Category Archives: Science

Scientific Illiteracy

Scientific Illiteracy and the Partisan Takeover of Biology by Liza Gross, Public Library of Science:

Since 1979, the proportion of scientifically literate adults has doubled—to a paltry 17%. The rest are not savvy enough to understand the science section of The New York Times or other science media pitched at a similar level. As disgracefully low as the rate of adult scientific literacy in the United States may be, Miller found even lower rates in Canada, Europe, and Japan—a result he attributes primarily to lower university enrollments.

While the 17% figure does not amaze me I am surprised that the scientific literacy has doubled since 1979.

A comparison of science education achievement: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (TIMSS), Average science scale scores of eighth-grade students, by country (2003), top 13 shown below:
Continue reading →

Two Butterfly Species Evolved Into Third

Butterfly photo

Two Butterfly Species Evolved Into Third, Study Finds by James Owen, National Geographic News:

Researchers say their creation reveals a process called hybrid speciation, in which the genes of two existing species combine to produce a third.

The study suggests hybridization may be more important to the evolution of new animals than had previously been thought.

Hybrids such as the mule, a cross between a donkey and a horse, are sterile. But the team says the butterfly hybrid brought together a combination of genes that allowed it to breed and there be considered a new species.

Biological Molecular Motors

bio

Image: The biomolecular portal motor of bacteriophage PHI-29 (yellow) compresses the coiled DNA into the viral capsid at 6,000 times its normal pressure. (courtesy the Bustamante group)

Start Your Protein Engines by David Pescovitz:

Oster and his research group investigate the physics and chemistry behind great engineering mysteries of the natural world, from protein motors to cell motility to how bacteria form thriving populations that aren’t so different from ant colonies, or even human societies.
…
Working with UC Berkeley professor Carlos Bustamante, researchers have also studied the motor that packs a virus’s DNA so tightly that it can be injected into a hijacked cell at ten times the pressure of a cork shooting out of a champagne bottle. And they’ve modeled the donut-shaped molecular motors that move along DNA strands during replication.

In the closing paragraph Dr. Oster is quoted on the use of models, which reminds me a the quote from Dr. George Box: All models are wrong, some are useful.

Other articles from from the most recent ScienceMatters@Berkeley: The New New Math of String Theory and Molecular Rules Of Engagement. Also see previous article: The Cellular Mechanic.

Canadian Association for Girls In Science

Canadian Association for Girls In Science (CAGIS)

CAGIS chapter members, aged 7-16, meet monthly to explore STEM with fun, hands-on activities led by women and men specializing in many different fields. Since CAGIS is for girls by girls, members are encouraged to take an active role in the development of their own club by voicing their opinions, exploring their interests, writing for the newsletter, writing for New Moon Magazine, and helping to organize the regular chapter events.

Article on the founder of CAGIS, Larissa Vingilis-Jaremko (in photo): Life sciences student honoured for promoting science to girls:

Curious Cat directory of science and engineering educaiton web sites

International Fulbright Science and Technology Award

The International Fulbright Science and Technology award offers 25 awards for non-USA citizens to study science and engineering in the United States. The deadline for application is 1 September 2006 (though some sources give different dates): apply online. This is the first year this award has been offered.

Eligible fields include: Aeronautics and Aeronautical Engineering, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering (computer, electrical, chemical, civil, environmental, materials, mechanical, ocean, and petroleum), Environmental Science, Geology and Atmospheric Sciences, Information Sciences, Materials Science, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Oceanography, and Physics.

I can’t find any information on it on the main state department or fulbright scholar sites. But there are a number of embassy sites that mention it and an article from Barbados.

