More links to items of interest which you may have missed. Quite a science based set this time, although again none of it too deep that non-scientists will get totally lost!
To start off this holiday season, what causes the scent of the sea? And no, it isn’t ozone as everyone believes!
Quickly followed by a quick look at the chemistry of
insect repellents.
From insect pests to bacterial pests … A new study suggests that culling badgers is going to have next to no effect on
bovine TB and the only way to constrain it is with mass culls of cattle. Sadly there’s probably zero chance the politicians will listen.
Following on from which George Monbiot is (quite rightly) scathing about the way the government is attempting to
prevent the reintroduction of wildlife to the UK by using the Infrastructure Bill currently before parliament.
And here’s a piece on how we need to change the way we produce food if we are to be able to feed the ever increasing world population. Basically the whole
global food narrative has to change because the current one, even with known tweaks, won’t work!
While we’re on food, here is a piece
debunking ten common claims about genetically-modified crops. Yes, I understand the science, but I’m still not entirely comfortable with GMOs.
More food … This time it’s cheese, and a look at the work going on to understand the complex web of
bacteria and fungi which turn milk into different types of cheese.
An important article looking at how we have to
understand the statistical basis for evaluating actions (medical, social
etc.). We have to measure their effectiveness against the background expected death rate (say), rather than against zero deaths.
[Trigger warning, especially for those who may have had miscarriages
etc.]
Now let’s slide quietly into the medical arena with a look at the
human placenta and the work that is going on to really understand it’s complexity and involvement in gestational and neonatal problems.
Here’s another important piece by the ever-excellent Prof Alice Roberts on how some
hormonal contraceptives might be making PMS worse. And apparently this is something many women and lots of GPs do not understand well enough.
Here are
twenty things you didn’t know about teeth.
And still on things medical, an interesting article by Carl Zimmer on the mysteries surrounding
human blood groups and why we have them.
Now how’s this for a piece of lateral thinking? … A team of scientists are working on a system to use
bubble wrap for conducting cheap blood and bacterial tests out in the field, away from the pathology lab, and where cost is a major issue.
The
modern bathroom is a wasteful and unhealthy design. But it seems to stay that way because it is space efficient.
So at last we slide into psychology with an article on why the much hated
Myers-Briggs test of personality types is totally meaningless.
I don’t pretend to understand Islam, so I found this infographic on the relationship between the various
Islamic Sects very illuminating. Now will someone please do the same for Christianity and Buddhism.
And finally … A group of physicists and mathematicians are using mathematical tools to look at the complex
social relations in the Icelandic Sagas (as well as other texts) and finding new things that literature specialists haven’t been able to unravel.
Went to the local Healthwatch AGM on Tuesday. Overall a good meeting, with an excellent facilitated session (for 100-ish people) on Healthwatch priorities for the next year — lots of good input and not too many time-wasters. Hopefully I’ll get to see the results and help set the top priorities next week. Had a well-deserved pizza and beer after the meeting — can’t remember when I last had pizza!
While the warmth of the weather is lovely, I don’t like the humidity, which does somewhat take the starch out of one. And despite the nice weather for some reason I can’t fathom I’ve been struggling more than usual with depression for the last few weeks. Hard to get off my rear-end and do anything. (Well, OK, no change there!) But of course the humidity isn’t helping; nor are my arthritic knees. Must keep doing, though. Must not rust up.