Curious Cat Science

Reminder: New Address

2007-05-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

Moved to: Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog.

Recent posts include:

Backyard Wildlife: Turtle

Correlation is Not Causation

China Leads in Producing Post Graduate Engineers

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

Science and Engineering Blog Move

2005-11-13T15:10:00.000-08:00

We have moved the Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog:

About the blog:

The title of the blog gives you an idea of the topics we explore. Here we will provide some additional insight into what we aim to do:

Primary education (k-12) in science, math and engineering - we will post about the state of such education (research etc.), news and items of interest to teachers and students. We aim to be a resource that helps teachers and students learn about science and engineering. The K-12 category will be targeted at teachers and students. We are also trying a students category for items we think might be of particular interest to students (and we believe teachers might find useful as items to interest students in science and engineering).
Higher education (college, university, graduate school and other sources of advanced learning) - we will post about news about science and engineering higher education and items of interest to professor, students and those interested in higher education. The higher education category will be targeted at professors, students and those interested in higher education.
Economic impact of science and engineering - we will post about the macro economic and societal impacts of science and engineering: higher education, research funding, investments and political decisions and discussions. We believe science, engineering and technology can serve to improve living conditions around the world. We believe investments in science and engineering, research and higher education, will impact the economic success of countries and the world overall. The economics category contains posts on developments in this are and our thoughts on this topic.
Highlight interesting science and engineering information - we will post about interesting science and engineering news and blog posts as we see it

The Effects of Patenting on Science

2005-11-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

A Descriptive Analysis of a Pilot Survey on the Effects of Patenting on Science AAAS:

Of the 40% of respondents who reported their work had been affected, 58% said their work was delayed, 50% reported they had to change the research, and 28% reported abandoning their research project. The most common reason respondents reported
having to change or abandon their research project was that the acquisition of the
necessary technologies involved overly complex licensing negotiations.

What's A Gene For?

2005-11-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

What's A Gene For? by Carl Zimmer

This dilemma has helped give rise to a new kind of science called bioinformatics. It's an exciting field, despite its woefully dull name. Its mission is to use computers to help make sense of molecular biology--in this case, by traveling through vast oceans of online information in search of clues to how genes work

Robot Surgens

2005-11-09T05:04:00.000-08:00

Three-inch Life Savers

Each camera-carrying robot -- the width of a lipstick case -- would illuminate the patient’s abdomen, beam back video images and carry different tools to help surgeons stop internal bleeding by clamping, clotting or cauterising wounds.

Rube Goldberg Machine Contest

2005-11-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

Rube Goldberg Machine Contest

Cut or Shred Into Strips 5 Sheets of 8 1/2" x 11" 20lb Paper Individually With a Shredder in 20 or More Steps!
...
Rube Goldberg drew his "Inventions" as contraptions that satirized the new technology and gadgets of the day. His drawings, using simple machines and household items already in use, were incredibly complex and wacky, but somehow (perhaps it was because Rube was a graduate engineer) the "Inventions" always had an ingenious, logical progression as they worked to finish their task.

The annual National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest held at Purdue University in Indiana is organized by the Phi Chapter of Theta Tau, the National Student Engineering Organization. It hosts college and university teams from across the US. Winners of the high school statewide and regional contests are also invited to run their invention machines at the National.

Another site with additional information on the contest. This seems like a great way to make engineering fun.

Mars Rover

2005-11-01T15:59:00.000-08:00

Mars Rover Begins Climb Down From Summit

After two months at the summit of Husband Hill, the six-wheeled rover is making its descent toward a basin to the south where it will explore an outcrop dubbed "home plate" that looks like a baseball diamond from orbit.

The solar-powered Spirit's yearlong climb to the peak marked a major feat for the rover, which along with its twin, Opportunity, landed on opposite ends of the Red Planet in 2004 in search of evidence of the past history of water on the cold, dusty planet.

Image credit: NASA/JPL
Artist's concept of the Mars Exploration Rover on Mars.High Resolution Image

NASA Mars Exploration Rover site

Engineering the Future

2005-10-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

Engineering the Future

If you want to succeed in today’s hypercompetitive global economy, there are two things Jen-Hsun Huang wants you to know:

The name of the game is innovation, and innovation is a team sport.

“This is the innovation imperative,” he said.

That’s the message Huang plans to deliver this morning, when he will be the keynote speaker for the grand opening of the Kelley Engineering Center at Oregon State University.

In 1993 Huang cofounded Nvidia.

Using Light to Transmit Data

2005-10-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

Stanford innovation helps 'enlighten' silicon chips, Stanford.

Light can carry data at much higher rates than electricity, but it has always been too expensive and difficult to use light to transmit data among silicon chips in electronic devices. Now, electrical engineers at Stanford have solved a major part of the problem. They have invented a key component that can easily be built into chips to break up a laser beam into billions of bits of data (zeroes and ones) per second. This could help chips output data at a much higher rate than they can now.

Catalyzing Nanotechnology

2005-10-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Catalyzing Nanotechnology by David Pescovitz, ScienceMatters@Berkeley.

The researchers have also explored a method to imprint bulk silica with particle templates as large as 15 nanometers. Rather than organize several functional groups at a time, the synthesis of nanoparticle building blocks for bulk silica imprinting is ideal for organizing thousands of functional groups at once, Katz says.