New Fulbright Scholarship in Science and Technology
Informaiton from the USA embassy in Aman Jordan:
All grantees receive tuition, a monthly stipend for up to 36 months, health and accident coverage, a book and equipment allowance, research allowance, professional conference allowance, travel support, and specially tailored enrichment activities. After three years, U.S. universities will be expected to cover the remaining expenses toward completion of a PhD.
Information from the United States Embassy in Romania
Information from the United States Embassy in Uganda

Science and Engineering Podcasts

Engines Of Our Ingenuity hosted by John Lienhard, University of Houston’s College of Engineering, (podcasts via NPR).

A complete history, with transcripts and audio of the over 2,000 episodes, is online – episodes include:

(from 1990)

Thomas Jefferson, the generous Colonial American engineer

This is a great resource. “The Engines of Our Ingenuity tells the story of how our culture is formed by human creativity. he program uses the record of history to reveal the way art, technology, and ideas have shaped us.”

More NPR Technology podcasts

The Science of the Football Swerve

With the World Cup (football – soccer) underway lets look at The science behind the swerve by Dr Ken Bray:

It took the modern science of fluid dynamics to understand exactly what happens in a swerving free kick. When a football moves through the air at low speed the air flow separates from its surface at characteristic points…

When the ball rotates – see graphic 3 – the boundary layer remains tripped but the air flow separation around the ball is distorted. Separation occurs earlier on the side rotating against the flow and later on the side rotating in the same sense as the flow. This causes a pressure differential and a deflecting force which is responsible for moving the ball in the air in a free kick.

Art of Science 2006

Seahorse

2006 Art of Science exhibition from Princeton University has many amazing images.

Image: “created in Photoshop to illustrate the vertebral column of the genus Hippocampus. While most fish have scales, seahorses have bony plates over which a thin layer of skin is stretched. Seahorses are vertebrates and thus have a vertebral column that runs through the center of their body and the center of their prehensile tail.” – larger view

National Spherical Torus Experiment

Photo: The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is an innovative magnetic fusion device that was constructed by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Columbia University, and the University of Washington at Seattle. This image is of the interior of the experiment showing the protective carbon tiles and the central column. Various diagnostics are mounted at the midplane. larger view

See the full gallery of images and movies. Previous post: Art of Science at Princeton.

Ocean Life – photos and videos

Basic Science Research Funding

Excellent summary from the European Union.

National Basic Research Program of China

America’s economy is losing its competitive edge and Washington hasn’t noticed by Benjamin Wallace-Wells

For decades, the United States ranked first in the world in the percentage of its GDP devoted to scientific research; now, we’ve dropped behind Japan, Korea, Israel, Sweden, and Finland. The number of scientific papers published by Americans peaked in 1992 and has fallen 10 percent; a decade ago, the United States led the world in scientific publications, but now it trails Europe. For two centuries, a higher proportion of Americans had gone to university than have citizens of any other country; now several nations in Asia and Europe have caught up.

The Emergence of China as a Leading Nation in Science by Ping Zhoua and Loet Leydesdorff:

China has become the fifth leading nation in terms of its share of the world’s scientific publications. The citation rate of papers with a Chinese address for the corresponding author also exhibits exponential growth.

Applied Research

Steven Freilich leads a team working on next-generation TV and computer screens, examines a thermal color filter.

Photo: Steven Freilich examines a thermal color filter.

DuPont’s new path: research with results by Gary Haber:

Gone are the days when legions of DuPont scientists in the company’s Central Research and Development department could spend careers in blue-sky research that might never result in a product. The mantra at DuPont now is that research produces things customers will buy.

“To be effective, you start with the marketplace,” said Kwaku Temeng, a DuPont marketer who works with Central Research scientists to help them focus on commercial targets. “You find a problem and then bring the science to bear on it.”

It seems companies are less willing to do basic research. Still successful companies also see an oportunity in taking advantage of their competitors limited research: Microsoft Research, Honda Research, NTT.

But overall companies do not fund huge investments in basic research. Governments are funding basic research. China and Japan have been increasing funding recently. Foundations are also taking the lead in some cases: Howard Hughes Medical Institute.