tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64036212011-12-09T11:51:17.901-05:00Articulatory LoopBecause learning is good, and remembering is better.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comBlogger16171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-3136480464396723242010-07-09T11:18:00.003-04:002010-07-09T11:30:13.886-04:00Playlist.Sometimes, all that's needed to inspire productivity is the right soundtrack. I present to you my getting-shit-done-montage playlist, July 2010:1. Sexy Sushi - A bien regarder; Rachida (3:16)2. Deastro - Parallelogram (Courtesy Of Ghostly International) (2:55)3. Vitalic - See The Sea (Red) (4:05)4. Jónsi - Animal Arithmetic (3:23)5. BanjoLasse - Det susar i Sääwn Pt. II (2:18)6. Giardini Di MiròMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-57660647199725548952009-04-21T08:32:00.006-04:002009-04-21T08:52:12.233-04:00Making it for Ourselves"Energy independence" is a big buzzword these days, what with calls left and right for alternatives to extracted fossil carbon to fuel our ever-expanding consumptions. Investments into 'biofuels' - basically, corn or sugar cane ethanol - have been disastrous for the environment and economy, respectively exploding food prices and clear-cutting rain forests.Some California researchers have teamed Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-72755474174822068722009-04-03T17:53:00.007-04:002009-04-03T18:35:41.161-04:00Oral Sex Could be Deadly (So Could Robots)So I guess it's been a while...having a job I don't spend all day bored at really does cut in to blogging time (not to mention reading-cool-science time). But, today I ran across some science that's just so cool I have to write it down, lest I forget forever. That's why I started this blog anyways, innit?Starting with the bad news. It seems that HPV, that sexually transmitted infection most Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-63728752349829822572008-12-23T18:29:00.001-05:002008-12-23T18:29:01.176-05:002008 in Less Than 80 Minutes2008 was a really good year, musically speaking, for me. One album really kicked my ass all year - when "Made in the Dark" came out in February, I knew immediately that it was gonna be my annual favorite. So that competition was over pretty much before it started, even if the likes of Ladytron, Vampire Weekend, and Los Campesinos! gave Hot Chip a good run. Picking top ten albums of the year isMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-33545709541497831592008-12-16T06:22:00.002-05:002008-12-16T06:24:23.842-05:00RNA Sugar Found on ExoplanetIt's cool that scientists have found this molecule *out there.* However, it just serves to yet again emphasize what I view as the biggest stupidity in our 'search' for extraterrestrial life: that it has to look exactly like terrestrial life (in this case molecularly, if not outwardly). RNA is necessary for life here (and life that works how we work, however little we understand that at all), Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-73896863873128895262008-12-12T08:42:00.003-05:002008-12-12T09:00:14.580-05:00Fuel for the FireI'm a bad blogger, this I know. But without coffee, I'd be probably even worse. Unless of course said lack also led to unemployment (it might), in which case I'd have time to blog again.So, coffee fuels my brain - why not also my car? Researchers at the University of Nevada have found that they can extract 100 percent of the oil from spent coffee grounds and turn it into biodiesel. The Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-59486938893269391552008-09-19T07:38:00.002-04:002008-09-19T07:48:04.217-04:00Mood and IntelligenceUK researchers have vindicated Oscar the Grouch. They found that children who are made to be happy and cheerful all the time are in fact not as clever as ones who are made sad. Or, at least, they perform more poorly on cognitive tests.The researchers played pre-teens either Mozart's joyous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or the sadder Adagietto by Mahler, and made six-and-seven-year-olds watch a Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-64109902801274906532008-08-13T18:13:00.002-04:002008-08-13T18:15:14.078-04:00Mystery Worm 1We found this gorgeous guy in my friend's front yard...it was about 4" long and 1 in circumference. It didn't show much interest in eating grass or leaves. Didn't seem to dig either, but he high-tailed it as soon as we let him. Moved pretty quick, for a caterpillar (?). Anyone know what it might be, or become?Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-41520480718926152722008-08-04T08:47:00.000-04:002008-08-04T08:47:00.959-04:00Possibly The Stupidest Thing Said This Election(well, this week anyway)The Wall Street Journal seems to think that Senator Obama is too fit to be President. For those of you who have managed to not die of irony, what they say is that, because Americans are so famously obese, they may have trouble thinking of such a sveltie as One Of Them. This I guess must be code for the WSJ being a bit racist, frankly, because it's such an utterly inane Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-17301811970742256152008-08-01T06:32:00.004-04:002008-08-02T13:10:02.594-04:00Eat and Drink and Grow (Plus: Mom was Wrong!)My mom always insisted that we drink fruit juice instead of soda. Research suggests that, except for 100% orange and grapefruit juice, drinking fruit drinks or juices are at least as big a diabetes risk as soda. The grapefruit exception may have to do with this, but the orange juice, well, who knows. Still, the message is clear: drink water or unsweetened coffee/tea. Mostly tea.Speaking of Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-36029651649888074272008-07-28T08:06:00.002-04:002008-07-28T08:06:00.946-04:00Bad Parenting: Underage Sex and ADHD EditionAnalysis of survey data from American teens suggests that overbearing parents may actually be encouraging their kids towards underage sex'n'drugs'n'rock'n'roll (Journal of Adolescent Health 43(2), 2008). Even though it's a retrospective, secondary analysis, this is an interesting result, not least because it fits with my own casual observations.Many parents also tend to keep the TV on when theirMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-42777324694927169892008-07-08T18:46:00.003-04:002008-07-08T19:09:22.585-04:00Exciting for SomeAnyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of schadenfreude, and also of making fun of vegetarians. Not