This slide depicts the synthetic and biological catalysts consisting of similar organic and organometallic active sites. The confined environment surrounding both biological catalysts results from the hydrophobic interior of the enzyme. The researchers successfully replicated this confinement in the synthetic equivalents of the biological active sites shown on the right side of this figure. (courtesy the researchers)

China Prepares for Return of Shenzhou

2005-10-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

China Prepares for Return of Shenzhou, Washington Post:

China is only the third country to launch humans into orbit on its own, after Russia and the United States _ a source of enormous national pride as the communist government tries to cement its status as a rising power and help prepare for a planned moon landing by 2010 and the eventual creation of a space station.

This is China's second manned space flight. Shenzhou means "divine vessel."

Like the United States government in the late 1960's and the 1970's the Chinese government sees scientific advancement as one of the top priorities for future success.

China's vision for new space age, BBC.
China National Space Administration

Ministry of Silly Walks

2005-10-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Mechanics of Foot Travel

The engineers' computer simulations conclude that walking is simply most energy efficient for travel at low speeds, and running is best at higher speeds. And, they report, a third walk-run gait is optimal for intermediate speeds, even though humans do not appear to take advantage of it.

The findings help to explain why the possible--but preposterous--gaits in the Monty Python sketch, "Ministry of the Silly Walks," have never caught on in human locomotion. The researchers add that extensions of this work might improve the design of prosthetic devices and energy-efficient bipedal robots.

You have to like a government news release that references a Monty Python sketch, don't you? Especially if they realize Monty Python was poking fun at ludicrous government departments (using physical humor). I am glad they choose to add some spice to the scientific news. Learn more about the Ministry of Silly Walks.

Global Engineering Excellence

2005-10-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

Global Engineering Excellence

Technological innovation is a significant driving force for national economies. Research, development, and training the next generation of engineers are therefore important factors in competition. In response to this consideration, Continental and eight top international universities have started the Global Engineering Excellence initiative.

Global Excellence Team:

Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Switzerland
Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Tsinghua University, China
Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
University of Tokyo, Japan
Continental AG, Germany

Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education

2005-10-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Abstracts for programs funded given by NSF.

For example How Do We Know What We Know? Resources for the Public Understanding of Scientific Evidence,

This project is designed to improve communication between scientists and the public focusing on the role of evidence in science. It is a two-year project that includes: 1) implementing a national survey on the public use of science web sites; 2) conducting a national Science Education Outreach Forum bringing together scientists and informal science educators; 3) implementing workshop sessions at a national conference to disseminate lessons learned from the survey and Forum; and 4) developing a prototype website on the role of evidence that will be evaluated for audience engagement and understanding.

This project builds on the Exploratorium's prior NSF-funded project (ESI#9980619) developing innovative strategies using the Internet to link scientists and the public using Webcasts, annotated datasets and interactive web resources. Project collaborators include the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Palmer Station, Scripps Oceanographic Institute, FermiLab and the Society of Hispanic Physicists among others. The research and evaluation of the project has the potential for strategic impact by providing new information and models on how science centers can more effectively use the Internet to improve communication between scientists and the public while engaging learners more effectively.

Arctic System on Trajectory to New, Seasonally Ice-Free State

2005-10-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Arctic System on Trajectory to New, Seasonally Ice-Free State by (see below):

This future Arctic is likely to have dramatically less permanent ice than exists at present. At the present rate of change, a summer ice-free Arctic Ocean within a century is a real possibility, a state not witnessed for at least a million years.
...
The ramifications of a transition to this newsystem state would be profound. The deglaciation of Greenland alone would cause a substantial (up to 6 m) rise in sea level, resulting in flooding along coastal areas where much of the world's population resides.

Jonathan T. Overpeck, Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA;
Matthew Sturm, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, USA;
Jennifer A. Francis, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA;
Donald K. Perovich, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA;
Mark C. Serreze, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA;
Ronald Benner, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA;
Eddy C. Carmack, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada;
F. Stuart Chapin III, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA;
S. Craig Gerlach, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA;
Lawrence C. Hamilton, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA;
Larry D. Hinzman of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA;
Marika Holland, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA;
Henry P. Huntington, Huntington Consulting, Eagle River, Alaska USA;
Jeffrey R. Key, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Madison, Wisconsin, USA;
Andrea H. Lloyd, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Virginia, USA;
Glen M. MacDonald, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA;
Joe McFadden, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA;
David Noone, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA;
Terry D. Prowse, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada;
Peter Schlosser, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USA;
Charles Vörösmarty, University of New Hampshire, Durham New Hampshire, USA.

Four Vehicles Finish in $2 Million Robot Race

2005-10-09T05:42:00.000-07:00

Four Vehicles Finish in $2 Million Robot Race:

The vehicles were equipped with the latest sensors, lasers, cameras and radar that feed information to several onboard computers. The sophisticated electronics helped vehicles make intelligent decisions such as distinguishing a dangerous boulder from a tumbleweed and calculating whether a chasm is too deep to cross.

E = mc²

2005-10-08T03:50:00.000-07:00

That Famous Equation and You by Brian Greene

Over the last couple of decades, this less familiar reading of Einstein's equation has helped physicists explain why everything ever encountered has the mass that it does. Experiments have shown that the subatomic particles making up matter have almost no mass of their own. But because of their motions and interactions inside of atoms, these particles contain substantial energy - and it's this energy that gives matter its heft. Take away Einstein's equation, and matter loses its mass. You can't get much more pervasive than that.

Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction Awards

2005-10-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction Awards

recognize K-12 schools in the U.S. that demonstrate excellence in implementing innovative, replicable programs supporting positive educational outcomes. The awards showcase the effective use of technology, the benefits of strong teamwork and the development of excellent classroom teachers.

