Science/Technology blog

Snipped from PopulistAmerica.com.

Now here is someone that actually thinks with his cerebrum, and not his penis. While I was reading this, I kept saying to myself, “this is exactly what I have been saying … damn it, why is this type of thinking so rare?” If one wants to truly solve our geopolitical problems, then close all of our military bases, cut military spending by half or MORE, and bring every single troop home. Militarily speaking, become an isolationist nation.

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Posted in Coupons at 4:00 pm by David Bradley — Click to comment

I’ve been struggling this week to think of an excuse to mention Disney coupons. This is a science blog after all, but as regular readers are well aware it is supported in part by a coupons section. At the weekend, I usually try to shoehorn in some spurious reference to a product or service for which there is a coupon on the site in the hope that dedicated readers, hoping to see the site continue well into its second decade (version 1.0 appeared in May 1996), will lend support by using said coupon.

Anyway, it’s the turn of Disney coupons this week, but where’s the science link? I could talk about some of the absurdity of the organisation’s paranormal output - Mary Poppins, Bedknobs & Broomsticks, and Herbie, for instance. Or, I could mention the psychological damage caused to me in trying to ponder, as a child, how Mickey Mouse’s ears always face forward no matter which way his head is turned. I could even mention Discover magazine, but, then again, maybe not.

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Posted in Health, Bird Flu at 4:00 pm by David Bradley — Click to comment

Is flu vaccination a shot in the dark? Regular readers will recall the recent debate on multiple vaccines, statistics, and risk we had here in September. I also have rather close personal experience of one of the risks associated with having the annual flu vaccine - Guillain-Barr� Syndrome (GBS). This autoimmune disorder is purportedly associated with a respiratory or gastrointestinal tract infection although there is a statistical risk that connects it to the flu vaccine. A close relative of mine developed GBS symptoms about six weeks after having the flu jab last December and has not yet fully recovered. GBS support groups recommend she not have the vaccine again.

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Snipped from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

What if I told you that the White House is looking for more power over many of our federal agencies? Power that is not supposed to be in the hands of the Administration. Would you be surprised? Would you do something about it? What if it had something to do with our health, our science, our truth? Well, here it is. The White House is looking for another power grab, and it involves agencies that deal with public health and environmental regulation. How do you feel about your health being in the hands of Dubya? Well, then do something about it … Now!

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Immigrants at Ellis Island, 1902.

Sometimes the argument goes like this…Hey! Let the illegal immigrants slide, give them amnesty. Hey! we were all illegal immigrants at one time. Whoa! My parents didn’t come into the country under the fence.

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We’ve all heard the latest health advice: Avoid transfats. Eat more fruits and vegetables. You may notice those changes on grocery store shelves, but for many school children, their cafeteria lunch menus haven’t caught up. This year, an effort to get healthy foods to the school lunch table is tied up in a much larger debate - national farm policy.

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Posted in Health, Chemistry at 4:00 pm by David Bradley — 3 Comments

Does eating chocolate give you a headache? What about red wine? Cheese, perhaps? Yes, well read on to find out how a space-age detector developed to look for signs of life on Mars could soon become the kitchen gadget of choice for anyone who suffers a painful reaction to their food.

According to a paper to be published in the November 1 issue of Analytical Chemistry, researchers at the University of California Berkeley have developed a fast and inexpensive test suitable for domestic use that can spot the toxins in certain foods, particularly “aged” or fermented products, including chocolate, cheese and wine. The device could be engineered into a PDA or other handheld device for greater portability and instant access to information on any toxins found in a particular food or drink.

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Posted in Health at 11:13 am by David Bradley — Click to comment

The Nobel Prize website was offline at the time of writing presumably unable to take the strain of hacks and bloggers every scrabbling to learn of the winners. Anyway, Mario R. Capecchi (US) and Oliver Smithies (US) and Martin J. Evans (UK) have won the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology for their work on gene targeting in mice.

Their research is being used to help scientists understand at the cellular level why certain diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, occur and why otherwise healthy people can succumb to cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and cancer.

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At Point Reyes National Seashore, environmental ideology has run into hard science, with a tug-of-war for management of an estuary coming down to the question of what is the most ecologically healthy thing to do.

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Posted in Health, Bio at 4:00 pm by David Bradley — 4 Comments

For years, the notion that bacteria could cause ulcers was brushed aside, until the work of Robin Warren, who “rediscovered” the gut microbe Helicobacter pylori, was finally accepted. More recently, periodontal disease, a bacterial infection of the gums, has been implicated in heart disease, it’s the toxins released by the bacteria that are to blame. And in a recent discussion with one leading researcher about the genetics of obesity, he told me that he considered it more likely that a bacterial infection was more likely to be to blame for some cases of obesity than genetics and conversely there may be bacteria that make some people thin.

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