Fed up with hypocrits???

Unbelievable! I am so fed up with people saying one thing but doing the opposite... ARRGGH!!!!!





See for yourself here:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/02/28/gore-electricity.html?ref=rss

Photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jetalone/378293806/

A well-rounded champion!

Can you draw a perfect circle in less than a second? This Ottawa teacher, Alexander Overwijk, surely can!

Modern art, Britney Spears hair and Brad Pitt's facial tissue...

I love art, especially contemporary art. One of my favorite painters is Barnett Newman and the National Gallery in Ottawa has one of its paintings...Voice of Fire (the title)...and it is just splendid! This special painting is nothing more that two vertical lines surrounding a red one (you can see it here). The museum purchased it in 1989 for 1.8 million (CDN). Is that too much for such a simple painting (although it is 18 feet tall)?

Maybe yes....but...maybe not! It depends! Some people would not spend a dime for it. After all, all this money could have been used for social housing, homeless people, shelters....biomedical research! On the other hand, this is the price to pay for a "Barnett Newman". Why? Because there is a market for it! Still not convinced?

Let me give you a little (and disgusting) example!

You follow someone and that person blows its nose and throws the facial tissue on the ground as he walks...are you going to touch that dirty facial tissue? Chances are, you are going to stay clear of that piece of softened cellulose with goo in it. BUT WAIT....that person in front of you is...YES...Brad Pitt! If you have just a bit of marketing brains, you are going to sell it on eBay (if you can prove it comes from Brad...maybe you can extract DNA from it). That SAME facial tissue now has a market potential! You understand? Sure you do! That is probably why you are not surprized by the fact that poor Britney's (boo-hoo) hair is now on sale on the internet...for a million bucks MINIMUM.

That's a lot of money for some keratin that grew in a head full of water....but that's just me!

Picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/russelljsmith/9658510/

And...what about YOU?

Frequently I posts teaching tips and my feelings about teaching. I am interested in sharing experiences! Anyone with good stories are VERY WELCOME to write about them. Just tell me about them and I will create a link to you blog! I just want to create an exchange blog...but not just about me! So...what about YOU????

Photo credit: this image was modified and can be found at this site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/assbach/136040511/

Teaching tip #6: Open door

An open door is so much more than just a door. An open door invites for discussion, creativity and thinking. An open door is really telling your students that you care. An open door creates an opportunity for you to recall what you were then....just a kid with questions and, maybe, fear of the future! Now, there you are...a teacher, a professor, a parent or maybe.....a student! Remember where you come from. Just remember!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yewenyi/

Distance Learning...wonderful!

I started to teach a course with some students in the classroom and some in another city. It works perfectly well for several reasons:

• I am aware that the distant students are AS IMPORTANT as the students are in the class room
• I am aware that distant students need 2 to 3 seconds before they can hear me and I have to patient for their feedback
• I refer to them just as much as I refer to the students in the classroom (see first comment)
• Technical staff is ESSENTIAL for successful distance learning
• I am using tools that make sure students see where I am going...no laser pointers here!

Picture credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/philipyk/

Teaching tip #5 - a quick survey tells you where they fell

You are a good teacher...not doubt about it! You care and your students know that! But did they get everything you wanted them to get? Did they reach YOUR objectives? After class, ask them to write on a sheet of paper what THEY think was the most important message of your lecture. If it was in line with your own objectives...bulls eye! If not...next time make sure to come back on the last lecture. Easy!!!

A new nail in the intelligent design's coffin!

A new paper published in Nature indicates that an increase in atmospheric oxygen levels might have "stimulated the evolution of macroscopic multicellular animals and the oxygenation of deep oceans".

This new oxygenation is considered as a very stressful event in our planet natural history because oxygen usage means free radicals production and protein (and DNA) damage. It would be very interesting to compare phylogenetic data from anti oxidant and DNA repair proteins. If this theory is right, we should be able to correlate atmospheric/ocean oxygen increase with cellular molecular protection.

Reference: Fike, D.A., et al. (2006) Oxidation of the Ediacaran Ocean. Nature, December 2006, p 744-747.

Teaching tip #4 - DO YOU CARE ENOUGH?

I read this somewhere:

"People do not care about what you know until they know how much you care".

Caring is the MOST important thing when it comes to teaching. It does not matter if you are a seasoned professor or a novice...if you do not care, it shows or it will show very quickly. Students are not idiots and they will not care either. If you should ever stop caring, take a break. You might be burned out, or begin to be. If after that break you still do not care, your flame is out......choose another career...for the students sake!

