“To my mind,” Dr. Porco said, “most people go through life recoiling from its best parts. They miss the enrichment that just a basic knowledge of the physical world can bring to the most ordinary experiences. It’s like there’s a pulsating, hidden world, governed by ancient laws and principles, underlying everything around us — from the movements of electrical charges to the motions of the planets."

A romantic comedy, brought to you by the government and a scientist

Oh, the power of science! All because of science, today I'm looking forward to the release of a romantic comedy movie AND wanting to pat the Pentagon on the back. Yep.

All of this time I was bitching about the decline of science in America and thinking that no one was doing anything about it. Turns out the Pentagon launched a program to make movies about science! Some scientists have been united with screenwriters and directors, but others have even been FUNDED to learn how to write screenplays. The idea is that they will represent real scientists and make them look cool.

Case in point:Valerie Weiss has spent the last five years, in addition to being a biophysicist, tweaking her movie script, "Losing Control." Now she's set to direct it.

It's about a woman who wants "scientific proof" that "the man she loves is the one."

"[It's] about the limitations of what we can actually know before doing something," says Weiss. "That's science, art . . . love. They're all the same. It's all about taking a big risk. It still ultimately requires a leap of faith."

Read the rest here.

The organic debate continues

So did you hear about that big study that said there are no nutritional benefits to eating organic food?

Turns out they did a pretty shoddy job of research, according to Peter Melchett of the Soil Association.

He says there'll be another batch of research coming out next spring, this time by the EU. Watch out, Food Standards Agency.

I mean come on, how could eating organic not be healthier?

Science for the masses-- we need it!!!

There is a great interview in the LA Times with science journalist Chris Mooney (pictured). This man is on our wavelength.

His new book talks about how both the conservative religious community AND the scientific community are out of touch with each other. It's not just the religious zealouts' fault-- scientists need to peep out of their intellectual bubbles and connect with the people.

Great quotes:

If I read ScienceBlogs, what I see are endless eloquent refutations of the creationists based on science. It's been done to death. Obviously, that doesn't convince anybody. And that's because people who don't believe in evolution are not driven by scientific considerations.

The media needs to get over the "I'm-a-pissed-off-middle-school-student-and-science-isn't-for-me" kind of mind set. Science coverage should be high-standard, it should be entertaining.

Read the rest here.

'The Empire' is 'lost in space.' Star Wars or politics?

Over the weekend, Hugo Chavez went into specifics about Obama, Latin America and astronomy. About the (alleged) U.S. role in the Honduran coup and unwillingness to close Guantanamo, Chavez spewed:

"We are asking that the empire get its hands off Honduras and get its claws out of Latin America ... President Obama is lost in the Andromeda Nebula ... he doesn't get it."

Thank you Mr. Chavez for your specifics, you have crafted a clear image. It involves Obama's claws reaching from the Andromeda galaxy back to Earth and grabbing at Latin American countries.

Hmm, that image isn't very clear at all! I couldn't make it in photoshop so that's my criteria, Hugo.

Also: I'm not an Obama defender, but I'm going to have to say that YOU don't get it either-- Andromeda is a galaxy, not a nebula.

I'll respond in the role of Obama and call this a "teachable moment." Unfortunately, me, Obama, Hugo, and the galaxy can't have a beer together. But let's all try to learn the difference between a nebula and a galaxy anyway.


GALAXY: What we live in! Ours is called the Milky Way, and Andromeda is our nearest neighbor. Our sun is one of about 200 billion stars in the spiral-shaped Milky Way galaxy.

Wikipedia: A massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and dark matter.


NEBULA: A big cloud of mess! The gas floating around in it can condense and form stars, and then solar systems can form around the stars. There is one in Orion's belt.

Wikipedia: An interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and plasma. Originally nebula was a general name for any extended astronomical object, including galaxies beyond the Milky Way (some examples of the older usage survive; for example, the Andromeda Galaxy was referred to as the Andromeda Nebula before galaxies were discovered by Hubble).

Another way to turn blue and cure illness

Yesterday's post was about turning blue and reducing spinal trauma.

Today's blog is about something that has been seen as a panacea and as quakery but will also turn you blue: colloidal silver.

A colloid is particles that remain suspended without forming ions, or dissolved solution. It is made through an electrolysis process. Silver has been used medicinally for centuries and at the turn of the 20th century, its popularity flourished as a antimicrobial agent. But in the 1940's antibiotics became widely available and colloidal silver was pushed to the wayside. In the 1990's when there become talk of drug resistant infections, colloidal silver made a comeback. Through the past century, it was used to cure everything from epilepsy to gonorrhea to eye problems.
Nowadays one can buy colloidal silver legally over the interwebs or in health food stores in the US. Some claim it cures HIV, cancer and diabetes-- but these statements are scientifically unsupported.

The Russians and the WHO have used colloidal silver in water purification and it has uses in horticulture.

Now let's get to the blue.

Let me tell you about a little thing called Argyria. It is a permanent discoloring of the skin and eyes due to excessive intake of colloidal silver. It makes skin turn blue/grey. For eva-eva.

Stan Jones is a Libertarian politician who ran twice unsuccessfully for the US Senate (2002 and 2006) and twice unsuccessfully for the governorship of Montana (2000 and 2004). He developed Argyria and turned blue after consuming home-made colloidal silver because he feared that Y2K would make antibiotics unavailable. He still drinks home made colloidal silver as a home remedy. The pic is of him.

Now I ponder while I sip my colloidal silver and eat my blue M&Ms: Why don't we have any blue fruits,flowers or veggies that naturally occur? (blueberries are indigo, dammit)

I'm Blue

It is understood that secondary inflammation following spinal chord trauma causes more lasting damage than the initial injury. Essentially, the swelling from the initial injury sparks mini strokes that suffocates the blood flow and then kills the surrounding tissue.
So, what can cure this secondary inflammation, you may ask yourself.
I have to words for you: get blue.

According to this National Geographic article, scientists injected a paralyzed mouse with Brilliant Blue G dye, a derivative of common Blue Number One dye (found in M&Ms, gatorade and essentially anything tasty and blue colored)... and within days of injection the mouse was able to stumble around.

so there you have it, common blue food coloring has magical powers: it can reduce inflammation of the spinal chord. (added bonus: you can turn blue without drinking silver). Plus compounds used to treat spinal chord injuries have insane toxins in them, while blue food coloring is awesome.... blue eyeballs!