Clown science

Misconceptions and wonder can be a great way to teach science.

Last year I had a thirteen year-old doubt me when I said that grasses were plants, which was surprising, but was a good place to start a discussion.

It’s all about asking questions, rather than making statements. The student didn’t tell me I was wrong, and I didn’t do the same for that. I was asked  something like “Is grass really a plant?” and I responded, “Well, what have we discussed plants are? Does grass match the description? If it’s not a plant what is it?” Perhaps to many questions at once, but I was only starting out.

Problems can happen when the questions are treated as the answer. “What is up with that?” is treated as “Whatever.” It’s enough to make a clown’s head hurt.

If this doesn’t make sense you may have to check the ICP original.

Free Science! No ulterior motive necessary!

Ulterior motive may be included anyway.

Valve has released steam for mac (squeee!), and for the next couple of weeks is offering award-winner Portal for free download to everyone*. Enjoy some portal fun and the eternal promise of cake!

Okay. I managed to finish it in under 3 hours gameplay (at least that’s what Steam is telling me), but Portal is an awesome game, and I’ll put that down to me having already played the last quarter of the game (which is plenty crazy when you haven’t gone through the original training levels).

And that was my Saturday.

*Which may or may not have something to do with Portal 2 being imminent.

Jim’s Story: Engine bodies and body engines

This is taken from my Science Education textbook, The Art of Teaching Science. Is this a science lesson gone wrong? or a science lesson gone right?

Snapshot 10.1

Jim (not his real name) was explaining homeostasis to his Year 12 biology class. Homeostasis is the process where bodily inputs and outputs are balanced to maintain a constant internal environment. To model body temperature regulation, Jim used a car engine’s cooling system to show how heat input and output are balanced.

HDH: Quolls pass training test

This weeks Hump Day Happy via DaveTheHappySinger

Cane toads were a bad idea. A very bad idea. An insanely bad idea. But anyway, Australia is now stuck with rampaging toxic amphibians threatening almost all our native wildlife. Amongst those threatened are native carnivores. Aside from birds and snakes, there is a whole range of little superficially rodent-looking marsupials, and quolls.

Quolls are awesome. Just from having an awesome name like “Quoll” (and providing more ‘q’ words in scrabble). They aren’t wimpy like “possums” and “sugar gliders”, these critters eat MEAT. Sadly, toads are made from meat, so quolls will naturally try to to eat toads. And then they die. Which is sad.

So the happy news at ABC is that scientists at University of Sydney have been successfully training small groups of quolls to resist the urge to eat cane toads using aversion therapy. The quolls were exposed to small toads sprayed with a nauseating compound which made trying to eat the delicious grenouilles quite unappealing.

“The toad was hopping around. It looked like something good to eat, but once they sniffed it they got that signal saying, ‘Hey, we’re not good to eat’ and they ignored it.” – Dr. Jonathan Webb

A video of the training process is also up on the ABC.

When released into the wild and monitored, trained quolls had higher survival rates than untrained quolls.

The scientists hope that toad training can be initiated ahead of the toad invasion front, so that by the time the toads reach that area the quolls (and other animals) no better than to try and eat one.

The actual scientific article can be found at the Journal of Applied Ecology (you’ll need a Wiley InterScience subscription) DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01802.x

Vatican secrets: The original Macroscope

One of my favourite sci-fi novels is Macroscope by Piers Anthony.

Note: Although Anthony is famous for his light-hearted Xanth series. This is a novel for adults, and deals with a lot of serious and heavy historical and social issues, and yes, that means violence and sex.

The macroscope is a powerful transmission receiving satelite that can detect pretty much every wave emitted in the universe. Theoretically with such a device one could observe every event in history anywhere in the universe.

With the device scientists are able to observe the demise of several distant historical alien species (one through personal greed, one through violence, and another reckless abuse of their environmental resources). Scientists also detect another special signal that only the people with high IQ (i.e. most of the scientists) can discern. Unfortunately, everyone who watches this signal turns into a catatonic vegetable. The story follows the one alleged genius who may be able to discover the secret behind this transmission.

The idea of a Macroscope is quite interesting, and is almost what our existing satelites and telescopes do already (receive various forms of radiation as it reaches Earth). So why can’t we observe what happened 40,000 years ago on Earth in real-time?

