Category Archives: science

environment, ramblings, science

Much More than Environmental Reform

My friend Ivan had recety started a new blog, Restored World. In Ivan’s words:

I have created this website to share my thoughts and reflections on how we might respond in new ways to the needs of our damaged, ailing world. What has led me to speak out here is my belief that our current way of thinking and doing things is not only inappropriate but continues to harm us.

It is clear from our collective struggles to even begin to address the climate emergency, the mass species extinction, increasing inequality, or other challenges such as the present spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, that we appear trapped … within an outdated mode of thinking that determines our functioning, a mode no longer appropriate to the immense challenges we face in the present global crisis.

We collectively all need renewal, myself included, if the world in which we live is to be restored. My hope is that this website, which is a personal account of my search for that renewal, can be a small contribution to our collective effort in imagining how we will restore our world.

Although Ivan and I are coming at the problem from different perspectives (and this blog is more wide-ranging) we seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet. Ivan is a thinker, and as a professional writer is much more eloquent in expressing his views than am I.

One thing reading Ivan’s thoughts has done is to goad me into finishing something I started long ago: encapsulating the way I see the complexity of environmental reform in a diagram.

Environmental Reform Diagram

Environmental reform isn’t easy. As the above diagram shows it involves a whole interdependent network of actions and effects which revolve around three core necessities:

  • Reform of Agriculture and Fisheries
  • Reform of Natural Resource Usage
  • Reform of Energy Production.

There are a number of obvious entry points to the network, although starting anywhere one can is better than not starting at all.

What this doesn’t show is the necessity to reduce our reliance on product, and reform both our dominant capitalist hegemony and our broken political system. Each will be another complex network and connecting these reform networks will be yet another level of interdependent network – and I haven’t thought about any of that, yet! We could start on this anywhere, in any of the networks, and hopefully actions in one place will flow through into the other networks.

None of this is easy. But we have to start somewhere and hopefully the current Coronavirus pandemic will trigger the paradigm shift we need, which will flow over into real action on climate change and global reform.

Wish us luck!

history, links, medical, natural history, science

Monthly Links

In the middle of these interesting times we’re living in, we bring you a diversion by way of our round-up of links to items you may have missed this month. And I promise it is Coronavirus-free.

Science, Technology, Natural World

The Rainfall Rescue Project are looking for (online) volunteers to help transcribe old rainfall records from the handwritten sheets, so they are digitised and useable for in depth research.

We thought we understood it, but rock samples brought back by the Apollo moon missions are reopening debate about how the moon formed. [£££££]

It seems that people who get lost in the wild follow strange but predictable paths. [£££££]

Dust is often not what you think, especially in museums.

A brief look at five dinosaurs which, once upon a time, roamed the British Isles.

The smallest known dinosaur skull has been found in a piece of amber.

Crows understand death, at least death of a fellow crow, but can we work out what they’re actually thinking?

Now, while we’re all in solitary confinement, is a good time to take up birdwatching: there’s a surprising number of birds go past your window and they’re not all sparrows and pigeons.

If they share a vase, daffodils kill other cut flowers. Here’s why.

Health, Medicine

Copper is great at killing off microbes (it’s been used in horticulture and viniculture for centuries) and yet in a medical context the more inert stainless steel is preferred.

A small number of women are born with the rare MRKH Syndrome, where they lack a vagina and possibly other internal reproductive organs.

We all know about tree rings giving information about the growth of the tree, but it seems our teeth also document our life’s stresses.

Environment

A small Japanese village is leading the way into our carbon-neutral future, but it ain’t easy.

The Guardian gives us fifty simple ways to make life greener. [LONG READ]

Social Sciences, Business, Law

Many of us like to belief we have free thought uninfluenced by others; but can we ever be a truly independent thinker?

Art, Literature, Language

Aubrey Beardsley is one of many artists whose has work been suppressed for obscenity, and is the subject of a new exhibition at Tate Britain (assuming museums are ever allowed to reopen). [LONG READ]

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

A new study reports that a supposedly important collection of Dead Sea Scroll fragments are all fakes.

