical that's a cross between Ghost and Cats. Huge I tell ya.
Looters dig for nickels at crash site (CNN)
About that economic recovery plan...
Does That Phelps Guy Know About This?
It’s All In The Hips: Early Whales Used Well Developed Back Legs For Swimming, Fossils Show
ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2008) — The crashing of the enormous fluked tail on the surface of the ocean is a “calling card” of modern whales. Living whales have no back legs, and their front legs take the form of flippers that allow them to steer. Their special tails provide the powerful thrust necessary to move their huge bulk. Yet this has not always been the case.
Reporting in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, paleontologist Mark D. Uhen of the Alabama Museum of Natural History describes new fossils from Alabama and Mississippi that pinpoint where tail flukes developed in the evolution of whales.
“We know that the earliest whales were four-footed, semi-aquatic animals, and we knew that some later early whales had tail flukes, but we didn’t know exactly when the flukes first arose,” said Uhen. “Now we do.”
The most complete fossil described in the study is a species called Georgiacetus vogtlensis. Although not new to science, the new fossils provide some very significant new information. In particular, previously unknown bones from the tail show that it lacked a tail fluke. On the other hand, it did have large back feet and Uhen suggests that it used them as hydrofoils. Undulating the body in the hip region was the key factor in the evolution of swimming.
Brother says he was stabbed over Hot Pocket (South Bend Tribune.com)
Wife and husband charged in brawl at baby shower (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Brawl and Bawl?
Va. town tries to prove existence of 'ghost cats' (AP)
Okay, here's the pitch. I got it. Picture a musical that's a cross between Ghost and Cats. Huge I tell ya.
Looters dig for nickels at crash site (CNN)
About that economic recovery plan...
Does That Phelps Guy Know About This?
It’s All In The Hips: Early Whales Used Well Developed Back Legs For Swimming, Fossils Show
ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2008) — The crashing of the enormous fluked tail on the surface of the ocean is a “calling card” of modern whales. Living whales have no back legs, and their front legs take the form of flippers that allow them to steer. Their special tails provide the powerful thrust necessary to move their huge bulk. Yet this has not always been the case.
Reporting in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, paleontologist Mark D. Uhen of the Alabama Museum of Natural History describes new fossils from Alabama and Mississippi that pinpoint where tail flukes developed in the evolution of whales.
“We know that the earliest whales were four-footed, semi-aquatic animals, and we knew that some later early whales had tail flukes, but we didn’t know exactly when the flukes first arose,” said Uhen. “Now we do.”
The most complete fossil described in the study is a species called Georgiacetus vogtlensis. Although not new to science, the new fossils provide some very significant new information. In particular, previously unknown bones from the tail show that it lacked a tail fluke. On the other hand, it did have large back feet and Uhen suggests that it used them as hydrofoils. Undulating the body in the hip region was the key factor in the evolution of swimming.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Making Science More Better For You on 09/16/08
Headline of the day
Naked man walking dog Tasered by Tallahassee police
(Tallahasse.com)
Naked man walking dog Tasered by Tallahassee police
(Tallahasse.com)
Friday, September 5, 2008
Making Science More Better For You on 09/05/08
Headlines of the day
Pregnant ex allegedly bit off new girlfriend's finger (Madison.com)
What? You never heard of a craving?
Cops kick in door over bird’s cries for help (MSNBC)
Elephant cured of heroin addiction (The Star.com of Toronto
>
"It's all happenin' at the zoo"...Oh, that's what they meant.
Puff the Magic Dragon declined comment.
This just in…Given half a chance kids will stay up later than they should. Film at 11. Science Marches On…
Children With TVs Or Computers In Their Room Sleep Less
ScienceDaily (Sep. 5, 2008) — Middle school children who have a television or computer in their room sleep less during the school year, watch more TV, play more computer games and surf the net more than their peers who don't – reveals joint research conducted by the University of Haifa and Jezreel Valley College.
The research, conducted by Prof. Yael Latzer and Dr. Tamar Shochat of the University of Haifa and Prof. Orna Chishinsky of the Jezreel Valley College, examined 444 middle school pupils with an average age of 14. The children were asked about their sleep habits, their use of computer and television, and their eating habits while watching TV or using the computer.
