Monday, January 19, 2009

The virtue of N=1

I always have been interested in articles where only one case has been reported...when I was in graduate school I remember listening to a presentation on the dangers of filling methanol burners. The virtues of N=1...only allowed in medical cases. Ingesting a wishbone...I guess this guys was not so lucky! Ouch....






Acute abdomen caused by ingested chicken wishbone: a case report

Introduction
An ingested foreign body often passes the gastrointestinal tract without any complications. Foreign bodies, such as dentures, fish bones, chicken bones, and toothpicks, have been known to cause perforation of the GI tract.

Case presentation
We are presenting a case of a fifty-year-old male with acute abdomen; diffuse fibro purulent peritonitis, i.e. ileum perforation, caused by accidentally ingesting a chicken wishbone. He was treated surgically with ileum resection, and temporary ileostomy. After four months, intestinal continuity was established in the second operation.

Conclusion
Intestinal perforation by a chicken bone is rare and affects the left colon or distal ileum. The lack of information of ingestion and detection of chicken bones preoperatively are of interest to be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen, which in this case was treated surgically.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

top VO2 Max....

I can only wish.....my VO2 MAX is below 78.8....way, way, way below!!!! And it decreases with age....yikes! FYI my VO2 Max (predicted from my last race is 48.8)....probably more like 50 because I think I can push harder than I did...still 30 below this guy's VO2 Max......


Haile Gebrselassie (35 years old) set a new marathon world record in Berlin with a time of 2h 03m 59sec.....That's a predicted VO2 MAX of 82.8 ml/kg/min. In my next life...maybe....because I would also like to spend it as a house cat....

Whoa! 10 dimensions explained....

If you get this, and all the concepts in a single viewing...and can explain it back to me....I'll give you a cookie!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Our planet is a spaceship


túrána hott kurdís by hasta la otra méxico! from Till Credner on Vimeo.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Will not make any difference for me but nice

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Copycat

You have to see this one


Via: A Blog Around the Clock

Quite a meal!



Via: Bayblab

Intellectual Dishonesty

Once in a while I read Pharyngula, the most popular of all scientific blogs and once in a while it makes me laugh or shake my head in disagreement with PZ Myers....anyway...

This time it is different and I am happy that PZ did a good job of explaining the latest "clue" of a creationist past.

In their website THE UNCOMMON DESCENT, creationists cite an interesting article that was recently published in PNAS: Two-phase increase in the maximum size of life over 3.5 billion years reflects biological innovation and environmental opportunity.

The author(s) of the Uncommon Descent blogpost cite the authors and give their own creationist interpretation either because they do not understand the article or because they did not read it. PZ Myers explains the article with an interesting example of Australian drunks getting out to the streets. It is a useful analogy.

If you are interested in this topic, read this Pharyngula post and please remember that citing authors in a way that suits your own hypothesis with the knowledge that it might be wrong is scientific dishonesty.

Underwater Marvels Slideshow

Click on image and enjoy!!!!



Via: NY Times

Smaller classes...better retention...MIT goes the Camosun way!

M.I.T. just figured it out...

"The physics department has replaced the traditional large introductory lecture with smaller classes that emphasize hands-on, interactive, collaborative learning. Last fall, after years of experimentation and debate and resistance from students, who initially petitioned against it, the department made the change permanent. Already, attendance is up and the failure rate has dropped by more than 50 percent."


Collaborative learning is a very wise thing to do. I use Google Docs in my second year Microbiology class. I have labs that connect directly to the theory taught in my lectures and I have very good retention. MIT is going the Camosun way with smaller classes. Unfortunately, not smaller tuitions.

Source: NY Times

Human 2.0 - Eyeborg


Rob Spence - Camera Eye Videographer
Very interesting idea....scary as well.....

Visit Rob's Blog: http://eyeborg.blogspot.com/

Via; Radio-Canada

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Nature's best


Sunday, January 11, 2009

From smile to pain in 33 minutes 21 seconds

A bit about my latest running adventure at the Prairie Inn Pioneer 8K, Jan 11th, 2009 in Saanichton, BC.



That's an easy picture, I knew Crys was going to be there and that's about 300m from the start line. I am fresh, rested, hydrated and in good spirits. That's about to change...the smile will fade away....



This second picture was taken exactly at the same spot as the first one BUT after a 4 km loop. I am pacing myself, knowing that there is still 4 long km to go. I want to go fast here but not too fast...I need gas in my tank to last long enough. A 8 k race is not long but just long enough to burn out if you are not careful! I try to smile (I thought I was smiling) but I cannot. My heart rate is now at 170 beats per minute (BPM, 88% from max heart rate)and my pace is just above 4 min/km. It's about to get more difficult....



There was a guy in front of me....I made him my prey and I ate him for lunch. I wanted to make sure this guy was not going to take any spot from my age group. At this point I am totally exhausted, I just want to finish and I no longer care about my time and performance. My left side of the brain is sending weird negative messages and I try to fight those nasty demons...if you run and ever pushed yourself, you know exactly what I mean...My heart rate is now 192 BPM (99% max heart rate) and my speed is 3.5 minutes/km. Not fast compared to elite runners but fast for me. I did it, I have a new PR that I improved by 38 seconds, and an average pace of 4 minutes 11 seconds/km. I am happy....time for chicken soup...

