Apparently, a committee in Japan is lobbying for a return to the traditional sake bottle. The squid skins dry in the sun, stuffed with rice or grains to create the bottle shape. Once fully dried,…

Okay, the year is not over just yet, but it is already time for a little accounting of the traffic on this site in the course of the last eight-and-a-half months -that is, since I moved my blog to…

Biofuels were all the rage in the 1990s.   Sustainable, activists said, because they refused to do math.   It was only when Republicans mandated and subsidized biofuels in 2005 that…

A few recently published studies offered some insight into the issue of closing schools to reduce the effects of a flu epidemic. The first problem, which hasn't been resolved, is determining the…

Caffeine is the world's most popular stimulant drug and enjoys the cultural shield of being both legal and acceptable.    A caffeine addiction is considered perfectly normal. But with soft…

During my one and only severe manic episode, during the summer of 2006, I had the scariest half hour of my life where I thought I was literally in danger of losing my sanity. I found myself…

How often have you taken a picture with a digital camera, only for it to come out looking like this? The sky’s too bright, the shaded parts are too dark, and however much one juggles with it with…

The autotrophic cell is the one who is able to produce, by it self, its own energy and structural components. It corresponds, in the natural world to the vegetable cell. We call to this process…

To wrap up the year, I'm listing my 4 worst columns.  Or, at least, the four columns that got outstandingly terrible readership.  I searched for a pattern or justification for why people…

  WOMAN BUTCHERED     Ayad Gharbawi   Child that gathered knowledge Knowledge frightening to human nature Girl-child was awakened Herself she awakened Saw the glow of eyes…

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THE STORY OF SARA Or A Reflection on Ourselves Ayad Izzet Gharbawi 2008 Table of Contents Chapter 1: An Awakening. Page: 3.Chapter 2: University. Page 12.Chapter 3: Being an Activist. Page 23.Chapter…

The turnaround of the three physics questions I offered a few days ago, to stimulate your neurons and extract you from the chocolate and alcohol flood caused by the usual string of Christmas parties…

Instead of reduction of emissions let us concentrate on making this world greener all over globally. Today was sad day of my life when I saw picture of vehicles parked in the area that used to be a…

Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry, Eduardo Mondlane University • Task • Submit paper and present orally on the research undertaken under the FACT/ADPP Jatropha project in Cabo Delgado 14 to 25…

The FDA's pre-market approval process for cardiovascular devices is often based on studies that lack adequate strength or may have been prone to bias, according to a study in the December 23/30 issue…

When New Year's Eve rolls around and you're deciding whether to have another glass of champagne, your decision may be predicted by your perspective on the future. A pair of Kansas State University…

Ginkgo biloba, popularly consumed for its supposedly positive effect on memory, has no such effect, according to new research published in the December 23/30 issue of JAMA.  In the study, older…

To-do list for 2010: - Compute likelihood gravitational quantum tunneling from Earth to Jupiter- Check whether I am safe, or need to gain weight. Cartoon by xkcd. Happy new year!