Nanotechnology as pollution?

Nanotechnology holds big promises. Nanotechnology could even, a day, revolutionize the way we treat or prevent disease, the way we look, the way we think and even the way we go to war.

Nanotechnology is as inspiring as year 2000 was, back in the 50's. It is far away but still it is already here. The problem is this, nanotechnology could, one day, be a very big problem. How do we get rid of microscopic things that do not respond to medication, antibiotics or antivirals. We already thought of creating new devices that seem promising, but have we thought of poential solution to real future problems? Some particles could be so small, there is a potential for them to be endocytosed by some tissues. They could gain access to vital organs like the brain, kidneys or liver. Günter Oberdörster is a researcher in the field of nanotoxicology and his studies prove that nanoparticles can gain access inside the body through inhalation.

At the cell level, those nanoparticles can be ingested by specialized cells called macrophages. These cells, that have evolved to destroy microorganisms, can move from blood circulation to tissues and back to blood. This way, they can transport nanoparticles to tissues. These cells, when they die, will spill this nanopollution. Nanoparticles, many of them, have a very stable form. Bucky tubes and bucky balls are made of carbon and their molecular configuration makes them as stable as diamond (which is also carbon). Once in the tissues, they could stay there for a very long time and nobody can predict what can happen.

We, humans, have this problem....we create problems to which we have no solutions. Silly human race....

Teaching tip #3: Spot the thermometer student

In a classroom it is sometimes difficult to know in real time if the students are receptive to what you say. Maybe they do not grasp what you want them to. Well, there might be hope...YES! In a classroom, some *students are more expressive than others, their body language is more obvious although they are not aware of this. Spot these students early and look at them every time you think something might be difficult to understand. Their frowning might indicate a problem...if so, repeat your concept from another angle and then ask if it is clearer....it works everytime! By the way, I call them my "thermometer students".

*PS. Do NOT tell them as they might become self conscious and you could lose their subconscious collaboration.

The biological problem with binge-drinking

Binge dinking is not a new phenomenon...especially with college students. These parties can last for days, an the impact on academic success is often dramatic resulting in failures and, lets face it, money loss.

A study by a french group found that teenage haevy drinkers can lose more than marks on a test. Brain scans of alcohol-dependant individuals aged from 30-50 years showed a definitive loss of white matter. What is important here is this, the age at which these individuals started drinking is related to decreased grey matter volume in the cerebellum, brainstem and frontal region.

Reference: Chanraud et al. 2006. Brain Morphometry and Cognitive Performance in Detoxified
Alcohol-Dependents with Preserved Psychosocial Functioning. Neuropsychopharmacology, October issue, p. 1-10.

Image by Ottmar Liebert taken from Flickr under creative commons (CC) license

Teaching tip #2: Power point and laser pointers, a No-No?

Do you have a laser pointer? I do! Do you use it with your power-point slides? I used to! Not anymore! There is a very simple reason why I used to ...and do not anymore. The laser pointer is actually a good thing for the teacher...because we have in our mind a picture of what the students ARE SUPPOSED TO SEE...so we circle and underline with the laser pointer. This is not useful because the students ARE OFTEN WRITING AS WE TALK....the never see the laser pointer because it does NOT stay on the slide. Thankfully, there is a remedy to this. Power-Point has a feature that permits HIGHLIGHTING, DOODLING, CIRCLING things on your slide...and it stays there!

Here's how to use it: when you are on your slide, just right click and a box will appear! Select from the options and VOILÀ...just look at the picture that accompanies this blog and you will quickly understand how to use this simple tool. Use it on your next lecture and you probably will, just like me, get addicted to it!

Enjoy!!!!

Teaching tip #1: Discourage free-riding!

Free-riding is common when students work in teams. Make sure you meet every student from the team separately and ask what their contribution is. Beware of blank stares!

The best science Podcasts

Podcasts are a very efficient, and fun, way to learn about the last developments in the world of science. I strongly promote this medium to my students and, one in a while, I quiz them on specific segments. Furthermore, these science podcasts are all produced by highly reputable journals and news organizations. Pure and FREE listening pleasure...Enjoy!

• Nature magazine podcast
• Science magazine podcast
• Scientific American podcast
• NPR Science Friday podcast
• The naked scientist podcast
• New Scientist podcast

There are more and more podcasts....so many things to learn and so little time!

The power of low tech teaching!

