OK, it’s nematodes, but still.
Category Archives: General Science
An Intact Shipwreck
The world’s oldest, found deep in the Black Sea.
Have to say, whatever else you think about the Grauniad, they have great science articles.
Nutrition “Science”
A fraud is exposed, but it’s a much larger problem:
Data dredging is fairly common in health research, and especially in studies involving food. It is one reason contradictory nutrition headlines seem to be the norm: One week coffee, cheese and red wine are found to be protective against heart disease and cancer, and the next week a new crop of studies pronounce that they cause it. Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said that many researchers are under enormous pressure to churn out papers. One recent analysis found that thousands of scientists publish a paper every five days.
I liked this:
“P-hacking is a really serious problem,” said Dr. Ivan Oransky, a co-founder of Retraction Watch, who teaches medical journalism at New York University. “Not to be overly dramatic, but in some ways it throws into question the very statistical basis of what we’re reading as science journalists and as the public.”
You don’t say.
It goes far beyond nutrition. A lot of drug research is based on this sort of thing as well, including the statin scam.
Government Nutritional Advice
Maybe it should just stop giving it.
To paraphrase Inigo Montoya: It killed my father. It should prepare to die.
Timekeeping
This is an interesting history, but it makes me wonder how Huygens knew how long a second was to adjust the pendulum length.
The Greening Of The Earth
Few, if any, dispute that atmospheric CO2 levels have been increasing since the industrial revolution. What is in dispute is the effects of this. The prevailing media narrative is that “OMG we’re all gonna die!” but this is an interesting post.
Back In CA
I flew from PBI to LAX last night, partly because I needed a break and wanted to be home, but mostly because corporate taxes are due on Monday. And I’m going to Orlando Sunday for the AIAA meeting, then back down to south Florida, hopefully to finish things up at the house, and finally (a year after we started, and were interrupted by Hurricane Irma) get it on the market and sold.
The Nutrition Scam
If you have forty minutes or so, watch Nina Teicholz.
Trouble With The Concept
There is a Greek myth, which may or not be true, that @n@l sex is called “Greek” because the ancient Greeks used it for birth control. Well, a clueless couple in China failed to get pregnant for four years because they were doing it wrong. At least for that purpose. Hopefully they were at least having a good time.
In For A Penny, In For A Pound
It’s about 0230 EDT, and I’m still up, planning home renovations for tomorrow. But I’m in south Florida, about fifteen minutes from the swamp to the west, and the sky is clear for both the Perseids and the Parker Solar Probe Delta IV launch in an hour, 150 miles north-northwest of me. So I might as well stay up a little longer. Hoping I’ll see the Milky Way for the first time in a long time.
[Sunday-morning update]
Well, saw half a dozen meteors, one of them right next to the ascending rocket. No Milky Way, though.
[Update Sunday night]
Given my recent failed attempts to see it, I’m wondering (slightly depressed) if it’s an age-related vision decline. It was very distinct in my youth, but it seems like there are a lot fewer stars than there used to be.