The news has been interesting so far this week. Of course it's only Monday.
On the down side, an AP probe has found a whole complex of things in our drinking water. This includes, but is not limited to, sex hormones, pain killers, anti-epileptics, etc. I found this interesting since waterways in general (as well as farm animals) are a major source of antibiotic resistance. As noted in the link of farm animals, profligate use of antibiotics in feed is considered by many to be the major source of antibiotic resistant pathogens. Next time you go to the doctor, he might refuse to prescribe antibiotics because they might cause antibiotic resistance. It's happened to me. Though the quoted science isn't exactly wrong, the physician is in fact being put in the position of changing treatment to respond to a problem originating in the agricultural industry. The AP probe suggests that now we're inadvertently adding additives to our own "feed" in a way similar to the way we added things to the "feed" of our domestic animals.
On the up side, a bacteria discovered in the Chesapeake Bay might help with ethanol production. Turns out Saccarophagus degradans, a bacteria that likes what other organisms don't, is in part responsible for the degradation of cellulose in the marine environment. Which makes sense if you think about it. All that brush that washes down the rivers into the sea over millions of years goes somewhere. Apparently, a substantial portion is eaten by S. degredans. A company has been made to culture/modify the bacteria so that any dead cellulose can be turned into alcohol. One wonders 1) how the organism decides that cellulose is dead and why all the trees in the world weren't turned into gray goo and 2) if it's limited to cellulose or if it can be used to help solve the problems discovered in the AP probe mentioned above. Regardless, it's pretty hopeful.
Going further afield, an X-ray burst caught by the NASA Swift satellite has suggested a signature of a supernova. Apparently, the X-rays are emitted prior to the visible explosion. I expect this might have implications in understanding the mechanics of how supernovas occur. But regardless, a continuing low cost scan of stellar X-rays gives us warnings of when we might see one and that alone should generate a significant amount of data.
You would think a way of predicting supernovas would be the topper. But not today.
TheWilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) experiment is trying to detect variations in the original Big Bang microwave signature. It's been going on for a bit and now the WMAP group has some interesting conclusions. Nobel Intent has digested it for us here. One of the things determined was a much more accurate universe age (13.7 billion years, +/- 120 million years). The other are physical constraints that must be explained by theory. Sometimes I think the limitations within which a scientist must work are more important that the possibilities.
You would think that would be the topper. But not today.
In the past I've had issues with religion-- some of which I've shared in this blog. However, even groups having the most disparate of opinions can coalesce around a common goal. Given that, I am extremely happy to report the following: in a recent report on the BBC, the Southern Baptist Convention have decided the evidence for the human origin of global warming is "substantial". What's even better is they came to this conclusion for the best of reasons: human stewardship of the planet.
---------------------------------
Links of Interest
Cephalopods
On the down side, an AP probe has found a whole complex of things in our drinking water. This includes, but is not limited to, sex hormones, pain killers, anti-epileptics, etc. I found this interesting since waterways in general (as well as farm animals) are a major source of antibiotic resistance. As noted in the link of farm animals, profligate use of antibiotics in feed is considered by many to be the major source of antibiotic resistant pathogens. Next time you go to the doctor, he might refuse to prescribe antibiotics because they might cause antibiotic resistance. It's happened to me. Though the quoted science isn't exactly wrong, the physician is in fact being put in the position of changing treatment to respond to a problem originating in the agricultural industry. The AP probe suggests that now we're inadvertently adding additives to our own "feed" in a way similar to the way we added things to the "feed" of our domestic animals.
On the up side, a bacteria discovered in the Chesapeake Bay might help with ethanol production. Turns out Saccarophagus degradans, a bacteria that likes what other organisms don't, is in part responsible for the degradation of cellulose in the marine environment. Which makes sense if you think about it. All that brush that washes down the rivers into the sea over millions of years goes somewhere. Apparently, a substantial portion is eaten by S. degredans. A company has been made to culture/modify the bacteria so that any dead cellulose can be turned into alcohol. One wonders 1) how the organism decides that cellulose is dead and why all the trees in the world weren't turned into gray goo and 2) if it's limited to cellulose or if it can be used to help solve the problems discovered in the AP probe mentioned above. Regardless, it's pretty hopeful.
Going further afield, an X-ray burst caught by the NASA Swift satellite has suggested a signature of a supernova. Apparently, the X-rays are emitted prior to the visible explosion. I expect this might have implications in understanding the mechanics of how supernovas occur. But regardless, a continuing low cost scan of stellar X-rays gives us warnings of when we might see one and that alone should generate a significant amount of data.
You would think a way of predicting supernovas would be the topper. But not today.
TheWilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) experiment is trying to detect variations in the original Big Bang microwave signature. It's been going on for a bit and now the WMAP group has some interesting conclusions. Nobel Intent has digested it for us here. One of the things determined was a much more accurate universe age (13.7 billion years, +/- 120 million years). The other are physical constraints that must be explained by theory. Sometimes I think the limitations within which a scientist must work are more important that the possibilities.
You would think that would be the topper. But not today.
In the past I've had issues with religion-- some of which I've shared in this blog. However, even groups having the most disparate of opinions can coalesce around a common goal. Given that, I am extremely happy to report the following: in a recent report on the BBC, the Southern Baptist Convention have decided the evidence for the human origin of global warming is "substantial". What's even better is they came to this conclusion for the best of reasons: human stewardship of the planet.
---------------------------------
Links of Interest
Cephalopods
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment