With a resurgence of bird flu and Chinese scientists so far unable to track down the H7N9 influenza virus’ animal host, people are preparing for a possible pandemic by buying face masks and hand sanitizers. That makes some sense. Chinese authorities are struggling to identify the source and mode of transmission of the virus, which […]
read moreNo matter what a supermodel tells you, you are not going to look like her. There is no fitness regimen, no diet secret, no nothing. It isn’t going to happen. Because you did not have her parents and, even if you did, it’s really a crapshoot. They may want you to think they do special […]
read moreOrganic food labeling is almost dizzying. Despite the claims of this $29 billion industry that it is 'organic' and therefore nutritionally and environmentally and medically superior to nasty regular food of the last few centuries, it is really only 95% organic - and the list of dozens of synthetic ingredients that are exempted is truly difficult to fathom. read...
read moreCryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) collaborators are reporting what could be a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) signal at the 3-sigma level. In common parlance, that is 99.7 confidence - which sounds high. But to physicists it really means they have 3 bumps in their data that could be a WIMP, which means it might be a hint of dark matter.That sounds like a lot of qualifiers but...
read moreThe social sciences must be a gold mine for single men, right? It’s not as disreputable as the humanities but still has over 70% women-to-men ratios, a solid 2:1 improvement over something like physics, where it’s a big sausage-fest of weird-haired guys yelling about Monte Carlo analyses. If you are a young undergraduate, you are […]
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