vegetarians generally, no, but the stereotypical American Vegetarian, who insists on (a) making a scene whenever someone consumes a food product deemed Unethical by said AV, (b) demanding that hosts of dinner parties, etc., make huge accommodations (usually without warning prior to AV's arrival) Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-89352760281901348232008-06-24T17:38:00.002-04:002008-06-24T17:39:14.071-04:00New BabySo I am now really a proper Atlantan: I own a car. This is pretty scary, but also really cool. The thing is, the car needs a name. I am currently leaning towards Jolene based on the Dolly song of the same name, which was in my head the day I picked it up. I also did some anagraming of things like "My Red Prius" and "Barcelona Red" (the color) and such, which came up with a few hilarious Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-36620117424548210102008-04-30T09:07:00.002-04:002008-04-30T09:08:41.652-04:00Drinking Dulls Threat Response If only I'd read this story before Saturday. I at least might have drank less and been more aware that the possibly lycanthropic girl who made my ear all pretty like this was not just playing around. Oh well. For the record, I'm on Augmentin, Cipro, and Vicodin, and the swelling has finally gone down.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-31435651003693084632008-04-22T10:31:00.004-04:002008-04-22T10:37:52.286-04:00Success! ... and the drugs fueling it...So I finally finished my thesis. That means that, assuming I bother to turn in my last couple of final exams, in a few weeks I will officially have my MPH! Go me.Now I just have to rewrite the whole thing and clean it up and publish it. Which would be a great deal easier if I didn't need to sleep. Apparently, many other scientists feel the same way, and have been taking all kinds of yummy Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-74032316077939633182008-04-05T20:01:00.003-04:002008-04-05T20:15:21.400-04:00Top YawnAs a food geek, I have been watching Bravo's Top Chef with ... eternal optimism. The entire concept of the show guarantees disappointment, I think, because ultimately the viewer can't taste the food. With Project Runway, you can see the clothes and at least make some kind of judgment on their relative merits; not so on Top Chef. Iron Chef manages to be more interesting, I find, because it at Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-63705219474578979252008-04-03T08:50:00.003-04:002008-04-03T08:59:42.707-04:00The Best News I'll Have All WeekTwo things today... First and foremost, I learned that I will most likely not be unemployed come graduation - I have an offer from the CDC. Which is awesome. It's in Atlanta, which I was hoping to avoid, but ultimately liking what I spend 8-12+ hours a day doing is my top priority. So yay me!And for all three people in the universe for whom my employment status is not thrilling news, it Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-66823380675193439502008-03-31T08:29:00.002-04:002008-03-31T08:44:00.301-04:00LoudmouthWhen I was a kid, my teachers were not, generally, of soft-spoken temperament. John Eaton Elementary, while nestled in one of DCs tonier areas and enjoying all the benefits that entailed, was still a DC school and more importantly, still an ELEMENTARY school. Kids are loud, there's noise outside, and the building creaks. Teachers had many different ways to rise above the din of imprisoned Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-9342988229566521942008-03-18T19:15:00.006-04:002008-03-18T21:21:42.286-04:00Arthur C Clarke Has DiedLegendary scientist and science-fiction writer Arthur C Clarke died today, aged 90 years. Clarke was one of my absolute favorite writers, and had an immense influence on my becoming a scientist myself."Childhood's End" is my favorite of his novels, and since to pick favorites amongst his short works is essentially impossible, I'll name "The Star" and "The Nine Billion Names of God" as the two Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-12109391382152587502008-03-03T07:17:00.002-05:002008-03-03T07:38:03.291-05:00Spanking, Frogs, and Skatepark WeightlossType II diabetes is a fast-growing health problem - as peoples' increasingly sedentary and BigMac-filled lifestyles balloon waistlines, the Beetis is close behind. Some keys to stemming that tide may come from interesting places: researchers have found that the South American shrinking frog produces a protein - pseudin-2 - the synthetic of which, it seems, stimulates insulin secretion and Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-38928698330993923682008-02-27T16:48:00.002-05:002008-02-27T17:03:42.006-05:00Symptoms of Not KnowingA CDC study found that the vast majority of Americans (75%) don't know the signs of a heart attack, and only a few of those who do would know how to respond. Since heart disease is still the number one cause of death in the US, it's important to know the signs: - Chest pain (usually squeezing or pressure) - Pain in neck, shoulder, or jaw, arms or back - Shortness of breath - Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-74047062923134283782008-02-18T18:53:00.002-05:002008-02-18T18:57:04.614-05:00Do. Want!If you feel like making me very happy, buy me one three of these. Pleeeeze!Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-81061398166825002862008-02-16T08:40:00.003-05:002008-02-16T08:52:08.107-05:00Another Helpful Guide......For guys looking vapid gold diggers. CNN.com has a feature on what cars, allegedly, a guy should drive to impress the ladies. The contestants are the Nissan 350Z Roadster (a 'he-man' ride but no good for commuting), the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder ( practical but too girly looking), Audi TT Roadster (crap engine), Porsche Cayman (a Porsche that allegedly gets 23 MPG), and the ultimate gold Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-71419975129894456672008-02-14T09:50:00.002-05:002008-02-14T09:53:14.044-05:00Eat More Bears I found this on the Emory campus. I'm fairly certain that its creators - as far as I can tell the pep squad for the undergraduate womens' basketball team, i.e., 19-year-old girls - have no idea the wider implications of this slogan.Lucky for them, bears do not generally take much interest in young girls.