The Science Word 08_09_23
The Science Word 2008_10_01
Kiki Goes to Burning Man
Shooting Systm
A little bit of the fun that was had shooting an episode of Systm at the TechShop with Danny Fukuba. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)A Small Request
10_Science Word 08_08_14
Science news headlines from the week of 08/12/08 with Dr. Kiki Sanford. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Formats available:Quicktime (.mov), Flash Video (.flv)
Nanotubes Are Strong - Experiments at Northwestern University proved that carbon nanotubes really are as strong as calculations predicted, and that radiation makes them even stronger. I’m still waiting for that space elevator.
A Limit to Tall - Physics imposes a limit on the height of trees. The maximum height to which Douglas Firs should be able to transport water is between 131 to 145 meters. That’s also the limit of their height.
Nature is the Best Teacher - Scientists mimicked photosynthesis in the lab, and were able to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using the power of light.
Asphalt into Energy – Hot asphalt roads and parking lots may produce energy one day. Scientists are experimenting with the idea of adding a heat exchanger that would convert the heat absorbed by asphalt into energy.
Planet Friendly Paper Coating - A replacement for the waterproof wax coating that’s used on paper products like drink boxes has been created from the lignin of sugarcane, which unlike wax leaves the paper it coats completely recyclable.
The Effect of Climate change – A recent study found that 9 out of 10 tree species measured in the Santa Rosa mountains of California have increased the elevation of their habitat by 213 feet. The change in growing range was linked to changes in local climate.
Antarctica is not Alone – Ice cores revealed that West Antarctica is highly affected by atmospheric and oceanic changes in the tropics of the Pacific Ocean.
Dead Zones of the World - The number of oxygen poor dead zones in the world’s oceans has doubled to 400 in just the past two years. These dead zones are linked to algae blooms fed by fertilizer run-off, sewage, and the burning of fossil fuels.
Filed under The Science Word, Uncategorized | Comment (1)This Week’s Science Word Videos Are Out!
I’ve published another set of Science Word videos… the science headlines in brief. Here’s the first of the set of four:
Hubble Space Telescope - What’s up in space, travels 5 miles per second, and has offered us an unparalleled view of our universe? The Hubble Space telescope, which just passed 100,000 times around the planet.
Size Doesn’t Matter - In nanotech, it’s apparently not the size of the particle that determines cell penetration, but the shape. Rods do much better than spheres.
Invisibility? - Harry Potter might have worn invisibility chain mail instead of a cloak if J.K Rowling had been paying attention to science. Researchers have created a new metal material that bends light backwards through electromagnetic interactions with the light istelf.
Large Hadron Collider - The Large Hadron Collider will officially begin operations on September 10th, but won’t get to full strength until sometime next spring.
Bicycle Saddles and the Police - The results are in… bike seats without noses keep bike cops frisky. Cops testing the special saddles had less genital numbing and better penile sensation.
Is Infertility Treatment Worth It? - Intrauterine insemination was only 6% more effective in producing a live birth than no treatment at all in a group of 580 women experiencing unexplained infertility. However, women who had insemination felt more reassured during the process.
Females Are The Same - Sexual harassment doesn’t just bother human females. It also bugs female guppies who tend to prefer the risk of being eaten to hanging out around pushy males.
Complete Neanderthal Mitochondrial Genome - The most complete and accurate Neanderthal mitochondrial genome to date was produced from a 38,000 year old fossil. Whether or not humans and Neanderthals ever got jiggy wid it is still in question.
A Pill For Alcoholics - Researchers in Oregon are testing a drug called CRF 154,526, which blocks all of the good, but none of the bad effects of alcohol– none of the euphoria, and the hangover’s still waiting. They say CRF is meant for treating hedonistic dysregulation.
Gene Link to Smoking Addiction -
People who say they got hooked on the first puff of a cigarette are likely to have a gene variant called CHRNA5.