Archaeologists suggest that a collection of bones found in Kent church likely to be of 7th-century saint

Drake’s Island in Plymouth Sound is to be opened up and get its first visitors in 30 years.

London

London blogger Diamond Geezer takes a look at the genesis of London numbered postal districts.

Lifestyle, Personal Development

And finally … Should ladies’ loos provide female urinals, and would they be an answer to the queues for the loos?

Take care, everyone, and stay safe!

arts, environment, history, links, medical, science

Monthly Links

Once more (where is this year going; it’s already the end of February?) we bring you our monthly bumper bundle of links to items you will wish you hadn’t already missed. I’m ignoring Coronavirus per se for the simple reason that everything is moving too fast. Here goes …

Science, Technology, Natural World

One of our favourite physicists introduces the top 10 most important effects in physics.

Here’s an interesting idea about measurement: forget feet and meters there’s as more fundamental measurement for earthlings.

Anyone who is active in science, especially chemistry, will love The Pocket Chemist.

Male-male competition, and sometimes female preferences, have helped fashion the flashiest adornments. [LONG READ]

Health, Medicine

Do drugs deteriorate? Why are their use-by dates important?

Facemasks. Do they actually do any good against flu, coronavirus or pollution?

What can the medical profession do to help your back pain? It seems there’s not a lot in their toolkit which is of much help.

Retinal migraines are rare, but what are they like?

We all have left-right asymmetry (internally), but how do bodies map this out? [LONG READ]

And another biological conundrum … how do body parts grow to the right size? [LONG READ]

Apparently girls are beginning puberty a year earlier than they were 50 years ago.

Sexuality

Katherine Rowland talked to 120 women about their sex lives and desires.

As if we need an excuse, here are five ways to have more sex with your partner.

Here’s a review of Kate Lister’s new book A Curious History of Sex. I found it interesting and amusing. [Disclosure: I helped crowdfund it.]

An interesting look at parenting in a polyamorous relationship. There’s no evidence it’s any worse for children than any other style of relationship.

Meet some of Britain’s sex-positive influencers. [LONG READ]

Environment

Estate owners across UK are queueing up to reintroduce beavers.

Art, Literature, Language

Anglo-Saxon charters and place-names are an often-overlooked source of folklore and popular belief.

A portrait, long thought to be of Louis XIV’s son, turns out to be a late-17th century Lord Mayor of London.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

The records of the High Court of Chivalry (which still exists) reveal quite a lot about the life of 14th cetury soldiers.

The British Library has digitised a 15th century children’s guide to manners: Pyke notte thy nostrellys.

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of the mysterious 14th century Bek’s Chapel, lost at the time of the Civil War.

Four secret societies whch operated in the London’s shadows.

A brief hiostory of the (somewhat disreputable) East India Company.

The vast collection of King George III’s military maps are now available online.

London

A secret passageway has been discovered in the Place of Westminster.

The V&A Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green is to close in May for two years for a £13m revamp.

Lifestyle, Personal Development

Want to rewire your brain for clearer, calmer thinking? The case for Transcendental Meditation.

And finally … Women share their stories of celebrating their body hair.

We’ll have more next month!

current affairs, medical, science, thoughts

Coronavirus: Attitudes to Panic

This post has originated in all the fuss surrounding the Coronavirus situation. In it I’m not interested in the science of how the Coronavirus works, or how it is being treated. I’m more interested in our reactions and the way we (individually and collectively) are approaching the problem.

The post is constructed around quotes from four comment articles [1-4] (referenced below) which have appeared in the last few days.

What’s interesting to me, from a rational standpoint, is the psychology and attitudes behind what is happening.

In the new coronavirus, we see a world that is more connected than ever by international travel, but that has also succumbed to growing isolationism and xenophobia. We see a time when scientific research and the demand for news, the spread of misinformation and the spread of a virus, all happen at a relentless, blistering pace. [4]

For example: The number of people travelling by plane every year has more than doubled since SARS first emerged, in 2003 [4] and we now have 24 hour rolling news both online and on TV.