I finished 22nd of my age group (40-44 yrs). The first guy in my group finished in 25 minutes, 42 seconds...a pace of 3 minutes 13 seconds / km. The top male finished in 23 minutes 35 seconds....ahead of me...way, way ahead of me!

Monday, January 05, 2009

They almost got me...almost

That message was sent to me with HIGH IMPORTANCE...ah ah...when was the last time Revenue Canada went after you to GIVE YOU money...when???? I am not that gullible! Funny though!
______________________________

Canada Revenue Agency
Online Refund Form

After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of 386.00.
Please submit the tax refund and allow us 3-9 days in order to process it.
A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.
To access the form for your tax refund, please click here>>


Copyright Canada Revenue Agency. All rights reserved. www.cra-arc.gc.ca

Friday, January 02, 2009

One day I'll get off the grid

This is my dream...getting off the grid because my house becomes energy self-sufficient. That could be the solution!


Read the story HERE

I am a polar bear!

Yes...it is me....the water was very cold and my feet froze immediately. I quick dip up to the neck and I was out....

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Can't do the time...don't do the crime!


http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2008/12/30/maine_man_faces_oui_charge_atop_zamboni/

Friday, December 26, 2008

In case you missed it...and that you care about checkers

"One of the world's best-known strategists on the game of checkers passed away in November. Richard Fortman was Illinois state champion six times, and in the 1970s and 1980s published a seven-volume handbook on rules and tactics. Many people now considering the game would be astonished to know that, as in chess, there are masters and grandmasters, and international rankings, that experts actually study historical opening moves and endgames, and that some play, move-by-move, via the U.S. Mail. A New York Times obituary noted that Fortman played as many as 100 games simultaneously, and won games blindfolded. Until the end, according to his daughter, Fortman spent "hours each day" playing checkers online. [New York Times, 11-30-08] "

Via: www.newsoftheweird.com

Oops! Survival of the fittest among bacteria...competition kills the weakest one!

Genetically engineered bacterium kills plants instead of helping them!

As far as the intended goals were concerned -- eliminating rotting organic waste and producing ethanol -- the genetically engineered bacterium was a success. But when a doctoral student named Michael Holmes decided to add the post-processed waste to actual living soil, something happened that no one expected. The seeds that were planted in soil mixed with the engineered Klebsiella sprouted, but then every single one of them died.

What killed them? The genetically engineered Klebsiella turned out to be highly competitive with native soil micro-organisms. Plants are only able to take nitrogen and other nourishment from the soil with the help of fungi called mycorrhizae. These fungi live in the soil and help make nutrients available to plant roots. But when the genetically engineered Klebsiella was introduced into living soils, it greatly reduced the population of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. And without healthy mycorrhizal fungi in soils, no plants can survive.

Via: findarticles.com/

Wood on Mars....give me a break!


Ah come on! Some want to believe in anything but the real....they imagine conspiracies, want us to believe "The Government" is making stories up....but what about them? Why should we believe such non-sense????

Now there is a piece of wood on Mars and the Moon is an alien ship.....ah ah! What a crock!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Please BE CAREFUL!!!

Please, take responsible measures so that it does not happen to you! Please be careful!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Are you cold...DO NOT COMPLAIN!!!

Do not EVER complain about the cold....it is NOT cold!!!!! (it's relatively quite warm)



Here is what it looks like right now (Tuesday, Dec23rd, 2008)



And this weather guy is hysterical....



Via Radio-Canada's website

Sunday, December 21, 2008

My Squid


Meet Orbea....my very own virtual squid. She was born on Dec, 21 2008. I worry about her new friendship with a vampire squid though......Do I worry too much as the parent of a new squid??? Maybe! Jealous...make your own.....this one is MINE!!!

Did we escape from a new Ice Age ?

Interesting news from Science Daily

Using three different climate models and removing the amount of greenhouse gases humans have injected into the atmosphere during the past 5,000 to 8,000 years, (Stephen) Vavrus and Kutzbach observed more permanent snow and ice cover in regions of Canada, Siberia, Greenland and the Rocky Mountains, all known to be seed regions for glaciers from previous ice ages. Vavrus notes: "With every feedback we've included, it seems to support the hypothesis (of a forestalled ice age) even more. We keep getting the same answer."

Another article published in 21st Century Science and Technology Magazine (2004) came up with this interesting data:

The geological requirements for an Ice Age are the presence of a large landmass around the Polar Circle and extending southward. A look at the globe, or world map, shows that those conditions exist in the Northern Hemisphere, but not in the Southern. Therefore, the important thing to look at is the climate conditions in northern and far northern regions. Some of the indicators:

• Since 1980, there has been an advance of more than 55% of the 625 mountain glaciers under observation by the World Glacier Monitoring group in Zurich. (From 1926 to 1960, some 70-95% of these glaciers were in retreat.)

