Last Commented Science Blogs (317)

(with apologies to Heisenberg) I am suggesting there exists a Trump uncertainty principle that states Trump's political positions and their destructive velocity can not be predicted, only viewed in retrospect to the resulting chaos. Strangely enough that does not keep Trump from pretending he knows everything about anything.

...No, in this blog, I don't mean CS scammers. God bless their hearts.
Also called immune globulin's, the humoural adaptive immune system, and other names, in humans and most higher mammals, these interesting molecules, forming about a half dozen major classes, are formed by liver/lymphatic tissues, from two pairs of nearly identical subcomponents. Covalently bonded.
But in the alpacas, lamas, and other such animals, (Dromedaries?), it seems their antibodies are formed from only one protein chain. WTF?
There may be adaptive biological defensive benefits to this strikingly different arrangement. Perhaps more than mere economies of biochemistry. And immune systems do vary a good deal in other classes of animals, some allegedly having only more simple innate systems, that do not learn and remember previous invaders, for more rapid secondary exposure protection. As in our awesome adaptive systems. Sharks and cousins don't seem the worse for it.
So what? Well, everyone and her grandmother are furiously at work trying to develop a vaccine against C-19. Researches in beautiful, value wine country, optical telescope heaven, former Commie, hottie laden Chile,--- are at work using these much more simple biochemical moieties for such. This is now a third approach to vaccine development. To be added to traditional approaches, using RNA and usual lab immunology.
Science rocks. An international lab where one of our talented and beautiful twins works as a paid, VERY paid,research intern, is on the front line here. Plum beyond my half century old edumacation.
Speaking of talented teachers, she's now one of mine. I met a few of her US public school STEM and Language teachers, and some were first class. Helped her and sis to Valedictorian status.
Appele falle ikke langst fra stemme. Modesty is also one of my better talents.

Eager sky watchers are turning to the heavens as Comet NEOWISE, one of the brightest comets in a generation, starts climbing ever higher among the evening stars.

A majority of comets fly through the solar system invisible to humans, usually too small and dim to be seen with the naked eye. The last frozen ice ball that gave us a big show was Hale-Bopp, a comet that was visible for nearly 18 months around its closest approach to Earth in 1997.

Officially designated C/2020 F3, Comet NEOWISE was discovered on March 27 and had until this week been visible only to committed comet viewers willing to wake up in the early pre-dawn hours. But on Monday, NEOWISE tipped into the post-sunset sky and has even been spotted by people living near city centers with all the light pollution.

“It’s the first time in 23 years that this is possible,” said Federica Spoto, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “You can watch it from your backyard and you don’t need a telescope.”

We need stop thinking about maximizing the next quarterly dividend and massive tax cuts
and start investing in our future.



I expect most of this CS crowd won't bother listening to this Ted Talk - to any Ted Talk.
Then again maybe some of you will.

Tis a pity science and scientists are considered a poor investment, because there are a lot of good ideas happening out there every day.



I choose not to defend this blog entry from Troll attacks. I have better things to do with my time. (have at it Vier)

On Sunday, June 21, the annular solar eclipse will be visible. Unfortunately, it will be visible in Pakistan, India, China and parts of Africa with a partial eclipse in parts of Eastern Europe and Northern Australia.

This type of solar eclipse occurs when a new moon is near its farthest point from Earth (called its apogee), forming a straight line with the Earth and the sun. This event occurs once a year.

So, if you are in the area affected and want to witness this phenomena, wear proper eye protection and you will see the rim of the sun around the moon creating the 'Ring of Fire' effect.

Hopefully, I can catch this event on a streaming source like YouTube from the comfort of my home!

1. More so an observation. Art and beauty are not logical. To answer a question such as: Why did they put so much time, or effort, or money into doing that beautiful design like that? Is there really an answer to that? Or, is it sheer emotion.

2. If you do not believe in a spirit or soul, then why is a body lifeless after death?

that HC can increase mortality, and heart issues, in the treatment of Covid -19. British Medical Journal embarrassed, again. As was the Lancet for touting an association between vaccinations and Autism, based merely of an anecdotal case series of 8 pediatric patients. Any lessons here? There are quite a few for fair minded folks to learn from.
For starters, detecting and characterizing valid relationships between illness and other factors in free living human populations, is tricky business. Policy from science rests on much more than research outcomes, however seemingly robust. Less so if results are weak, or inconsistent.
Just as important, we must be ever vigilant of how politics can influence science. The Universities and research labs are largely staffed and administered by folks of one political view. Just as those of big Pharma, perhaps in other profit oriented biased directions.
And relying reflexively on clearly biased media resources, such as the NYT, or Washington Post, for scientific information, is fraught with danger of being in error. Reporting/journalism often has become political activism, leading to similar invalid information. Fortunately, we now have much better understanding of how this goes, with the clear existence of Trump Derangement-Hilary Deficit Syndromes. It goes like this. One reads a story on some biased outlet. Instantly, in a rush to support ones side, and to feel smug and clever, without reflection, the typing/posting starts. It's all made much worse when the sufferers of the Syndromes have little, and often none, of the needed education for supporting such often biased assertions. Teaching in HS, and a little time working as a lab assistant, or realtor, etc., are honorable gigs, but inadequate to the task.
Finally, RED MAN BAD, is the deep syndromic emotion. But RM not always wrong, is often the truth..

..tag.) unlisted Fed.Officer.
...
O5. Train of thought / dream theater
...3...Freight train / Jackson..) ball point radio.)
O2.. locomotive breath / Tull
..... the numeric code of PoP.....[ Psalm 9 / trouble
NY o.*...this might hurt / 9 inch nails
......8 days a week / Beatles
7 churches / possessed
.....Gold mine / take 6
5th Dimension / byrds
....4 horsemen / Metallica
Eli's Coming / 3 dog night
Until the end of the world / U 2....[ Mt.28...
First strike is deadly / Testament
0. Saved by zero / the Fixx
X./ Los Angeles.
*...not yet official.

1 hour 48 minutes to lift off