Tomorrow sees the start of the History of Science Society annual meeting which this year is unfortunately in Phoenix. Because it’s a home game so to speak, ASU doesn’t pay for the essential hotel room, so this one is costing me a lot. That said, I’ve finished my slides for my talk on St. George Jackson Mivart, and am ready for some serious meetings and general conviviality.
History of Science Society meeting
November 18, 2009
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Today’s 419 E-mail
November 17, 2009This made me laugh:
My name is Mrs Jane Kanu . I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, I am married to Mr.Jeff kanu. director J.C Industries Cote d’Ivoire.We were married for 36 years without a child. He died after a Cardiac Arteries Operation.
And Recently, My Doctor told me that I would not last for the next six months due to my cancer problem (cancer of the lever and stroke).
Apparently cancer of the lever and stroke is a very common disease. As those nice folks at Landover Baptist note:
While I’m not familiar with cancer of the “lever,” it sounds just dreadful. One can only wonder what horrible deed you committed to tick off the Lord so badly that he gave you cancer of an organ that doesn’t even exist.
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Who knew leopard seals were friendly
November 17, 2009
After seeing these photos, I ran into the video above. As the YouTube blurb explains:
National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen shares the incredible story of his personal encounter with a predatory leopard seal in the frigid waters of the Antarctic. These photographs–and many more–appear in his book, Polar Obsession. Available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/books.
Amazing stuff. I guess I never realized how big Leopard Seals actually are.
(HT to Zooillogix)
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Risk Factors Associated With Deformational Plagiocephaly
November 17, 2009Catchy title, eh? It is actually the title of a paper in Pediatrics that I co-wrote with one of my honors students, Jessica Joganic. Best part of all is that it stemmed from her honors thesis. Even better is that Reuters has picked up the story. Here’s the summary:
Objective This study was designed to statistically evaluate the independent and interacting effects of biological and environmental risk factors that influence lateralization of deformational plagiocephaly (DP) in an attempt to provide future guidance for clinical treatment.
Methods A database of >20000 children treated for DP was examined by using 2- and 3-way factor analyses for categorical frequency data, representing the largest statistical analysis of DP to date. Data on parity, zygosity, intrauterine presentation, birth number and weight, sleep position, lateralization, and sex were collected from parents of children with DP who were treated at Cranial Technologies, Inc, from 1990 to 2007.
Results As with most DP studies, male patients were significantly overrepresented. Nonetheless, after statistically accounting for sex in our analyses, DP is significantly correlated with primiparity, fewer vertex but more breech and transverse intrauterine presentations, twinning (specifically, dizygosity), and, finally, right-sided lateralization. Additional analyses revealed that several factors correlated with DP, such as intrauterine presentation, sleep position, and lateralization, are not easily explained by an underlying biological factor. Instead, sleep position was the single greatest predictor of lateralization.
Conclusion Although previous studies have argued for both environmental and underlying biological factors associated with DP, we found that lateralization in children with DP could be largely explained by environmental factors such as sleep position.
The full paper is online for those with access (doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2969).
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Coming on Friday Nov 27th …
November 15, 2009Our poll to find the successor to the Friday Felid has been running for four days, so I guess it is time to announce the results. After 70 votes being cast, we had a dead-heat between the falcons and the cetaceans. Rather than have a run-off vote, I used executive privilege and chose …
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Smalleye stingray
November 15, 2009
First ever footage of smalleye stingray (Dasyatis microps).
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Following the Friday Felid with …
November 11, 2009The Friday Felid ended a month back and we’re looking for a replacement. I asked the readers and got some suggestions. Now y’all get to choose. There’s a poll below – vote early and have your say and bear in mind that you can vote for more than one option.
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Brief review: Birds of Western/Eastern North America
November 11, 2009
Those nice folks at Princeton University Press sent me copies of Sterry & Small’s two new photographic bird guides (Birds of Western North America and Birds of Eastern North America ) and I must say I’m impressed.
I’ve been bird watching (in Europe and the US) for over thirty years and as much as I like my Sibley, I’ve always had a soft-spot for photographic guides and these guides are exemplary. While they don’t cover every species or variant, they offer relatively large and clear photos of many of the species that an intermediate birder is likely to encounter in North America. Two or three species are covered in in each two-page spread with information on the left-hand side and beautiful, clear, photographs on the right. Clear up-to-date distribution maps are provided using data from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. The text offers observation guidelines, voice descriptions, information on status and habitat, as well as observation tips which often direct the reader to specific areas and locales to maximize their chance of observation. Some of these tips are somewhat wry – we are, for example, told that pigeons are “a positive benefit to urban Peregrine Falcons”!