• A comparison of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 1965 and 1990 Plant Hardiness Zone Maps, shows a southward change of one zone, or 10°F, between 1965 and 1990.

• Careful measurements of the oxygen isotope ratios in German oaks, which are rigorously calibrated to temperature data, show a 1°C temperature decline from 1350 to 1800 (the lowpoint of the Little Ice Age). Temperature thereafter increased by 1°C from 1800 to 1930, and has been declining since then.

• From weather stations in the Alps, and in the Nordic countries, we find the temperature decline since 1930 is also 1°C.

• Satellite measurements have shown growth in the height and breadth of the huge Greenland ice sheet, the largest in the Northern Hemisphere

Global warming a good thing? A bad thing? Global warming or cooling....one thing is sure....climate change as it is now called!

Pure beauty


Dolphin Play Bubble Rings - Watch more funny videos here

Saturday, December 20, 2008

That device is scary

The teaser.....



And the prototype (hover test)

Friday, December 19, 2008

How to import Scarlett Johansson's pathogens

Yes she is famous. Yes she is a gorgeous actress. Yes she is human....SHE IS! What does that mean? That means that like any other human being, she has a bacterial flora. Nope...Scarlett's skin and mucosal secretions are NOT free of pathogens. You need a list of some of pathogenic bacteria that inhabit the upper respiratory tract? Here it is:


Because she admitted that she is recovering from a cold, apparently acquired through interacting with "The Spirit" fellow actor Samuel Jackson, her mucus-filled tissue now auctionned on eBay could contain potential pathogens. Because I am curious, I wanted to know if it was possible at all to buy Johansson's tissue and have it shipped (Free of charge according to the website) here in Canada. I made a few phone calls here and there (mostly to Health Canada) without a real answer...I was constantly referred to the Communications Officer. Then someone sent me a link that offers a few answers - Human Pathogens Import Regulations.

According to this document NO RISK GROUP 2, 3 or 4 pathogens can be imported. Just for your information, a risk group 2 pathogen is:
"A pathogen that can cause human or animal disease but is unlikely to be a serious hazard, and, while capable of causing serious infection on exposure, for which
there are effective treatments and preventive measures available and the risk of spread of infection is limited."
Every Streptococcus and Staphylococcus belongs to this group.

According to the Human Pathogens Import Regulations document:

No person shall import a human pathogen that belongs to Risk Group 2, 3 or 4 unless

It looks like it can be very difficult to import Scarlett's snotty tissue. I feel bad that I am the bearer of such bad news....after all it's almost Christmas and that tissue could have been on a loved one list.....Happy Holidays! :o)

Jay Leno stole my idea....but for a good cause!

Jay leno and Scarlett Johansson PROVED MY POINT...Art value depends on demand. A kleenex filled with ...whatever nasal/pulmonary secretions is worth more if it comes from a celebrity, it's even better if it's a good looking celebrity (like Brad Pitt or Scarlett Johansson).

In my February 20th, 2007 post I argued that Brad Pitt's used kleenex could fetch top dollars on eBay. Looks like I was right....the highest bid for Scarlett Johansson's used tissue is now (at the time I was writing this blog post) valued at US $3272 (FREE SHIPPING) (Link to auction HERE).

Now coming back to the value of art....I hope I will never hear a complaint about the fact that Barnett Newman's "Voice of Fire" was purchased for $1.8 Million. NEVER!!! (Right... C?)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Nobel prize of corruption????

Ah.....I really don't like stories like this! Bad PR! Really bad PR!!!!
Find the original story HERE

The integrity of the Nobel prize was called into question last night after it emerged that a member of the jury also sat on the board of a pharmaceuticals giant that benefited from the award of this year’s prize for medicine.

Prosecutors were studying whether AstraZeneca, the London-based multi-national pharmaceutical company, could have exerted undue influence on the award.

The joint winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine, Harald zur Hausen, was recognised for his work on the human papilloma virus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer. AstraZeneca has a stake in two lucrative vaccines against the virus.


IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.libertassociety.org/HPV.JPG

Mind reading?


That is really cool....

1) Look at an image
2) A computer analyses brain activity
3) Computer recreates images from the signals

Hey....that could be used to cheat at Poker.......!!!

See a very good image and explanation at Pharyngula!

Adolf Hitler cake?????

I have seen everything....nothing can shock me anymore.....


The sstory can also be found HERE

Sperm can out race Coca-Cola (Good to know!)