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-71777679643964814552008-02-11T19:06:00.000-05:002008-02-11T19:18:56.122-05:00Overtech'edI'm beginning to be in the market for a number of new electronic toys, and am dismayed with the options. First of all, my entirely awesome IAudio X5 is passing its third birthday and needs an heir. Oh, how heartily I have laughed at iPod users who've replaced their (admittedly shinier) gizmos twice or more in this period, not to mention being locked in to the infernal iTunes platform and Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-25851576284344218022008-02-06T08:32:00.000-05:002008-02-06T08:49:23.684-05:00Super TuesdayI guess after 2006 I shouldn't be so shocked, but I was still apalled by how clueless people were here in Atlanta about the election. Someone in my program - SOMEONE WHO VERY NEARLY HAS A MASTERS DEGREE IN PUBLIC HEALTH - asked me to explain what Super Tuesday was, and why I was so excitedly checking cnn.com - and ignoring the professor - all through our evening programming class. Compared to Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-47421939017123730562008-02-04T11:28:00.001-05:002008-02-04T11:37:17.656-05:00New Best FriendI am notoriously (a) addicted to coffee, and (b) not very good at waking up in the morning. The two are, though I have not tested this in a strictly scientific sense, probably related. In support of trait (a), I have, in my kitchen: an espresso bubbler, a drip coffee maker, an over-mug drip filter holder, an over-cup coffee press (like they use in Vietnamese restaurants), and a French Press. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-45957201960094998682008-02-01T06:49:00.000-05:002008-02-01T06:57:07.936-05:00OMGWTF MS GOnna p0wn YahOo???Aparently not content having taken Hotmail from the number one webmail service to ... uhhh ... does anyone use Hotmail anymore? ... Microsoft has bid $44 billion for Yahoo. Now, aside from the fact that, if it goes through, this will mostly likely destroy all three of the things Y! still does pretty well: Flickr, Groups, and Flickr. Mostly Flickr. But seriously, isn't MS already under like 15 Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-868297712404709252008-01-31T09:34:00.000-05:002008-01-31T09:41:07.494-05:00One More Reason......to hate Fox News. They've actually managed to make me respect Montel Williams. Seriously. Basically, the long-running tabloid talk show host was a guest on another Fox talk show last weekend, and totally read the hosts (video clip here) for their ceaseless (and ceaselessly) inane coverage of Heath Ledger's death, while ignoring those of American troops being ceaselessly killed in Iraq and Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-5249452273433669702008-01-30T08:19:00.000-05:002008-01-30T08:31:52.157-05:00Mind-MachineI know I at least can't wait for a day when I can control certain bits of technology with thoughts rather than having to, say, give myself repetitive stress injuries with a mouse. With bluetooth prosthetics and monkey-thought-driven robots in the news so much lately, you'd think we're almost there. Well, another study may help us get even closer.Primates and a few other animals are unique in Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-79826201805238321262008-01-18T14:57:00.001-05:002008-01-18T15:11:18.634-05:00Blowing (up)In news that may, depressingly, be a real shock to many people, it turns out that you can't tell which guys have an STD just by looking at them. Emory researchers found that African-American girls often use "selective avoidance" - that is, only hooking up with guys they think are clean - as a substitute for proper prevention. This technique of course ignores the entirety of human history, Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-9600000630330081662008-01-17T16:14:00.000-05:002008-01-17T16:21:54.066-05:00Roots and EvilsWhat happens when an action motivated by greed conflicts with more basic greed? Litigation, of course. In order to build the xenophobe's panacea that will be the DHS' boarder fence against Mexico (expected to cost billions to build and save about $25.03 in American GDP from illegals), the gubmin is of course trying to seize land. Eloisa Tamez, whose name probably sounds a bit too Mexican to theMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-6209363049300546832007-12-17T09:07:00.000-05:002007-12-17T09:05:52.050-05:00Pig in a BonnetJust because you call it so, or give it a 26% boost in gas mileage, it is not a "green" vehicle. It is an SUV. An SUV with better mileage, yes, but still a gas (or in this case diesel)-guzzling monstrosity of arrogant and conspicuous consumption. And yes, it probably also supports terrorism.Am I the only one who thinks this whole green-spun 'nouveau-diesel' business is more than a little Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-23930846497077642492007-12-16T12:04:00.000-05:002007-12-16T12:17:15.330-05:00HappenstanceI went to a really ridiculously cool show last night. The Happenstance, as it was called, is an annual charity event where members of various local bands sign up to be randomly reassigned to a new band of strangers - a singer/frontman, guitarist, bassist, drummer, and a 'wildcard' in each - and have the rest of the day to write songs and practice. They each then play a 20 minute set at the EarlMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-7243735979566668672007-12-09T15:59:00.001-05:002007-12-09T18:44:27.540-05:00Semi-Finals During FinalsI have finals right now - having written three papers and taken one in-class test and nearly completed a take-home, I'm about 3/4 done - so obviously this is the time to be thinking about my Best of 2007 lists. If I fail out of school due to unpreparedness, I'm totally blaming Wendy, whose list inspired actually doing this. Or possibly Adam and Jed, who don't have blogs but started asking aboutMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-70117319285800514212007-11-29T11:37:00.000-05:002007-11-29T11:42:52.264-05:00Ungay Sex: Judi ChicagoLast night I was treated to a real surprise following my habitual Project Runway viewing at Mary's: a live performance by this band called Judi Chicago. If nothing else, you have to give a pair of (I'm guessing) straight boys props for showing up to a gay bar, stripping to their skivvies, and being generally raucous and sweaty all over the place. Besides the visuals, which were really nice, theMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-2034584000323184082007-11-15T16:13:00.000-05:002007-11-15T16:17:30.014-05:00An Oral Sex Gene?Sounds fishy*. Swiss researchers found that certain male chiclids have fin markings that 'trick' females in to sucking up their sperm. While this is hilarious and awesome, I would really not call it an "oral sex gene." Not that I'm saying there shouldn't be one...it'd explain a lot.