Science Fact: GMO, genetically modified organisms, are a hot topic for many people. Kiwifruit grows strictly with conventional farming – totally non-GMO – yet the growers take advantage of modern genetic technology. How can this be? It’s an interesting story … Continue reading
Category Archives: News
Science Fact: Self, who I am, seems so obvious that we take it as a given. But what happens when we lose a part of self? Concussion, disease, accidents can happen to anyone. Is self just an accident, a word we … Continue reading
Science Fact: Flight 370 teaches sad lessons about the limitations of science in the real world. Before the Maylasia Airlines Boeing 777-200 dropped off the map in the wee hours of March 8, 2014, it seemed that nothing could be … Continue reading
Science Fact: Hospital infection poses a deadly risk to every patient. One in twenty-five U.S. patients acquires a hospital infection. Alarmingly, 100,000 patients per year die as a result. The longer you are under care, the greater the risk that instead of … Continue reading
Science Fact: Nerds have graduated in recent times from being a reviled social group to an exclusive club. Nerds are certainly not “hot” (except perhaps for BBT’s Sheldon). However, their role in creating iPhone apps and their earning potential have enhanced … Continue reading
Science Fact: Pets are a big part of life in the United States. Most visible are the 96 million cats and 83 million dogs that live in our households. But many families have other animals that they consider to be … Continue reading
Science Fact: Superstition is a strong force in people’s lives today, despite the ubiquitous presence of science and technology. For example, professional athletes are superstitious about their warm-up rituals, their clothing, their accessories, even what they say and do. Sports … Continue reading
Science Fact: Sensory Evaluation gives a scientifically sound way to measure almost indescribable sensations. Today the subject is what you hear in a concert hall with “acoustic,” that is, unamplified music, such as a singer with an acoustic guitar, a … Continue reading
Science Fact: Sensory Evaluation goes beyond tasting or smelling or hearing: it implies scoring, grading, in fact, measurement. The senses are inherently personal. For example, it’s been shown that different people taste foods and see colors quite differently. Therefore scientists have … Continue reading
My mystery novel Death By Probability by Urno Barthel (my fiction-writing pen name) has been published! In it, the peaceful life of a research scientist is disrupted by terror and murder. The mystery novel is currently available in five formats … Continue reading
Science Fact: Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is also the leading cause of disability in the United States, followed closely by back or spine problems. More than one in five U.S. adults suffer from disability, a number that … Continue reading
Science Fact: Crocodiles and Alligators – Crocodilians some would call them – have revealed one of the deep secrets that have made them so successful. A Russian-American zoologist and author, Vladimir Dinets, and his colleagues observed both crocodiles and alligators placing … Continue reading
Science Fact: Women scientists are readily found in biology, medicine and the social sciences. However, they are scarce in math, physics and engineering. You don’t have to be a feminist to be troubled by this fact. People’s skills differ, and … Continue reading
Science Fact: The Sinkhole has joined the Big Three S’s – Sunshine, Shoreline and Storms – as a hallmark of Florida. But wherever you live, there may be a gigantic sinkhole beneath you, licking its chops, ready to inhale you … Continue reading
Science Fact: Nuts are good for your health, so we hear. Is that science, marketing or just nuttiness? At last, we have a way to find out. Let’s push aside the marketeers. And ignore the health food cultists, who may … Continue reading
If you’re interested in technology, you’ll enjoy reading this week’s New Yorker Magazine. It’s the November 25, 2013 issue and has not one but two long science articles. They’re so well-written that I don’t feel a need to comment, except … Continue reading
Science Fact: Gaze tracking reveals exactly what you’re looking at, through the combined magic of video imaging and computer analysis. And researchers have used this very accurate measurement technique to confirm the truth of one of women’s peeves: the man you … Continue reading
Science Fact: The Chinese used ice sledges for transporting immense stones for construction. The sledges offer new understanding concerning the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The rulers of China first built The Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty, … Continue reading
Science Fact: Why do we sleep? And what is sleep, anyway? In Greek mythology, Hypnos, the god of Sleep, is half-brother to Thanatos, who represents Death. And Shakespeare’s Hamlet fears death as a nightmare from which you cannot escape. Yet sleep … Continue reading
Note added May 17, 2023: This blog page is one of those most highly visited on the artchester.net website. Readers regularly contact me asking how they can arrange a similar service for a loved one. If this is a quest … Continue reading