Now on ScienceBlogs: The Galaxy's Biggest Valentine
Jake Young is a MD/PhD student at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC getting a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience. He holds a BS and MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. If a volcano were to erupt Pompei-style in Central Park, his body would be preserved in a scoliotic posture over his lab desk. Archeaologists would later conclude that he spent most of his day training rats to perform tricks, until he went blind building electrical equipment by hand using a dissecting microscope. But, still, he died happy...because science is cool.
Pure Pedantry is a blog about science -- social sciences and otherwise -- as well as academic and scientific culture. No one can live on science alone, so I also like to dwell on pop culture, periodically explore the humanities, and indulge in other types of geeky goodness.
DISCLAIMERS: 1) Jake Young is not a licensed physician (yet). He is merely a medical student. The information published on this site is not intended for use in medical decision-making. Please seek advice from a licensed, medical professional before making any health decisions. 2) The opinions expressed are my own. They do not represent the views of SEED magazine or the educational establishments I currently attend or attended in the past.
December 29, 2006
Category: Cloning
The FDA -- after years of twiddling their thumbs because of the irrational fears of "consumer" groups -- has finally approved cloned food for human consumption: After years of delay, the Food and Drug Administration tentatively concluded yesterday that milk...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 11:23 AM • 11 Comments •
December 28, 2006
Category: Politics
Wired Magazine has the Foot-in-Mouth Awards for 2006. My personal favorite: "They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 10:47 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: Nature vs. Nuture
The Economist has an article that wonders whether new knowledge into neuroscience and more particularly social pathologies will erode our belief in free will. I roll my eyes every time I read an article like this one, mostly because they...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 10:43 AM • 8 Comments •
Category: Poems
Poem of the Week is a bit late because of the holiday, but I think it is worth it. The World Is a Beautiful Place by Lawrence Ferlinghetti The world is a beautiful place to be born into if you...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 8:51 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: Law
A 17-year-old man under suspicion for attempted murder is refusing to have a 9-mm bullet removed from his forehead. Prosecutors claim that the bullet, which is lodged just under the skin, could prove that the man was involved in a...
Posted by Kara Contreary at 8:10 AM • 0 Comments •
December 21, 2006
Category: Blogging
If you hadn't heard yet, Time's Person of the Year is...well...You. The thrust of their argument is that New Media is user-generated media, and sites like blogs, MySpace, and YouTube are changing the way that we create and distribute information....
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 9:42 AM • 5 Comments •
December 20, 2006
Category: Obesity and Heart Disease
This is never going to end: A lawmaker introduced a bill on Tuesday that would make Massachusetts the first U.S. state to ban artificial trans fats from restaurants, closely following New York City's ban of the artery-clogging oils. "We have...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 11:11 AM • 1 Comments •
There is some good stuff on Scienceblogs right now: Evolgen has an article about how the oft quoted 1% genetic difference between chimps and humans may hide much larger differences due to copy number and expression differences. Jonah Lehrer reports...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 10:45 AM • 0 Comments •
Category: Physics
German scientists have created a metamaterial with a negative refractive index for far red light: The trick is to assemble an array of electronic components that resonate with the electric and magnetic fields of the light waves as they pass...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 10:26 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: Reproduction, Birth Control, and Abortion Politics
Americans are not waiting until marriage to have sex: More than nine out of 10 Americans, men and women alike, have had premarital sex, according to a new study. The high rates extend even to women born in the 1940s,...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 10:18 AM • 4 Comments •