You can find this video all these places:
YouTube, MySpace, Metacafe, Google, DailyMotion, Blip.tv and Viddler
Filed under The Science Word, Uncategorized | Comment (1)LHC Rap
I know that this has already been Boing-Boinged, but I just have to help propagate such awesomeness as the following rap about the LHC by a science writer otherwise known as AlpineKat. Yo’, check it…
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Takin’ the Piss
The Lyrics…
My name is D to the I to C to the K, Yeah I’m the Dickie D,
I gots my PhD and comin’ your way on the Youtube to bust your world view so just listen to me and don’t you argue.
You see, this battle’s been ragin’ since Zeus was on the bottle,’tween Science like Democritus and Faith like Aristotle,
who said the mover was unmovin’ like some magic trick but
that’s no good logic, my posse is far too quick for this
religious sthick.
Cos science is the only way to know y’all, you stand with me y’all, or you can fall y’all
So go ahead and take your pick…
ES: Yeah you tell him Rick …
Darwin : Cos if you don’t know me …
RD: YOU DON’T KNOW DICK!!
Chorus : Yeah he’s the Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s smarter than you he’s got a science degree!
Yeah he’s the Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s smarter than you he’s got a science degree!
SH:On the shoulders of midgets we built up this machine,
DD:YEAH!!!
RD: Science silenced that watchdog wingnut Paley
growing stronger and harder almost daily, storming Wilber by force as we framed the discourse that faith and science are split in schismatic divorce.
Then Darwin took to the seas to see what no one had seen, and ever since then we’ve been increasingly keen, they may never adore us, but they’ll no longer ignore us,
give it to ‘em PZ hit these BLEEP with the chorus!!!
Chorus : Yeah he’s the Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s smarter than you he’s got a science degree!
The Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s still smarter than you he studied biology!
Then there was Darrow dukin’ it out with the straight and the narrow,
a ragin’ bull in the ring, he did his thing, and took it on the chin like he was Bobby De Niro.
We might have lost at Scopes, beaten down by the dopes, and the stooges of popes, but in losin’ we coped, becomin’ more than we hoped, creationists slipped on the soap of their own slippery slope.
What was impossible, improbable, is now wholly unstoppable untoppleable, the Dick Doc’ll roll up as you creationists foldup
you haters talkin’ bull,
don’t you know that this Dick is un-cock-frickin’ blockable …
Chorus : Yeah he’s the Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s smarter than you he’s got a science degree!
The Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s still smarter than you he studied biology!
Now the machine of our making, sees culture ripe for the taking,
Cos I’m the rappinest, rabidest atheist who unlike the Catholic, Muslim or even the Jew, believes that no God but science could ever be true, hell if I was dyslexic I’d even hate “dog” too.
Time to open your eyes, get yourself wise, the age of science will rise to be religion’s demise,
and while you churchies all cry, shouting ‘why God oh why,’ I’ll still be poppin’ my collar earning more dollars than Allah.
Hollah!
Chorus : Yeah he’s the Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s smarter than you he’s got a science degree!
The Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s still smarter than you he studied biology!
Chorus : Yeah he’s the Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s smarter than you he’s got a science degree!
The Dick to the Dawk to the PhD,
he’s still smarter than you he studied biology!
So Much To Talk About!!!
So little time to write. Ok, since a few of you have asked I’ll take this moment to share a couple of my more exciting experiences of late.
A couple of months ago I was contacted by Brian Dunning of The Skeptoid Podcast about taking part in a pilot TV show hosted by a bunch of skeptics. Wow! What an interesting idea. I am totally interested in getting more science and critical thinking into the public eye, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. So, I agreed to throw my hat into the ring. After a flurry of emails and a couple of phone calls with Brian and Ryan Johnson at New Rule Productions, they offered me a part in their show, The Skeptologists. Yay!!!
I headed down to Pasadena in LA about a week and a half ago to meet everyone, and have one of the busiest weeks of my life. I’ll tell you now that shooting an hour long tv show in 4 days is no easy task. The days were filled with activity from early morning until quittin’ time. That said there was also a lot of down time. I’ve come to learn that tv production is all about “hurry up and wait”.
