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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Of ruby-throat hummingbirds and men... how intelligent are they REALLY.

« on: 24/09/2015 23:24:00 »

This morning before lunch, I noticed my stud hummingbird, Bruno, had flown up to the window to look in at me.

Sure enough, the feeder turned out to have been drunk dry.

Has anyone else seen this behavior? How much intelligence can there be in that minuscule cerebral cortex?

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New Theories / Who controls the Naked Scientists?

« on: 02/09/2015 04:33:03 »

This thread was split off from "Do your genes affect your GCSE grades? ".
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=59909.0
It deals with the question of who controls science (and the publicity of science research).
Note: the focus of this forum is on the science, not the politics...  Moderator.

"Behavioral genetics" a science.... or Tory propaganda ?

This Plomin bird is hooked up with Michael Gove [ ptui!] - the former Tory education Minister and now Tory whip    (see below)


****
Let's see what others have to say...

The zombie theory of innate IQ

Attempts are being made to resuscitate the idea that ability is predetermined by our genes – doubtless linked to moves within the Conservative Party to reintroduce grammar schools and selection at 11. Recent research by Robert Plomin claims that 60 percent of achievement in GCSE Maths or Science is genetic. His work is acclaimed by Michael Gove’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings. (See the linked article earlier in this issue Bad science, worse politics.). The belief that academic ability is genetically inherited has long served to justify inequality. [1.]

***************

Finally, this garbage  was published in 2013.

What is the political reason that it has shown up here, today -- 2 years later ?

Is this not just some Tory agitprop masquerading here as science??

In America this stinking racist garbage would go into the nearest cess pool. Shame on you people that it pollutes this forum at all. Who has twisted your arm?



[1.]http://www.changingschools.org.uk/E4L%20zombie%20IQ.pdf

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Physiology & Medicine / ye Black Death in America

« on: 07/08/2015 16:38:54 »

Public Health officials in California are investigating a case of the plague contracted by a child who had recently camped at Yosemite National Park. News of the investigation comes in the wake of reports of the recent death of a Colorado resident who had contracted the rare disease; that case marked the second plague death in Colorado this year.

“Never feed squirrels, chipmunks, or other rodents in picnic or campground areas, and never touch sick or dead rodents. Protect your pets from fleas and keep them away from wild animals,” said Dr. Karen Smith, the director of the California Department of Health, in a statement. (1.)


(1.) http://time.com/3988213/california-plague-yosemite/

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Just Chat! / Understanding Dementia (University of Tasmania) Free MOOC

« on: 26/07/2015 12:23:22 »

The course begins on August 17th. 3-5 hours work/week...Be there or be square.

https://www.mooc-list.com/course/understanding-dementia-university-tasmania?static=true

This is a course about dementia looking at a broad range of topics including,basic brain anatomy, pathology, dementia research, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, medical management, living with dementia, progression and staging, palliation, behaviours and therapeutic approaches.

In response to the recent dramatic rise in the global incidence of dementia and the subsequent need for quality dementia education, this course is designed to provide understanding to improve the quality of life across the trajectory of dementia for people with the condition, their families and carers.

The 9-week curriculum is divided into three units: ‘the brain’, ‘the diseases’ and ‘the person’. It covers a range of topics including basic brain anatomy, pathology, dementia research, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, medical management, living with dementia, progression and staging, palliation, behaviours and therapeutic approaches.

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Do grey squirrels harbour Lyme disease?

« on: 12/07/2015 00:29:16 »

I am retracting my earlier suggestion that Grey Squirrels could be partially controlled by hunting them for the pot. This is because the recent episode of "This Week in Science" on iTunes reports that they have recently found to harbor a species of tick that is a vector for Lyme Disease. The NHS reports that between 2 and 3,000 cases of Lyme are diagnosed in England and Wales every year.(1.)

Of further concern is the mention of urban infestations of the cute little buggers in London with people feeding them. People are entertained by them and even feed them by hand. I cannot recommend the feeding of squirrels.