In 2005, 20 winning schools recieved over $200,000 overall. Application for 2006. In addition to monetary rewards the winning schools recieve rriculum materials, software and hardware.

D.C. Red-Light Cameras Fail to Curb Accidents

2005-10-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

D.C. Red-Light Cameras Fail to Curb Accidents by Del Quentin Wilber and Derek Willis.

The explanation of the data presented in the article does not support claim made in the headline.

But a Washington Post analysis of crash statistics shows that the number of accidents has gone up at intersections with the cameras. The increase is the same or worse than at traffic signals without the devices.

I'm not sure why accidents should go down at intersections with red light cameras. First what percentage of accidents are caused by red light running? Second, is sending tickets somehow preventive to a specific location?

It would seem the assumption behind their conclusion is people who run red lights are so careful that they notice a camera and chose not to run the red light that they would have otherwise run. That doesn't make much sense to me. If red light cameras work I would think they work because people learn if they run red lights they will be ticketed and therefore stop running all red lights therefore decreasing red light running at all lights. Or perhaps they don't and lose their driver's license due to too many violations.

I can imagine that some people who choose to run red lights figure out that a couple of specific locations that they frequently use have camera and therefore they choose not to run those red lights but continue to run other red lights but this seems unlikely to be of such an impact as to decrease red light running significantly. I would think either red light running everywhere decreases or it does not decrease significantly not that people learn where they can violate the law and where then cannot. Though that is merely conjecture on my part.

Chang and the other traffic specialists said the city should not abandon red-light cameras. Rather, they said, the mixed results indicate that D.C. officials should conduct a thorough review of camera sites.

"They definitely should look at the locations and find where the cameras would be much more effective," said Nicholas J. Garber, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Virginia who studied the use of red-light cameras in Fairfax County.

I am not sure why they think placing a camera is going to get people to stop running that red light. And I am not sure why that would be what you would target anyway. Wouldn't you want people to stop running all red lights?

D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said he remains convinced that the devices are worthwhile. Even if the number of crashes is not going down, he said, citations for red-light running have dropped by about 60 percent at intersections that have cameras.

Ramsey said the number of accidents would be even higher without the cameras, adding that he would like to install them at every traffic light in the city. He pointed to last year's steep decrease in traffic fatalities -- 45 people died compared with 69 in 2003 -- as evidence that the program is working.

Again the article seems to be muddling the analysis of the data. What is the goal of the red lights cameras (to reduce red light running at those intersections or everywhere?). What percentage of accidents are due to red light running?

Injury and fatal crashes climbed 81 percent, from 144 such wrecks to 262. Broadside crashes, also known as right-angle or T-bone collisions, rose 30 percent, from 81 to 106 during that time frame.

Are the conditions (other than the red light cameras) identical to the previous years? If there is more traffic and if more traffic means more accidents then it could be the equivalent of saying that accidents increase as HDTVs were introduced to the marketplace. Why do accidents keep increasing the more that people use HDTV's. Somehow I think more people are driving with cell phones today than in previous years. Are more accidents being caused by drivers with cell phones?

It may be that the actual data has been analyzed sensibly and the article just doesn't explain it well, but based on the data from the article the data doesn't seem to say much of anything of value and doesn't seem to support the conclusions stated in the article.

The increase is the same or worse than at traffic signals without the devices.

You might think this means the cameras are ineffective. However that would only be the case if drivers were so selective with red light running that they chose to run some red lights and not others. And second if the intersections with cameras experienced the same changes as other intersections (same increases in traffic...) and if those intersections were not at some tipping point which meant they would have actually increased by some percentage in excess of the average intersection absent those cameras.

It could be you have 10 really bad intersections and the traffic exceeds the safe capacity and therefore as traffic increases the level of accidents increases at a much greater rate. Then if you took sensible and effective measures at those intersections but those reductions to the accident level were not enough to overcome the deteriorating other conditions (say increased traffic) they could have worse results compared to the average intersection. That data would not support the conclusion that the measures taken were ineffective however, careless analysis of the data could lead some to believe that is what the data said.

Nobel for 2 Australians: Stomach Ulcer Discovery

2005-10-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Nobel for Stomach Ulcer Discovery, BBC:

In 1982, when H. pylori was discovered by Dr Marshall and Dr Warren, stress and lifestyle were considered the major causes of stomach and intestinal ulcers.

It is now firmly established that the bacterium causes more than 90% of duodenal (intestinal) ulcers and up to 80% of gastric (stomach) ulcers.

Bird Flu Resistant to Main Drug

2005-10-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

Bird Flu 'Resistant to Main Drug':

While the H5N1 virus is now mostly passed directly from bird to human, health experts have warned that it is just a matter of time before it mutates into a form that is easily transmissible between people. When that happens, it may result in as many as 150 million human deaths.

Obviously the 1918 flu pandemic should stand as a recent example of the danger posed by flu epidemics. I don't have any ability to judge how likely these threats of "bird flu" are but it seems like we could very easily be failing to invest sufficient resources in fighting such a possibility.

Have bird flu warnings affected you?, BBC

It also is a reminder that we should be careful not to overuse anti-biotics.

Photos of Live Deep-Sea Giant

2005-10-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

Holy Squid! Photos Offer First Glimpse of Live Deep-Sea Giant, National Geographic News:

"Architeuthis appears to be a much more active predator than previously suspected, using its elongated feeding tentacles to strike and tangle prey," the researchers write.

They add that the squid was found feeding at depths where no light penetrates even during the day.