Taken from the British Medical Journal (BMJ 2008;337:a2873 )

Coca-Cola douches were a part of folklore about birth control during the 1950s and 1960s, before effective contraceptive methods were readily available.1 It was rumoured that the acidity of Coca-Cola killed sperm, and the classic coke bottle provided a convenient "shake and shoot" applicator. Recently, an old study from our group confirming the spermicidal effects of various Coca-Cola formulations2 was awarded the 2008 IgNobel prize in chemistry.3 The press releases surrounding our IgNobel award might have repopularised this method, and soft drink douches are apparently still used to prevent pregnancy in resource-poor settings.4 There are, however, many reason why women should not rely on this method.
That's old news. An article published in Human Toxicology already dealt with this myth in 1987 (Hum Toxicol. 1987 Sep;6(5):395-6).
The inhibitory effect of Old Coke, caffeine-free New Coke, New Coke, Diet Coke and Pepsi-Cola on human sperm motility was studied with a trans-membrane migration method. None of them could decrease sperm motility to less than 70% of control within one hour. A previous study which claimed a marked variation of spermicidal potencies among different formulations of Coca-Cola could not be confirmed. Even if cola has a spermicidal effect, its potency is relatively weak as compared with other well-known spermicidal agents.

PIP: Testing of various cola formulas on sperm motility using a trans-membrane procedure did not decrease motility to less than 70% control in a 1-hour period. Diet Coca-Cola had the strongest spermicidal effect followed by Classic Coca-Cola, Caffeine-free Coca-Cola and New Coca-Cola. Since there are no known substances in cola that effect cellular membranes, the results of these tests were not unusual. Other tests have been done using higher dilution of cola which could effect sperm motility and give different results for spermicidal potencies. The results show that cola has little if any spermicidal effect. Its use in postcoital douching is ineffective and could cause complications such as infection.
Via Radio-Canada's website!

UPDATE: Pepsi and Coca-cola used as pesticides......

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

No microchip for HIV / AIDS patients

Do not get me wrong...I not against microchip implants for willing guinea pigs. Microchips are cool and the more people experiment with them, the better we will understand Human-Machine interaction and Human 2.0 development. New technologies will eventually improve memory and, maybe, let us connect to networks (think internet) without computers. Disabled people will see, think, get more balance etc....I embrace new technologies in and out of the body...after all I am a fan of Kevin Warwick.

Having said that, it seems like this same technology can have a dark side. I actually should say that it's not the technology but rather the use of that technology that has a dark side...it can be used as a tracking device. Humans are NOT cattle and I am very happy that this HIV / AIDS patient-tracking microchip business will not go ahead in Indonesia's
Papua.

"Papua's parliament agreed Tuesday to drop a section of the health development bill that supported the tagging of some HIV patients with small computer chips inserted beneath the skin — part of extreme efforts to monitor the disease"
I also wanted to comment on a recent article published in Retrovirology (PDF version HERE). According to an article by Dr. Mark Wainberg, a McGill professor (HIV transmission should be decriminalized: HIV prevention programs depend on it) people might decide not to get tested because, down the road, they do not want to get charged if they ever transmit HIV. Ignorance would then protect you.
"...the consideration of being potentially charged with wilful HIV transmission may be a significant deterrent for being tested for HIV infection in the first place. After all, an individual who does not know that he is HIV positive cannot logically be accused of its transmission"
I agree BUT I really doubt that decriminalizing HIV transmission will have the opposite effect...In other words, it is quite unlikely that we would see an increase in HIV testing if wilful transmission should be decriminalized. Human behaviour is a strange creature and when it comes to sexual behaviour it becomes unpredictable. It's not as straightforward as people might say it is. I argue that decriminalizing could, in fact, cause a surge in wilful transmissions.....I hope we never have to prove that.

STUPID, CRIMINAL, DISGUSTING....

I can not believe this....are we in the dark ages???? How can something like this happen????

Seclusion rooms, sometimes called time-out rooms, are used across the nation, generally for special needs children.
Read this CNN story by clicking HERE

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

What a joke...

I am from Quebec....I am used to drive in the snow but here...I am scared....of other drivers! Total lack of organization for just a bit of snow! What a joke!

Friday, December 05, 2008

Ironman Kona 2008



Via Mike Neil's Blog site: http://humanpoweredracer.blogspot.com/

Monday, December 01, 2008

Higher Ed Prostitute

My students are well aware that I am a big fan of podcasts. I walk to work almost everyday and as I cross streets and boulevards I am learning something. I teach for a living and I try to learn something new everyday. I really like this podcast: "On The Media"...always interesting stories about how the media affects us, the way we think and the way we work. As I was walking this gloomy morning I listened carefully to this story, The term paper artist. It is about something that affects my field...education. It is about cheating and plagiarism....in it's own way, it is also about prostitution! Intellectual prostitution.

You can find the article here: http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article10100801.aspx

Here is the segment on "The Term Paper Artist"



And here is a link to the On The Media podcast....chances are you will become a fan too.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Facebook from space....in 3D!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Obama's doodle...

I doodle all the time! Maybe I should watch it...someone might analyse my doodles....interesting anyway!

Educating for the future

I came across this YouTube video thanks to this blog. As educators, I think it is important to make a priority of "teaching for judgement" or "teaching for critical thinking". Some of us, educators, do not want to use the so-called "new technologies" for various reasons. Let's remember that our students are avid users of this technology, let's also remember that this generation of instructors is probably the last one to refrain from using that"not-so-new-technology".....

