Cathemeral Thinking

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Monday, July 29, 2002 Cats should avoid passive smoking A new study shows that cats subjected to passive smoke from humans are more than twice as likely as other cats to acquire feline lymphoma. The research appears in the August 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. No data is presented on the incidence of cancer in cats who smoke or for those in the presence of cats who smoke. Permalink  4:12:52 PM  Your views [] Why lobsters change colour with cooking British researchers have shown how an anti-oxidant protein beta-crustacyanin (normally blue) interacts with a molecule called astaxanthin (normally orange). The beta-crustacyanin is dominant for live lobsters, binding the astaxanthin in a form that does not contribute to the shell colour. However, when cooked, the beta-crustacyanin lets the astaxanthin unbind and its colour can be seen clearly. The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Yes, I use British/Australian spelling - deal with it.) Permalink  2:44:45 PM  Your views [] Critique of asteroid reporting A must-read article by Robert Roy Britt at Space.com looks at the media reporting of asteroid risks and takes to task the BBC's David Whitehouse. Previous comments on this topic: Asteroid hysteria, Fear not the "armageddon" asteroid Permalink  12:03:23 PM  Your views [] Anti-gravity schemes persist How is it that the Podkletnov anti-gravity scheme is still being discussed? There is no theoretical foundation for it, no reliable experimental evidence for it, some tests that have shown it not to exist... What else do we need? But now Phantom Works in Seattle (which handles Boeing's sensitive programs) is researching it again and they seem to believe it is plausible, reports the BBC. There's a sucker company born every minute... (and we wonder why the dot-com market crashed...) Permalink  9:20:04 AM  Your views [] Fear not the "armageddon" asteroid Now that scientists have had a chance to look twice at asteroid 2002 NT7, they have concluded that it is not a risk to Earth, as some of us expected. The new data was announced over the weekend and the risk summary appears at NASA and NeoDys. Some of the key numbers to look at in those tables are the distance and width. If the distance is greater than the width, we are essentially safe. The probability for impact in 2019, as first conjectured, is now regarded as insignificant and in 2060 is about 3 in a million. Probabilities like this last one are notoriously difficult to interpret in a meaningful way so let's just say that's a pretty small number and not something to lose sleep over. You have to wonder how smart it is for people to blow this story up out of all proportion. Is it the fault of the original scientists who noticed there could be a close call? Perhaps the press officers at their institutions were seeking publicity... Or maybe it was mentioned as a relatively minor point but the media took it and ran. In any case, it doesn't seem very responsible to announce what some people may find is frightening and disturbing when a few extra days (over a timescale of 60 years!) makes all the difference. Permalink  9:15:07 AM  Your views []

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