International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering

2005-10-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

Purdue is starting a new journal, International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering:

a faculty-reviewed electronic journal offered free, semi-annually, over the World Wide Web. The Journal welcomes manuscripts based on original work of students and researchers with a specific focus or implication for service learning in engineering, engineering entrepreneurship in service, or related service learning pedagogy.

Leverage Universities to Transform State Economy

2005-09-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

Leverage Universities to Transform State Economy by Mark Kushner (dean of the College of Engineering at Iowa State University) and P. Barry Butler (dean of the College of
Engineering at the University of Iowa):

Iowa's colleges of engineering are driving innovation and economic development by doing state-of-the-art research and seeding new companies. We are responsible for $80 million per year in research expenditures - the vast majority of which comes from out of state - with an economic impact of $250 million. The investment we make in faculty researchers has a nearly 15-to-1 return.

Where we invest determines the jobs we produce, the innovation we spark and the wages Iowans earn. We need rock-solid, unbiased data to make those decisions. The data from California say that the amusement-park industry provides $22,000 per-year jobs and the information-technology industry provides $100,000 per year jobs. What are we willing to invest and risk for $100,000 per-year jobs?

The tough part is not convincing people that investing in science and engineering education is wise. And while I agree with the authors I don't think that is the correct data to look at. The authors want more money invested in their schools of engineering.

The other funding options (at public schools where politicians are heavily involved), often have more vocal special interest group backing, and more immediate and direct visible benefits. The challenge is to raise the awareness of the decision makers and the public to the long term benefits of such investments. The question is what the payoff on those investment are, compared to the benefits of other expenditures (looking at the opportunity costs).

I don't believe you will be able to get "rock-solid, unbiased data to make those decisions." I think you can get data that is useful but this type of data will have many unknown and, I think, unknowable aspects.

We must know that investing in our universities is good for our state and its economy. And then we must act on that knowledge.

I agree. The tricky part is convincing those that made the decisions when the spending decisions are made. The tradeoff between these spending decisions (at a public school where politicians are heavily involved), which often have long term benefits and less vocal special interest group backing, and other spending options where politicians will get immediate rewards for funding (or pain for cutting). The challenge is to raise the awareness of the decision makers and the public that the long term benefits of such investments are the best decision to make.

Increasing such funding requires a long term marketing campaign that needs many facets including articles like the one they wrote and publicity of the successes that come from such investments. It also requires seeking funding from public, private and foundations. It also requires success. And transforming the economy is not as simple as increasing funding for the schools. That is a good piece of an improvement strategy but only one piece.

Related posts:

Funding Basic Research

Science and Engineering Fellowships Legislation

25 New MacArthur Fellows

2005-09-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

25 New MacArthur Fellows Announced
press release
overview of fellows

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 25 new MacArthur Fellows for 2005. Each received a phone call from the Foundation this week informing them that they will be given $500,000 in '“no strings attached' support over the next five years.

I think the fellowships are a great idea: give money to people who have done excellent work. I am not sure of the motivations of the MacArthur Foundation, but if it were me I would trust by providing funds to those people they would (as a group, not every single person) take advantage of those funds to create great advances for all of humanity.

It is great to see examples of those doing work worthy of such high praise. Many of the fellows are scientists and engineers including:

Ted Ames - Fisherman fusing the roles of applied scientist and lobsterman to respond to increasing threats to the fishery ecosystem and to suggest needed changes in fisheries management.
Lu Chen - Neuroscientist probing the complexities of synaptic transmission in the brain, gaining new insights into the processes of learning and memory.
Claire Gmachl - Laser Technologist engineering state-of-the-art lasers for novel applications in environmental monitoring, clinical diagnoses, chemical process control, and homeland security.
Michael Walsh - Vehicle Emissions Specialist designing and implementing inventive, cost-effective programs to improve air quality for populations around the globe.

Most Distant Cosmic Blast Sighted

2005-09-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

Most Distant Cosmic Blast Sighted

Astronomers have witnessed the most distant cosmic explosion on record: a gamma-ray burst that has come from the edge of the visible Universe.

Mapping Cellular Signals

2005-09-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

Mapping Cellular Signals by David Pescovitz

Shokat's laboratory focuses on kinases, enzymes that transfer energy stored within the cell to other proteins. The kinases act as control switches for many cellular activities, from development to death. However, with more than 500 kinases in every cell, identifying a specific kinase's functionality and manipulating it without affecting others in the protein family is no easy task.
...
Shokat hopes that someday, scientists wielding his chemical-genetic tools will build a map of all the kinases in the cell. Pharmacologists could then consult that map to determine the best drug therapy to fight a particular disease.

Human Brain Still Evolving

2005-09-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

Is Your Mind Changing? Scientists Think So

Scientists at the University of Chicago have found that two human genes involved in brain size and development are still evolving -- and, they suspect, mutating to make people smarter.

Science Camps Prep Girls

2005-09-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Science Camps Prep Girls, by Christina Stolarz, The Detroit News.

Since 2002, U-D Mercy has offered the Science Technology Engineering Preview Summer, or STEPS, camp for girls who are heading into 10th and 11th grade, he said. The two weeklong camps, which are primarily funded by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' Education Foundation, introduce students to manufacturing, engineering, science and robotics.

Engineers Struggle to Make Science Sexy

2005-09-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

Engineers Struggle to Make Science Sexy, Business Telegraph, United Kingdom.

With more than half engineering graduates defecting to other careers, the profession is in need of an image change
...
There is a growing realisation that even the youngest children can be excited by engineering, and this is the way to ensure the UK's future industrial competitiveness. Dr Morton says "The key challenges of the 21st century including energy, transport and health care, will be solved by engineering innovation."