On top of that

People are often optimistic about risks [called] “optimism bias”; people may think they can control their own exposure to diseases, that they don’t need a vaccine because they aren’t susceptible to flu, or that they won’t transmit their cold to others. [1]

It’s entirely normal that there are still many uncertainties [4]. We don’t yet know enough to be completely certain about the risks of COVID-19 … no one really knows how bad COVID-19 is, and how much damage it could eventually lead to [3].

For instance: How transmissible is the virus? Once infected, how much time passes before people show symptoms, and how likely are they to die? Which people are most at risk? [4].

It appears that on average, infected people spread the virus to two or three others [4]. This the Basic Reproduction Number (what epidemiologists call R0). It is about the same as that for flu, but way lower than for measles which has an R0 of 12-18 [5].

Current data suggests that COVID-19 kills around 2% (the Case Fatality Rate) of those infected [3] (although expect this number to change). However flu with a Case Fatality Rate of 0.1% kills more people [3] (presumably because although it is more widespread, we have a vaccine).

Even the normally cautious epidemiologists don’t know the answers. Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch [says] “I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable” [2].

In fact

Lipsitch predicts that within the coming year, some 40 to 70 percent of people around the world will be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. But … this does not mean that all will have severe illnesses. “It’s likely that many will have mild disease, or may be asymptomatic”. [2]

That doesn’t sound good, so no wonder the uncertainties that academics are used to dealing with, about fatality rates or transmissibility, are stoking fear [4] because when we’re uncertain about something, we often rely upon our feelings and prior experiences in place of information. Surgical face masks offer the sense, however illusory, of protection [1].

Indeed

According to experts, the value of surgical masks depends entirely on the context in which they’re used: a surgical mask won’t work unless it’s worn consistently and properly. If worn incorrectly, their utility quickly plummets … Though face masks may provide the feeling of security, masks are most valuable in situations where they are necessary – such as among front-line health workers … We touch our faces, noses and eyes many times a day, making it difficult to completely avoid contact with infection. [1]

[If you want more on face-mask efficacy, see my post “Coronavirus and Face Masks” of a few days ago.]

While

researchers can share data and refine ideas faster than ever … they’re doing so in full view of a concerned citizenry … [and] … preliminary data that might once have run the gantlet of peer review before being published can now be downloaded by anyone, sparking misinterpretations and conspiracy theories. [4]

A climate of uncertainty can cause misinformation to flourish [1] and create fertile ground for mixed messages and inconsistency, which in itself can breed mistrust and fear [3]. And as we all know false reports readily cascade through channels that amplify extreme messages over accurate ones … Hoaxes and half-truths are huge problems during epidemics [4].

But of course we’re often required to make decisions based on having incomplete information [3]. I would actually go further: we never have all the information we need to make the decision; all we can do is to make the best decision we can at the time with the (limited) information we have.

This is why clear messaging from trusted sources, and guidance on what to do and how to do it, is essential during a pandemic [1]. Especially communicate often, communicate what is and isn’t known clearly, and provide simple action items for individuals to take … like hand-washing [and] acknowledge that [all of this] may change quickly [3].

However with public health that’s not easy. The risks of sending the “wrong” message can have devastating consequences – unnecessary anxiety on the one hand … and thousands of unnecessary deaths on the other [3]. And confused citizens might forgo sensible measures such as hand washing in favour of inefficient ones like panicked mask buying [4].

What’s perhaps worse is that border screenings and travel bans have historically proved ineffective and inefficient at controlling diseases. If anything, they can make matters worse. People will find a way to get where they want to go [4]. For example, although the Iran/Afghanistan border has been closed, some 3000 people cross that border illegally every day [6].

What’s more

bans can also break the fragile bonds of international trust … If countries know that they’ll be cut off during an epidemic … they may be less likely to report future outbreaks, leading to costly delays. [4]
Waiting too long to sound the alarm can be disastrous. [3]

As with many things this leaves us with a spectrum of possible reaction and attitude.