I once saw the acrobats from the Peking Opera in Long Beach. They couldn't hold a candle to these squirrels when they see a bird feeder. Watch and see.

(1.)http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Lyme-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx

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Physiology & Medicine / Immune compromised woman 1st US measles death in 12 years.

« on: 03/07/2015 00:36:47 »

With the nonchalant attitude of peddling immune modulators on TV for rheumatoid arthritis and eczema coupled with declining immunization rates, this sort of thing is easily predictable.

Because she was immune compromised she didn't show all the symptoms -- but the measles pneumonia gave the game away.

Unless a high enough population percentage of people are immune to prevent spread, every pro-dromal but infective measles case is a boojum ready to carry off every cancer patient (and now some RA & eczema) in town.

I know of a nurse who once contracted measles by walking into a room 30 minutes after a case of measles had left. She said, as I recall, that the pain from  those koplick's spot in the mouth is definitely something you don't forget

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Physiology & Medicine / How can elderly people keep themselves in good health in a heatwave?

« on: 01/07/2015 18:17:25 »

The news says that Europe is enduring a heat wave. BBC says that Brighton is sweltering at 35 degrees. Where I live it is 33 degrees today with 55 % humidity, and the house is comfortable with the windows open and a fan blowing. One wonders if English people are genetically distinct from American hybrids like me (with a dash of Chocktaw) or if Noel Coward was correct when he said that mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun.

Be that as it may, here are a couple of survival strategies for the elderly - who are endangered by hot weather.
(a,) spend the day at the library.
(B.) Sit in front of the fan mother naked except for a wet sheet.
(c.) Get some frozen peas out of the fridge, wrap them in a pillowcase and stick them in your armpits and groin.
(d.) If you know an elderly person, check on them. If people aren't used to heat they can cope with it in a bizarre fashion. When an unusual heat wave hit Chicago, some elderly people closed up their windows "to keep the heat out" and Chicago ran out of morgue space. People in the southern boondocks would never imagine doing that.


Keep your stick on the ice. I'm pulling for you.

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / The grey squirrel ..... alien pest or supper?

« on: 22/06/2015 20:38:53 »

The gray squirrel has been a staple in the cuisine of the scotch-irish who settled the Appalachian and Ozark mountains. While squirrel is very properly disdained by flatlanders - and people on food stamps - it remains a common item of local diets.

I am informed that they are best taken with a .410 shotgun because of its limited range and small shot, but a good sling shot with a lead sinker is surprisingly effective if they haven't been shot over too badly.. They provide better sport than a fox, or so imagine.

Since I keep seeing BBC commentators sniveling about the loss of native red squirrel habitat due to invasions of the fierce and alien grey invaders I have dug up a pinterest page with several recipes for squirrel.(1.)

I, myself, might like a taste of "Braised squirrel with bacon, mushrooms, and pinot noir".


(1.) https://www.pinterest.com/dawnamc76/wild-game-recipes/

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Could we cook bullfrogs?

« on: 12/06/2015 19:04:38 »

Watching a BBC program lamenting the problems caused by the introduction of bull frogs into British ponds, reminded me of pleasant summer evenings gigging frogs.

A frog gig is a small trident with maybe a 10 foot shaft. Bull Frogs eyes shine when you point a flash light at them so it's easy to collect all of them in a pond. You don't even need to trap them like crawdads.

Here is a recipe for Cajun Bullfrog legs.... Laissez les bon temps roller!

http://www.realcajuncooking.com/2011/07/cajun-fried-bullfrog-legs.html

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Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Since Everest lost a meter in the quake, is K2 the new top dog?

« on: 06/06/2015 21:32:23 »

I saw on BBC's "click" that Everest lost a meter of height. Is K2 now higher..or just more dangerous?

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Physiology & Medicine / Is paedophilia a mental illness?