Why Most Published Research Findings Are False

2005-09-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

Why Most Published Research Findings Are False by John P. A. Ioannidis

A finding from a well-conducted, adequately powered randomized controlled trial starting with a 50% pre-study chance that the intervention is effective is eventually true about 85% of the time. A fairly similar performance is expected of a confirmatory meta-analysis of good-quality randomized trials: potential bias probably increases, but power and pre-test chances are higher compared to a single randomized trial.

The Chromosome Shuffle

2005-09-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

The Chromosome Shuffle by Carl Zimmer:

One of the most interesting features of our chromosomes, which I mention briefly in the article, is that we’re one pair short. In other words, we humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, while other apes have 24.
...
The fusion of chromosome 2 millions of years ago may not have caused any big change in hominid biology—except, perhaps, by making it difficult for populations of hominids with 23 pairs of chromosomes to mate with populations who still had 24.

Another Paper Questions Scientific Paper Accuracy

2005-08-31T05:34:00.000-07:00

Most Scientific Papers are Probably Wrong, New Scientist.

Assuming that the new paper is itself correct, problems with experimental and statistical methods mean that there is less than a 50% chance that the results of any randomly chosen scientific paper are true.

Funding Basic Research

2005-08-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

The West has lost the will to fund basic research by William Brody.

In the US, university basic research has withered in many important fields, especially in the physical and information sciences and engineering.
...
Industrial basic research has failed to demonstrate a return on investment that satisfies the ravenous appetite of financial markets for short-term earnings growth. As a result, companies have been directing capital to applied research and development, rather than basic invention and innovation.

The writer is president of the Johns Hopkhins University, the co-founder of three medical device companies and co-chairman of the US Council on Competitiveness's National Innovation Initiative.

World's Lightest Flying Robot

2005-08-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Epson Announces Advanced Model of the World's Lightest Micro-Flying Robot:

The key concept behind Epson's R&D efforts in micro-flying robots has been to expand the horizons of microrobot activities from two-dimensional space to three-dimensional space. Now, with the successful implementation of Bluetooth communications and independent flight in the FR-II, Epson has literally added a new dimension to microrobotics while greatly expanding the potential range of microrobot applications by incorporating image capture and transmission functions.

The site includes a video.

Indonesian polio epidemic

2005-08-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Indonesian polio epidemic poses 'real risk' to Asia on New Scientist:

Nevertheless, if “very, very aggressive” action is taken in Indonesia, polio could still be quelled and eradicated by the end of 2005 as planned, he says. However, endemic polio in Nigeria may mean the goal of consigning polio to the history books by year end may be unfeasible.

Given the ver interdependant nature of human life on Earth it has never been more critical for that interdependance to be reflected in policy.

If polio does spread to nearby countries such as China, Laos, Malaysia and the Philippines, it would be “way, way harder to control” than its recent onslaught through Africa and into the Middle East, says Bruce Aylward, co-ordinator of the World Health Organization’s Global Eradication Initiative.

Polio Eradication Casecount

NSF TeraGrid

2005-08-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

$150 Million TeraGrid Award Heralds New Era for Scientific Computing:

"We fully expect TeraGrid to catalyze the next generation of scientific discoveries," said Deborah Crawford, acting director of NSF's Office of Cyberinfrastructure. "Simply put, breakthrough science and engineering depends on a first-class cyberinfrastructure."

Using Design to Reduce Medical Error

2005-08-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Wrist tags may stop drug errors

A wristband designed by a London-based design graduate could see hospital patients being tagged to ensure they are given the right medication.

While that like a decent idea I think an even better one is the redesign of the pill bottle. It seems like it would reduce errors but also seems fairly complex.

Target Unveils New Look for Prescription Pill Bottles: audio from NPR - includes a good photo of the improved bottle design.

New Pill Bottle Could Save Lives, MSNBC

The new bottle has a different color-coded band for every member of the family. All grandma's bottles, for instance, could be coded green. The drug's name and instructions for use are big and written on flat surfaces, instead of wrapped around a tiny bottle. Additional information about the drug is printed on a card that stays tucked in a space on the bottle, instead of a piece of paper often thrown away.

Target is using the new bottles starting this month and health safety experts hope other companies will adapt similar designs.

Science and Engineering Doctoral Degrees Worldwide

2005-08-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Lagging Engineer Degrees a Crisis by Kevin Hall:

Relative to the sizes of their populations, Asian nations are graduating five times as many undergraduate students in engineering as the United States. A study by Engineering Trends determined that the United States ranks 16th per capita in the number of doctoral graduates and 25th in engineering undergraduates per million citizens.
...
U.S. universities continue awarding more doctoral degrees in engineering than universities anywhere else. But the American Association of Engineering Societies said foreign nationals received 58 percent of the U.S. doctoral degrees in engineering last year: 3,766 degrees out of 6,504. A decade earlier, they accounted for less than half.

I doubt that US universities are awarding more doctoral degrees than others are. Even if that is true I doubt it will last for even 5 more years. You might measure this in various ways including: absolute number of doctoral degrees awarded or using a per capita number. I believe several European countries are ahead today on a per capita basis. On an absolute basis I would be surprised if China or India isn't already ahead. But if neither is, that will not true for long. I tried to find some good data online and wasn't able to find anything certain in the time I took. Lost Dominance in Ph.D. Production sites a National Bureau of Economic Research report:

Experts have been warning for a few years now that the United States is at risk of losing its lead position in the education of science and engineering Ph.D.'s. A new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows just how vulnerable that position is.

