headers
What's New | 3 Nov 2006 22:30

What's New Friday November 3, 2006

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 3 Nov 06   Washington, DC

1. DIETARY SUPPLEMENT: WHAT DID JESUS KNOW ABOUT RESVERATROL? 
Researchers report in Nature that massive doses of a natural
substance found in red wine, resveratrol, offsets some of the bad
effects of a high-calorie diet and extends life span - if you're
a mouse.  Resveratrol is in the skin of the grape where it serves
as a fungicide.  The corresponding dose for a human would be
staggering, but many will try   and stagger.  It's been sold as a
dietary supplement for years on the basis of the "French paradox"
of low incidence of coronary heart disease.  The first miracle of
Jesus, related in John 2:1-12, was performed at a wedding party. 
When they ran out of party drinks, Jesus turned 6 jugs of water
into wine.  He could have turned it into beer I suppose, or even
Dr. Pepper, or maybe he saw ahead to discovery of resveratrol's
benefits.  Thousands of Bible-Belt ministers have preached that
the "wine" Jesus made must have been unfermented grape juice.  

2. TED HAGGARD: ADMITS BUYING METH FROM HIS MALE PROSTITUTE. 
A year ago Ted Haggard said Heaven is only for born-again
Christians http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN05/wn122305.html .
Is there some place with higher standards?  

3. EVOLUTION: THE HONEY BEE GENOME MAY REAWAKEN A CONTROVERSY. 
Four years in the making, a consortium of 150 researchers in 20
countries deciphered the 236-million-base genome.  This is the
fifth insect sequenced so far.  It's of interest because of the
bee's complex social behavior.  People communicate by dancing,
and so, it is said, do honey bees.  The claim is that scout bees
do an elaborate dance to let the hive know where the flowers are.
(Continue reading)

Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |
headers
What's New | 10 Nov 2006 22:37

What's New Friday November 10, 2006

WHAT'S NEW   Robert l. Park   Friday, 10 Nov 06   Washington, DC

1. PLAN B: THE ROLE OF THE WHITE HOUSE IN RESTRICTING ACCESS. 
You probably noticed that there was an election this week.  The
outcome won't make it easier for the Administration to block a
federal magistrate's ruling, issued Monday, allowing the Center
for Reproductive Rights to subpoena White House emails and other
documents related to FDA's decision to deny over-the-counter
access to the emergency contraceptive, Plan B, to women under 18, 
http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN06/wn082506.html.  Under-18 is
the demographic group for whom conception is most likely to be an
emergency.  The Center for Reproductive Medicine is seeking to
learn whether the White House interfered with the decision-making
process of the FDA.

2. NECESSARY ADJUSTMENT?  SECRETARY OF DEFENSE WASN'T ON BALLOT. 
Donald Rumsfeld was voted out of office anyway.  Having replaced
"stay the course" with "necessary adjustments," President Bush
replaced Rumsfeld with Robert Gates.  As CIA Director, Gates was
renowned for his uncanny ability to produce intelligence that
supported whatever position the administration had already taken. 
Wasn't it that sort of "intelligence" that got us into Iraq?
There is still a confirmation process to be gotten through, and
that may not be easy.  Wednesday, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), one half
of the PhD physicist block in Congress, described the Gates
nomination as "deeply troubling."  He called for a "thorough and
probing confirmation hearing" for Gates. 

3. SHUTTLE TO NOWHERE: A SHORTER MISSION OR A LONGER CALENDAR? 
Well, here we are again.  Yesterday they rolled Discovery to the
(Continue reading)

Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |
headers
What's New | 17 Nov 2006 21:03

What's New Friday November 17, 2006

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 17 Nov 06   Washington, DC

1. FREEDOM FUEL: HYDROGEN, IT SEEMS, IS NOT AN ODORLESS GAS. 
Last week a New Jersey court sentenced Patrick Kelly of Kuna,
Idaho to five years in prison for defrauding investors in United
Fuel Cell Technologies.  I don't know Kelly, but in 2000 I got a
letter from the Genesis Project in Boise, ID inviting me to join
other scientists in developing an energy-efficient process for
separating hydrogen from water.  Bad smell.  Two years later a
company called Genesis World Energy claimed it had succeeded.  WN
cried "scam" http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN02/wn121302.html . 
Scams that claim to break the First Law of Thermodynamics are not
uncommon.  What made this scam different was that the Genesis web
site said they weren't taking investments.  However, only one
month later, President Bush in his State of the Union address
proposed the Freedom Car, "powered by hydrogen, and pollution
free" http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN03/wn013103.html .  Timing
is everythng.  Deep-pocket investors begged Genesis to be let in. 

2. FREEDOM OF SCIENCE: "IN DEFENSE OF SCIENCE AND SECULARISM." 
On Tuesday, the Center for Inquiry held a press conference at 
the National Press Club in Washington to issue a declaration
urging that public policy be based on science rather than faith. 
The declaration was signed by a number of leading scientists and
advocates of strict church-state separation.  The Center for
Inquiry is an outgrowth of the Committee for the Investigation of
Claims of the Paranormal, which publishes the Skeptical Inquirer. 

3. ELECTRONIC TOYS: THE WONDERS MODERN SCIENCE MAKES POSSIBLE. 
There are lines all over the country to buy the PS3.  But Beverly
(Continue reading)

Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |
headers
What's New | 28 Nov 2006 21:11

What's New Friday November 24, 2006

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 24 Nov 06   Washington, DC

1. BEYOND BELIEF: SCIENCE, RELIGION, REASON AND SURVIVAL.
Sponsored by The Science Network, the Beyond Belief forum was
held earlier this month at the Salk Institute.  As described by
George Johnson in the Tuesday NY Times, the meeting came "to
resemble the founding convention for a political party built on a
single plank: in a world dangerously charged with ideology,
science needs to take on an evangelical role, vying with religion
as teller of the greatest story ever told."  And what a story it
is turning out to be!  Yet, while the world is quick to embrace
the benefits of science, people the world over cling to medieval
superstitions and defend such beliefs as a virtue.  Scientists
are inclined to meekly declare their "respect" for superstitions
even while proving them to be utter nonsense.  That may change.
In his recent best-seller, "The God Delusion," Richard Dawkins, a
participant in Beyond Belief, observes that "God is a scientific
hypothesis," but there is no evidence to support the hypothesis.
Beyond Belief can be viewed at http://beyondbelief2006.org .

2. SPACE STATION: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, A BIT BEHIND SCHEDULE.
Things are never easy on the ISS: first there was an overheating
space suit, then an exterior hatch stuck and cosmonaut Mikhail
Tyurin's tether got in the way. But finally he got in position to
address the ball with American astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria
holding on to him.  Meanwhile, Moscow mission control deliberated
on how to position the ball.  "It's me that's supposed to be
positioned properly," Tyurin snapped.  At last, using a gold-
plated 6-iron, Tyurin took his swing.  He shanked it, according
to The Moscow Times.com.  No matter, "I can see it moving away
(Continue reading)

Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |

Gmane