Monday, November 17, 2008

Eye jewelry

Tiny beads, or crystals or whatever are directly attached to contact lenses.... In a way I hate stuff like that, but art and design should make me think. Mission accomplished but this is a nice way to open the door to bacterial infections! Sigh!...It's quite amazing what people will do to look different, yet everybody eventually looks the same!

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...the more that things change, the more they stay the same...

(Neil Peart, Circumstances 1978)

Design from Eric Klarenbeek


Via: http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/index.html

It actually reminds me of another crazy thing....related to eye jewelry. The next YouTube video is even more extreme (and stupid if you ask me)....I warn you...graphic images!!!!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Chinese Imports will finally be tested!

"Chinese products that contain milk or milk powder will be detained until the manufacturer or its customer has the product tested and found to be free of contamination, or they show documentation indicating that the product does not contain milk or milk-derived ingredients."

It is about time...don't you think???

Via: NYTIMES

A tracking device in your razor?

Wow, that is serious business. I know blades are extremely expensive....way too expensive and for that reason I am happy to let it grow a little and only trim when necessary. But these tracking devices are, if they really work, a threat to privacy. Click HERE to access an interesting but scary site...

MY CAMOSUN contest winner.

A contest, MY CAMOSUN, was launched a few weeks ago. Anyone, faculty or students could submit a one minute video explaining what Camosun College represents to them. Here's the winner. Enjoy....enjoy!!!

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Molecular dance

A colleague sent me this link today:http://gonzolabs.org/dance/

Briefly, if you are a Ph.D. student of if you have a Ph.D. you can enter the contest. The goal is to engage the public and express a science concept through dance. Nicely done and interesting idea if you are open-minded!

The title of this dance is: "The role of folate in epigenetic regulation of colon carcinogenesis"

Friday, November 07, 2008

Revenge of the test tubes???

When I was involved in research I never kept anything in plastic containers because I thought something could leach out and affect my results. I wish I did this research 15 years ago....arrgh!

The compounds [leaching out of plasticware] can have "potent effects" on enzymes and proteins, inhibiting the activity and binding properties of molecules
This potentially means that many scientific conclusions are in fact not true at all...THIS IS HUGE! What about forensic evidence????

To read the whole story, click HERE

Thursday, November 06, 2008

In case you missed it! CNN holographic interview!

Geography - New world order?

The picture can be found here:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh2/prettinpinkk887/unknown.jpg

When are we going to understand????


I am happy about the outcome of the American elections....I like Obama, probably because of is extreme charisma, we will see how he does.

There is one thing I am quite disappointed about: California voters decided to overturn same sex marriage....so now what happens to people that are already married? Why do people care so much about gay marriage? It seems to me homosexuality has been part of every civilization, there are heterosexuals and homosexuals.....why different rights???? WHY??? I have many gay friends...some of them are my best friends and it crushes me everytime I think of their struggles!

This is 2008! Move on!

A green idea for you lawns...

Annie Booth, a professor at UNBC studied the impact of goats on weed growth and, probably, invasion in an urban setting. The conclusion? Goats rule!!!! Goats seem to think weeds are very good...they eat everything, from dendelions to thisle (ouch)! To me that's good news!

I got that story from CBC.ca and read a few of the comments and, again, I am disappointed at some of us trying to discredit any new ideas.... look at this (narrow minded) comment:


Although it sounds like a great idea, this obviously hasn't been researched properly. Considering this person is a "professor" at a university she didn't account for a number of factors.
1.What do you do with the goats in the winter?
2.How do you control the goats along roadsides?
3.What do you do with the goat "poo"? (If dog droppings are a problem, what would a herd of goats leave behind?)
4.If goats are not herded properly they will destroy all the vegetation in an area.
5. There are existing grazing programs in Canada.
For a more informed idea about this check out the city of Fort Saskatchewan (in Redneck Alberta) which has a sheep grazing program for city properties.

Come on people......!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

That's harsh.....

During today's big American poll, a group called The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is asking voters for their opinion on this very important topic: Changing a name... the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility could become the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. I can't wait to see the results.....

Picture source: http://presidentialmemorial.wordpress.com

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

If the world coud vote

Click HERE and help this site reach A MILLION VOTES. Maybe you want to vote as well....or just see the results?

A link for you Sarah....

A reaction to Sarah Palin's ignorance of fruit fly science......Read on Sarah! Don't you have people working for you? Listen to them, you'll look better in front of a microphone, and I am not talking about your physical look if you wonder....

As many scientists have pointed out since Palin heartlessly mocked the insect, fruit fly research has been key in understanding autism, a subject about which Palin perpetually broadcasts her interest, as she has an autistic nephew.
Source: Salon

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neowy/112928378/

Sports and bugs...the story of an infection!

Sports...hockey, football, baseball....big guys, tough guys. And who is the toughest guy of all? Not who you might think! Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) IS the tough one!

Recently, many pro athletes have been plagued by MRSA, short for methycillin resistant S. aureus. This type of bacteria is resistant to many, too many, antibiotics and can lead to desastrous infections and permanent conditions....death being one of them!

