Tag Archive 'science'

What passes for moral clarity

Synova on Mar 10 2009 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Eugenics, Religion and theology, Synova's Page, science

Creating a human embryo for the purpose of experimentation and destruction = Good.

Creating a  human embryo for the purpose of creating a born human person = Bad.

How does it work that way?

Also, some argue that Obama’s statements opposing human cloning are misleading. Derrick Jones, spokesman for the National Right to Life Committee, said the administration has left the door open to create, and then destroy, embryos through cloning for the sole purpose of harvesting stem cells.

And he’s right. If a person believes that we ought to worry about it or not, this is what happens. An embryo, quite often a clone, is created and then destroyed. The difference is that we don’t value that bit of cells, not that we don’t agree with cloning.    Nothing at all wrong with cloning if the clone is destroyed.

So what is it that makes anyone who approves of the clone and destroy method, disapprove of the clone and birth method?    Obama seems to think that the difference is crystal.

“We cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse. And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction,” Obama said. “It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society.”

Wow. No place in any society. Bad, bad, bad.

Why? What does he think a “clone” is? Why is it so clearly wrong to create an embryo and let it live?

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The Cult of Nutritionism Suffers a Setback

Lee on Dec 21 2008 | Filed under: Health Care, science


(photo: gualtiero)

In a fine blow to the pseudoscientific cult of nutritionism, an intensive study conducted by the National Institutes of Health applied the same laboratory standards to vitamin supplements as are routinely applied to pharmaceuticals. Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that the supplements exerted no preventive benefit against cancer, heart disease, or any other illnesses. Dr. Edgar R. Miller, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, puts it nicely:

“These things are ineffective, and in high doses they can cause harm. People are unhappy with their diets, they’re stressed out, and they think it will help. It’s just wishful thinking.”
(Los Angeles Times)

As Damian Thompson argues in Counterknowledge (his magnificent polemic against the rise of quackery and conspiracy theories in contemporary society), the alternative in ‘alternative medicine’ is to science and modernity, and has entirely predictable results.

(more…)

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The Cardboard Armor Lifestyle

Lee on Nov 14 2008 | Filed under: Around the Web

Modern pessimists of the human condition often see the loss of mankind’s dignity deriving from deviation from traditional religious orders. Their secular opponents see the fall conditioned by a retreat from scientific rationalism. They can have their debate. For my own part, I think the death of human dignity results from becoming an adult LARPer.

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Tequila into Diamonds

ChrisB on Nov 07 2008 | Filed under: Around the Web

Scientists have developed a process for turning tequila into diamonds. I’m more of a whiskey man myself.

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Armies of the Obsolete

Lee on Nov 04 2008 | Filed under: Lee's Page, Military Matters, Technology


Light and infrared targeting devices for games. (Photo by Rob Stradling | website)

Al Qaeda technicians have apparently pioneered the use of electronics in old SEGA game cartridges for bomb detonators. A smaller precedent than the use of the airliner as suicide missile, but no less remarkable as a demonstration of the the transnational terrorist group’s acumen and artistry at the reuse of civilian technology for military purposes.

The West, having derived its military advantages from the possession of advanced technology for centuries, has been preoccupied with the security risks of technology transfer perhaps since the classical Greeks. But the emergence of massive civilian technology transfers from modern to relatively underdeveloped cultures, and the accelerating pace of Western technological advance, presents a new challenge that promises only to expand in risk and complexity.

(more…)

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Stem Cells and Blood Supply

MikeR on Aug 20 2008 | Filed under: MikeR's Page, science

Next Big Future
“Human blood have been grown from embryonic stem cells for the first time during research that promises to provide an almost limitless supply suitable for transfusion into any patient.”

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Success Breeds Success

Lee on Feb 13 2008 | Filed under: Around the Web

Woman holding rat
photo: Socar Myles

According to a new study from a McMaster University research group, female rats prefer the scent of sexually active males in choosing their own sexual partners.

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First They Came for My French Fries

Peg on Feb 10 2008 | Filed under: Around the Web

Diet_dr_pepper_crop
Then my rare cheeseburgers. My eggs Benedict, and my bagels.

Now they want my Diet Dr. Pepper, too.

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Why is Tide Popular?

Lance on Jan 24 2008 | Filed under: Lance's Page, Technology

Tyler Cowen wants to know:

Eli Lehrer informs me that Tide has a high market share even though it is more expensive than most other brands. This source says the market share of Tide is about forty-four percent, with the sum total of all Proctor and Gamble products (Gain and Cheer are two others) accounting for about two-thirds of the market. Is Tide so good? Does Tide really “know fabric best”? I couldn’t name one supposed feature of the product and I’ve been buying detergent my whole life. I couldn’t even tell you what brand I buy. Maybe it is Tide.

Having read the occasional issue of Consumer Reports, I know that Tide consistently is a star. In fact price does seem to matter, and commenter Kip Esquire gives us an insight to the chemical industry and the money they spend on making these products better:

INTERESTINGLY, although Gain is a midtier brand, it draws on some of the chemistry developed for P&G’s premium Tide brand. For example, Grime says the powdered variety of Gain now contains a proprietary, quick-dissolving alcohol sulfate surfactant developed with Shell Chemical and launched in 2002 in Tide. And Gain powder with bleach contains nonanoylbenzene sulfonate, the high-performance peroxygen bleach activator long used in Tide with Bleach.

Likewise, Gain Fabric Enhancer is a new fabric softener that uses diethylester dimethyl ammonium chloride, the same softener active found in P&G’s premium Downy brand.

Of course, P&G reserves some technologies for Tide and for Ariel, its premium European brand. In France, for example, the company recently introduced Ariel Style, which Grime calls the first detergent to offer a fabric shape retention benefit. The technology, called Fiberflex, was developed in partnership with one of P&G’s chemical suppliers.

The business and science behind this I found surprisingly interesting:

Also being introduced in P&G’s flagship brands is a new enzyme combination of pectate lyase and mannanase. Grime says this combination targets the pectins, mannins, and guars that are present in many food stains, either from the food itself or from thickeners used with them. Not only are these substances difficult to remove, they leave residues after washing that can act as “magnets” and attract other stains during wear, he says.

Another premium brand innovation from P&G is an ethoxylated quaternized sulfated amine that the Tide and Ariel franchises are incorporating as a cleaning polymer. According to Grime, this technology improves cleaning performance on two fronts: through improved soil suspension capability and improved removal of outdoor soil stains, a perennial laundry problem.

But then, I’m a geek.

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