Good or Bad?

"Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong."
- Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

I think the scientific community is a confused lot. Every now and then they publish some research which is contradictory to past publications. Prime examples:

• Is alcohol good or bad?
• Is coffee/tea good or bad?
• Is chocolate good or bad?
• Is egg/chicken good or bad?
• Is milk good or bad?
• Is chicken good or bad?
• Is sex good or bad?
• Are birth control pills good or bad?

And many more like chillies, cannabis, extra-fat, maggi and what not! I understand that there is a continuing research and much more needs to be discovered. Our collective knowledge keeps evolving and gets updated every now and then. However the opinions of scientific community are considered seriously by the general public and often put into practice.



See the following :

Women who take birth control pills live longer
Vs
Birth control pills cause breast cancer in women

Drinking alcohol helps women stay slim
Vs
Alcohol damages brain

They are just a couple of examples. I hope the scientific community is much more decisive when publishing their research. The "cans and mights" should give way to "wills and should" ;)

A Frog and the Princess

"Before you find your handsome prince, you've got to kiss a lot of frogs." - Dutch Proverb

We all have heard the story about the frog who upon being kissed by the princess magically transforms into a handsome prince. I bet many other frogs rode out of their holes that day to fancy their chances.

However they were not so lucky, some had to contend with spending the night on the princess's pillow while others had to endure being smashed against the wall.

I am not sure if the frogs were all males, just imagine the princess's disgust when she discovered that her frog-to-be-charming-prince evolved into a princess! Not sure if she had a prior information on gender-identification of a frog. The frog-princess could even consider suing the Princess for gender-based discrimination. Gay right activists could raise a furore over this - take to the streets, march in parades and who knows what.

Meanwhile, biologists at the University of California had a mind of their own. They have managed to turn male frogs into female just with the sprinkle of some holy water. The holy water here contains 2.5 parts per billion (ppb) of Atrazin (a widely used Herbicide). The converted-females have since then mated with other males and produced eggs despite being born a male.

The princess now needs to think twice before kissing a frog =)

Image Credits: Wikipedia

Alan Turing - a side note

"We had gay burglers the other night. They broke in and rearranged the furniture."
Robin Williams.

Ah... these comedians could plummet to any depth. But then what's life without humour -a pile of bread sopped in water, a bowl of cabbage, an insipid tale of mundane running around matters. Humour is the salt of life! But then lets save it for some other day. After a long time I have got some time to reflect and write and so must I.

Alan Turing - the man Winston Churchill dubbed as the single biggest contribution to Allied victory in WWII died in an not-so-honourable way - eating a cyanide laced apple. There's a Hindi saying, "Chirag tale andhera" (below the lamp lies the darkness) - very apt here.

Read on.


Turing - the ' shining-lamp' phase
I first read about Turing during my graduation days. He had an Indian connection - his father was a member of Indian Civil Service. His maternal grandfather was the Chief Engineer of Madras Railways. In fact he was 'conceived' at Chhatrapur, Orissa. He was the hero of WWII- the master code breaker of German Enigma machines. Father of AI, he created the concept of Turing Test to distinguish between humans and robots. In 1999, he was name by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Important People of 20th century.


Turing - the 'darkness-below-the-lamp' phase
So far so good for being a war hero, a celebrated personality (however eccentric), a poineer of computer science, cryptanalyst, mathematician, logician, chemist - we are still finding out. Add another adjective to it - and it all goes in vain - "GAY".

In 1952 Alan Turing was prosecuted for gross indecency. As an alternate to imprisonment, he was injected with female oestrogen hormones and chemically castrated - a known side effect of which was the development of breasts. His security clearance was removed and he wasn't permitted to continue his research with UK government. For two years he loomed between death and despair and finally killed himself by eating the proverbial apple. So much so for his service of the nation (and possibly of humanity). No wonder they forgot to mention this in text books :-)

Honour restored or too late?
Times have changed now - and how! This year after a petition signing campaign to urge the British government to apologize to Alan Turing posthumously, the government has finally relented. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown released a statement two days ago. It described the treatment of Alan Turing as "utterly unfair" and "appalling". It also noted that British government was "deeply sorry" and that Turing "deserved much better".

Ahem.


Image Credits: Wikipedia

Pizza and LHC!

“There is not the slightest indication that energy will ever be obtainable from the atom” - Albert Einstein.

The Large Hadron Collider might have disappointed many nay-sayers around the world. It did not spurn the Doomsday by spinning off 'micro black-holes' that engulf the world but looks like it certainly can cook up a pizza pretty fast.

The 'forward thinking' editors at Sciam made an estimate on how long it will take a LHC to de-frost a pizza. As per the calculations, it would take about 3 * 10 ^(-8) seconds to defrost a pizza. This is about the same time taken by light to travel 1 meter.

Pretty fast, huh?

Image credits : Wikipedia.

Is chocolate bad ?

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."
- Charles M. Schulz

Millions of people, all around the world (including myself) rely on their daily dose of chocolate bar to elevate their moods. It is even reported that melting chocolate is better than a passionate kiss. Part of the pleasure comes from the fact that the melting point of chocolate is slightly lower than human body temperature resulting in the "melting" taste.