The study participants reported an average bedtime of 11:04 P.M and wake-up time of 6:45 A.M. On the weekends, the average bedtime was somewhat later – at 1:45 A.M. and wake-up much later – at 11:30 A.M. Those children with TVs or computers in their room went to sleep half an hour later on average but woke up at the same time.
According to the study, middle school pupils watch a daily average of two hours and 40 minutes of TV and use their computer for three hours and 45 minutes. On weekends, they watch half an hour more TV than during the rest of the week and use their computers for four hours. Children with a TV in their room watch an hour more than those without and those with their own computer use it an hour more than their peers.
A fifth of pupils said they ate in front of the TV set on a regular basis, while 70 percent said they did so only occasionally. Only 10% reported never eating in front of the TV. Computers were considered to be a less attractive eating place, with only 10% eating in front of the computer on a regular basis, 40% occasionally, and half never eating there.
But how will they learn to be good consumers if they don't eat in front of the TV? If they're not there it means they're missing ads.
Pregnant ex allegedly bit off new girlfriend's finger (Madison.com)
What? You never heard of a craving?
Cops kick in door over bird’s cries for help (MSNBC)
Elephant cured of heroin addiction (The Star.com of Toronto
>
"It's all happenin' at the zoo"...Oh, that's what they meant.
Puff the Magic Dragon declined comment.
This just in…Given half a chance kids will stay up later than they should. Film at 11. Science Marches On…
Children With TVs Or Computers In Their Room Sleep Less
ScienceDaily (Sep. 5, 2008) — Middle school children who have a television or computer in their room sleep less during the school year, watch more TV, play more computer games and surf the net more than their peers who don't – reveals joint research conducted by the University of Haifa and Jezreel Valley College.
The research, conducted by Prof. Yael Latzer and Dr. Tamar Shochat of the University of Haifa and Prof. Orna Chishinsky of the Jezreel Valley College, examined 444 middle school pupils with an average age of 14. The children were asked about their sleep habits, their use of computer and television, and their eating habits while watching TV or using the computer.
The study participants reported an average bedtime of 11:04 P.M and wake-up time of 6:45 A.M. On the weekends, the average bedtime was somewhat later – at 1:45 A.M. and wake-up much later – at 11:30 A.M. Those children with TVs or computers in their room went to sleep half an hour later on average but woke up at the same time.
According to the study, middle school pupils watch a daily average of two hours and 40 minutes of TV and use their computer for three hours and 45 minutes. On weekends, they watch half an hour more TV than during the rest of the week and use their computers for four hours. Children with a TV in their room watch an hour more than those without and those with their own computer use it an hour more than their peers.
A fifth of pupils said they ate in front of the TV set on a regular basis, while 70 percent said they did so only occasionally. Only 10% reported never eating in front of the TV. Computers were considered to be a less attractive eating place, with only 10% eating in front of the computer on a regular basis, 40% occasionally, and half never eating there.
But how will they learn to be good consumers if they don't eat in front of the TV? If they're not there it means they're missing ads.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Making Science More Better For You on 09/03/08
Headline of the day
Taser ends emu scamper on Pennsylvania Turnpike
(Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
Well yeah, if you stay in base ten they do ok.
Elephants show flair for arithmetic
Leo Lewis in Tokyo (Times Online.UK)
The elephant's memory is legendary, but in a large, grey surprise to science the mighty Asian elephant turns out to have a distinct flair for maths as well
Under carefully controlled experimental conditions — essentially comprising a large cage and two buckets of assorted fruit — one elephant at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo managed to get its sums right 87 per cent of the time. A slightly less gifted pachyderm across the country in Kyoto scored a still respectable 69 per cent.
The curiously accurate adding skills of Elephas maximus have been discovered by Naoko Irie, a behavioural ecologist at the University of Tokyo putting the finishing touches to her doctoral thesis. In her tests, three apples were dropped into one bucket and five into a second one next to it. Two more apples were added to each bucket, leaving the first with five and the second with seven apples.