* No, I have no shame, and could not resist.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-37844965221829092722007-11-15T10:53:00.000-05:002007-11-15T11:19:27.059-05:00Popular BeliefScience can be frustrating to many people because it doesn't provide much in the way of certainty: last year's miracle cure becomes this week's leading carcinogen. Most scientists revel in this process of testing, rejecting, waiting, testing, not-rejecting, et cetera. Because science dictates that you can never "prove" something, only "disprove" it.And oh, how many beliefs we hold based on Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-22811238231583069902007-11-09T17:00:00.000-05:002007-11-09T17:18:26.946-05:00Justify AnythingIf you've ever stared at a fabulous! $300 pair of shoes in the shop and decided, unlike Kelly, not to get them, you probably walked away thinking that they weren't that fabulous anyways. Or that they really wouldn't go with your pants. Or something. This is what we call cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is a process by which we humans rationalize our decisions, by essentially Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-86642190497210524452007-10-29T09:56:00.000-04:002007-10-29T10:04:34.938-04:00Fossils, Living and OtherwiseIt turns out that Michael Crichton was right about Velociraptors. Sort of. Chinese geologists have found evidence in fossils that a similar dino species, Dromeosaurs, did seem to hunt in packs and walk upright. And were about the size of Jurassic Park's raptors, whereas the Velociraptors of old were turkey-sized. A more modern fossil was dug up recently off the coast of Iceland. I say fossil,Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-13654856555018519242007-10-25T10:07:00.001-04:002007-10-25T10:32:27.317-04:00Little Green Men Get Stoned, Stupid, and SickOK, this is America, so they're probably a little more like, uhm, larger green men. And women. And children. Hopkins researchers have found that a topical application of broccoli extract 'activates' protective enzyme systems which reduce the harmful effects of UV rays, while still allowing stimulation of vitamin D production (which is deficient in people using sunscreen all the time). The Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-74897559379970311972007-10-18T09:48:00.000-04:002007-10-18T09:56:10.891-04:00My Newest HeroAnyone who knows me knows that there are few companies I hate more than Comcast. Not just because their services are shoddy (random blackouts, digital cable that blips out all the time, etc.) and overpriced, but also because they consistently provide the worst customer service anywhere. Worse than the DC government, even. Comcast knows it's the only game in town if you want cable TV and/or Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-65030389205155882762007-10-15T11:42:00.000-04:002007-10-15T11:47:30.658-04:00Legally Blonde: The MusicalI have to admit, I have a slight weakness for musical theater. When I was a kid my parents insisted that we see all the classics, if only because they deemed contemporary entertainment 'inappropriate.' We should've been playing outside anyways.It's midterms, and last night I was looking for any excuse to not study or write papers for a while. Surfing through the channels, I noticed that MTV Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-53379807814054807072007-10-14T09:26:00.000-04:002007-10-14T09:42:37.485-04:00It's Good for You, I SwearPlastics are all too often at the center of environmental crises. Petrol used to make them gets spilled, and plastic wastes clog landfills with their near-endless lifespan. And of course there's the cute stuff (see picture).But now researchers have found a way for a plastic to be potentially Earth-saving: US and Korean scientists developed a plastic film with hourglass-shaped pores, which act Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-40435397671710038612007-10-12T11:50:00.000-04:002007-10-12T11:57:35.121-04:00More Bivalve MadnessSo a quick look at my referral logs suggests that there are a lot of people, all over the world, looking here for information about geoducks. It's been well over two years since I mentioned those phallic clams, but all of a sudden all this interest. Background: The geoduck is a giant clam, it can live more than 150 years and lay billions of eggs. It's also supposed to be really, really tasty. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-45925898550669953052007-10-01T11:42:00.000-04:002007-10-01T12:03:48.074-04:00Dietary MattersI know it seems like all I do these days is harp on diet and nutrition, but that's much of what's in the news and I don't understand quantum cryptography, and the continuing Iraq and SCHIP* travesties just make me to angry to say anything coherent (or publishable). First, the good news. A UVA professor has published a review of the literature on carb-based diets, and found that the whole Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-16104466827737550272007-09-27T10:12:00.000-04:002007-09-27T10:22:40.600-04:00Good For YouExercise is good for you (we all know that) and it makes sense that what kind you do makes a difference. It turns out that for diabetes control, a combination of aerobic and strength-training routines is more effective than either alone, and, more amusingly, it turns out that playing soccer is better exercise than jogging. I'd much rather play soccer than jog, so I'm cool with this. Now I Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-90550976224142025752007-09-24T09:43:00.000-04:002007-09-24T09:50:50.561-04:00Speaking of Rip-Offs (Atlanta Edition)I have to use a company called Infinite Energy for my natural gas service. My bill this month included $7.15 in actual energy costs (amount used), a $5.95 "customer service charge" and a $15.95 "base charge," which is apparently charged by the Atlanta Gas Light Company, which actually sells the gas but not directly. So, for my $7.15 worth of energy used, I'm paying $21.90 in fees. That's more Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-70659115257827662392007-09-23T19:12:00.000-04:002007-09-23T19:22:16.133-04:00One More Reason......to hate Microsoft. My school has, inexplicably, decided to put Office 2007 on all of the