The first evening the cast and crew went out to dinner to acquaint ourselves with the people we would be spending nearly every waking moment with for the rest of the week. I was a bit nervous because I had never met any of them before, but I found myself getting along within minutes (Yay, other science geeks to talk to!). I can’t believe that I got the chance to meet such a group of really cool people.
Day 1 of shooting consisted of “the interviews” and “glamour shots” (I have to europify the word glamor because the whole idea of being portrayed as glamorous is a bit foreign to me). We drove over to the Skeptic magazine office after our morning meeting and proceeded to be made-up for the cameras… after investigating all the cool things that Michael Shermer has on his shelves, of course. I want a library like his someday. It really was a lot of waiting time for a 20 minute interview. I hope that I came across ok. I never seem to say things the way I had planned to say them when the moment arrives. Eh, oh well.
Day 2 involved a trip into the mountains to the famed Mt. Wilson Observatory. We spent the entire day hanging out around the 100 inch scope on a beautiful sunny (and FREEZING) day. The day was dreary in the lowlands, so I was quite happy to get the sun time. I’ve got some pictures that Yau-man Chan took (my camera ran out of batteries right on cue).
Getting there with Yau-Man…
Telescope!
Awestruck by the thing…
Old meets new…
In front of the machine…
How can Michael sleep at a time like this???
Look how small the Producer is!
Don’t touch THAT button, Mark!
A piece of sky…
A piece of the telescope…
Yau-Man at the controls…
At the end of Day 2 I had to race back down the mountain to get to a test screening for another tv program. This one I cannot tell you about, but I will say that I was testing for the sciencey role. It was my second test with them, so I figured I was really close to getting the part. The pressure was on! I dumped off m’stuff at the hotel, and grabbed a few more things (the director wanted wardrobe options). Then I ran downstairs and was picked up by one of the producers, Ed, and driven from Pasadena to Culver City.
When we arrived at the location I thought it must be a mistake because we were going to someone’s house instead of a studio. It turned out the the Executive Producer, Eddie, had given up his house for the test. His wife and kids were great sports considering the fact that their living room was completely dismantled and reassembled into a film studio.
The test has to have been one of the more emotionally draining experiences in my life. Immediately upon arriving and for the next three hours I discussed the deepest human issues of religion, science, spirituality, philosophy, and belief with people I had never really met before in my life. Definitely NOT cocktail party conversation. I tried my best to present myself and take the helpful direction of the director and producers. However, by the end of the evening I was so thoroughly drained from the experience I could hardly talk at all. Needless to say that when I got back to the hotel near midnight I fell into bed and the deepest sleep I have had in ages.
The third day brought a new field shoot. Our first stop was a health food store to investigate the benefits of wheatgrass juice. I got to try some, and didn’t like it much. I thought I would have a better reaction being vegetarian and all, but my stomach had other ideas. You can probably find a really flattering picture of me trying to force it down on the Skeptologists’ Facebook page. The guy who owned the shop was really great, very accommodating, and full of information. He was so convincing in presenting his information that it was hard to remind myself that there really isn’t a lot of research to back up any of his claims. But, anyway, that done we were off to the Queen Mary.
The Queen Mary is a terrific old cruise liner docked in Long Beach with all sorts of tales of haunting. They even have a ghost tour you can take if so inclined. We shot a scene with ghost investigator types in the old boiler room area. It was perfect; rusty, dilapidated, the perfect place for a ghost to show up. Phil even had a run-in with a persnickity ghost who threw quarters. His investigations of the quarter tossing surely made the afternoon down-time more entertaining.
I had a conference to attend the next day, so at the end of the day I sadly said my goodbyes and headed back to the hotel with my driver and executive producer, Brian Dunning. Thanks for taking care of me, Brian!!!
I left the hotel and headed to San Diego for the Experimental Biology meeting with a whole bunch of great experiences and new friends. I hope that The Skeptologists makes it past the pilot stage. It would be amazing to spend more time with all of the people involved, and to put science, reason, and critical thinking in front of millions of tv viewers. Fingers crossed that this is not the end of the story.
That said, I still needed to finish my presentation for the meeting. Yikes!
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