I have always felt that a vital first step in birdwatching is to familiarize yourself with the shape, color and form of the species in an area before going into the field. These guides are a wonderful tool for just that, and they are a pleasure to browse. As I haven’t yet used them in the field, I cannot comment on their utility, but I do intend to keep them in my car for use as I travel across this country. Highly recommended even if you don’t intend to actively watch for birds.
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Posted by John M. Lynch
> sudo rm microsoft … please?
November 11, 2009
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Posted by John M. Lynch
The Center of our Galaxy
November 10, 2009
Just this morning I was lecturing about the history of the big bang theory and (by way of a tangent) mentioned how technology has allowed us see things that we could not have imagined – I specifically used a contrast between Messier’s view of his deep sky objects and the views we now have because of the HST and other systems. Above (by way of Phil Plaitt) is a composite image of the center of our galaxy – near-infrared from the HST, infrared from Spitzer, and X-ray from Chandra. Wander over to Phil’s place to read his (as always) wonderful explanation of the image. I’d like the highlight the following which very much encapsulates what I wanted my students to realize:
But this is home for us. It’s a place of unimaginable fury but also astonishing beauty… and we see it now as we do because we have dared to examine the world around us, to use tools we invent to peer closer, to magnify the tiny, to extend our eyes into realms we once didn’t even know existed. And every time we do — every single time — we find more questions, more puzzles, more things to examine.
It’s at times like this you truly see the wonder of science.
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Posted by John M. Lynch
The gift that keeps on giving – i.e. The Rapture v4.0
November 8, 2009
As PZ notes, at least we’re moving on to conditional statements, unlike on September 22 and October 20. By now you should know the source.
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Posted by John M. Lynch
The World Is A Beautiful Place
November 7, 2009The world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t mind happiness
not always being
so very much fun
if you don’t mind a touch of hell
now and then
just when everything is fine
because even in heaven
they don’t sing
all the time
The world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t mind some people dying
all the time
or maybe only starving
some of the time
which isn’t half bad
if it isn’t you
Oh the world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t much mind
a few dead minds
in the higher places
or a bomb or two
now and then
in your upturned faces
or such other improprieties
as our Name Brand society
is prey to
with its men of distinction
and its men of extinction
and its priests
and other patrolmen
and its various segregations
and congressional investigations
and other constipations
that our fool flesh
is heir to
Yes the world is the best place of all
for a lot of such things as
making the fun scene
and making the love scene
and making the sad scene
and singing low songs and having inspirations
and walking around
looking at everything
and smelling flowers
and goosing statues
and even thinking
and kissing people and
making babies and wearing pants
and waving hats and
dancing
and going swimming in rivers
on picnics
in the middle of the summer
and just generally
‘living it up’
Yes
but then right in the middle of it
comes the smiling
mortician
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Let’s hear it for Honey and hope for the best
November 7, 2009
I post this story just because African Hunting Dogs are my favorite animal … and also that of my daughter who in summer 2008 helped make enrichment feeders for the three males here at the Phoenix Zoo. Mother gives birth to nine pups and unfortunately dies – a surrogate named “Honey” takes over. Here’s hoping the pups – who normally have a 50% mortality in captivity – can make it through.
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Posted by John M. Lynch
It has nothing to do with religion … honest!
November 6, 2009
Dembski “uses the Bible” to illustrate a scientific point. From here:
After a time of musical praise and worship, Dembski took the stage and began a clear, concise analysis of the necessity for Intelligent Design studies. He highlighted the similarities and differences between Intelligent Design and Creation Theory and explained why there was a need for both and how science and religion go hand in hand. Dembski’s investigative research and insightful lecture was met with appreciative applause as he concluded with prayer. … The topics that Dembski discussed at The Baptist College of Florida were grounded in Biblical faith and doctrine ranging from Darwinism to Information Theory.
HT to John Pieret
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Posted by John M. Lynch
Some Thoughts on Historians and Contemporary Anti-evolutionism.
November 6, 2009The following has appeared in the October edition of the Newsletter of the History of Science Society. It appears here so as to allow comment and discussion on the issues raised.
In a recent book review for The British Journal for the History of Science, Thomas Dixon asks what contribution historians of science can make to the debate about intelligent design (ID). As myself and others noted in a 2008 Isis Focus article, historians have many opportunities to make contributions to this most public of debates, yet our community has largely resisted the Siren’s call of engagement with creationism. In this brief note, I would like to offer some thoughts on current creationist tactics with regards the history of science and hopefully inspire some readers to engage in this significant debate.
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Posted by John M. Lynch
