Science Fact: Death By Tech, the second Evan Olsson mystery novel, has just gone to the publisher, Outskirts Press. I hope to have it in paperback and e-book before the end of 2014, and I hope you’ll read and enjoy … Continue reading
Category Archives: News
Science Fact: Stem cell research is in the news again and the news is all good. The latest: stem cell technology can create an entire functioning organ; and can rebuild tissue in…(blare of trumpets, please!)…a human being. We have already … Continue reading
Science Fact: Despotism is one of the world’s most significant inventions. Like other earth-shaking innovations such as the wheel, written language and religion, despotism was independently invented in many lands during the same general period of time. First, however, let’s … Continue reading
Science Fact: Platelets are as necessary to blood as blood is to human life. New research in platelets offers hope for treating cancer, inherited diseases and major surgery. And now platelets also give you a way to invest your money, … Continue reading
Science Fact: Plants listen! They don’t have ears or brains. And they don’t have a nervous system, although they have internal communication systems that may play that kind of a role. Nevertheless, plants listen and react to specific sounds. Let’s … Continue reading
Wine Tasting Wine tasting is a topic that never gets out of date! Those who enjoy wine find tasting to be fun, delicious and sociable. And the wine tasting process itself involves so many dimensions besides smell and taste. Charles … Continue reading
Science Fact: The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus is one of the few historical “facts” that sticks with most people long after they have forgotten the Magna Carta, Beowulf and the invention of the cotton gin. The stickiness of … Continue reading
Science Fact: Robots imitating people is a respected line of research in Japan, and the Japanese lead the world in this area. Getting a robot to do anything is challenging enough, which helps explain why there are many university programs … Continue reading
Science Fact: Diet drinks are in our diet to help us lose weight. The name is misleading, because they don’t help us diet at all. Diet drinks don’t reduce our weight, and they aren’t even very satisfying! Scientists are finding … Continue reading
Science Fact: Popularity imposes a penalty on teenagers: it predisposes them to problems with substance abuse and criminal behavior as young adults. The conflicting demands of having friends and resisting damaging peer influences are at the heart of growing up. … Continue reading
Science Fact: The end of paralysis is the promise, a computer takeover the threat. But the news features sniping by scientists. Who’s in the right, anyway? This is a timely post, because three hours from now there may be a noteworthy public … Continue reading
Science Fact: Handwriting is an educational supertool. It can develop your kids’ fine motor skills as well as their fine thinking skills. And it may even help overcome dyslexia! A New York Times article is the most recent example of a … Continue reading
Science Fact: Rice, wheat, meat. Each is a healthy food, but they are different. Does what we eat affect our ability to innovate? How about what our great-great-(40 greats)-grandparents ate? We might expect a nutritionist or a geneticist to study … Continue reading
Science Fact Politics defeats science whenever we confront highly emotional social issues. STEM education – science, technology, engineering and math – cannot guarantee that we will act rationally. Part 1 of this post described the career opportunities and general technical literacy … Continue reading
Science Fact: STEM education means science, technology, engineering and math. Different from the stem cells this blog featured last week (Part 1 & Part 2) — yet also vital to modern life and health. This post also comes in two parts: Part … Continue reading
Science Fact: Researchers studying stem cells have created life-saving miracles, all while working within society’s legal and ethical limits. Tuesday’s Part 1 related the discovery of stem cells and recognition of their life-saving potential. Today’s Part 2 tells how political … Continue reading
Science Fact: Stem cells have many stories to tell. Depending on the teller, you may hear: – a tale of politics interfering with life-saving medical research; – of babies saved because scientists were not allowed to use fetal tissue; – … Continue reading
Science Fact: Robot life. A creepy-sounding phrase, one that gives us extra reason to be wary of technology. We previously looked at how robots can assist us, specifically as servants or bartenders. This post looks at an interesting push-pull in how … Continue reading
Science Fact: Babies cry at night to keep their parents from having sex. Scheming babies? That’s crazy! Isn’t it? Babies do learn remarkably quickly. Japanese psychologists observed a baby as young as seven months engage in fake crying to get … Continue reading
Goodreads Giveaway was the lead widget in the right margin of this website for the past month. Goodreads is a readers’ website and they offer a great way for a book to find new readers: an author or publisher can offer one … Continue reading