public terminals. This is of course odd because (a) they never got 2003 working properly,and 2007 is even worse, (b) no one uses it yet, (c) it bloody sucks, and (d) they're always complaining about budgets anyways (why not do something like, I dunno, useful/necessary/not a tech-support nightmare?). NowMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-81744479482974242142007-09-19T15:54:00.000-04:002007-09-19T15:59:02.324-04:00By the BallsWe don't generally think of a man's balls as the best place to search for cognitive performance. Cornell researchers are looking to change that: their research results suggest that testicular stem cells could be used to treat disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, among others. The question remains, of course, how many men would be willing to give up bits of their bits to their brains. OneMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-13495309670859285162007-09-17T11:38:00.000-04:002007-09-17T11:59:01.924-04:00Probably Not Good For Your ChildrenParents are big on protecting their kids from all kinds of (real and imagined) threats, but they don't always have complete control, and they don't always get it right when they do. Most parents would agree that sugary sodas are bad for you, and that their kids probably should drink few, if any, of them. The Washington Post reports that school vending machines have been selling fewer and fewer Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-24969623903984818242007-09-12T20:25:00.001-04:002007-09-12T20:36:29.424-04:00Money, Money, MoneyI won't name the publication, because it's too awful*, but suffice to say it's a prominent healthcare management journal. In an article about strategic planning, the authors suggest setting performance goals for the upcoming year:Quality: Achieve top 50th percentile for clinical performanceOperations: Achieve top 75th percentile salaries, wages, and benefits, and supplies costsI mean really. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-79917644701688475612007-09-09T13:42:00.001-04:002007-09-09T13:43:41.871-04:0039 cents At the Atlanta International Farmers Market. They also have instant coffee from other countries (i.e., that doesn't taste like crap), and awesome lentil samosas to eat while shopping. Because shopping there when hungry would be an expensive mistake.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-76212834013423928832007-09-06T08:53:00.000-04:002007-09-06T09:09:09.607-04:00Artificial Ingredients; SexA study published in the Lancet suggests that the common food preservative, sodium benzoate, may be causing or exacerbating kids hyperactivity. That this kind of chemical has harmful effects should surprise no one, but they do highlight how important it is to watch what your kids (and you, since it's likely to have some effect in adults too) eat. Diacetyl, another problematic food additive whichMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-20210144777221947692007-08-24T08:48:00.000-04:002007-08-24T09:11:02.120-04:00Monkey MisogynyThere's all kinds of real science out there happening, but I'm too distracted right now to write about it. So what catches my interest enough to blog, you ask? Monkey sex, of course!Kenyan farmers (who are generally women) are complaining that monkeys, who've always been crop-stealers, are now sexually harassing them. Like, full-on crotch grabbing, breast oggling harassment. So I guess Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-43421431410522415092007-08-14T15:06:00.000-04:002007-08-14T15:21:55.232-04:00Starting in Space, Ending in GasCardiff researchers claim that they've found strong evidence to support the panspermia theory of life's origins on Earth. They say that comets contain all kinds of hydrocarbons and organic compounds necessary to life, and also lots of radiation and clay particles to catalyze reactions and keep everything 'warm' enough to survive. I'm inclined to buy into panspermia, as it makes the probability Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-22891261149809840442007-08-08T10:05:00.000-04:002007-08-08T10:11:43.899-04:00Space CaseObvious lesson #2568987986: It's harder to blog when you have a job that's ... engaging. This little piece from Slate explains the science around a no-spacesuit spacewalk. Assuming it's accurate (it mostly seems plausible to me, though I'd have thought air embolisms would happen almost instantaneously), that's pretty darn cool. Not something I ever want to attempt, but cool that now I know I Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-62913166278041776362007-07-31T08:44:00.001-04:002007-07-31T08:50:40.605-04:00Disease GenesThe really big news recently is of course the discovery of a new multiple sclerosis gene on chromosome 5. This is pretty cool, not only in terms of hope for MS patients, but also because this gene could be key to other autoimmune processes and diseases. Secondly and less convincingly, an Oxford team claims to have found the (or at least a) gene for left-handedness. On the upside, this is Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-65778989605813622812007-07-27T11:40:00.000-04:002007-07-27T11:46:02.170-04:00No, and No.Puritans and busybodies everywhere are crowing about a meta-study suggesting that pot smokers are more likely to develop psychotic disorders later in life. The claim, boasted by newspapers, PR mouthpieces, and even study authors, is that pot causes these disorders. While that conclusion is possible, the data don't actually do anything o support it. You see, people predisposed to psychosis Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-61867454570567909172007-07-26T11:20:00.000-04:002007-07-26T11:35:36.790-04:00Dubious, ObviousAbbott labs has published a study which suggests that the Ayurvedic herb Salacia oblonga may be helpful in managing diabetes type II and obesity. The drug significantly lowered post-meal glucose peaks, decreasing insulin responses. It's thought to act as an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, essentially blocking carbohydrates from being absorbed. I'm sure the herb has some effect, and could be Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-47094683583267256172007-07-18T08:45:00.000-04:002007-07-18T09:15:59.597-04:00Fat Kids on Drugs in SchoolSurprising no one, a SAMHSA study has found that we are a nation of druggies. Well, actually they found that at least 8.3% of us are honest when answering surveys. Data from three annual surveys of 40,000 participants indicated that about one in twelve full-time workers admitted using illegal drugs in the past month. The highest rates being among restaurant workers, shocking no one except New Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-15539326390785424412007-07-17T18:44:00.001-04:002007-07-17T18:45:17.713-04:00Preferences I mean, there are exceptions, I'm sure, but yeah. Pretty much.