Bookworm

Short-Sighted Leadership?

"It is great to see that we finally have some national unity on energy policy. Unfortunately, the unifying idea is so ridiculous, so unworthy of the people aspiring to lead our nation, it takes your breath away. Hillary Clinton has decided to line up with John McCain in pushing to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for this summer’s travel season. This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks. What a way to build our country. . .

But here’s what’s scary: our problem is so much worse than you think. We have no energy strategy. If you are going to use tax policy to shape energy strategy then you want to raise taxes on the things you want to discourage — gasoline consumption and gas-guzzling cars — and you want to lower taxes on the things you want to encourage — new, renewable energy technologies. We are doing just the opposite."

~ Thomas Friedman, New York Times

Yawning Contagion

Why Is Yawning Contagious? No one knows for sure, but a study published in a recent issue of the journal Cognitive Brain Research theorizes that yawning in response to someone else’s yawn may be an empathetic response, similar to laughter. “A yawn can be triggered not only by seeing a person yawn but also by hearing, reading about, or even just thinking about yawns,” says Steven Platek, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Drexel University, in Philadelphia, who directed the research. Platek and his colleagues believe that contagious yawning may be a primitive way of modeling our feelings after other people’s. [12 Health Mysteries Explained; RealSimple.com]

I just yawned twice while reading this information?  You? 

Element 118

"A team of Russian and American scientists said yesterday that it had created the heaviest element ever seen in a laboratory, a dab of matter that lasted for less than one-thousandth of a second but would add an entry at the farthest reaches of the periodic table and suggest that strange new elements may lie beyond. By convention, the substance remains the Baby Doe of elements until its existence is confirmed at other laboratories. For now, the new substance will be principally known as element 118 for the number of protons in its nucleus, more than in any other element occurring naturally or produced in the laboratory." [NY Times]

Babies' Cells Linger, May Protect Mothers

"Some scientists have proposed that when a woman has a baby, she gets not just a son or a daughter, but a gift of cells that stays behind and protects her for the rest of her life. That's because a baby's cells linger in its mom's body for decades and -- like stem cells -- may help to repair damage when she gets sick. It's such an enticing idea that even the scientists who came up with the idea worry that it may be too beautiful to be true." [NPR]

It's scientific work that could prove what I feel -- my daughter, having once been physically attached to me, housed within me, is no less connected now that she lives and thrives independently, outside my body.  She will figuratively (and according to this research perhaps physically) always be a part of me.

Barbara Crafton writes, "Twice I heard it on the radio, and stopped what I was doing to listen, each time with a peace inside that I have not known before: mothers carry cells from their babies even after the babies are born. Years after. Decades after, even, some of the babies' cells live within us still. They may function in something of the same way that stem cells function, applying their reproductive powers to replace cells killed by disease. They may rush to the place where disease has invaded to help us fight it. It is true of all babies, not just live births. Stillborn babies' cells live on in their mothers. Miscarried babies, aborted babies. All of them, no matter how many there were: at a cellular level, they still are."

If you want to read some of the science, here's an abstract of an article by one of the researchers working in this area.  There is a button to click for the full text article, if you are interested.

Francis Crick, Co-Discoverer of DNA, Dies at 88

"Francis H. C. Crick, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, the genetic blueprint for life, and the leading molecular biologist of his age, died on Wednesday night in a hospital in San Diego. He was 88. . . Dr. Crick laid the foundations of molecular biology in a sustained burst of creativity that began in 1953 with the discovery of the structure of DNA, the hereditary material, in Cambridge, England, and ended about 13 years later with the subject's primary problems solved, most of them either by Dr. Crick or by scientists in his circle. The discovery of the structure of DNA resolved longstanding questions about the nature of the hereditary material and the manner in which it is copied as one generation succeeds another. The proposal for the structure, almost immediately accepted, was electrifying to scientists not only because of its inherent elegance but also because it showed how biology, evolution and the nature of life itself could ultimately be explained in terms of physics and chemistry." [NY Times]

Researchers Make Cloning Breakthrough

Whether you are in favor of this type of scientific research or against it, this is a noteworthy breakthrough. "Researchers in South Korea have become the first to successfully clone a human embryo, and then cull from it master stem cells that many doctors consider key to one day creating customized cures for diabetes, Parkinson's and other diseases." [AP/Yahoo]

I Love NASA pictures

Cool picture of Jupiter

Stunning Images

These NASA images are amazing. I just put the Western Hemisphere image as my wallpaper -- a small use for such a glorious picture. [found via A Complete Waste of Time]

Columbia: Most Recent Overview of What is Known

"The event that doomed the shuttle may have taken just two-tenths of a second, with the impact 81.86 seconds after liftoff. That is how long it took a chunk of foam to cover about 60 feet, between the spot on the external tank called the bipod ramp, up near the Columbia's nose, and the panel on the left wing where the chunk hit and probably punched a hole. The shuttle was at 65,860 feet, and was already traveling 2.46 times as fast as the speed of sound." [NY Times]

Not meaning to dwell on this particular topic. . . there've just been some interesting articles within the last week.

More Information About Columbia

In what must be another hard piece of information for the families of the crew members to hear, the Times reports that "[t]he Columbia astronauts lived for almost a minute after their final communication with mission control, well after signs that the craft was in serious trouble."

I was interested to read about a new escape option added to the shuttle fleet after the Challenger explosion, "a horizontal pole. . . that could slide out of the side of the shuttle like a telescoping antenna. The idea was to allow astronauts to put on parachutes, slide along the pole and then float to earth. But the system requires the shuttle to be far lower and slower than the Columbia was at the time of the breakup. Using it would also require a tough decision, since bailing out has its own risks and requires sacrificing the orbiter." [NY Times]

The question that will never be answered is what the crew of Columbia would have done differently, had they known more about the damage done to the shuttle by the foam insulation. Would they have attempted a space walk to determine the extent of the damage? They certainly would have had an opportunity to say or write final words to loved ones in the event that they did not survive re-entry.