jtoney
Posts by this author
January 24, 2012
Photo: :The New York Giants in a December 2008 game against the w:Cincinnati Bengals (Flickr tedkerwin)
In 2004, I had a memorable evening dining with NY Giants player Michael Strahan (see "Football Helmet Hits and Brain Injury - What Should Be Done?") With a repeat match of the NY Giants…
January 22, 2012
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach en:Joe Paterno on the sideline during warmups prior to the 2006 Homecoming game versus the University of Illinois on Friday, October 20, 2006.
Joe Paterno at Penn State was one of the most successful, and controversial, football coaches at the University level…
January 19, 2012
A dung beetle performing a dance on top of its dung ball. The little jig apparently helps the pea-brained beetles navigate.
CREDIT: Emily Baird; Baird E, Byrne MJ, Smolka J, Warrant EJ, Dacke M / PLoS ONE
Do you have a favorite animal? Chemist Sir Harold Kroto does. It is the dung beetle. Why?…
January 18, 2012
Can a plant send tweets for water? It is possible, using a "do your own biology" approach.
From Mashable:
From SparkFun:
Botanicalls Kits let plants reach out for human help! They offer a connection to your leafy pal via online Twitter status updates to your mobile phone. When your plant needs…
January 17, 2012
A "holy grail" in spinal injury research is to repair the spinal cord with newly minted nerve cells. This study published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience takes us a major leap forward, with the first evidence that cells from an umbilical cord -- not from a fetus -- can be transformed…
January 16, 2012
MetLife Stadium: NY Giants vs. Washington Redskins, Dec. 18, 2011 (my own photo.)
The New York Giants-Green Bay Packers divisional playoff last night had a whopping 40.1 million viewers, with numerous commercial breaks, some amusing, some annoying, some dull. What is the value of those…
January 16, 2012
Photo by Nicolas Genin.
66ème Festival de Venise (Mostra)
In the touching film "Up in the Air," Ryan Bingham played by George Clooney has an ambition of earning ten million frequent flyer miles, for which he:
receives an instant upgrade: a personally engraved metal card that will allow him to…
January 15, 2012
Photo source, Stephanie Taylor.
Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow, as discussed in my last post has captured America's attention because of spectacular athletic skills and his - some say - shameless display of his religious faith.
Such a public display of piety has brought out mean-spirited…
January 14, 2012
Tim Tebow Foundation
Tim Tebow with Jacob Rainey, one of the many people dealing with health problems Tebow hosted at Broncos games this season.
Photo source.
Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow has become a popular culture phenomenon not only because of his extraordinary athletic skills but…
January 13, 2012
Photo source.
Gender gaps are a persistent challenge in cultures across the globe, whether it is a gap of income or educational achievement. Is it a dream that the gap can be erased?
Researchers at Harvard, MIT and Northwestern University have just published an extraordinary study in Science…
January 12, 2012
The are many reasons not to use recreational drugs and this story is likely one of the scariest.
So called "bath salts," which have nothing to do with bathing, are widely available and legal to acquire. A study that was just published in the journal Orthopedics reveals for the first time a link…
January 10, 2012
Mac Users Guide Flickr Photostream
As a technophile, I do love my iPhone and iPod as portable portals to new media, the web and entertainment. But everything comes at a price. I was reminded of this, starkly, by a brilliant commentary by Mike Daisy, featured recently on NPR's This American Life…
January 8, 2012
Building a résumé that gets an employer's attention is serious business. Most employers need to be convinced that the candidate can be flexible and is an effective communicator. I have reviewed many résumés over the years, and this one is likely the most unusual.
Dr. Michelle Noonan earned a…
January 7, 2012
Photo source.
Young ladies proudly displaying tattoos do not typically bring to mind a neuroscientist or a passionate advocate for science education, but that's the point.
Cara Santa Maria is a science correspondent for The Huffington Post, with the slyly named blog "Talk Nerdy To Me." I…
January 6, 2012
Yes, I am well aware of skeptics of The Huffington Post, especially in coverage of science, medicine and technology. Skepticism is a healthy process in science. So let's look at the facts.