MRSA spreads quickly among athletes, especially those involved in contact sports, because many of us are colonized by this bacteria. YES WE ARE! We are covered by bacteria, in fact for each human cell there are 10 times as much bacteria...and not just S. aureus. The problem starts when S. aureus invades the skin, mostly where abrasion occurs. After sticking to damaged tissue, the bacteria starts to grow and invade the tissue a bit deeper causing boils. These boils eventually drain and pus comes out...it can be just a bit of pus...or it could be a lot! Pus contains bacteria and can then be transmitted to the next person through contact. If the bacteria is an MRSA then you can be in big trouble....

Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts was revealed to have a staph infection, the Indianapolis Star reported Friday. University of North Carolina-Asheville fans also recently learned that Kenny George, the 7-foot-7 center on the basketball team, had a staph infection complication that led to part of his foot being amputated.
FROM CNN

Picture from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ihp/216070044/in/photostream/

Monday, October 27, 2008

Fruit fly research is useless!

Why spend so much money on fruit fly research? Ah ah....I can almost hear the ignorant public in the background...."Yeah...lets ban fruit fly research!".....Poor Sarah...you really need to learn a bit more about everything......but what a hoot for the rest of us! It seems to me she is showing more and more of her ignorance. Good thing there are only a few days left before she falls in oblivion! So stupid....it's almost cute!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Rest in peace dear Jillian

I had you for only a semester....you were a bright student! I told some of your fellow students and they were shocked! So young......

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Beautiful microscopic world



Click on the Image to follow link!

Monday, October 20, 2008

IronMan - Human 2.0



Mind over body, mind over matter....against adversity these guys triumph! You are my heroes!!!! Click HERE to see more!

Friday, October 17, 2008

If you find one of these, buy a lottery ticket!

This is a very rare Blue lobster....1 chance in 2 million you'll ever find one!

Fortune tellers and politics

Saera Kahn is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party of Norway. Recently she was forced to resign over a bunch of phones calls (793 to be precise) she made to fortune-tellers. The total amount comes to approximately $7500,00 CDN. Should we be surprized by this? I am not. After all Nancy Reagan hired Joan Quigley, an astrologer to advise the president on such important things as Air Force One flight schedules. Here is what I found on THIS SITE:




  • She devised elaborate horoscope charts that showed dates and times - down to the last minute - that were both good and bad for the president. Nancy would provide Quigley with the president's itinerary, she would calculate the times most advantageous for success, and then Nancy would pass along the scheduling requirements to the White House staff.
  • She contributed to the timing of international summits, presidential announcements and even the flight schedule of Air Force One.
  • Shortly after Reagan was shot by John Wayne Hinckley, Nancy learned through Merv Griffin that Quigley had told him that Reagan's chart showed that this would be a bad day for him. She could have warned him that his life was in danger. Of course, this was after the fact of the shooting.
  • Nancy Reagan had special private phone lines installed in the White House and at Camp David expressly for talking to Quigley.
  • "I was the Teflon in what came to be known as the Teflon presidency," Quigley later wrote, taking credit for the timing of his actions that would deflect criticism.
Normally, when people hear about psychics, astrologers and fortune-tellers, they laugh and make sure you know they do not believe it....but what they do is a different thing.

I guess my point is that we trust politicians, scientists and MD's with our economy, our future and our lives and then some of them ask for advice to a bunch of charlatans.....who should we trust?

Picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/designwallah/2414830087/

Canucks will win the Stanley cup!

Ah ah....please excuse me while I laugh! The Canucks need more sleep? Yes, of course, that was the problem...how was I so stupid that I did not think of that? Luongo, with a new child is necessarily sleep deprived and that little watch-like device from Sleep Performance will, for sure, help the team...big time!

Why not a taser too instead of old school clean body checks? Maurice Richard, Jacques Plante, Boom-Boom Geoffrion and all the other hockey heroes must be laughing...interrupting their eternal sleep! What a joke!!!!

Here is a little bonus for you....a very informative video on sleep deprivation. All the Canucks players should be aware of that important information!

VIA Vancouver Sun

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Bad memory or observation?

This video is quite interesting. At first I thought that people "forgot" simply because they did not pay attention in the first place. But the last bit is quite incredible! Watch for yourself and let me know what you think!

And again and again and again it goes!

How many times was the "END OF THE WORLD" predicted? No aliens came on Oct 14, and on Dec 22nd I will be late in my X-Mas shopping as usual!!!!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

I am not a fan anyway but...


Ringo Starr is such a big star he does not have time to sign anything anymore. Poor Ringo, my heart bleeds for you, you are probably saving lives somewhere or obviously you are making a difference in your community with your precious, precious time. Peace and love....what a great message indeed!

Carbon footprint calculator


If you are interested to know how much you are hurting the planet...click HERE

The Aliens are not here.....

The Mothership, Blossom Goodchild predicted, did not hover over Alabama. We are October 15th, and nobody saw anything. No aliens will come, we are alone!

