World CO2 levels at record high

According to the data published by the US National Oceanic and Atomspheric Administration (NOAA), the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record high.

Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels in the atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost 40% since the industrial revolution and the highest for at least the last 650,000 years.

The worst part of the news, though is expected, is that the situation is worse than scientists have previously predicated. The Earth is losing its natural ability to soak up CO2 each year.

Climate models assume that about half our future emissions will be re-absorbed by forests and oceans, but the new figures confirm this may be too optimistic. If more of our carbon pollution stays in the atmosphere, it means emissions will have to be cut by more than currently projected to prevent dangerous levels of global warming.

Source: World CO2 levels at record high, scientists warn, guardian.co.uk

Scientific American goes mobile

The Scientific American magazine announced a special online edition that is formatted for mobile device browsing.

http://wap.sciam.com

FYI. Opera Mini, my favorite mobile web browser, just released Opera Mini 4 beta. To view web sites that are not optimized for mobile browsing, use Opera Mini. Check out its demo video and simulator.

Brain-controlled video games

NeuroSky and Emotiv Systems are two US companies that are working on technologies that will allow gamers to control video game characters by thoughts. Central to these technologies is a technique called EEG.

Controlling things by mere thought is a staple of science fiction. That fiction, though, is often based on a real technique known as electroencephalography (EEG). This works by deploying an array of electrodes over a person's scalp and recording surface manifestations of the electrical activity going on under his skull.

How exciting! If it works out, it will be another revolution in the video gaming -- after Nintendo Wii's motion-based game controllers. But don't get too excited, there are many problems need to be solved before we see it in the consumer market.

How scientists should market themselves

In his speech at a recent conference, Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, urge scientists to better market themselves, so that the world might have a better chance to solve hard problems like energy consumption, poverty and global climate change. Many scientists don't value the importance of marketing -- this is a big mistake.

In my experience, successful research projects, especially those with the most profound influence, often require as much effort in building marketing as in conducting research. Scientists can spend years in the research labs and produce ground-breaking results. However, if they can't make the world understand their research, they can't really help the world to progress. This is why Page is urging scientists to budget fundings for marketing and universities to encourage an entrepreneurial research culture.

If you are a scientist, how should you market yourself?

Mummified Bodies On Display -- For Science Or Business?

A little known business in China is modern mummification. In this business, workers, typically medical school students, are hired to clean, cut, dissect, preserve and re-engineer human corpses, preparing them for the international museum exhibition market.

In this New York Times report, the story of a modern mummification business is a controversial one. Western businesses are setting up these shops in China because of little government regulations.

On Understanding Retaliation, Retribution and Revenge

When two people get into a fight, it's always difficult for them to stop. Why? Because the person who received the last punch always want to get even the opponent with an additional punch.



If getting even with your opponent is the end means to stop a fight, in theory it should relatively easy to get two people to stop fighting. Each person just count how many times they have received a punch from their opponent. They should stop fighting when each has received equal number of punches.

However, this is hardly achievable in reality.

A recent study, reported in this NYTimes article, shows that while people think of their own actions as the consequences of what came before, they think of other people’s actions as the causes of what came later.

Is Science More Important Than Arts?

I used to think science is more important than arts -- because it's more likely for a person to make a better living for studying science than arts. As I grow older, I come to appreciate arts and understand its value. I now believe arts is as important as science in moving forward the positive development of humanity.

Sir Ken Robinson gave a great talk on why it is important to encourage creativity (e.g., arts) in children education. He pointed out that the current education is set up to produce workers for an industrial society. In the current system, while students are encouraged think and learn, but often they are not encouraged to be creative.

A US Professor Has The Gene of Genghis Khan

We often learn something new when tracing our family trees. But what's possibility that you are the decedent of Genghis Khan?

Here is a true story.

The first American to be able to claim descent from Genghis Khan has been discovered. He is Thomas R. Robinson, an associate professor of accounting at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.

Dr. Robinson's descent from Genghis Khan emerged in a roundabout way. The Y chromosome of that Mongol emperor was identified in 2003 by geneticists at the University of Oxford in England. Surveying the chromosomes of Asian men, they noticed a distinctive genetic signature in populations from Mongolia to Central Asia. Their common feature was that all but one lay within the borders of the former Mongol empire.

The geneticists concluded that the far-flung Y chromosome must have belonged to Genghis Khan and had become so widespread because of the vigor with which he and his sons labored in their harems, a fact noted by contemporary historians.

This story is interesting not only because of the surprising genetic relationship between a US professor and a 13th century conqueror, but also because it's another real life example that shows the power of modern science. In science, I believe.
Source: In the Body of an Accounting Professor, a Little Bit of the Mongol Horders, NYTimes, June 6, 2006.

No Freedom of Speech for the Climate Researchers

Speak the truth is the responsibility of all scientists. To be able to speak the truth is the basic right of all scientists. According to New York Times, "scientists doing climate research for the federal government say the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming."

Employees and contractors working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with a U.S. Geological Survey scientist working at an NOAA lab, said in interviews that over the past year administration officials have chastised them for speaking on policy questions; removed references to global warming from their reports, news releases and conference Web sites; investigated news leaks; and sometimes urged them to stop speaking to the media altogether. Their accounts indicate that the ideological battle over climate-change research, which first came to light at NASA, is being fought in other federal science agencies as well.

