In 1989, the communist dictatorship oddly named Union of Soviet Socialist Republics reached the extent of a third giant hole in the Arctic Circle, Kola Superdeep Borehole SG-3, where they'd been drilling for 19 years. It clocked in at nearly 8 miles deep.
The last few years have seen a real spike in end-of-the-world conspiracy theories. Why? More asteroids, more flares, more earthquakes? No, just more Internet to talk about them, which gives bored news media something to talk about and bored science sites more news media to debunk.At least one end-of-the-world scenario for 2012 has been eliminated already - like the Christmas shopping season, people are pushing debunking the apocalypse farther and farther back and science is already eliminating 2012 apocalypses before 2011 is even over. Sheesh. When will we learn to just enjoy the anticipation?
If you've ever thought you were being abducted by an alien or, if you are 400 years old, seduced by a succubus, and couldn't move, you are not alone. A new article in Sleep Medicine Reviews says 7.6% of the population has had the same experience and it's called sleep paralysis.The psychologists define sleep paralysis as "a discrete period of time during which voluntary muscle movement is inhibited, yet ocular and respiratory movements are intact" and it often involves hallucinations.
If you're worried about getting the flu, chances are that you got an influenza vaccine; these are created on an annual basis and use a method from the 1950s; it is egg-based technology, literally produced in chicken eggs. Some vaccines, like polio, are now created using laboratory-grown cell lines that are capable of hosting a growing virus. The first is inefficient, the second is expensive.(1)The future of vaccines looks a little different. The race is on to create a universal flu vaccine, one that does not have to be recreated each year, and to also bring the technology cost down to where it is more financially constructive to get people a vaccine than have them in the hospital.(2)
If you've studied the martial arts, or know anything at all about Asian culture, you have heard of the ch'i. It's spelled lots of different ways, which happens when you turn Eastern sounds into Western letters, but essentially it means a life force.(1)As a young guy, open to the world, it's easy to be drawn into discussions and thoughts about lots of ideas and a life force essential to all humans might as well be in the mix. Some proponents even believe that all matter derives from ch'i, which at least has a science parallel.
Throughout the history of politics, the discourse has been rancorous. If your parents did not tell you never to discuss religion or politics in polite company, you learned that lesson on your own. 'Blame the media' thinking was popular even in the 1700s.A University of Missouri analysis of recent political blogs - i.e., basically meaningless, but fun to talk about - indicates politics are getting nastier due to digital media. Why? The digital world has made it easier for polarized interest groups (which is basically every interest group) to reach other people who are similarly polarized.
Quick, have you heard of Professor Curie? How about Marie Curie?If you're reading this article, you may have known who I meant with the first one, but how many of you instinctively thought of Pierre Curie, co-discoverer of Polonium and Radium, when I used the term 'professor'? You all knew the name Marie Curie but to the bulk of the world, one of the most iconic scientists of the 20th century is known instead as "Madame Curie".
For millenia, science and technology have been mobilized toward a Utopian dream; making food so plentiful and cheap poor people could afford to be fat.Well, they can, and because we have freedom (sort of - some states ban trans fats for your own good) a lot of people are fat; so fat some advocates even insist we should go back to making food too expensive for poor people to eat. Others contend people should just eat less and keep government out of it.For people who seek a third alternative, there is the awesome power of science. Maybe taking a pill would do the trick.
False equivalence was the big deal two weeks ago, with political advocates Googling for evidence that there might be a Republican with a science Ph.D. (and then ostracizing any found, in the name of tolerance and diversity) and generally out to debunk the notion that the left might have its own kooks.
In a few short hours, the World Series will begin between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals. In the midst of all the talk of how offense is winning games this year (team Earned Run Average by starters in the post-season is over 5) and the strategic match-ups, there will be little attention paid to the belief engines in the skulls of individual players; their brains.
Quick, which British cell phone do you use? No? Okay, which French microprocessor is in your PC? No again?America leads the world in innovation, the legacy of historical laissez-faire approaches to fixing big problems using the private sector. Obviously that is different now, even in science, where Pres. Obama made good on his promise to add more science to his cabinet but erroneously thought all of science was composed of progressive academics who think more taxpayer spending is the only way science gets done, leading to the Solyndra boondoggle and more to follow.
Abortion is not a contentious issue in America these days - campaign platforms primarily center on differences in taxation and the scope of government but, for the most part, abortion for the left and the 2nd Amendment for the right are really only invoked to whip the fringes into a frenzy.
The U.S. military has its own judicial system. If you commit an infraction, you are charged under the Uniform Court of Military Justice. This keeps the military from becoming a political football. The four other professions also have their own internal monitoring system. For example, even if you do not commit a criminal act as an attorney, you can still be disbarred for conduct outside their rules.