This blog is about Cyber teaching...or is it? I just want to share an experience. I teach at med school where all the students have their own tablet PC. All of their notes are in Power-Point format and that is great...HOWEVER....I decided yesterday to do something different. On one side of the class I used the projector, with the Power-Point slides. On the other side, I had a white board. Instead of going through the slides and babbling about whatever they had on them, I thought it would be a good idea to slow down the rythm. I started to draw, explaining as my "work of art" was being created. I was, as I was before I made extensive use of Power-Point, telling a story. After class, students came to me to tell me how they appreciated how I took the time to explain instead of going through a bunch of slides.

Teaching is about creating a contact with the students. Teaching is about reaching other people through knowledge transfer. Anyone can look at Power-Point slides and study them. A professor who teaches only with electronic media is not doing a better job than a professor who reads transparents. Teaching is NOT about reading something students can read by themselves.

The use of cyber teaching is a GREAT idea, I am totally with it and I use it quite extensively. I think it is important to remember that a Power-Point slide is just a high-tech transparent. Teaching is an art, not just a technique!!!

The problem with many academics...

You know what you teach about...but is it blurry for your students?
Students need a link. They need something to cling on. Students need applications. Students need demonstrations. The problem with many academics is this: they are the only ones interested in their subjects. They teach about something that is very specialized and not very relevant to the student experience.

I am not saying that very specialized subjects should not be taught. They should be but in a general context. A very specialized subject usually comes from a specific context. Applications and examples are sometimes difficult to find especially with very specialized content. It is, nonetheless, an important part of teaching. I think that if researchers have the imagination to conceptualize complex ideas...they should have the imagination to find examples that students can understand and rely to.

How selfish can you be?

I teach an undergraduate class where many of the students want to go to med school. There is a lot of competition...

I take pride to answer my email as quickly as possible and for every answer I provide, I send the question(s) and answer(s) to ALL my students. One student is not pleased by that...he would rather like that I answer his questions only to himself....I bet he reads all the answers of the other students questions...just to get an edge....arghhhh!

Intelligent Design for Dummies...really!

UK is under attack, creationism is striking! A group know as Truth in Science decided to promote these non-objective beliefs through distribution of DVD's and booklets. This group, with their spokesman Dr Richards Buggs financed a £20,000 creationism teaching program, targeting pupils in state and private schools.

According to the book of Genesis, life was created by God 6,000 years ago! 6,000!!! How can intelligent people, like Dr. Buggs who has a Ph.D. in plant science and an expert on polyploidy promote totally unscientific ideas. People might not agree about everything Darwin said, he made mistakes, but the science is there. DNA has been sequenced, microfossils have been carbon dated and they are way older that 6,000 years! I just do not understand...do you? Is there something I am missing here?

References:

http://www.bcseweb.org.uk/index.php/Main/RichardBuggs
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/28/nc

Toxins and perfumes: the death of dissidents and spies

The ex-spy is dead. Alexander Litvinenko died like a spy, almost like in a movie. An obscure poison got the best of him...but how toxic are poisons? Paracelsus once said: "everything is poison, it depends on the dosage"...some toxins are very powerful some less. Lets list a few toxins and compare them...just to have an idea.

• Botulism toxin is an exotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. This toxin is the MOST toxic toxin known to man. Its lethal dose is known to be around 200 pg/kg (so a human could be killed by as little as 10 ng of this toxin)...used as Botox
  
• Tetanospasmin is another highly lethal bacterial toxin. It is produced by Clostridium tetani bacteria. Ten times less powerful than botulinum toxin, it would take a dosage of 100 ng to kill a human.
• Strychnine is a plant derived toxin (from Strychnos nux-vomica tree) and is considered very toxic although it would take around 50 mg to kill a human. A problem with this toxin, the taste can be detected at very low doses
• Ricin is a toxin extracted from castor beans (Ricinus communis). Its lethal dose is 0.2mg. This toxin was used to kill Georgi Markov in London in 1978. Markov was shot in the leg and the bullet was coated with ricin.
• Sarin is a very toxic substance also known as O-Isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate. This poison was used in a japanese subway in Tokyo in 1995 by a religious sect; Aum. The lethal dosage for sarin is around 0.5 mg (humans).
• Cyanide is a well known poison. There are various forms of this toxin so the dosage varies. Was widely used in suicides by Nazi. As a comparison, Sarin is know to be around 500 times more toxic than cyanide derivatives
• Dioxin is also a well known toxin. It was found in agent orange used as a defoliant durins the Vietnam war. Recently Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with dioxin. The lethal dose of dioxin is around 1 mg.
• Polonium killed the ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko. Although that, weight for weight, this radioactive element is more toxic than cyanide it will take micrograms to milligrams to kill a human.