Chocolate is considered to be a health food with its high contents of flavonoids considered to be good for heart. Cocoa is known to be an anti-oxidant. Studies have also indicated that small but regular quantities of dark chocolate could lower possibility of heart attack.


But it could all change according to a new study which says that eating chocolates could lead to weaker bones and a greater chance of suffering fracture. According to the study, women who ate chocolate daily had an overall bone density 3.1 per cent lower than those who consumed it less than once a week.

It comes after the British medical journal The Lancet said chocolate could no more be considered a health food as the chocolate manufacturers remove flavonoids because of their bitter taste. As a result, chocolate might end up being just another source for fats and sugars :(

Image Credits : Wikipedia.

Cannabis cure cancer..

I wrote earlier about cannabis doing a lot of harm to lungs. However according to a report at BBC new study reports that they could stop breast cancer in human body.

Cannabidiol or CBD, a compound extracted from cannabis block the activity of genes responsible for aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumor site. The report also suggests that it could act as an alternative to non-toxic chemotherapy.

However the authors of the report were quick to stress that they didn't suggest "people smoke cannabis" : )

Kilo gets lighter...

“The nicest thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from.”
Andrew S. Tannenbaum

Watch out for the weight next time you step out to buy grocery because the kilogram just got a little lighter. "Le Grand K" - the cylinder of platinum & iridium is the only object known to scientists that has a mass of exactly 1 kg. It is the reference object from which the unit of mass is derived. All objects measured in kilograms - grocery to a warship are defined by Le Grand K's mass.


Several copies have been distributed across the world to act as arbiters of mass. They are measured against Le Grand K to ensure the integrity.


Losing some weight
But there is a fluctuation of mass between the sisters with either the Le Grand K losing some mass or others gaining some. However as they all are measured against each other, finding out the "one" is difficult.

Common man can however lay to rest his concerns as the fluctuations are about 50 parts in a billion. Although tiny, the difference is crucial to scientific community as these cylinders act as reference for kilogram.

New standards
As a outcome of the drift scientists are devising new ways of defining the kilogram. The basic idea is to measure kilogram in terms of constants of nature just the way a meter is defined as the distance traveled by light in vacuum in a precise fraction of a second. Another idea may be to redefine the kilogram on the basis of the mass of an atom.

What ever it may be one thing is sure - the small lump of metal in Paris is going to be used for some time to come.


Image Credits: Wikipedia

Big brother is watching you...

According to a news item published in the BBC, citizen surveillance is on the rise. USA and Britain are the countries using state of the art gadgets to keep common people under their watch. The goal is to create a system that will match the facial image of the person with their gait, height, weight and other elements to identify a person instantly. With newer technology, radio waves can be used to find out if anyone is on the other side of the wall and may be their heart and breathing rates as well.

"As you walk through a crowd, we'll be able to track you. These are all things that don't need the cooperation of the individual." said Professor Challapa from Maryland University.

Changed times

Since 9/11 terror attacks are on the rise throughout the globe and countries like US and UK are always on the hit list. Round the clock surveillance gives rise to privacy issues even though it might lead to reduced crime rates. The terror suspects come from various strata of the society often mingling with the unsuspecting crowd making peer to peer surveillance nearly impossible. This system will provide means of non-contact surveillance.

However the public doesn't seem to mind! Opinion polls, both in the US and Britain, say that about 75% of us want more, not less, surveillance.

Most polluted places..

Here's a list of world's top 10 polluted places according to a new study published.

1. Sumgayit, Azerbaijan; Potentially 275,000 affected
2. Linfen, China; Potentially 3m affected
3. Tianying, China; Potentially 140,000 affected
4. Sukinda, India; Potentially 2.6m affected
5. Vapi, India; Potentially 71,000 affected
6. La Oroya, Peru; Potentially 35,000 affected
7. Dzerzhinsk, Russia; Potentially 300,000 affected
8. Norilsk, Russia; Potentially 134,000 affected
9. Chernobyl, Ukraine; Potentially 5.5m affected
10. Kabwe, Zambia; Potentially 255,000 affected

It is interesting to note that developing countries like India, Russia and China figure most prominently in the list assembled by the Blacksmith Institute, a US-based independent environmental group. Click here for the entire story.

Got an answer?

"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." - Lloyd Alexander (American author)


These are some of the interesting unanswered questions - from daily life and experience. Have you got a clue?

• Why is it so much easier to drink a whole pint of beer or orange squash, say, in one go than it is to down a pint of water?
• Why are pears pear-shaped and not spherical like apples?
• What causes cells to stick together in the human body rather than simply falling apart?
• In a worst-case scenario, if one had to eat parts of oneself, which non-organs would be the most nutritious? Nails? Hair? Earwax?
• Do elephants sneeze?
• Do fish get thirsty?
• How many human faces will I, an average person, see in my lifetime?
• Why do humans feel compelled to dance to music and are we the only species that does so?
• How do toothpaste makers get the stripes in toothpaste? And why do they persist until the tube is used up?

Find such questions and many more here..

A kiss...