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-21721719653835126062007-07-11T10:43:00.000-04:002007-07-11T10:58:20.779-04:00Selenium Cola and HIVWe know HIV is bad for you. That's rather obvious - it causes all kinds of nastiness. One of the big problems facing those with HIV is the virus' ability to mutate at astounding rates, and thus rapidly develop resistance to any treatments thrown its way. An experimental drug, etravirine, may provide needed relief in this area: resistant patients treated with approved antiviral drugs and Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-21721355317881089602007-07-08T10:02:00.001-04:002007-07-08T10:03:06.351-04:00Points of Origin I assume what their products all come from the same factory. Or at least from petrol, in the more basic sense.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-80357503695955683572007-07-03T13:35:00.000-04:002007-07-03T13:48:23.400-04:00Fat SackWe are, if you believe the hype, in the midst of a great and terrifying obesity epidemic. Hell, even if you don't believe the hype, a trip to your local shopping mall (especially if you live in the South or Midwest) will provide all the evidence you need. The question then is: why is it happening, and what can we do about it?Understanding the why can lead to the what-to-do. On top of my list, Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-44320077883404587752007-06-28T09:33:00.001-04:002007-06-28T09:38:52.612-04:00Potential Autism Cure??I'm way past due to write about all kinds of cool science that's been happening recently - and I will, I swear - but this is just too cool to wait on. Mice engineered to have fragile-X syndrome, which produces autism-like symptoms, had their conditions largely reversed by blockage of the PAK enzyme. This is potentially HUGE.Unfortunately, I can't find the paper...anyone have it?Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-84978275633361464782007-06-26T19:36:00.001-04:002007-06-26T19:38:18.910-04:00Sexy Boutique I'd call this "Monet advertising," with apologies to both the artist and whoever wrote "Clueless," because from a distance, you wonder what a "Sexy Size Boutique" might be, but when you see the ironically tiny "plus" in the middle, you understand. And flee. Seriously, East Atlanta: I love you so, but you're gonna have to own up to shit...and what with the recent influx of ladies to the area,Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-45127183923662190052007-06-21T07:22:00.000-04:002007-06-21T07:23:55.083-04:00Daft HandsVia Graham, this is awesome. Wait till the words start.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-42240898954192000032007-06-19T07:47:00.001-04:002007-06-19T07:48:40.417-04:00Blinding Florals I spent the weekend in Independence, Mo. visiting my mom's parents for my grandfather's 90th birthday. Since there were rather quite a few of us in town for the event, my parents, sister and I opted to stay at a Bed+Breakfast nearby, as opposed to in what would have been a (very) crowded house.The Woodstock Inn was found randomly, and turned out to be just perfect - the couple who run it areMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-32665592275648814002007-06-12T16:15:00.001-04:002007-06-12T17:08:05.515-04:00Different Strokes: Drugs, Brains, and Fat AssesEverything has side-effects, especially medications. Many are bad, some are good, and most come as a bit of a surprise.A household item, so basic it's hard to even think of it as medicine, may turn out to be a powerful weapon against cancer: talc, when applied to the chest cavity, appears to greatly (and lastingly) stimulate production of the powerful anti-cancer hormone endostatin. Yay for Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-72441491608722968142007-06-08T09:03:00.001-04:002007-06-08T09:11:58.826-04:00Now Playing...I just want to turn everyone's attention, for a minute, to the "Now Playing" section at the right of this page. It contains a list of my top four CDs of the moment. Right now I guess you could say I'm on a synth-pop/electro kick.I really can't get one of the Prototype's songs, "Ici ou peut-etre demain" out of my head, but I don't mind because it's such an awesome song. Dragonette's "Take it Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-65027458353512078462007-06-03T23:51:00.000-04:002007-06-04T19:07:48.037-04:00Quicky-linky: Because I'm LazyWork is definitely fun, but also exhausting. Some cool stuff I'll want to think about later, and anyone reading this should think about now...and discuss in the comments!More good news for us coffee-fiends: men who drink four or five cups a day seem to have lower risk of developing gout. Gout sucks, and coffee is good, so I'm happy!Shocking no one, researchers have found that MRSA is spreading Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-48134985940667857142007-05-29T17:42:00.000-04:002007-05-29T17:50:14.751-04:00Lowering the Bar: Advertising EditionMcDonald's Corp gets really cranky when people talk about "McJobs" and "McMansions" and everything else "Mc" that isn't a highly processed foodstuff from which it makes a huge profit. In an apparent effort to improve its PR, and also to recruit more young employees, McD'oh has been airing a commercial on TV. I don't know if this is only getting aired in Georgia (or just the South), but it struckMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-33653079943505509892007-05-27T11:41:00.001-04:002007-05-27T11:47:57.683-04:00Why I Hate AtlantaThis is today's weather forecast: "areas of smoke." Atlanta's not satisfied with that wimpy, diluted old smog, no! We have to have actual smoke. As in, the entire fucking city smells like a chimney. When I moved here, more than a little inspired by a climate I believed superior to Michigan's, this was totally not in the brochure. Seriously. I wanted to spend today lounging by the pool Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-70151780746140641612007-05-24T17:37:00.000-04:002007-05-25T07:50:43.642-04:00Booze, Sex, and Trite ShiteSalon has an astoundingly wordy article up about use of an extinct