I am amazed by predictions like this. It is hard to believe that someone, of at least average intelligence, can put himself/herself under so much public scrutiny. How do you get ANY credibility by making stuff up? Blossom Goodchild is not the only one guilty. Many people believe that the answer to human problems, misery and greed will come from outside. We like to rely on "saviours", it was like that 2000 years ago and it is still like that today!

We want our leaders to be almost perfect as if we were perfect ourselves. How come nobody seems to understand that we cannot change the world if we refuse to change ourselves first? Why do we rely only on external help? How come we cannot fix minor things within ourselves and make a difference for others. The problem is lazyness, the problem is greed, the problem is narcissism, the problem is that most people I know do not take responsibility for their own mistakes.

WHY???? Because we wait for others to do the job!

Dear Blossom, help will not come from another galaxy, help will come when people realize THEY can make a difference in their own (and sometimes stupid) life!

I know such a change will not happen during my lifetime.This, I can predict but nobody will believe me because the solution I suggest is way too simple!

Cartoon by Gary Brookins

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Students of the nation: "Go out and VOTE!!!!"

Monday, October 13, 2008

No UFO? Do not bet on it!

Thanks to this article I will not watch CNN all night to see if any UFO will hover over our blue planet tomorrow (October 14th).....no UFO! And I wanted to see one so, so bad!!!!! But wait...that black out last night...is still unexplained....It has to be THEM!

I know some people are really hoping THEY do not come because they will have to pay....big time!

Bookies William Hill have taken a £1,000 bet from Lawrence Trout, of Wiltshire, which will win him £1million if Ms Goodchild is correct.

And they have also taken bets from Ms Goodchild's UK relatives. Her Surrey based niece Rebecca Simpson bet £100 and her step daughter Kelly Mosedale wagered £50.

Via: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3046840.html

I took the image from: http://www.ufodigest.com/news/1008/images/no-ufo.jpg

Mr. Dolphin or Ms. Dolphin????


Ever tried to sex a dolphin? Me neither! But it seems like it is a difficult task for obvious reasons. A team of researchers decided to compare visible features (!) sizes, and scars! For those of you who get the wrong idea (admit it) I am talking about fins.

Via Nature News

"Rowe and Dawson found that male fins had significantly more scars than female fins, probably as a result of fighting. Male fins had a median of 15% scar tissue, whereas in females this was just 3.9%. Conversely, female fins tended to have a greater number of patchy skin lesions than male fins, with a median of 12.1% coverage compared with males' 6.8%.

The two then used a statistical analysis of scarring, number of fin nicks and fin size to correctly predict the sex of 93% of the 43 dolphins in the group. This laser-sighted technique could potentially be applied to other, less-studied populations of dolphin or even to other species, the scientists say."

It was a turkey "brown-out"

Yesterday 200,000 people on the Vancouver Island got their turkey roasting cut short. At 5:44 PM the power went out! We were lucky, our turkey was cooked! A (funny) logical explanation for this was: "Too many people were roasting their turkey at the same time"....from my Father in law! We had a good chuckle!!!!

Almost there....ahhhhh!


My personal best at a half-marathon was 1h 34 minutes 10 seconds...that was in Comox last March. After my bad results at the Lands End half marathon a few weeks ago I thought I was getting out of shape but I had no reason for that. At the Royal Victoria Half Marathon 2008 I realized, once more, that long distance running is all about pace....I missed my PB by a few seconds....15 seconds total! That's 0.71 seconds for every km....AHHHHHHH! Oh well....I was 26th in my age category which makes me quite happy!

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Is this girl for real? You decide...



via:Cognitive daily

Hockey Night in Canada Challenge - My choice

Here is what I would like to hear at the beginning of every hockey game!








Monday, October 06, 2008

Gallo, not the first one! Nobel snubs!

Top 10 Nobel Snubs from SciAM. Interesting. I just wanted to say that Rosalynd Franklin did not receive the Nobel because she died before, it should not be counted as a snub!

The other ones

Want to know what the IgNobel prize is? CLICK HERE! Want to know who won this year CLICK HERE....chuckles garanteed!

To be fair...

I just wanted to come back on my last posting to be fait to Dr. Robert Gallo, a great scientist nevertheless. I found THIS ARTICLE that makes a good primer to Gallo's career.

"For the record, here is what Gallo did achieve: He first described retroviruses, which is the class of viruses to which HIV belongs, and he linked a retrovirus to a rare leukemia--this alone is deserving of the Nobel. (In an interview that I read, he considers this his most significant scientific achievement). Then, his lab discovered a "T cell growth factor" that turned out to be pivotal in sustaining the growth of T cells in culture, cells that are the target of HIV."

Gallo must be fuming, oh well...too bad!

Viruses are cool. Not because some of them kill people but because they are relatively so simple, yet so efficient! Viruses can make you famous, if you are working hard on the right project, at the right time, in the right place you can score big. The Nobel prize of physiology/medicine was awarded to virus researchers: Harald zur Hausen for his work on the papilloma virus and to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for their discovery of HIV. The reason why Gallo must be angry is that the science that helped link HIV to AIDS was developped by Gallo's team.