Unable to see inside the buckets or probe them with her trunk, 30-year old Ashiya selected the bucket with the more apples having, apparently, counted the contents of each as it was being loaded-up with fruit. Nothing spectacularly rare about that, say scientists – plenty of animals have been shown to possess basic counting abilities but most animals fail when the numbers get much bigger than three or four or the margin of difference between the available choices become too narrow.
“I couldn’t believe it at first,” said Irie, “They could instantly compare numbers like six and five."
The elephants she subjected to the fruit-based arithmetic tests were as good at telling the difference between five and six as they were at spotting that five is greater than one, she said.
Speculation among scientists over why the elephant should have developed its limited but nonetheless impressive mathematical ability centres on the way in which the lumbering creatures move in herds. A basic counting ability, say experts, might act as a guarantee that no calf is left behind.
To be on the safe side, we suggest you don’t eat the ones with three eyes.
Clones' offspring may be in food supply: FDA
By Christopher Doering
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Food and milk from the offspring of cloned animals may have entered the U.S. food supply, the U.S. government said on Tuesday, but it would be impossible to know because there is no difference between cloned and conventional products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in January meat and milk from cloned cattle, swine and goats and their offspring were as safe as products from traditional animals. Before then, farmers and ranchers had followed a voluntary moratorium on the sale of clones and their offspring.
While the FDA evaluated the safety of food from clones and their offspring, the U.S. Agriculture Department was in charge of managing the transition of these animals into the food supply.
"It is theoretically possible" offspring from clones are in the food supply, said Siobhan DeLancey, an FDA spokeswoman.
Cloning animals involves taking the nuclei of cells from adults and fusing them into egg cells that are implanted into a surrogate mother. There are an estimated 600 cloned animals in the United States.
Proponents, including the Biotechnology Industry Organization, say cloning is a way to create more disease-resistant animals that produce more milk and better meat. The cloning industry and the FDA say cloned animals and their offspring are as safe as their traditional counterparts.
Critics contend not enough is known about the technology to ensure it is safe, and they also say the FDA needs to address concerns over animal cruelty and ethical issues.
"It worries me that this technology is out of control in so many ways," said Charles Margulis, a spokesman with the Center for Environmental Health. The possibility of offspring being in the food supply "is just another element of that," he said.
FDA and USDA have said it is impossible to differentiate between cloned animals, their offspring and conventionally bred animals, making it difficult to know if offspring are in the food supply.
"But they would be a very limited number because of the very few number of clones that are out there and relatively few of those clones are at an age where they would be parenting," said Bruce Knight, USDA's undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs.
As the FDA unveiled its final rule, USDA in January asked producers to prolong the ban on selling products from cloned animals. That ban did not extend to meat and milk from the clone's offspring.
Major food companies including Tyson Foods Inc, the largest U.S. meat company, and Smithfield Foods Inc have said they would avoid using cloned animals because of safety concerns.
The list grew on Tuesday after the Center for Food Safety and Friends of the Earth said 20 food producers and retailers vowed not to use ingredients from cloned animals.
The list, provided by the two groups, included Kraft Foods Inc, General Mills Inc, Campbell Soup Co, Nestle SA, California Pizza Kitchen Inc and Supervalu Inc.
In a letter to the Center for Food Safety, Susan Davison, director of corporate affairs with Kraft, said product safety was "not the only factor" the company considers.
"We must also carefully consider additional factors such as consumer benefits and acceptance ... and research in the U.S. indicates that consumers are currently not receptive to ingredients from cloned animals," she said.
"It is theoretically possible" offspring from clones are in the food supply, said Siobhan DeLancey, an FDA spokeswoman.
"Theoretically possible" is spokesperson speak for , "oh yeah, it happened."
Taser ends emu scamper on Pennsylvania Turnpike
(Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
Well yeah, if you stay in base ten they do ok.
Elephants show flair for arithmetic
Leo Lewis in Tokyo (Times Online.UK)
The elephant's memory is legendary, but in a large, grey surprise to science the mighty Asian elephant turns out to have a distinct flair for maths as well
Under carefully controlled experimental conditions — essentially comprising a large cage and two buckets of assorted fruit — one elephant at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo managed to get its sums right 87 per cent of the time. A slightly less gifted pachyderm across the country in Kyoto scored a still respectable 69 per cent.
