Most Commented Science Blogs (319)

...who goes to the auto mechanic, inquiring about what's RIGHT in the car? It's everywhere, often justified, in trying to improve the world. As when I rant on American HS public school teachers, and those for on line ESL English to unsuspecting foreigners, holding nary a bit of certification much less talent for the craft. Excepting perhaps occasionally being driven to wax pseudo-edudite, with forced, VERY forced, usages, not least of which silly similes and metaphors.
And other admitted pathetic human wannabee failures in life. But I do digress.
Western medicine has worked under similar restraints, and biases, with rare exceptions. Apropos C-19, we can consider the whole field, where formal indices, VERY formal, for well being have long been in play. Cardiac/circulatory fitness, blood sugar levels, pulmonary diffusion, and intelligence.
But how about a focus on immune competence? Dozens of named non-fittness situations for this complex multifaceted system are used daily.. Severe combined Immunodeficiency syndromes, various B and T cell low number disorders, and complement and cytokine inadequacies. Hell, even when there are surpluses, as with auto immune conditions, they all get characterized as bad. What gives, Peebles?
Recall, in ancient times, practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Herbals/Acupuncture) only got paid when the customers were HEALTHY. It got worse if you failed as the emperor's doc. OUCH!
If they can give our last affirmative action, VERY affirmative, POTUS that coveted liberal Nobel prize, for nothing---after months in office, why not the VIERK, and his hottie intern laden Institute for the same?
You heard it here first, the Vierk Institutet Index for Immune Health. VIIIH---sort of has a nice ring to it, NO? Whereby, guided by all the pathology noted above, each of us can be so place into our own little boxes of health and well being. And tests, and even screening protocols, exist for such, in time becoming streamlined and cost effective.
It could range from zero to 100, in combined VIERK units of immune health. Honoring the age a few of us hope to reach. VERY few.
It would have lots of utility, as with us intrepid volunteers, leading AA groups in jails, and cutting spuds at soup kitchens, where there's no shortage of C-19 affected clients, and exposures. And many other clinical and public health preventive uses. As I again spread about, VERY about, my many virtues, in rank digression.
My many fans here, VERY many, who wish to nominate me, please do so using the abbreviation for the index, and the name of the research lab. Please don't misspell VIERK!
A year of free good cigars, Parisian perfume and NZ chardonnay, to whomever gets my name up there first.
You can trust us, we in thoroughly honest scientific endeavor. We are not like all those others.

...Half way through my second go around on Prof. Sean Carroll's DVD from the Great Courses on the topic. Pretty mind blowing. Only getting a dilettante's level of understanding, but well worth it. Plus lots on cosmology, relativity and particle physics along the way. Check it out.

Asian countries have employed model aircraft for spraying pesticides for more than a decade. This is old technology by today's standards where the pilot has to operate the controls directly. The newer machines have GPS and the operator can program the path the helicopter (or drone) will follow as well as the altitude. It becomes 'hands off' and fully automated.
Either way... you might get a Rize out of this video too!

While the pilot/operator had a safety helmet on, he was lacking in no filter mask... something I think is essential when spraying any (fertilizer, pesticide) chemicals over a large area.

Yes, over past 5 years the world has done a terrific job lowering the carbon emissions.

Only one problem, which these scientific elite minds forgot to mention tho.

It has had no effect on global warming, nope none, zip, zero, zilch, nada sweet f##k all to help lower the global warming effect.

If you want to test this yourself, you would require:
Electronic Temp Sensor
A housing unit for the sensor
A Drone to fly both sensor and housing unit

And its very simple, you do a ground reading, then fly the drone directly above the spot where the drone was placed. Do 3 measurements. ground, highest point (max distance of drone) and middle point measurement.

But it must be done in two specific areas, and it must done within 3 degrees +/- of the same temperature within your city/country side, to get an accurate reading. Test in a Heavy traffic area (requires permission and signs) and a non-traffic area.

The point of this is to prove where the culprit is, so that you can see from your own eyes.

Do your tests once a week for 3 months (or more if you'ld like) make an image of your data then pm me and I will make 2 more blogs. One with images of your data to share your findings, and the other explaining why lowered carbon emissions has had no effect.

Do this and you will save your world.

An Ancient frog species named after Kermit the Frog by scientists


Kermit the Frog has been around since 1955 – but a new Kermit on the block was actually around much longer ago.


Scientists have uncovered a fossil of an ancient 270-million-year-old amphibian ancestor, and named it after him.

Maybe when you were younger, you wanted to be a Space Cadet. Don't despair... You still have a chance as NASA is taking applications! While the odds are slim, you have to be a U.S. citizen and you must pass the astronaut physical exam.
There is no age limit or 20/20 vision requirement and don't worry that NASA set a high bar for education.
They are looking for applicants with a master’s degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, followed by at least three years of related professional experience.
I'm sure (for a price) you can find someone on the dark web who can print your diploma and a tech company to vouch for your employment.

“The trip to Mars is six to nine months,” he said. “You’re going to be away from familiar for more than a year, one to three years. Are you really ready for that?”



Link:

Scientific American has endorsed a presidential candidate.
That shows how important this election is.

Well, we KNOW it couldn't be a person, who not only doesn't have a clue about science, nor even math. They are far too smart for that.

But, who would Scientific American endorse as it's first candidate ever ?

Yep, Joe Biden.

From Scientific American;

Named after a goddess of beauty, Venus is our closest neighbor in the solar system and thanks to reflected sunlight, one of the brightest points of light in the night sky.
Because the surface of that planet is very hot and considered inhospitable to life, it has not been the focus of our unending search for other life in the universe. Indeed, attempts to explore the planet have not been very fruitful, as even metals melt upon arrival.

However, at one ancient time, Venus may have been more teeming with life than Earth was at that time. Hundreds of millions of years ago, Venus had oceans. Perhaps it may even today have some life remaining. Astronomers recently found a lot of phosphine within the clouds around Venus. Some rule out other sources of the biomolecule and conclude, that it must be actively produced by microorganism(s) within the clouds. Indeed, since sunlight breaks down phosphine, there must be some current active source. Of course, some others believe otherwise. Nonetheless, life may be much closer, than most predicted. Venus may once again become an area of interest.



Today in The New York Times;



(continued in my first comment below)

..tag..} A A..) atheist Astrophysics...
......a [ metal ] $pell....
10. Nothing else matters./ Metallica
- 10. ( 0 > M..../ Ibid.

---

...0...attack on memory / cloud nothings.
.....all these words eYe don't just say...- metallic a.

Part 2....tell a vision.[ ..from the gematrix./
Fedora project..) No stone UN ] turned.
W....A....R....P........C......} Project sign.
901.....80....60.....3...} ..1 0 4 4.
.....eYes of Truth.) ..the interconnected numbers.
...U....V.......L...I...g...h....t..) ) 1044.
200...700 ..29....15.....100.......well done.
..the search Term.} H parts of speech hits Fresno..

Part 3..UN ] searchable Time. Stamp...
.once upon a time in the west./ white buffalo.
the politics of Time./ Minutemen
NOW./ Maxwell.
.......A R ] Times UP./ living colour.
Q.] ..who knows where time goes?/ Fairport conv.

Standby.) )