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. "
-Ingrid Bergman

However a new study at the State University of New York indicates that a kiss can make or break a couple's relationship. The study indicates that women placed more emotional importance on a kiss. Man on the other hand tend to see kissing as a means to an end – SEX.




"The complicated exchange of information that occurs during a kiss may inform evolved, unconscious mechanisms about instances of possible genetic incompatibility," say researchers.

The study was conducted on 1041 college students and consisted of three questionaries measuring kissing preferences, attitudes, styles, and behaviors. The study also indicates that women value kisses throughout a relationship however men place less importance on kissing as a relationship progresses.

Blue for boys, Pink for girls..

"Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions."
- Pablo Picasso

Ever wondered why men prefer blue and women pink?

A marketing gimmick? No... blame it on evolution ! Researchers from University of Newcastle say that pink may have helped women gather ripe fruit, or pick healthy mates. Whereas blue signals natural preference for a clear blue sky and good water source!



In an experiment, 208 young adult men and women were asked to select, as rapidly as possible, their preferred color from pairs of colored rectangles. While the universal favorite color appeared to be blue, when shown a spectrum of hues from red through blue and green to yellow women preferred red.

So next time, remember the color of rose you intend to present to your lady!

Why are ducks the funniest animals?

"For millions of years, In millions of homes,
A man loved a woman, A child it was born,
It learned how to hurt and it learned how to cry,
Like Humans Do!"

thus sang David Byrne in Look into the Eyeball.



But human nature has intrigued researchers, thinkers and philosophers alike over centuries. Some researchers have gone a step ahead and "created" a new discipline called Quirkology. It uses scientific methods to study quirky human behaviour.

Degrees of Quirkiness

1. Whether local suicide rates are related to the amount of country music played on radio?

2. Do vegetables have personality? ( Lemons are seen as dislikable, onions are stupid, and mushrooms are social climbers )

3. Are people named Bob more likely to have a rounder face?

4. Why ducks are the funniest animals?

and so on..

Quirkology - the book!

Prof Richard Wiseman at the University of Hertfordshire has written a book on it titled "Quirkology" which explores "the curious science of everyday life, including the psychology of lying, love, and laughter".

He even invites you to participate in future quirkology experiments here !

Why are we fat ??? - Part 2

Continuing the assault on obesity [and not obese people :)] , is the following article...

For long corpulence has been blamed on too much of eating and too little of exercise. Caloric intake is much more than what could be burnt off by the body. Modern easy-going city lifestyle,lack of physical effort and sports and fat-rich junk food are blamed. Accordingly most of the efforts to reduce obesity have concentrated on addressing the above issues. Eating healthy and staying fit are modern day mantras.



But looks like the obesity researchers are not buying this argument. Insisting that "something" else must have changed in our environment to necessitate such changes, 20 "obesity experts" have come out with 10 most plausible explanations (International Journal of Obesity, DOI: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0803326) for this epidemic. (Obesity has indeed achieved epidemic status in many parts of the world)


Some of the reasons suggested by the experts are:

1. Lack of Sleep.

2. Climate control.

3. Less smoking ( Smoking reduces appetite ! ).

4. Pre natal effects.

5. Heavier people have more children.

6. Demographics ( Some people are fatter than others! )

7. Increased use of drugs.

8. Pollution (looks like you can blame it for everything!).

9. Older parents ( later you conceive, fatter the progeny).

and finally ....

10. Fat people marry fat :)

Hope that now it does not come as a surprise that many of us are fat!

Why are we fat ???

Looks like someone got the answer to the perennial query!

A new study conducted by researchers at Oregon National Primate Research Center, US indicates that in obesity the brain is unaware of body fat!

In both humans and mice, fat cells throughout the body release a hormone called leptin. This hormone controls sensations like appetite and thirst on reaching the brain.



In theory, when fat increases in the body so do levels of leptin, causing a decrease in appetite. But scientists have found that administering leptin does not reliably work to treat obesity. It is because the high fat diet makes the brain insensitive to leptin and hence oblivious of presence of fats.

The experiment conducted on mice surely works up sympathy for those fat human beings out there!

Sleep..

"I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting.",
said Mark Twain.


Albert Einstein, JFK, Winston Churchill, Napoleon, Thomas Edison and Leonardo de Vinci also used to enjoy midday naps. Many of us would agree (or perhaps would want to agree!).

Everybody dreams about a good nap in the middle of the day (My favorite is - under the shade of a tree after a good meal) but have to make-do with sleeping on an armchair in the office. For such sleep enthusiasts, there is good news in store. According to the researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Athens Medical School in Greece - a nap a day keeps the doctor away.

As per their findings published in Archives of Internal Medicine, those who took afternoon siestas of 30 minutes or more at least three times a week had a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease than those who did not. Their study, conducted on 23,681 men and women indicates that regular or occasional naps reduce the risk of death from heart attacks or other heart-related ills by 64 %.

"We all know that the three pillars of health are diet, exercise, and sleep, and, sometimes, people forget about the importance of sleep," said Dr. Alex Chediak , president-elect of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and a University of Miami researcher.

It would be very encouraging if someone could pass on this philosophy to employers all over the world. Please don't forget my boss!