Science & Society

So, back in the 60's, I had a weather changing machine that was, in essence, a sophisticated heat beam which we called a "laser." Now this "laser"  is used ubiquitously for everything from medicine to technology to tattooing fruit. Wait, what? Tattooing fruit? The idea and the technology aren't new. As the NY Times said in 2005, "A pear is just a pear, except when it is also a laser-coded information delivery system with advanced security clearance."1 Consumers loathe the little sticky labels on produce, but how else were you going to communicate names, identifying numbers, countries of…

In 1971, Richard Nixon signed a bill that launched the American “war on cancer.”  That war has sent millions of mice to their deaths. Survival has improved for some cancers; not so much for others. The War on Cancer is still on, and mice remain its conscripts. Recently, Ted Kennedy died of a malignant brain tumor, probably a glioblastoma, about 15 months after his diagnosis. Forty years into our war on cancer, and despite advances on many fronts, the prognosis for malignant glioblastoma patients remains very poor: about one year from diagnosis to death is common.   And so the…

When I was a child I would watch anything to do with science fiction. I don’t now, but, well, I still lean in that direction. I watch very little major-network television, and don’t really want to get hooked on a new series, but if it’s science fiction, I’m more likely to give it a try. In that vein, I tuned in last night to the pilot of a new series on ABC, called “V”. The V stands for “visitors”, and the show opens, after a few minutes of introducing major characters, with the arrival of spaceships hovering over major world cities. After some initial panic, the apparent leader of the Vs,…

The day is here! After much reading and reviewing, we’ve determined the finalists in our University Writing Competition. We had some pretty impressive entries, and we believe our final group highlights the best examples of science writing we received. The finalists ended up being a good cross-section of subjects, science disciplines, and participating universities. All are all well written, informative - and often times, entertaining. We think you’ll agree. Some entries were outstanding because of their scientific subject matter; others because of the writing skill they represented; and…

How to explain modern belief?    A rising number of people report having no formal religious affiliation but the number of Americans who say they pray has increased, according to a new survey from the University of Chicago. 'Spiritual but not religious' as a growing category seems to mean very little, since it seeks to straddle two different worlds, but the results are telling;  in addition to an increased number of people who pray, a growing number believe in the afterlife. When asked how they view God, the most common responses were the traditional images of father and judge…

Where does one draw the boundary between science and politics? Here in Dear Old Blighty, our Home Secretary has just sacked his chief drugs adviser over this very issue. If you care to read the article, Cannabis row drugs adviser sacked, please let me know what you think. On a much milder note, but with the same central conundrum, here is the introduction to Fragile Objects: Soft Matter, Hard Science, and the Thrill of Discovery, by Pierre-Gilles de Gennes and Jacques Badoz, Axel Reisinger (Translator) SCHOOL STORIES This book chronicles a journey through the high schools of France and…

Halloween is on the horizon, and even the most analytical-minded among us can find ourselves getting pulled into stories of unexplained spooky phenomena and paranormal activity. Science has so far been unable to unequivocally prove the existence of spooks or spirits - but by the same token, their existence hasn’t exactly been conclusively disproved by science either. In fact, in some rare instances - science and technology have actually provided us with some of the most convincing evidence to make us believe that ghosts may actually exist. There are thousands of photos taken over the years…

In looking at the concept of a ghost, the first problem one encounters is defining exactly what is meant by such an apparition.  It seems that the general view over history is that ghosts represent some aspect of a once living individual that may have occasion to make itself known.  This is generally considered to be a soul, or some animating spirit, so for our purposes that loose definition will do. I won't consider the problems of why such an entity would be geographically confined, or even what such a thing means.  Instead let's consider what it takes for a ghost to engage…

Sixth sense or extrasensory perception (ESP) is an ability to perceive the subtle dimension or the unseen world of angels, ghosts, heaven, etc. Sixth sense (ESP) includes the ability tounderstand the subtle cause and effect relationship behind many events beyond the understanding of the intellect. The subtle world is made up of five cosmic elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether) which cannot be seen. Though we cannot perceive this world which impacts our lives to a great extent, we can tune into it using our ‘spiritual antenna’ i.e. our sixth sense (ESP). Sixth sense (ESP) canbe…

In light of recent discussions about vaccines and scientific consensus it is sobering to consider that fully one-third of medical studies turn out to be wrong. "A study in 2005, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that one-third of all medical studies turn out to be wrong."http://www.livescience.com/health/091026-medical-research-fraud-errors.html In addition, many remedies of non-scientific origin may be vindicated despite earlier claims from doctors. "In 2007, scientists showed that honey works better than cough medicines in soothing children's coughs. "A…