« on: 23/05/2015 06:28:10 »

National Public Radio carried this report two days ago, "Revelations Of British Paedophile Ring Spur Flood Of Abuse Reports"

Recently I learned how to access "the dark web". I was amazed to find several forums which were crawling with paedophiles seeking to hook up. (Uff da!)

So it raises the question in my mind, "Is Paedophilia a mental illness or a cultural phenomenon?"

The whole idea seems absotively bizarre to me.

PS: There appears to be no shortage of "funny uncles" here in America.

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New Theories / Tattoo ink causes supra-tentorial insufficiency

« on: 15/05/2015 22:34:34 »

f( centimeters^ 2 of tattoos)*k = number of IQ points ablated from IQ at birth.

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Does CCD afflict city bees?

« on: 15/05/2015 20:20:54 »

The news is out that 42% of commercial bees have died off last summer. Yet here in Santa Rosa, California Bees are plentiful. There are mostly vineyards in Sonoma county. We don't have commercial bees brought in  much

So...

(a) Are Bees dying off world wide in similar proportions?

(b) I snuck into Glasgow with a VPN and watched a BBC show about people keeping bees in London. Are London bees dying or thriving?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Has there ever been a serious accident with a Heavy water moderated reactor?

« on: 09/01/2015 19:12:13 »

Someone brought up Fukushima in another thread.

As far as I recall, there has never been an emergency with a heavy water reactor like the Canadians have used. Is this so?

Would such a reactor have melted down at fukushima?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Cosmic inflation or maybe condensation from "quantum foam" ??

« on: 08/01/2015 22:50:17 »

Instead of super-luminal inflation following the big bang singularity -- is it, perhaps, feasible that it was really some sort of condensation of the "quantum foam"?

I know from beans about the quantum foam, but if it (who knows?) pre-exists the big bang, then might not what we know as space time actually be some sort of condensation of it? Something like a crystal being dropped into a supersaturated solution

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Eta Carinae model looks like a "d" orbital ( !! ??)

« on: 08/01/2015 22:41:01 »

I see the model of the eta carinae supernova on the BBC news page today. It has a singular resemblance to the shape of a "d" orbital from my chemical studies. Cou;d this point to some unknown underlying principal linking quantum level reality with cosmological scale phenomena?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30721794

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Why do some galaxies spiral clockwise vs. counterclockwise?

« on: 04/05/2014 03:11:37 »

I am holding off dull times by classifying galaxies on "galaxy zoo"

Some spiral galaxies appear to spin counter clockwise and some clockwise. When I find one I tag it clockwise or anticlockwise.

Are some of them in looking class land with Alice and the red queen?

Is some cosmological Maxwell's demon at work?

Are they distributed equally in the observable universe or  is there some anisotrophy?

Is galactic spin a cosmological coin flip?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / lensing on "galaxy zoo"

« on: 04/05/2014 03:00:48 »

I have turned from computer solitare to classifying photos of galaxies on "galaxy zoo".

There is a gismo to say that a photo contains evidence of lensing of light -- in my opinion..

I often so mark photos which show 2, 3 or even  4 symmetrical and similar instances around a central object.

Is that plausibly lensing as I have seen in "Einsteins cross" or should it just be an arc near the image -- as described on the gismo/choice?

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Geek Speak / What exactly is "distributed security" technology?

« on: 08/06/2013 17:18:18 »

A man on the radio was speaking about the inadequacy of current internet security protocols.

He said the we should use "distributed security". He said it has been around - in various forms- since ancient Greece.

I remember a steganography thing with writing on the edge of a sash used by the Spartans, but what is modern "distributed security" when it's at home?

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Geek Speak / Do "onion routers" afford anonymity?"

« on: 08/06/2013 17:12:10 »

I take note of reports that Syrian government IT is being used to hit opposition computers with malware and to ID opposition members.

In the science fiction book "Little Brother" VPN and "Onion Router" technology are used to protect people opposed to an evil version of homeland security.

Are these effective in the current milieu?