Apparently, in the 60′s, a Venetian monk, Father Pelligrino Ernetti claimed to have a device that could do just that. The device was called the “chronovisor” and apparently resembled a television.

Instead of receiving broadcasts from local transmission stations, however, the chronovisor could tune into the past to allow the viewer to see and hear events that had occurred years or even centuries earlier. Father Ernetti told [Father] Brune that the machine worked by detecting all the sights and sounds that humanity had made that still floated through space.

That’s right: Catholic scientists invented a virtual time machine. And apparently they saw the crucifixion of Christ, Napoleon’s conquests across Europe, and the penning of Thyestes by the Roman poet Quintus Ennius.

Wow.

Now here comes the unbelievable part. You can not see the device anymore because the priests destroyed it. It was too dangerous, as it might invade people’s privacy and create a dictatorship. Really? Catholic priests don’t want blind obedience and total information awareness?

Something about that just doesn’t add up.

60 Second Science: Kids competition

Through the ABC Teaching Science mailer.

Children in Australian schools can win cash prizes by creating a 60 second science video. The video can be filmed or animation, and must “demonstrate and explain a scientific experiment, principle or concept.” (Full rules here)

Registration closes at the end of September. The prize has been set up thanks to funding from the Victorian Department of Education – but there is a $1000 of prize money available in each state ($400 and $100 for first and second in primary and secondary divisions).

Entry forms available here.

Choose your own science

In the lead up to Australia’s National Science Week this month (don’t forget to sign up for that), the Australia Museum is holding People’s Choice Awards for their Eureka Science Prizes.

GO VOTE. (There are prizes for Australian residents)

I actually have connections with one of these scientists! Squeee! I am like legitimate (or not…). Kathy Belov, nominated for her work regarding the genetics of the Tadmanian Devil facial tumour (DFTD). Marsupial immunology is a small field, so Kathy was one of the collaborators with my ex-supervisor on the launchblock for my research (one of my former lab-mates now has Kathy as a PhD co-supervisor) – near the end of my research our lab received some very useful American marsupial DNA libraries from her.Good luck Kathy.

And if transmissible facial cancer in devils is not cool enough for you there is also:

• a gamer-chick making diamond-based nanodrugs,
• a link between climate change and increasing danger of allergies,
• the discovery of five new species of glow-worms (and a parasitic wasp),
• not to be outdone, the discovery of almost 50 new sharks and rays (or over 100), and
• using radiocarbon dating to investigate what exactly caused cimate and atmospheric changes in the past to better udnerstand what is going on today

Love, share, learn

As seems to always be the case, as soon as I decide to take a short blog break, people link to me.

Greg did it twice. Hat-tipping me for that cool UK Swine Flu video I spotted – and also featuring some of my flu posts on this month’s Scientia Pro Publica – a collection of awesome science blogging written for the people – this month’s theme: OMG … Science is Everywhere! You can read more about SciProPub at Grrl Scientist.

I have also been quoted (and named, with my real name!) at BNET Pharma industry blog. I do have to agree with the sentiment. It would be a lot easier to sound sane if when I try to defend Pharma against claims of unethical practices if the industry I am trying to defend would just kindly stop engaging in them…

Swine flu brain pop

Rather good UK children’s animated production explains the current swine flu novel Mexican A/H1N1 influenza outbreak.

Some innacuracies, but its hard to tell exactly how dated this might be. Still, definitely good enough at explaining key concepts effectively for schoolchildren

Hattip: Malaysia SMS

Semi-finals to get excited bout

Congratulations to all the finalists (and semi-finalists) for the 3 Quarks Daily. Go Christie at Observations of a Nerd! I’m also a fan of Darren Naish at Tet Zoo. But I gotta say my pick is David’s post at Southern Fried Science (be sure to check out his followup post, oh hell, check out the entire blog).

Possibly because it feeds into my “everything you have been told is lie” skepticism, but also because secretly I think we all know dolphins are total jerks (if you want some seriously fucked up lols – follow the comments on this post, find commentor “Malcolm”).

Winners will be announced on Sunday. Good luck!