Below is a list of some of the first posts on the new Science section in The Huffington Post - and, in case…
January 6, 2012
Photo source. By Tom Briglia. Dr. Eric Brown from IBM Research preps four members of congress - Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Rush Holt (D-N.J.) - for an exhibition game against IBM's Watson on Monday.
If you had a chance to sit down with Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ…
January 3, 2012
Photo source.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), according to the latest news, may earn the top pick, or second, in the Iowa caucus today for the Republican nomination for President. His numerous public speeches are well covered, but I was curious about his academic work - after all, Rep. Paul holds a B.S. in…
January 1, 2012
Photo source.
Happy New Year's! Today my son and I are anticipating the match between the NY Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, and I am reminded of the risk that all football players accept when they battle on the field. Head injuries are of particular concern because of the quantity and force of…
December 23, 2011
Photo source.
Sometimes science can sound strange, at least until you understand its drive to understand nature at a deeper level. Mayo Clinic researchers wanted to test whether blocking a particular protein would be useful in treating heart failure, and ended up testing elderly dogs on viagra.…
December 22, 2011
When I was an undergraduate student in Chemistry, I was treated to an unforgettable lecture by Prof. Carl Trindel on symmetry in nature. Vi Hart's example takes this concept in a mathematical direction with depth, insight and beauty. Enjoy!
December 21, 2011
Photo source.
Earlier I wrote a post about Prof. Al-Singace, a Bahraini engineer sentenced to life in prison, forced to appeal on September 11. Sadly, another example has emerged of the denial of due process to a scholar, in a region where intellectuals are viewed as a potential threat.
From…
December 20, 2011
Photo source.
With the news of availability of generic Lipitor, a cholesterol lowering drug, sales of the prescription brand have plummeted, as expected. Is generic Lipitor really the same as prescription Lipitor? Consider this:
"Generic drugs are identical to brand name drugs." True or False?…
December 19, 2011
Yes, earning a degree from MIT can be costly. Believe it or not, MIT has been offering free course materials for ten years now. If you're an educator, and you're not familiar with their extraordinary OpenCourseWare, you're missing out. One hundred million people so far have learned from this…
December 17, 2011
Photo source, @mjb's Flicr Photostream (Matthew Bradley)
Prologue:
I have a hypothesis: Newt Gingrich, a provocateur reaching for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, has stated that the "Palestinian people are an invented people" - well, Newt Gingrich, while not an…
December 15, 2011
Nick Swisher, the prospect the traditional scouts and statisticians agreed upon.
After watching the film "Moneyball" with my young son about professional baseball and the struggle to build a strong team on a shoestring budget, I wondered "What really determines a player's salary?"
Is it how…
December 14, 2011
Who couldn't use $135 million? Try this, just for fun, if you're game:
A 2005 U.S. patent with the bland title: "Method for Selecting Lottery Numbers" describes a technique that just might be worth a try:
From the Orange County Register:
There were no tickets sold with all six numbers in…
December 9, 2011
VPAA Corner
Communication between academic administrators, faculty and students has never been easy. Should administrators embrace new media? Should they blog, tweet, post videos on YouTube? Or is it somehow undignified, too familiar?
Not only do I recommend it for Department Chairs, Deans,…
December 9, 2011
Tahrir Square, February 9, 2011. Photo source.
This article was co-authored with Jessica Wyndham, a human rights lawyer.
As we mark Human Rights Day 2011 on December 10, it is impossible to ignore a clear theme that has emerged during the year -- the use, misuse and abuse of technology in…
December 8, 2011
Math is boring, you say? Does your mind drift in math class, leading you to unpredictable paths layed out by doodles? Try some triangular beauty, pretending to do math.
That's the beauty of it. It's not pretending. It's real math. Trust me. Enjoy.
Why more mathematics teachers aren't using…
November 29, 2011
This article was co-authored with Dr. Morad Abou-Sabe', President of the Arab American League of Voters of New Jersey.
CNN's Ivan Watson talks to John King from Cairo about his exclusive interview with Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim. {February 9, 2011}
The Egyptian revolution of January 25th,…