Great news, 24 September 2010

I have to admit that this was a bit of a slow week for me, but here is some great news to take with you into the weekend:

1. Scientists have located the off switch in our brains (for sleep that is), this is great news for insomniacs and it all comes down to ATP: U.S. scientist finds the sleep switch in our brain.
2. Todd Reichert from the University of Toronto built a human-powered flying machine based on drawing from Leonardo daVinci; watch the video - it is cool: Human-powered flying machine makes history, says Toronto university.
3. And here is a video of baby seahorses that were born at the London Zoo's aquarium:  Short Sharp Science: What's not to love about baby seahorses?

Have a great weekend.

Terry Fox and his amazing Marathon of Hope

I know that I am going to scoop someone about this, but I feel like this is important.

Terry Fox, for people of a certain age, embodies the belief that one person can make a difference; that one person with a clear goal and defined vision – no matter how lofty or unrealistic it seems to the rest of the world – can do whatever you put your mind to. 


And he also embodies the frailties of the human body and how even when you believe in a thing bigger than yourself, it sometimes becomes something completely different.


If you had survived your battle with cancer, I think you would have been overwhelmed at the difference you have made not only here in Canada, but around the world. I think you would be proud of what you started. 

Here is to 30 years of running the Marathon of Hope. Here is to envisioning a different world, where we conquer cancer.

Believe and make a difference.

And now a few of my favourite words from the man himself: “I'm not a dreamer, and I'm not saying this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles. I have to.”

Great News, 17 Sep 2010

Great News Friday, September 17, 2010:
Hold on to your hats, this has been a great week:

1. I may not have to become an astronaut after all! Starting in 2015, I might be one of the lucky ones: Boeing: Boeing and Space Adventures to Offer Commercial Spaceflight Opportunities.
2. Well yahoo for the ATLAS team at CERN and their work with the Large Hadron Collider: Quark excitement: LHC surpasses rivals for first time - physics-math - 14 September 2010 - New Scientist
3. This is just really cool, NASA is looking at technology for launching a wedge-shaped aircraft horizontally: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/horizontallaunch.html.

Enjoy your weekend!

You know what really grinds my gears.....

1. When newspapers spell bacterial names wrong. Come on, I used to lose 5% on tests and papers if I misspelled them. Seriously, Google it, it takes seconds.
2. The term ‘bugs’ when referring to bacteria. Bugs are things that are creepy and crawly, they are not microscopic organisms. Call them bacteria or even germs, you just sound cooler.
3. When yogurt manufacturers make up cool names for their cool new ‘probiotics’. Really, is that necessary? First of all it’s yogurt, it already has probiotics in it, it’s what makes it yogurt and these bacteria all ready have cool names as it is.
4. I also dislike the word ‘superbug’ when referring to MRSA or VRE for example. Really, these are not some super scary creepy crawling things; they are drug-resistant bacteria. In most cases it’s not even the ‘bug’ that’s super; it’s the drug resistant gene the bacteria has acquired.
5. When the general public believes what celebrities have to say over scientific evidence. Seriously if you are going to believe a former Playboy model but not someone with a Ph.D, then you have some serious issues.

Friday, September 10, 2010

It's Friday and time for some Great News:

1. Move that body, baby. Seriously, and nod your head. Check out the videos, mostly because they made me giggle: These Dance Moves Are Irresistible - ScienceNOW
2. What did your mom always tell you? Well, turns out she was wrong. Kind of: Money can buy you happiness – up to a point - life - 07 September 2010 - New Scientist
3. Superbugs be gone: Locust brains could thwart superbug plagues - health - 06 September 2010 - New Scientist

Happy Friday everyone!

I am a Scientist

Even though I work in a science related industry, I have never claimed to be a scientist and/or researcher, until today. I happened upon this article about a new study declaring that magic mushrooms may indeed lower anxiety and depression in late stage cancer patients.

WOW, that is exciting news! Do we really need to spend money on studies to prove something that we already know? Of course taking magic mushrooms or marijuana will make you feel all warm and fuzzy. I know this from participating in a study myself, a study called “being a teenager”.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for scientific research and studies that discover different ways to treat diseases or ease symptoms. But c’mon people, let’s come up with something new!

Today I declare myself a research scientist and I propose this study.

“Does Vacationing on a Tropical Island Without Whiny Children or Nagging Husbands Decrease Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Women?”

Hmm….

Magic mushrooms may ease anxiety of cancer: Study

Things That We Like

One of my team mates introduced me to a blog on the internet. I haven’t been the same since. In fact I laughed so hard and so long that when I looked into the mirror my face was frozen in a laugh. Not the beautiful Julia Roberts looking laugh either. Oh no, this was a kind of sick animation laugh where it is more horrifying than funny.

Anyway, enjoy Hyperbole and a Half and let me know what you think.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

More Good Avian-Flu News!

Ok, I don't know what this all means, or if it means that I am just watching out for Bird-Flu stories, but there is more good news!


During the last avian flu outbreak, the bottleneck for producing Tamiflu was a shortage of star anise (which contains a precursor required for the production of Tamiflu). Researchers have found that pine and spruce needles contain the same precursor and that it is easily extracted.


Reference: L. N. Gedivinne et al. Foliage extracts of conifers as potential sources for isolation of shikimic and quinic acids, precursors to Tamiflu. American Chemical Society fall meeting, Boston, August 26, 2010.

Great News, 03 September 2010

...and now for some great news. 

1. Chris Hadfield was assigned to an expedition to the International Space Station, and will be the first Canadian to command a spaceship when he becomes Commander of the International Space Station in March 2013.
2. Muscles remember! After my hiatus from the gym, it won't take long for this old body to get back into it's pre... well - pre-everything shape. 
3. Oh Canada! Leave it to us to even think of trying to build a car from cannabis. I am sure that you can use that plant for something else... 

Yay, I love Fridays. 

In my next life

I have a list of things that I will do in my next life. Not a Bucket List really, just a little list of things that I have filed away and would like to be able to say at a cocktail party that I am involved with.

So I present to you my list:

1. In one of my next lives I would like to be able to tell someone that I work at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. I would like to be able to be a part of the team that investigates the next Legionnaire’s Disease-type outbreak and unravel the mystery of how a strange pneumonia spreads through a convention of Legionnaires in Philadelphia.
2. I would really like to be the one to say, “...10...9...8...We have a "go" for main engine start...5...4...3....2....1...Booster ignition...and...LIFTOFF OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY” at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (since my mom won’t let me be an astronaut). I have practiced this. I think I would be very good at it.
3. I would like to be Roberta Bondar’s personal assistant for at least a day. I think that I would be completely exhausted by coffee on the first morning, but how thrilling to just be that close to a true Canadian hero.
4. To be a cryptanalyst who worked on breaking the code of the Enigma cipher; or some modern-day equivalent.
5. I think I would be an excellent motivational speaker. I have a lot of things that I could tell you that would make you feel warm and fuzzy inside (without actually using the words “warm” and “fuzzy”). My only problem is I am painfully shy and do not like public speaking.  And, well – that might be a small problem.

I hope that I have a lot of lives left. I have a lot left to do.