On the rational end, we must ask ourselves about … the effectiveness of [any] solution … [and how individuals can use that] solution effectively. On the emotional end, we ask ourselves about … how severe might it be if we … were infected [and] how likely we might contract it. [3]

A lot of the expert discussion (or at least discussion quoting experts) in the media has been at the rational end about the effectiveness of various actions, while I suspect a majority of individuals are inclined to work more towards the emotional end of the spectrum – often because they’re not presented with clear, concise, factual information; whether deliberately by the less reputable press and politicians, by omission, or because it is just packaged in a way they can’t understand.

At the end of the day we probably have to move individuals quite a long way (probably further than is possible) towards the rational side, while at the same time ensuring that the experts are doing as much as possible to make the right solutions effective and have some understanding to allow them to meet the individuals part way. That’s probably a circle that can never be made fully square. Nevertheless the experts have to work their socks off to square the circle as best they can, and take the people with them in supporting their solutions. And that ain’t ever going to be easy.

[1] “When it comes to coronavirus, we shouldn’t let our feelings trump the facts”; 26 February 2020; https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/26/coronavirus-feelings-facts-face-masks-covid-19

[2] “You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus”; 24 February 2020; https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/02/covid-vaccine/607000/

[3] “Uncertainty in a Time of Coronavirus”; 26 February 2020; https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/uncertainty-in-a-time-of-coronavirus/

[4] “The New Coronavirus Is a Truly Modern Epidemic” 3 February 2020; https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/02/coronavirus-very-2020-epidemic/605941/

[5] “Basic reproduction number”; 27 February 2020; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_reproduction_number

[6] “Coronavirus in a war zone: Afghanistan braces for outbreak after first case”; 26 February 2020; https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/26/coronavirus-in-a-war-zone-afghanistan-braces-for-outbreak-after-first-case

environment, science

Fukushima’s Tritium

The Fukushima nuclear site is now overflowing with contaminated water (from cooling the remaining fuel cores to prevent further meltdown) which is being stored in huge tanks. Like they have almost 1.2 million tonnes of water from which the major radioactive contaminants have been removed (they say). And they’ve almost run out of space for more tanks.

However the stored water is still contaminated with tritium (3H), a rare radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a nucleus containing one proton and two neutrons, and a half-life of 12.32 years. Although radioactive, tritium is generally considered safe, at least externally (one common use is in luminous watches and displays).

But this presents a problem, because to even reduce the tritium level by 90% through natural decay will, I guestimate, take in the region of 40 years (something over 3 half-lives). Would that level of reduction be enough? I don’t know; I’ve not seen the data.

Extracting the tritium from the water is technically very difficult and there is no industrial-scale process available to do it.

So to solve their storage problem Tokyo Electric (Tepco) want dump the contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. The alternative contending suggestion is to allow the water to evaporate into the atmosphere (taking the tritium with it); but this has been rejected.

Now I see the logic of dumping the water into the ocean. There is already a (low) level of tritium in seawater anyway; and most nuclear facilities use either seawater or river-water as a coolant, with the waste water flowing back into the river/ocean in real-time with low levels of contaminants (mostly tritium).

My reaction to this as a scientist is that dumping the water into the sea, over a period of years, and maybe from several sites separated by a distance, is likely the best solution; and not a solution that would, I think, worry me if it were “in my backyard”. On the other hand I do quite see, from an environmental viewpoint, why local people and nearby countries don’t like the idea.

It’s just a pity there isn’t an industrial-scale extraction process, because the tritium would be extremely valuable, even if it amounted to just a handful of grams. For one, the JET European Torus experimental nuclear fusion reactor is planning a run for late this year, and for that they need a few grams of tritium, which costs around $30,000 a gram. Surely there must be a way?

environment, history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Welcome to thee first of our monthly links for 2020. Here are links to items you may have missed the first time round, but will be glad you’ve now found. We’ve collected a huge number of items this month, so lets get stuck in …

Science, Technology, Natural World

You may well poo-poo astrology (and who should blame you!) but there is an argument that it paved the way for predictive, analytical science.

