Around the pink- and red-hued madness of overpriced flowers and heart-shaped everything that is Valentine's Day, even a rocket man1 needs a little love.2 Unfortunately for NASA, the Stardust spacecraft beamed down an unexpected photo of its intended Valentine, the potato-shaped comet Tempel 1. (And no wonder - what girl wants to be photographed if she's told she has the figure of a potato?)Instead of a space age love song3, scientists received the a photo of a tiny speck:
A scientist and journalist by training, I enjoy all things science, especially science-related humor. My column title is a throwback to Jane Austen's famous first line in Pride and Prejudice - I like to explore whether truths really are, or if they …
There isn't a lot that can pull me away from a hockey game.* Such is the power of Wired magazine, and really freaking cool science. When people see the optical illusion known as "the hollow mask" - a concave face, like the back side of a hollow mask - they see a normal convex face, according to a Wired Science post (see photo below). But the approximately 1 percent of the population with schizophrenia see the concave face.
Update: check out this YouTube video - about 2:55 in, the cute kid videos start.Can you increase your willpower? Can high levels of willpower lead to greater success in life?Columbia University psychologist Walter Mischel says yes. In the 1960s, Mischel used hundreds of 4-year-olds to answer these questions in what is now referred to as the marshmallow test. The ability to wait for gratification is considered a personality trait important for success later in life, and may even be a component of emotional intelligence. Those without this personality trait need their gratification instantly and suffer from poor impulse control.
The Alliance For Human Research Protection, a non-profit advocacy group for responsible and ethical medical research practices, has called for the suspension of JAMA editor-in-chief Catherine DeAngelis and exec deputy editor Phil Fontanarosa, and for an an investigation into allegations that they threatened a researcher who criticized a study published in the journal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A move from the big city to a small village is always a culture shock, but can it affect just more than your Friday night plans?Now, I've lived in rural and urban locales. But either the local water utilities people put happy pills in the water supply here, or my overstimulation cup had overfloweth'd, because this latest move seemed more a stark contrast.
The hot buzz word in the health care reform sector is "comparative effectivness research," and the lay press is picking up on the partisan rumblings in Washington over this provision in the recent stimulus legislation. But what is CE research, and why should we care about the minutiae involved in the bickering of a bunch of Washington politicians?In fact, we should care very much, as it could change the way physicians practice medicine and consumers use health care.
Rene Descartes, father of modern philosophy and analytical geometry, is perhaps best known for his simple statement: Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am (or I am thinking, therefore I exist).
Can you connect the dots? Playboy playmates, Barbie, and Wired Magazine.Give up? Wired featured a charticle in the February issue on the BMI of Playmates, starting back in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe to the recent January 2009 cover girl, versus those of the average woman. No surprise, the bunnies are trending toward Barbie (who turns 50 this year), while the average woman is slowly crawling up the BMI scale.
Parents and advocates who believe vaccines cause autism were dealt a double blow this week. On the scientific front, a discredited 1998 study that launched the vaccine-autism debate onto the forefront made headlines, and on the legal front, a special U.S. court ruled that vaccines are not to blame for the disease.
The Valentine's Day lovefest on this site - who says scientists aren't warm and fuzzy? - is spectacular. You can learn about the chemistry of love with Valentine's Day science for women, easy solutions for the languishing lothario (personal favorites at the moment - "Roses are red, violets are blue. You and me we will stick like clay," and "I wanna be your Viking cleaner breathing in your dust.
Kudos to Sally Jenkins at the Washington Post for the best article I've read so far on the Michael Phelps non-scandal. I thought I was going to read a humorous article about one of my favorite TV shows (The Big Bang Theory), not connecting the dots with Willie Nelson's favorite pasttime.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, according to Ben Franklin. But what if the prevention causes more harm than benefit? And what if the prevention doesn't prevent much of anything at all?
2009 is the international year of astronomy, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Galileo's observations of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter published in Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger).Unlike numerous other scientific initiatives to educate the populace, I think this global effort may actually have some impact. Not only are there educational materials, but practical tips, movie clips, and a myriad of projects to draw in amateurs and experts alike. The initiative is also harnessing the power of the Internet, much like Obama did in his campaign, to spread the word.