Indeed, the report finds that if China continues to expand science and engineering programs at its current pace (which may not be possible), it would overtake the United States in producing Ph.D.'s in those fields as early as 2010.

Detailed statistics are avaiable in an NSF report on science and engineering doctoral degrees granted in the United States.

The Brain Drain by Debra W. Stewart, The Boston Globe

Thirty years ago the United States annually produced the vast majority of the world's doctoral degrees. But in 1999, Europe surpassed US production of PhDs in science and engineering by more than 2,000 scholars. Asia, too, is rapidly closing its gap in doctoral production, with the governments of China, India, and Korea heavily investing in capacity at the graduate level.

Security, Innovation, and Human Capital in the Global Interest by Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

It may come as a surprise that, in the most recent year for which data is available (2000), out of 2.8 million first university degrees in science and engineering granted worldwide, only 400,000 were granted in the U.S.A. while European universities granted 830,000 and 1.2 million were earned by Asian students in Asian universities.

The countries which have been primary sources for the United States of science and engineering talent China, India, Taiwan, South Korea are making a concerted effort to educate more of their own at home, and to fund more research within their borders. Between 1986 and 1999, the number of science and engineering doctorates granted increased 400 percent in South Korea, 500 percent in Taiwan, and 5,400 percent (that is correct 5,400 percent) in China.

Stanford students win $10,000 for aneurysm treatment

2005-08-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

Stanford students win $10,000 for aneurysm treatment:

The students won the first Biomedical Engineering Innovation Design Award conducted by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, an alliance of approximately 200 colleges and universities in the United States established in 1995 to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education.
...
The Stanford team designed a porous balloon mechanism, which they named Embolune. To use the new invention, a surgeon navigates the balloon to the site of the aneurysm, where it is detached. A hardening polymer substance is then released into the aneurysm space to create a permanent clot and stifle further growth.

Pentagon's New Goal: Put Science Into Scripts

2005-08-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

Pentagon's New Goal: Put Science Into Scripts

Fewer and fewer students are pursuing science and engineering. While immigrants are taking up the slack in many areas, defense laboratories and industries generally require American citizenship or permanent residency. So a crisis is looming, unless careers in science and engineering suddenly become hugely popular, said Robert J. Barker, an Air Force program manager who approved the grant. And what better way to get a lot of young people interested in science than by producing movies and television shows that depict scientists in flattering ways?

Vast Community of Bacteria and Clams Under Antarctic Ice

2005-07-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

Beneath Ice Shelf's Remains, Life Blossoms from Washingtonpost.com

The area had been isolated under the ice for at least 10,000 years, and the discovery means that "the chance of life happening in other places that are even more restricted is increased,"
...
The bacteria under the Larsen B ice shelf evolved in far colder conditions than other known cold-seep communities, thriving in near- or below-freezing temperatures, and may have unique properties.

Planting trees may create deserts

2005-07-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

Planting Trees May Create Deserts, New Scientist:

Forests planted with the intention of trapping moisture are instead depleting reservoirs and drying out soils.

Studying the actual results let us learn what actually happens. Making decisions using the best available information at the time is what we must do. But then we need to study what happens. See, previous post on: Medical Study Results Questioned.

Science and Engineering Fellowships Legislation

2005-07-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Senators will propose legislation to spur innovation from InfoWorld:

John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat with support announced by four other senators will propose legislation that establishes 5,000 science and engineering fellowships, redirects 3 percent of government agency R&D spending to specific areas of research and provides automatic green cards for graduate engineering students, the senators said Wednesday.

And on the same topic, Senators Promise 'Brain Drain' Bill:

According to Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), the U.S. is averaging 50,000 engineering graduates a year, with 40 percent of those from overseas. India is averaging 150,000 engineering graduates a year while China is graduating 250,000 engineers every year.

Medical Study Results Questioned

2005-07-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Third of study results don't hold up, cnn.com

in a review of major studies published in three influential medical journals between 1990 and 2003, including 45 highly publicized studies that initially claimed a drug or other treatment worked.

Subsequent research contradicted results of seven studies -- 16 percent -- and reported weaker results for seven others, an additional 16 percent.

The scientific community will gain once the barriers to the flow of knowledge created by subscription sites. We would link to the actual study but it is not available - it is behind a subscription wall. . Support the adoption of the Public Library of Science and the Public Library of Medicine.

The Mysteries of Mass

2005-07-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Mysteries of Mass from Scientific American

Physicists are hunting for an elusive particle that would reveal the presence of a new kind of field that permeates all of reality. Finding that Higgs field will give us a more complete understanding about how the universe works.

Engineering More Sustainable Vehicles

2005-06-09T06:36:00.001-07:00

Challenge X is a:

three-year competition will provide engineering schools an opportunity to participate in hands-on research and development with leading-edge automotive propulsion, fuels, materials, and emissions-control technologies.

Teams are from 17 Universities including: the University of Wisconsin - Madison and the University of Texas at Austin.

Engineering More Sustainable Vehicles

2005-06-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

Challenge X is a:

Teams are from 17 Universities including: the University of Wisconsin - Madison and the University of Texas at Austin.

Autonomous Vehicle Technology Competition

2005-06-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

DARPA Grand Challenge:

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) today announced the 40 teams selected to advance to the semifinals of the DARPA Grand Challenge 2005 autonomous ground vehicle competition. The teams come from 14 states and Canada and represent varied backgrounds including universities, individuals, corporations, and a high school.
...
The team that develops an autonomous ground vehicle that finishes the designated route most quickly within 10 hours will receive $2 million.

