Observations
Masks and Emasculation: Why Some Men Refuse to Take Safety Precautions
They think it makes them look weak, and avoiding that is evidently more important to them than demonstrating responsible behavior
Blogs
Observations
How a Landmark Physics Paper from the 1970s Uncannily Describes the COVID-19 Pandemic
Phil Anderson’s article “More Is Different” describes how different levels of complexity require new ways of thinking. And as the virus multiplies and spreads, that’s just what the human race desperately needs...
Observations
The Fight against COVID-19 Threatens to Cause Collateral Health Damage
The pandemic is no excuse to abandon chronic disease management and prevention
Recent Posts
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Was climate change behind the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire?
Would-be emperors be warned: your empire is likely to crumble if the rains fail. Climate's role in the rise and fall of China's imperial dynasties has been established by the record in an ancient stalagmite, and now a similar record from a cave near Jerusalem adds climate change to the list of woes that forced a Roman and Byzantine retreat from the region by A.D...
Malaria vaccine shows promising results
An experimental malaria vaccine for babies reduced the chances of developing the mosquito-borne illness by more than half, scientists are reporting today.
Doping at work and in class—Why not?
Doping is a no-no in sports, but there's no rule against it in the classroom or on the job—and that's the way it should stay, doctors and ethicists write in a new commentary urging the safe use of medicines normally prescribed for patients with attention disorders but increasingly used off-label by healthy folks seeking an edge...
Wave power put to the test in California
American research firm SRI International and Japan's Hyper Drive Corporation today are testing the latest generation of their jointly developed buoy-mounted, ocean wave-powered generator off the coast of Santa Cruz, Calif...
Recyclables, the latest recession victim
Oh, the irony.
Right at a time when it appears that Americans are boarding the green-living express en masse, the market for recyclables has plunged – the latest victim of the recession, according to today’s New York Times ...
Are there toxic toys on your holiday gift list?
Out shopping for toys for those special kiddies in your life who have been nice (and even naughty)? Be careful: some of those would-be stocking stuffers may be toxic.
OMG, 'Koobface' worm gets up in the grill of Facebook and MySpace fans
The "Koobface" software worm tormenting Facebook and MySpace users is still going strong, prompting them to download bogus software that infects their computers, sends spam out to their friends and allows hackers to redirect their Web searches...
New LHC report details collider's damage and repair
It's official! The hobbled Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be up and running again by next summer, according to CERN, the European lab for particle physics where the mighty LHC resides...
Warning: A little water can hurt babies—So don't dilute infant formula
Parents beware: diluting infant formula can be deadly. Just ask a cash-strapped Tampa, Fla., woman who, in an attempt to save money and stretch out meals for her hungry five-month-old son, watered down his formula, unwittingly causing a potentially fatal condition known as water intoxication...
Global warming's first mammal victim?
White lemuroid possums—otherwise known as Hemibelideus lemuroides —may have become the first mammal to disappear because of climate change, according to an Australian researcher...
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