In the western world we do a lot to mask our body odour. Here’s some of the chemistry behind what we’re trying to mask.

Science’s theoretical models can be complex, however the most successful ones usually aren’t. [££££]

So how is it that some trees life 1000 years, apparently healthily?

Health, Medicine

I know my body temperature is naturally low, but it now seems that human body temperature is generally cooling over time. Two looks at this from New Scientist [££££] and Scientific American [££££]

Six curious facts about our sense of smell.

The whole situation around the new Chinese Coronavirus is moving so fast I’m not going there with blog posts. However here is something about the viruses which cause colds and flu.

While mentioning flu, researchers are now discovering that injecting the flu vaccine into a tumour stimulates the immune system to attack it.

Medics are coming to the opinion that many mental health conditions, from depression to dementia, are caused by inflammation.

The vaginal, uterine, cervical, clitoral, urinary, rectal, and muscular dimensions of the pelvis: the VAGGINA hypothesis.

Which takes us nicely on to …

Sexuality

Apparently almost half of British women have poor sexual health, around three times the rate for men.

Here’s something I didn’t know … One part of this is poor sexual health is that some women have incredibly painful orgasms. It’s not clear if this also affects men.

But men do have sexual problems too: it is thought that around 10% of men have Peyronie’s disease, which causes significant bending of the penis; it’s often painful and prevents sex.

One woman talks about how wanking brought her closer to her husband. [NSFW]

Environment

One UK scientist is suggesting that half the country’s farmland should be transformed into woodlands and natural habitat to fight the climate crisis and restore wildlife.

Following in the footsteps of the Woodland Trust, the National Trust to plant 20 million trees in the UK over the next decade as part of efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.

It’s reported that London’s new year fireworks increased air pollution with a legacy of metal particles. Why is anyone surprised?

York is the latest city (following Bristol and Birmingham) to plan on banning private car journeys from the city centre.

I’ve been saying this for twenty years: the majority of business air travel is unnecessary; there are more environmentally, financially and employee friendly ways of doing business – and they’re just as effective. Why is there no will to grasp this?

Social Sciences, Business, Law

Hansard is the official record of business in the UK’s parliament. Here’s something on how their reporters handle getting to grips with an influx of new MPs.

Art, Literature, Language

OK, so who understands what sodomy actually is, at least according to the medieval world view. [LONG READ]

An Italian art gallery has discovered its stolen Gustav Klimt painting in a wall.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Archaeologists have found the graves of high-status Romans in Somerset.

Here’s a series of long reads from Going Medieval about medieval life …

The most maligned of creatures, since ancient times, the wolf has a central role in mythology. [LONG READ]

Medieval people were nicer to cows than we are now. [LONG READ]

Medieval courtly love was just as full of pick-up artists as other times. [LONG READ]

There’s a subset of society who (erroneously) believe the medieval Church was a shadowy organisation dedicated solely to suppressing knowledge and scientific advancement. [LONG READ]

No medieval people weren’t dirty. Yes, mediaval people bathed – a lot more than we think. They even invented soap! [LONG READ]

It’s interesting what you can find in the sludge of a London medieval cesspit.

Slightly nearer our own time, it seems that Columbus may well have been right in his claims of cannibals in the Caribbean.

Lifestyle, Personal Development

A Utah (think Salt Lake City and Mormons) court convicts a mother of lewd behaviour for bearing her breasts in front of her children. But is being naked around your own kids good for them? Spoiler: yes.

The “power of bad” and the “curse of good”. We’re living in a gilded age but can we defeat negativity?

There is some surprising psychology behind being perpetually late.

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And finally, the United Kingdom wins a Darwin Award for Brexit. Well who would have guessed?!

amusements, environment, history, links, medical, science

Monthly Links

And for the last time in 2019, here’s our monthly round-up of links to items you may have missed.

Science, Technology, Natural World

There are lots of Rose-Ringed Parakeets in London (far from their native home in Northern India). How did they get here? The legend is that they were released by Jimi Hendrix, but they’ve been around a lot longer than that. Two reports on the latest investigation from the BBC and The Oldie.