Only if a team succeeds will the the money be paid. Last year no team succeeded.

The Future of Scholarly Publication

2005-05-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

Scholarly journals' premier status diluted by Web by Bernard Wysocki Jr., The Wall Street Journal:

In the U.S. a powerful open-access advocate has been Harold Varmus, a Nobel laureate, former UC scholar and former NIH director. He's now head of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He co-founded Public Library of Science with Berkeley's Dr. Eisen, backed by a $9 million grant from a private foundation. Charging authors a fee of $1,500, the group launched its first peer-reviewed journal, PLoS Biology, in 2003, and also distributes its contents free on the Internet.

I have nothing against Journals trying to stay in business. I do however, think the internet has created a better method of distributing information than existed previously. And, given the current state of the internet, I do object to scientific knowledge being kept out of the scientific and public community. The ability to use the internet to more effectively communicate new knowledge should not be sacrificed to protect the old model journals had for sustaining themselves. They should find a way to fund themselves and make their material availalbe for free on the internet (I think some delay for free public access would be fine - the shorter the delay the better). Or they should be replaced by others that do so.

Luckily sites like the Public Library of Science (freely accessible online scholarly publications) are offering such an alternative.

Six-legged Intestinal Robot

2005-05-31T18:05:00.000-07:00

Robot combined with swallowable camera could give docs a better look inside the small intestine by Byron Spice, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Metin Sitti, director of the NanoRobotics Lab, is developing a set of legs that could be incorporated into the swallowable camera-in-a-pill that has become available in the past four years for diagnosing gastrointestinal disorders in the small intestine.
...
The work is supported by the Intelligent Microsystems Center in Seoul, Korea, and sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
...
Another CMU roboticist, Cameron Riviere, is developing his own robotic inchworm that would use suction pads to adhere to the exterior of a beating heart. The two-footed device, called HeartLander, might be used to inject cells or drugs, implant electrodes or perform coronary artery bypass procedures.

Metin Sitti is an engineer with Carnegie Mellon University.

Nano Printing

2005-05-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

New technique may speed DNA analysis:

In the new printing method, called Supramolecular Nano-Stamping (SuNS), single strands of DNA essentially self-assemble upon a surface to duplicate a nano-scale pattern made of their complementary DNA strands. The duplicates are identical to the master and can thus be used as masters themselves. This increases print output exponentially while enabling the reproduction of very complex nano-scale patterns.

Even Tech Execs Can't Get Kids to Be Engineers

2005-05-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

Even Tech Execs Can't Get Kids to Be Engineers by Ann Grimes:

Silicon Valley is doing a lot of hand-wringing these days about a coming engineer shortage. Tech leaders such as Cisco Systems Inc.'s John Chambers and Stanford University President John Hennessey warn that the U.S. will lose its edge without homegrown talent. The U.S. now ranks 17th world-wide in the number of undergraduate engineers and natural scientists it produces, they point out; that's down from 1975, when the U.S. was No. 3 (after Japan and Finland).

But some of the nation's tech elite -- including many immigrants who benefited greatly from engineering careers -- are finding even their own children shun engineering. One oft-cited reason: concern that dad and his contemporaries will ship such jobs overseas.

Appropriate Technology

2005-05-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Technology is not only about new breakthroughs. In some cases the technology used is nothing special, the impact is made in applying the technology well. Many opportunities exist for breakthroughs using technology that has been around for a long time.

I was reminded of my father's work by the article: From Stanford Engineering to Social Innovation:

In 1991, Martin Fisher and Nick Moon founded ApproTEC, a non-profit organization that develops technologies for alleviating poverty. More than 36,000 farmers in Kenya have now used their low-cost water pumps to create their own small businesses. They hope to take 400,000 people out of poverty in the next few years.

From the ApproTEC web site:

ApproTEC's Impacts To Date
Over:

35,000 new businesses started * 800 new businesses per month

$35 million a year in new profits and wages generated by the new businesses

New incomes account for over 0.5% of Kenya's GDP and 0.2% of Tanzania's GDP

On a related note, TrickleUp is my favorite charity. Their mission: to help the lowest income people worldwide take the first steps up out of poverty, by providing conditional seed capital, business training and relevant support services essential to the launch or expansion of a microenterprise.

John Hunter

Nanoscience's Master Mechanic

2005-05-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Nanoscience's Master Mechanic by David Pescovitz (from the University of California - Berkeley's excellent Science Matters Newsletter):

The Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems (COINS) aims to develop a storehouse of mechanical components hundreds of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
...
"Right now, we make most nanodevices one at a time, sometimes as laboriously as atom by atom," Zettl says. "That approach can prove a concept, but if you can't scale up then it becomes a curiosity instead of a viable technology. We need automated assembly at the nanoscale."

Science Funding Dips In U.S. While Soaring In China

2005-05-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Science Funding Dips In U.S. While Soaring In China by Cynthia Tucker, Editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Writing this month in The Wall Street Journal, Norman Augustine, a former CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp., and Burton Richter, a Nobel laureate in physics, said:

"As a percentage of GDP, federal investment in physical science research is half of what it was in 1970. (By contrast), in China, R&D expenditures rose 350 percent between 1991 and 2001, and the number of science and engineering Ph.D.s soared 535 percent."

La Vida Robot

2005-05-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

La Vida Robot - Wired article on the Carl Hayden High School (from Phoenix) that competed with the top college teams in an engineering competition. Great Stuff.