The curiously accurate adding skills of Elephas maximus have been discovered by Naoko Irie, a behavioural ecologist at the University of Tokyo putting the finishing touches to her doctoral thesis. In her tests, three apples were dropped into one bucket and five into a second one next to it. Two more apples were added to each bucket, leaving the first with five and the second with seven apples.
Unable to see inside the buckets or probe them with her trunk, 30-year old Ashiya selected the bucket with the more apples having, apparently, counted the contents of each as it was being loaded-up with fruit. Nothing spectacularly rare about that, say scientists – plenty of animals have been shown to possess basic counting abilities but most animals fail when the numbers get much bigger than three or four or the margin of difference between the available choices become too narrow.
“I couldn’t believe it at first,” said Irie, “They could instantly compare numbers like six and five."
The elephants she subjected to the fruit-based arithmetic tests were as good at telling the difference between five and six as they were at spotting that five is greater than one, she said.
Speculation among scientists over why the elephant should have developed its limited but nonetheless impressive mathematical ability centres on the way in which the lumbering creatures move in herds. A basic counting ability, say experts, might act as a guarantee that no calf is left behind.
To be on the safe side, we suggest you don’t eat the ones with three eyes.
Clones' offspring may be in food supply: FDA
By Christopher Doering
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Food and milk from the offspring of cloned animals may have entered the U.S. food supply, the U.S. government said on Tuesday, but it would be impossible to know because there is no difference between cloned and conventional products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in January meat and milk from cloned cattle, swine and goats and their offspring were as safe as products from traditional animals. Before then, farmers and ranchers had followed a voluntary moratorium on the sale of clones and their offspring.
While the FDA evaluated the safety of food from clones and their offspring, the U.S. Agriculture Department was in charge of managing the transition of these animals into the food supply.
"It is theoretically possible" offspring from clones are in the food supply, said Siobhan DeLancey, an FDA spokeswoman.
Cloning animals involves taking the nuclei of cells from adults and fusing them into egg cells that are implanted into a surrogate mother. There are an estimated 600 cloned animals in the United States.
Proponents, including the Biotechnology Industry Organization, say cloning is a way to create more disease-resistant animals that produce more milk and better meat. The cloning industry and the FDA say cloned animals and their offspring are as safe as their traditional counterparts.
Critics contend not enough is known about the technology to ensure it is safe, and they also say the FDA needs to address concerns over animal cruelty and ethical issues.
"It worries me that this technology is out of control in so many ways," said Charles Margulis, a spokesman with the Center for Environmental Health. The possibility of offspring being in the food supply "is just another element of that," he said.
FDA and USDA have said it is impossible to differentiate between cloned animals, their offspring and conventionally bred animals, making it difficult to know if offspring are in the food supply.
"But they would be a very limited number because of the very few number of clones that are out there and relatively few of those clones are at an age where they would be parenting," said Bruce Knight, USDA's undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs.
As the FDA unveiled its final rule, USDA in January asked producers to prolong the ban on selling products from cloned animals. That ban did not extend to meat and milk from the clone's offspring.
Major food companies including Tyson Foods Inc, the largest U.S. meat company, and Smithfield Foods Inc have said they would avoid using cloned animals because of safety concerns.
The list grew on Tuesday after the Center for Food Safety and Friends of the Earth said 20 food producers and retailers vowed not to use ingredients from cloned animals.
The list, provided by the two groups, included Kraft Foods Inc, General Mills Inc, Campbell Soup Co, Nestle SA, California Pizza Kitchen Inc and Supervalu Inc.
In a letter to the Center for Food Safety, Susan Davison, director of corporate affairs with Kraft, said product safety was "not the only factor" the company considers.
"We must also carefully consider additional factors such as consumer benefits and acceptance ... and research in the U.S. indicates that consumers are currently not receptive to ingredients from cloned animals," she said.
"It is theoretically possible" offspring from clones are in the food supply, said Siobhan DeLancey, an FDA spokeswoman.
"Theoretically possible" is spokesperson speak for , "oh yeah, it happened."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