fennel by ancient Mediterranean cultures as an aphrodisiac and contraceptive. The short version: the ancient herb, silphium, was a source of great wealth to the few who controlled its wild harvest (the stuff didn't take to cultivation), and was, unsurprisingly, made soon extinct by over consumption. Cool!Speaking of having sex Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-3572910933316389592007-05-23T06:41:00.000-04:002007-05-23T00:04:46.941-04:00Failing to FailYet again, I am thankful that I live in the modern age of scientifically-enhanced living. If I were out on the savanna running from lions or chasing antelope, without modern medicine or transportation, I'd be dead meat. Again. This time, in a particularly brilliant maneuver I shan't describe, I have managed to tear my ACL, fracture my tibia, and do some cartilage damage to my knee. A little Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-72034141020745355672007-05-18T17:33:00.001-04:002007-05-18T17:57:35.267-04:00Loooong WeekMy first week of my internship has been tons of fun, but very busy. Thus, here are a ton of quick-link type things to the many big important sciencey news stories that are going on:American and Japanese people read faces very differently, the former focusing on the mouth and the latter on eyes. It makes for a very interesting contrast, and has interesting implications even beyond emoticons - :-Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-3581413392892556872007-05-11T08:39:00.000-04:002007-05-11T08:43:10.579-04:00A Quick Visit From Cpt. ObviousA UK study has found that kids who are raised by their parents to drink responsibly are .. wait for it ... more likely to do so. In a finding that should surprise no one, they discovered that kids are going to drink whether their parents want them to or not, but the ones whose parents drink with them, and set a responsible example, are less likely to engage in major binge drinking. But of Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-53077406140008766442007-05-10T12:47:00.000-04:002007-05-10T12:57:49.877-04:00Down the HatchSo there's bad news out there today: oral sex is linked to throat cancer. HPV, the same virus famous for causing cervical cancer in women, has been linked to a dramatic increase in throat cancer risk in both men and women. The upside is that there's a vaccine, but the downside is, it's not approved for use in men. Hopefully this research will motivate a quicker turnaround to see if it does, Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-30896455282403716962007-05-09T10:54:00.000-04:002007-05-09T11:31:32.334-04:00Monkey, Man-MachineI never really got anywhere in my "further research" on the bipolar genetics paper I mentioned yesterday, so I'll just go with what detail I have: A consortium of researchers at the NIMH and abroad scanned the genomes of BPD and control groups and have identified a number of genes associated with the disorder, including one of particular interest for treatment. They identified the DGKH gene on Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-1937817057784445912007-05-08T12:36:00.000-04:002007-05-08T12:59:01.630-04:00Coco-NutsI went out with a guy once who had a nut allergy (including coconut), and aside from all of his other issues, I realized that there was no way it'd work for that reason alone: no Thai food, no Indian food, no German Chocolate Cake, no PBJ picnics. And now, I'm guessing, no vacations to Papua New Guinea! The PNG island of Bougainville is working to replace diesel fuel with coconut oil, and thus Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-26413111025495165502007-05-07T10:44:00.000-04:002007-05-07T11:06:13.385-04:00ChronicFinals are finally over (yay!), and so much has been going on that I want to catch up about. So, some highlights:My epidemiology professor said at one point that "chronic diseases are those things that, should we live long enough, we will all enjoy." So, in honor of the discovery of a gene responsible for the increased longevity seen from calorie-restricted diets, a few bits on chronic Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-43833085676697272182007-05-05T20:59:00.000-04:002007-05-05T21:05:22.405-04:00More incest on FacebookWhile Murdoch's Myspace may or may not have banned people from identifying as gay, the slightly less annoying (mostly because they don't let every nitwit post mind-numbingly (and browser-crashingly) badly coded CSS profiles) continues to endorse and promulgate incest amongst its members:I suppose if I'm gonna support freedom of association between consenting adults, I guess I gotta support Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-811292175402165892007-05-01T12:49:00.000-04:002007-05-01T13:52:03.319-04:00Musical InterludeFor anyone who's never heard M. Burgalat and his ridiculously sick grooves, I cannot recommend him to you enough. 'Gris Metal' is one of his softer moments, but especially when coupled with such very Bond-esque imagery, is also about as sexy as it gets. Until "Vestibule D'Ombres," anyways, but then I don't know of a video for that one.While you're at it, you might as well check out two bits Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-50937669972032566342007-04-30T09:38:00.000-04:002007-04-30T09:52:53.307-04:00The Easy Way OutSick of spending all that time at the gym, and eating nothing but celery and soy protein, hoping to lose weight? Fear not, science may soon have an answer! US researchers claim that they've developed a pill that makes mice burn fat and improve muscle tone, without any exercise. The drug seems to activate PPAR-delta, which 'turns on' fat metabolism.The drug could be useful for treating Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-65834348976120201332007-04-25T09:02:00.000-04:002007-04-25T09:14:49.685-04:00Dietary FactorsAging baby boomers look like they may become the first generation in memory to be less healthy at retirement age than their parents. Admittedly, some of this may be due to their infinitely more incessant whining and hypochondriasis, or that the preliminary results aren't good, but it actually does make sense. This is a generation who are sedentary, eat a diet full of terrible things like high Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-92213848469816492332007-04-19T19:22:00.000-04:002007-04-19T19:31:04.855-04:00MalfunctionsHas anyone else noticed that half of the internet is down this afternoon? I can't get to Yahoo, Flickr, Myspace, Facebook, or even Wonkette, thus cutting off much of my ability to procrastinate. Or email people to scheme entertainment options. WTF? It's been like this a few hours, I would've thought something might have popped up on Slashdot by now. Hmph.Also, I'm going to Chicago this Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-27080438438130562042007-04-18T08:53:00.000-04:002007-04-18T09:11:09.064-04:00Ups and DownsSometimes, especially in health, stuff designed to make things better don't work that well. The FDA has approved the first vaccine for avian (H5N1) flu, but some are concerned that it's only effective in about 45% of people. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, given to many men to check for prostate cancer, is not very good at predicting benign versus malignant tumors. The problem there Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-51121800432331923072007-04-16T11:08:00.000-04:002007-04-16T11:24:59.871-04:00Passing BlameThe American Taliban is really obsessed with sex. They don't want people to have any fun with it, for starters, and they certainly don't want anyone who isn't Just. Like. Them. to be having it. And since they are mostly middle-aged or older, we get "abstinence-only sex ed." Which, aside from being ridiculous, is now officially ineffective. But we all knew this - if abstinence rules, as are Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-31565497784152587322007-04-13T19:26:00.000-04:002007-04-13T19:29:38.178-04:00Makin LadiesI have no idea who Los Amigos Invisibles are, mostly because they can't possibly be what we see in this hilarious video. Because they're invisible, right? Those have to be actors. Yeah. My brain esta frito. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-56241193105892594862007-04-13T10:55:00.000-04:002007-04-13T11:08:57.697-04:00Watch Out for Coughing Cowboys!This ain't your grandfather's gonorrhea. Due to careless antibiotic use and of course to careless sexual practices, the US is seeing a ginormous rise in proportion of drug-resistant strains of this STD. Currently only one class of antibiotic seems to remain effective, and how long that will last no one can guess. Speaking of making babies, a UK group claims to have grown immature sperm from Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-64928442940684730672007-04-10T08:11:00.000-04:002007-04-10T19:34:12.183-04:00What Butt?Via the always-entertaining Jessica Cutler:Also, I would really like to thank a visitor from Austria for informing me that this blog is currently the number one Google result for "sperm good for hair"...Awesome.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-5575661627375082612007-04-09T21:26:00.000-04:002007-04-09T21:28:55.850-04:00Figuring it outI know they're written to describe nearly anyone (hell, I even took a class in how to write this way), but I hate it when the internet personality quizzes fit. Which Trainspotting Character Are You?Except for the heroin bit. I already gave that up.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-46640544796990470682007-04-09T08:37:00.000-04:002007-04-09T08:52:02.245-04:00ExpandingWe all know that being too fat is bad for you, and a UCSD study may help understand pert of why. The researchers found that human colon cancer cells have leptin receptors which, when activated, cause the cancers to grow. The more body fat you have, the more leptin you have, which could explain why obesity is such a strong risk factor for colon (and maybe other types of) cancer. Another problem Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-75513721987102805352007-04-06T11:37:00.000-04:002007-04-06T12:03:52.929-04:00BetterWell, it's one option. Definitely better off will be the women (and ultimately the men too) of Eritrea, which has just officially banned the practice of female circumcision. Unlike male circumcision, which has generally no ill-effects and may or may not be good for you, female circumcision is just mutilation and torture, plain and simple. So good for you, Eritrea! (P.S. - please send someone Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-57647831817623025112007-04-02T08:03:00.000-04:002007-04-02T08:15:29.431-04:00Go Play in the MudWhile the BBC article is short on details, some UK researchers have apparently found that playing in the dirt could be good for both your mood and you immune system. An interesting finding, and one that I'd really love to wave in the faces of all those obnoxiously over-clean mothers out there. You know who I mean - the ones who hover over their child's every move, waving antibacterial wipes (Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-10308559096597485922007-03-30T08:46:00.000-04:002007-03-30T09:30:03.674-04:00Meet the Toyger...Seriously, a mini-tiger? YES PLEASE! I'm not even a cat person, but I want one of these guys so bad it hurts. And that's not the only wonderful science brings us today.Canadian researchers have identified a peptide, which they are calling innate defense regulator peptide (IDR-1), that appears to be able to upregulate the innate immune system without a dangerous inflammatory response, offering Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-15008458901468644562007-03-28T08:15:00.000-04:002007-03-28T08:28:26.158-04:00Shaking Things UpOr, at least, changing the way we think of them. Everyone's probably heard about this already, but I think it's so bloody cool that it merits attention here: American researchers discovered a pair of twins who aren't fraternal, aren't identical, but are semi-identical chimeras. The thought is that two sperm fertilized the same egg, which then split into two embryos. So, the kids have some bodyMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-52181346041304824092007-03-26T11:04:00.000-04:002007-03-26T11:23:28.322-04:00Angry Sex and ChocolateNo, it's not (just) what I did last night. A Leeds PhD candidate has written reveals, in her forthcoming thesis, the blindingly obvious fact that people liked porn even before the modern era (anyone surprised by this should take a Japanese art history class). Her work focused on erotic literature published in the 1700's in England, and she found that public and group readings were not uncommon,Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-84283735859733514182007-03-25T08:34:00.000-04:002007-03-25T08:36:01.306-04:00Watching YouYour cell phone has GPS built in. Using your number, your location can be found. See?Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com