Tom Swean was the gruff 58-year-old head of the Navy's Ocean Engineering and Marine Systems program. He developed million-dollar autonomous underwater robots for the SEALs at the Office of Naval Research. He was not used to dealing with Mexican-American teenagers sporting gold chains, fake diamond rings, and patchy, adolescent mustaches.

The Carl Hayden team stood nervously in front of him. He stared sullenly at them. This was the engineering review - professionals in underwater engineering evaluated all the ROVs, scored each team's technical documentation, and grilled students about their designs. The results counted for more than half of the total possible points in the contest.

"How'd you make the laser range finder work?" Swean growled. MIT had admitted earlier that a laser would have been the most accurate way to measure distance underwater, but they'd concluded that it would have been difficult to implement.

"We used a helium neon laser, captured its phase shift with a photo sensor, and manually corrected by 30 percent to account for the index of refraction," Cristian answered rapidly, keyed up on adrenaline. Cameron had peppered them with questions on the drive to Santa Barbara, and Cristian was ready.

Swean raised a bushy, graying eyebrow. He asked about motor speed, and Lorenzo sketched out their combination of controllers and spike relays. Oscar answered the question about signal interference in the tether by describing how they'd experimented with a 15-meter cable before jumping up to one that was 33 meters.

"You're very comfortable with the metric system," Swean observed.

"I grew up in Mexico, sir," Oscar said.

Swean nodded. He eyed their rudimentary flip chart.

"Why don't you have a PowerPoint display?" he asked.

"PowerPoint is a distraction," Cristian replied. "People use it when they don't know what to say."

"And you know what to say?"

"Yes, sir."

See La Vida Robot scholarship fund - to benefit the four team members.

Curious Cat Carl Hayden High School Alumni Page.

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

2005-05-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair - the annual event is taking place in Phoenix, Arizona now (through May 14th).

Held annually in May, the Intel ISEF brings together over 1,300 students from approximately 40 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: a $50,000 college scholarship.

Next year the fair will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from May 7th through May 13th.

Intel Education Resources include the: Intel Science Talent Search

In 1998, Intel Corporation assumed sponsorship of the program previously sponsored by the Westinghouse Foundation as a way to recognize and reward excellence in science and to encourage more young people to explore science and technology.

Since assuming the sponsorship, Intel has increased awards and scholarships from $207,000 to $1,250,000 a year"

High School Engineering Education

2005-05-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Web site devoted to a comprehensive engineering program at my former high school: Madison West High School (see Curious Cat Madison West High School Alumni page).

These courses are organized around a set of concepts, skills and attitudes necessary for an engineering career. Unfortunately, students in many other schools can still graduate having had no practical contact with engineering concepts or case studies. A major problem of secondary education is that schools teach science, technology, and mathematics only in the context of the specific disciplines. These courses solve that problem. It shows students the important engineering concepts and has them work on real-world case studies resembling the problems they will be solving in an engineering career.

Another high school engineering related effort is the Statistical Design of Experiments Program at the Macomb Intermediate School District (it also has a Madison connection. From the history on their web site: "In 1984, Kathy and Bob Peterson participated in a special Woodrow Wilson Foundation summer institute on Quantitative Literacy in Princeton, NJ. A principal organizer and speaker at that conference was the late William Hunter, a professor of statistics at the University of Wisconsin."

Scientists Make Bacteria Behave Like Computers

2005-05-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Full Scientists Make Bacteria Behave Like Computers article, from LiveScience.

Bacteria have been programmed to behave like computers, assembling themselves into complex shapes based on instructions stuffed into their genes.

The research could lead to smart biological devices that could detect hazardous substances or bioterrorism chemicals, scientists say. Eventually, the process might be used to direct the construction of useful devices or the growth of new tissue, perhaps restoring function to a severed spinal cord.

What Everyone Should Learn

2005-05-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

If you could teach the world one thing from Spiked. Spiked has published thier survey of 250 Scientists including 11 Nobel laureates in honor of Einstein Year (which marks the centenary of the publication of Albert Einstein's equation E = mc²). Good stuff, including:

Dr. Vincent Cerf: "I would want people to really understand the theory of evolution and the origin of species. The power of cumulative, adaptive change in the genome, over the course of billions of years and changing conditions, is hard for many people to fully appreciate."

Dr. Richard Tresch Fienberg: "Science is not a collection of facts, nor is it even a collection of ideas; it is an activity by which curious human beings seek to make sense of the natural world."

Dr. Simon Best: "I should teach the world the basics of the scientific method per se, and the basic statistical tools that support it. I feel passionately that these are core tools of citizenship, that - once grasped - allow anyone to ask the right questions of scientists and their respective advocates and opponents, whether in the private or the public sector."

Where Bacteria Get Their Genes

2005-05-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

Where Bacteria Get Their Genes, from Science Daily:

Bacteria acquired up to 90 percent of their genetic material from distantly related bacteria species, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson.

The finding has important biomedical implications because such gene-swapping, or lateral gene transfer, is the way many pathogenic bacteria pick up antibiotic resistance or become more virulent.

...

Most commonly, genes are transmitted by bacteriophages, viruses that specifically hijack bacteria cells. Like tiny syringes, phages inject their own genetic material into the host cell, forcing it to produce new phages. During such an event, genes from the bacterial genome can be incorporated into the newly made phages. They inject their newly modified genetic load into other bacteria. This way, bacteriophages act as shuttles, taking up DNA from one bacterium and dumping it into another. Bacteria can also make contact by tiny connection tubes through which they exchange pieces of DNA. They can also take up genetic material from the environment.

Curious Cat Overuse of Antibiotics Links