Women need to apply more to achieve representation in MSTE

Women just aren’t applying enough to get senior faculty and tenure track positions in maths, science, technology and engineering (MSTE). Perhaps I should rephrase, the report suggests that underrepresentation may be a result of women not applying for positions in the first place. Ha! not nearly as mysoginistic as you thought.

The congressionally mandated study, Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering and Mathematics Faculty, concluded that women are hired in similar proportions to that they are interviewed. For example in maths, women made up 20% of applicants, 28% of intervewees and 32% of job offers. That doesn’t seem to smell of discrimination against women in science technology, does it?

Th problem is that first figure is low. More than 20% of doctorates in math are awarded to women. So why aren’t women applying for the jobs?

The press release I read doesn’t identify any particular reason for this difference. It notes “most institutional strategies to try to increase the proportion of women in the applicant pool … did not show significant effectiveness [except] Having a female chair of the search committee and a high number of women on the committee were associated with a higher number of women in the applicant pool”. Suggesting lack of prominent role models might be factor. The comitte rests on the ubiquitous phrase “[more] Research is needed to investigate why more women are not applying for these jobs”.

A spoonful of sugar helps the sugar go down

We learned the other week that lying to children can convince them that vegetables are cool¹. Well, the Australian sugar industry was obviously paying intention because they have released “healthyhealthier sugar“.

Yes! The power of science – “Sugar: with low sugar”. Lols.

Careful framing branding word selection is well afoot in this release. The news report claims the low GI sugar “can be used to reduce diabetes, obesity and blood pressure”. Okay, yes in theory it could potentially reduce incidence of developing these diseases, and may offer more options for those needing to monitor their GI intake. But let’s be clear, it’s use won’t act as some sort of cure, or alleviate your symptoms. It’s just possibly a better alternative (than standard sugar).

Okay, it’s hard to fault the industry too hard for actually working towards solutions to growing nutrion-based health issues – but perhaps the marketing and awareness campaign is laying it on a little thick.

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¹and mutagens are good for you

Zombie genetics

Last month there was an interesting genetics story about the discovery of the zombie gene (or “Jesus gene”*).

IRGM, which may or may not be involved in Crohn’s disease, appears to have reactivated in humans after becoming degraded in our ancestors around 25 million years ago.

It is really interesting – perhaps mostly because we can now actually show that this is the case, and guesstimate an era like 25MYA as the original inactivation.

I don’t think its quite as surprising as its being made out to be. It makes plenty of sense given what we know about how genetics evolve. It’s not too inconceivable that if genes can become inactive through random mutation, that so to can inactive genes become re-activated through a similar process.

Just because a gene is inactivated doesn’t exactly mean it’s going to go straight to gobbleygook. By not actually contributing anymore, that gene has effectively removed itself from any selective pressure – including negative. It won’t be selected to become more inactivated. There is no benefit for an organism to scramble the signal any further.

Actually this discovery might show that their is some benefit in not deliberately scrambling genes that aren’t currently expressed. But is that a benefit that selection can act upon?

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*everyone knows Jesus isn’t real though, right, kids?

Breath of fresh death

via the March issue of Mini-AIR (Annals of Improbable Research)

Each month AIR holds a limerick contest where readers are asked to help describe selected research in rhyme.

Here is last month’s winning entry by INVESTIGATOR A.S. KASWELL:

Cadaverine has so few charms

And Putrescine raises alarms.

We make them at night,

Say Cooke, Leeves and White -

Our mouths become chemical farms.

What does it mean…

Have links at thee

Created with Spell with Flickr by kastner

What does the internet hold for us this week:

Six cases of shameless advertising (well ones that got caught). Four of which are consumer medications (alternative therapies) making claims that just aren’t backed up by any evidence.

Phsyicists are trying to steal the Cute Microbes trick, by developing plush particles. No! Physics is not cute and furry. It’s dangerous and explosivey. No one was ever hurt by cute and fuzzy biology – its organic and natural. Stop the persecutions!!!11! (via Bench Press)

Mmmm… Yellow Cakes

Who is Dr. Phwoooar? Seriously, can someone get a hold of this tract?

Placebo television. Works just like real television without really being television at all. Maybe?

On real television, guy from Top Gear is making a kids science show. Actually sounds good.

Cyprus is turning into a dessert. No sorry, a desert. Actually, that’s not good.

Disturbing image of the week.