A fossil forest has been found in New York State, and it is the oldest one known.

Now to one of my favourite subjects: wasps. Just what is the point of wasps?

There’s a new formula for converting your dog’s age into human years. [£££]
But note: it is different for cats.

Health, Medicine

There is a significant resurgence of measles with a number of countries, including the UK, losing their measles-free status.

A very small number of people have a mystery illness which causes a fever every few weeks, but finally the cause has been identified. [£££]

In the stomach, the mind, or the brain? Migraine’s causes and remedies have been debated for 2,000 years. [LONG READ]

Medical science has traditionally neglected women’s health, and still does. Why does medicine have a gender problem?

Environment

Now here’s an idea: reintroduce national service and use the victims to do environmental and conservation work.

How often do you mow your lawn? There’s a good chance the answer is “too often”, because less frequent mowing can help wildlife.

Social Sciences, Business, Law

We’ve heard of environmental rewilding, well now here’s political rewilding: the antidote to our current malaise of the demagogues.

Art, Literature, Language

Japanese artist Masayo Fukuda hand-cuts intricate images from a single sheet of paper.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Here are ten English archaeological finds of the last decade.

Archaeologists do keep pushing the boundaries. In Indonesia they’ve now found the earliest known cave art by modern humans.

And in Greece archaeologists have unearthed gold-lined Mycenaean royal tombs.

2020 is the 850th anniversary of the assassination of Thomas Becket, and it will be a year of commemorative events, culminating in a major exhibition at the British Museum.

Prince Albert is usually blamed for introducing the Christmas tree, but it is likely to be much older than that. One early instance dates from 1419 in Freiburg.

So, apart from the obvious, what went on in a medieval brothel? Well, it often wasn’t pleasant. [LONG READ]

An academic has discovered annotations by Elizabeth I on a document in Lambeth Palace Library.

Religious and secular celebration of Christmas was forbidden by the English Puritan republic, but not entirely successfully. [LONG READ]

London

There’s a very elderly eagle in Croydon.

The Greek god Priapus, protector of gardens, fruit plants, livestock … and male genitals, is an unlikely subject for a statue in the discrete streets of Pimlico.

Food, Drink

Peru, as we all know, is the home of the potato, and they have a potato museum which conserves well over a thousand varieties and could be important in breeding the plants to handle climate change.

Haggis is a traditional Scots food. Or is it? [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development

So how do couples stay together long-term? Understanding the other person is trying to do their best is important.

John Horgan in Scientific American investigates whether mysticism can help us solve the mind-body problem.

Naked therapy is a (non-sexual) treatment to help people become more comfortable with their bodies.

How the tattoo became fashionable in Victorian England. [LONG READ]

And, oh dear, it seems the codpiece is back in fashion.

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And finally … In Turkey there’s a bee which builds its nests out of flower petals. and they’re stunningly beautiful.

That’s all for now, folks. The Fates permitting, we’ll be back in January. Meanwhile a happy New Year to everyone!

amusements, arts, science

Advent Calendar 24


An Advent Calendar of Notable Scientists
Leonardo da Vinci


Image from Wikipedia

An Italian polymath of the Renaissance whose areas of interest included invention, drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, palaeontology, and cartography. He is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualized flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle, concentrated solar power, an adding machine, and the double hull.

amusements, science

Advent Calendar 23


An Advent Calendar of Notable Scientists
Edmund Halley


Image from Wikipedia

English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena, Halley recorded a transit of Mercury across the Sun, and realised a similar transit of Venus could be used to determine the size of the Solar System. From his September 1682 observations, he used the laws of motion to compute the periodicity of Halley’s Comet in his 1705 Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets; it was named after him upon its predicted return in 1758, which he did not live to see.

amusements, science

Advent Calendar 22


An Advent Calendar of Notable Scientists
Johannes Kepler


Image from Wikipedia

German astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer. He is a key figure in the 17th-century scientific revolution, best known for his laws of planetary motion, and his books Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae. These works also provided one of the foundations for Newton’s theory of universal gravitation.