Since I don't have full knowledge about these incidents, it's difficult to say how much truth is in the story. However, it's certain that if the story was truth, it's a "crime" for the White House to prevent scientists from publicly discussing global warming issues.

This subject reminds me of an OnPoint podcast show that I have listened.

1. NASA and Global Warming, OnPoint, NPR, February 03, 2006

Shopping May Prevent Memory Lost

In Chinese culture, there is a belief that playing Mahjong can help elderly to stay alert and prevent memory lost. In the West, experts believe that shopping may also help to prevent memory lost.

"Women not only live longer than men but possibly maintain their brain functions better than most men in part because they shop. While shopping, they are physically active, wandering through stores and carrying parcels. They are mentally active, comparing prices and making choices. And, after completing their shopping, they feel they have accomplished something."

Source: Remember this -- How to prevent and protect your memory and makes it grow, by Marshall Loeb, MarketWatch, March 4, 2006.

Staying in the US after PhD?

In the past, I would not have thought about leaving the US. Given the complex process that I have to go through in order to obtain my US permanent residency, and the growing opportunities in China, recently I do have thoughts about leaving the US.

The truth is that I'm not alone. A recent survey showed that the stay rate for foreign doctorate recipients may be in decline.

CSI Special: DNA Can Predict Your Last Name

I'm a big fan of the TV show CSI. It reminds us the power of science. I know forensic scientists can gather much information about a person from a single DNA sample, but I would never guess that they can also use DNA information to predict the last name of a person!

The method exploits genetic likenesses between men who share the same surname.

The technique is based on work comparing the Y chromosomes of men with the same surname. The Y chromosome is a package of genetic material found only in males.

It is passed down from father to son, just like a surname.

Details of the research from the University of Leicester, UK, appear in the latest edition of Current Biology.

And of course, this method has it limitation. Based on an initial study, "[Researchers] found the approach was most useful for less common names, with a 34% chance of prediction in the 80 least common surnames from the 150-name sample."

• Source: DNA 'could predict your surname', BBC News, February 21 2006.


• Original Paper: Genetic Signatures of Coancestry within Surnames, Turi E. King et. al., Current Biology, Volume 16, Issue 4, February 21, 2006

Two Science Podcasts

Scientific American has launched its own podcast. The first two episodes are as the follows.

Episode 1
In our first podcast, Scientific American editor-in-chief John Rennie reflects on the Korean stem cell debacle; the National Inventors Hall of Fame announces this year's inductees; and evolution defender Eugenie Scott discusses the importance of the decision in the recent Dover evolution trial. Also: hear outtakes from the CSI show you're never going to see on TV.

Episode 2
In this episode, Scientific American staff editor Christine Soares talks about avian flu; Bruce Merkin discusses marijuana policy in the U.S. and England; and paleontologist Gregory Erickson describes the newfound long-lost cousin of T. rex. Also: test your science smarts with our quiz and hear how yesterday's comics might have handled today's news.

Another science podcast that I recommend is the New Scientist podcast.

Bubbles in a Glass of Water?

Why do bubbles form if a glass of water is left alone for a while?

Here is an answer from a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

Atmospheric gases such as nitrogen and oxygen can dissolve in water. The amount of gas dissolved depends on the temperature of the water and the atmospheric pressure at the air/water interface. Colder water and higher pressure allow more gas to dissolve; conversely, warmer water and lower pressure allow less gas to dissolve.

When you draw a glass of c old water from your faucet and allow it to warm to room temperature, nitrogen and oxygen slowly come out of solution, with tiny bubbles forming and coalescing at sites of microscopic imperfections on the glass. If the atmospheric pressure happens to be falling as the water warms, the equilibrium between gas molecules leaving and joining the air/water interface becomes unbalanced and tips in favor of them leaving the water, which causes even more gas to come out of solution. Hence bubbles along the insides of your water glass.

Source: Ask The Expert: Chemistry, Scientific American, February 06, 2006

U.S. paradise lost?

Given the continuous economic booms in the East, some people begin to think that in next several decades, countries in the East will take over the U.S.'s role as the world's economic leader. There is two way to think about this issue. One, this situation is not going to happen because back in the 80's there were talks about how Japan would become the world's leading economy, and that did not really happen. Second, the U.S. will actually lost the economy battle because things are different this time around. Many developing countries are following the same recipe that the U.S. had adopted to develop its great economy -- e.g., invest in new scientific research and encourage innovations.

If the first were true, there is not much we have to do. However, if the second case were true, then the U.S. government should wake up now and take this issue seriously. Why? According to this IHT article "Economic View: U.S. paradise lost?", in recent years the U.S. government has lost interested in funding new basic research programs, and has been discouraging smart people to come the U.S. to stay and work. I think this puts the U.S. economy in a very dangerous position.

The whole brain atlas

Do you ever wonder what your brain looks like? I do. The Harvard Medical School is putting up a web site that shows a collection of comprehensive neuroimages. There is a JavaScript page that allows you to walk-through the 3-D images of a normal brain. Pretty cool.

Also you can learn about Top 100 Brain Structures.