If you followed the story you might be aware that Gallo surrounded himself with a shroud of controversy, he was originally accused of science misconduct regarding samples from which HIV was identified, this was overturned after an appeal....but doubts are very resilient, I guess that's what happened to this scientist.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Human nature explained by science: A slippery slope?

I am a person of great skepticism and I almost never believe anything unless I experiment it by myself but I am convinved that human behaviour can be explained in plain scientific terms. Genes regulate many aspects of our personnality but the extent to which the gene effect will be measured involves social interactions and other things that cannot be explained in biochemical/genetic terms.

Yet, bot aspects of who we are are connected through genes, mind, conscience, perception, stress etc.... (May I propose a very good podcast about the effect of a crowd on human behaviour? CLICK HERE to access it) and the scientific community seems to be reluctant to create relationships between Science and Human Nature. According to an article from the Skeptical Inquirer there are two reasons that explain the distance observed between "hard science" and "social sciences":

"There are two overly concise reasons for the segregation of social science from biology.

The first has to do with a broad allergy to “reductionism”—in effect, trying to explain a social phenomenon by a physical or genetic cause."

The second and perhaps more significant reason for the segregation of the two sciences has to do with the appropriation of some biological and many nonbiological materials by various fascist groups, especially the Nazis. Consequently, there was plausible and understandable suspicion of attributing to genes any major social or cultural phenomena."
In an interesting intellectual twist, the author (Lionel Tiger) refers to a set of behavioral "vitamins" that explain our needs, when these "vitamins" are missing, problems seems to emerge. Curious about the nature of these "vitamins"? Read HERE

Conspiracy theories and stress in the population

As you are all aware, we are now facing times that are extremely stressful for many people here in Canada and in the US as well. Both countries are facing elections, both countries are involved in armed conflicts and losing soldiers, both countries are impacted by the financial crisis and the stock exchange meltdowns of the last few days....and we are allies and neighbours.I was reading my Vancouver Sun today and came across an interesting article about conspiracy theories and the reason why they become popular in times of stress (see my recent post on a supposed alien Mothership, predicted for Oct 14th, 2008).

It seems that when people's confidence is shaken, the same people will try to understand and many will start to see patterns when, in fact, there are none. This was replicated in the lab with the same conclusion:

"A quest for structure or understanding leads people to trick themselves into seeing and believing connections that simply don't exist"
Speaking of conspiracy theories I have to admit that I am a big fan of Adam Curry's Daily Source Code and it's podcast. I am a proud "Chucklehead" (Adam Curry's fan) and religiously listen to every single episode while walking on my way to work to Camosun college. I like Adam Curry (see picture above), he is a bright guy and quite funny but lately I think he gets a bit delusionnal, he seems afraid of everything and sees an amazing conspiracy against the freedom of everyone. I am not saying he is totally wrong and I think he is probably right on many issues....but he talks like a person that's really afraid.

Illustration source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lloyd-davis/308659540/

Thursday, October 02, 2008

How old is HIV ?

This is from Nature news. I knew that an AIDS-like disease has been described way before the term AIDS was GRID. For sure the HIV has been around for a while.

Using a database of HIV-1 sequences and an estimate of the rate at which these sequences change over time, the researchers modelled when HIV-1 first surfaced. Their results showed that the most likely date for HIV's emergence was about 1908, when Léopoldville was emerging as a centre for trade.


Curious about the Large Hadron Collider?



Via: http://drop.io/dailysourcecode

So what is going to happen on October 14th, 2008???

I recently heard about October 14th, 2008....A mothership should come and we should be in contact with "beigns" from another dimension. Many websites are actually devoted to this event, whatever that event will/would/could/should be. This event is predicted by Blossom Goodchild, an Australian psychic.

We wish it to be understood that on the 14th day of your month of October in the year 2008 a craft of great size shall be visible within your skies. It shall be in the south of your hemisphere and it shall scan over many of your states.

We give to you the name of Alabama.

It has been decided that we shall remain within your atmosphere for the minimum of three of your twenty four hour periods.

During this time there will be much commotion upon your earth plane. Your highest authorities will be intruding into ‘our’ atmospherics that surround our ship. This ‘security field’ is necessary for us, as there shall take place a ‘farce’ from those in your world who shall try to deny that we come in LOVE.

Do you want them to come?....you can vote! Your votes will be tallied through telepathy!

Click HERE for more info! Keep posted!



Once again,lets apply the general rules of critical thinking...shall we???

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Death by hot sauce

I was looking at one of my favorite blogs....the Bayblab blog and found an interesting post on pain perception. It appears that eating too much hot chili sauce can be lethal. It is not known how hot sauce can kill you but if you ever go a a shop where they sell hot sauce you will find these silly bottles covered with skulls, fire and whatever reminds us that in comes in as hot and goes out with the same burning sensation.....

Read this article