From June, 2007

SUGAR AND DEMONS: A SCIENTIST’S FIELD NOTES

– FROM THE ARCHIVE – Day 1: While changing my thirteen month old son’s diaper, he begins to spin around and around on the bed at an extremely fast pace and giggles loudly to himself, like a madman. This is not his usual behavior. I decide to investigate. Day 2: After spending all night breaking down the circumstances that led to my son’s bizarre behavior as well as pouring through numerous scientific journals on-line, I’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities: 1) he ate too many Dannon Children’s Yogurts right before I changed him, thus consuming a high amount of…

THE BESTEST, MOST KICK ASS, HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

– FROM THE ARCHIVE – Mondo-Genetic-Services is proud to announce its latest venture, “The Bestest, Most Kick Ass, Human Genome Project.” Hot on the tails of the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium and Celera Genomics, we present to you a novel approach in the elucidation of mankind’s blueprint of life. Rather than using the frequently studied yet boring human cell lines, or samples from a small group of ethnically diverse, anonymous, and likely dull individuals, we propose a completely different strategy – that is, we plan to use the genomes of individuals handpicked by the editorial staff of People magazine,…

HOW I GOT OUT OF WRITING AN ESSAY ON H.G. WELLS’ THE TIME MACHINE.

– FROM THE ARCHIVE – January 17, 2005 I received the syllabus for my Humanities course. A humanities course should not be required for my B.Sc. degree in Physics. To add insult to injury, we are supposed to do an analysis of Well’s The Time Machine. We are to focus on the historical context when the topic is time travel? Who reads a book on a time machine for social insights? I would do anything to get out of this essay. At dinner, my friends complained about this assignment. I tell them a way out: I will build a time…

HOW I GOT OUT OF WRITING AN ESSAY ON H.G. WELLS’ THE TIME MACHINE.

– FROM THE ARCHIVE – January 17, 2005 I received the syllabus for my Humanities course. A humanities course should not be required for my B.Sc. degree in Physics. To add insult to injury, we are supposed to do an analysis of Well’s The Time Machine. We are to focus on the historical context when the topic is time travel? Who reads a book on a time machine for social insights? I would do anything to get out of this essay. At dinner, my friends complained about this assignment. I tell them a way out: I will build a time…

HOW THE SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS ELUCIDATED IN SCIENCE MAGAZINE WILL AFFECT MY LIFE (VOLUME 2)

– FROM THE ARCHIVES – Papers Discussed: 1.Ira M. Longini Jr. et al., Containing Pandemic Influenza at the Source, Science, 2005, 309:5737, pp1083-1087. 2. Marcel Cardillo et al., Multiple Causes of High Extinction Risk in Large Mammal Species, Science, 2005, 309:5738, pp 1239-1241 3. Andreas Olsson et al., The Role of Social Groups in the Persistence of Learned Fear, Science, 2005, 309:5735, pp 785-787 4. Brad Allenby and Jonathan Fink, Toward Inherently Secure and Resilient Societies, Science, 2005, 309:5737, pp 1034-1036 * * * Generally speaking, I am cowardly. Even a partial list of things I fear is a lengthy…

HOW THE SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS ELUCIDATED IN SCIENCE MAGAZINE WILL AFFECT MY LIFE (VOLUME 2)

– FROM THE ARCHIVES – Papers Discussed: 1.Ira M. Longini Jr. et al., Containing Pandemic Influenza at the Source, Science, 2005, 309:5737, pp1083-1087. 2. Marcel Cardillo et al., Multiple Causes of High Extinction Risk in Large Mammal Species, Science, 2005, 309:5738, pp 1239-1241 3. Andreas Olsson et al., The Role of Social Groups in the Persistence of Learned Fear, Science, 2005, 309:5735, pp 785-787 4. Brad Allenby and Jonathan Fink, Toward Inherently Secure and Resilient Societies, Science, 2005, 309:5737, pp 1034-1036 * * * Generally speaking, I am cowardly. Even a partial list of things I fear is a lengthy…

HOW THE SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS ELUCIDATED IN SCIENCE MAGAZINE WILL AFFECT MY LIFE (VOLUME 1)

– FROM THE ARCHIVES – Papers Discussed: 1. Jeffrey B. Bingenheimer, et al., Firearm Violence Exposure and Serious Violent Behavior, Science, 2005, 308:5726, pp1323-1326. 2. Paolo A. Mazzali et al., An Asymmetric Energetic Type Ic Supernova Viewed Off-Axis, and a Link to Gamma Ray Bursts, Science, 2005, 308:5726, pp 1284-1287 3. Roger Guimerà et al., Team Assembly Mechanisms Determine Collaboration Network Structure and Team Performance, Science, 2005, 308:5722, pp 697-702 4. Trevor Jones et al., The Highland Mangabey Lophocebus kipunji: A New Species of African Monkey, Science, 2005, 308:5725, pp 1161-1164 * * * A collaboration between scientists at the…