Scientists Unite

This blog will be a series of opinions, facts and news about all things science. New discoveries, books to read and even some interesting bits of scientific history. It's here.

[sciencetalks]

Why Donald Trump could be the worst thing to happen to U.S. sciences in decades

Donald Trump has often been the topic of heated debates on whether or not he’s capable of running a country. But what needs to be considered is his impact on certain sectors. When it comes to the sciences, a lot of it is government funded. Naturally this means we need to prioritise in the subjects that matter more than others; no subject will ever go completely without funds, but many will suffer cuts to make room for more important issues. Now when you think of the areas that would need prioritising, many would presume the first would be healthcare, right?

Trumps budget cuts showed that he intended to cut the National Institute of Health’s allowance by a whopping 18% - from $31.8bn in 2017 down to $26bn. Now fortunately, Congressman Tom Cole (Republican, Oklahoma), who chairs the U.S. House of Representatives has in fact stated that it’s unlikely these cuts will get past congress. Healthcare is something that needs to move fast, and decreasing the budget will mean decreasing the people – only slowing down what they can do. Another large concern in this day and age is of course our effect on the environment, and the work of environmental sciences is more important and more relevant than ever. Unfortunately, Mr. Trump has made his stance on climate change quite clear a number of times; and in turn, this will certainly be hurting the environmental science budget. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could see it’s finding slashed by up to 30% as Trump suggested – down to $5.7bn. This could not come at a worse time as we’re really beginning to see our impact on the world. Ultimately, let’s hope it can’t get past congress. (Numbers found in Scientific American – there’s also a larger breakdown of the budget cuts on the website)

[sciencetalks]

Zebrafish - Biomedical Sciences Best Asset?

The zebrafish (danio rerio) have been a big name in the world of biomedical research for around 15 years now. The University of Queensland was one of the first places to begin studying the strange stream dwellers - and the use of their labs has only risen. You see, the benefits of these fish - which at first glance seem somewhat unimpressive - is that their embryos are both transparent and grown outside of the body. This means that scientists can manipulate their genes in such a way that they can model human diseases and observe the changes in these animals. Cool, right? (Photo: Janelia Research Institute, Ashton, VA)

[sciencetalks]

63 years ago today, CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) was founded. It is most well known for the world famous Large Hadron Collider that opened in 2009 and truly accelerated our understanding of physics.

[adventuresinchemistry]

A Tragedy in Three Parts:

Or, a return to phrenology through the use of spurious statistics in the year of our lord 2017

(the actual context doesn’t help, but here it is)

[caffeinatedcraziness]

Linear relationship, my ass… What is this even?

[adventuresinchemistry]

It’s from this lovely paper that doesn’t make me want to scream in rage at all

[evidently-evil]

this is the origin of the term “clusterfuck”

[sciencetalks]

Book Review: In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat - John Gribbin

In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat was one of those books I had put off reading for a long time. If you’re a reader of very scientific non-fiction books you may be familiar with works such as Higgs by Jim Baggot, or Nanofuture by J. Storrs Hall. These books, whilst very informative and interesting, require a lot of time and extreme concentration if you don’t already have a background in physics or chemistry at degree level. Naturally I presumed a book about quantum mechanics would be similar.

Oh how wrong I was.

Gribbin manages to get the perfect balance between informing you without boring you. It’s the kind of book that you can easily dip in and out of - on the train, or in the doctor’s office for example.

He doesn’t dumb down things for you to a level that regrettably reminds you of your year 7 physics lessons, no, instead he gives background and history and works from Newton to Feynman building on it along the way. In fact, I found myself more interested in the topic than I was to begin with - following up by purchasing a book on atomic physics by Niels Bohr.

I will say, however that if you have a background in quantum physics and you eat, breathe and sleep equations then the book likely will be no more than a history lesson you probably already know. For a more casual reader however, or even a younger person who’s curious about quantum physics and just wants a taste then it’s absolutely ideal.

I’ve had a few friends and family members look at the book and go ‘oh, what’s that about then?’ And when I reply 'quantum mechanics’ I usually get a response along the lines of an eye-roll or a groan. And you know, I think at one point, I would have had that reaction myself; but Gribbin makes it so enjoyable to read about - answering and asking all the right questions to make you really think about it philosophically. Even if you’re not scientifically inclined, it is such a worthwhile book as he really handles a strange topic in a way that makes it easy to understand but gets you thinking at the same time!

Physics tends to be one of those subjects where it feels like the more you learn, the less you feel you understand. Every door unlocked presents thirty new locked ones, each one more puzzling than the last. Gribbin gives you a grasp of some of these questions whilst really leaving it open for interpretation. It gets quite philosophical towards the end, talking about the implications of quantum physics and what that means for humanity - and I think it really goes to show that science is so far beyond understanding numbers and atoms and is really something we should be thinking about in our everyday lives, no matter who we are or what we do.

(The 2012 revised and updated edition and the 1984 original cover)

[sciencetalks]

Are Human Beings Older Than We Think?

The common assumption among most scientists is that homosapiens first speciated around 200,000 years ago at the very earliest.

However, new evidence has arisen in North Africa, where a group of archaeologists including Professor Jean-Jacques Hublin (who is known for his work on Neandertals and early homosapiens) uncovered bones in Jebel Irhoud in Morocco.

The bones were discovered to be approximately 315,000 years old (± 34,000 years) - using thermoluminescence dating.

Even considering the room for error, the bones are far older than any other fossils found. The review of the Omo remains in Kibish, Ethiopia, dated the fossils to be 195,000 years old (± 5,000 years) - this was back in 2004. The findings in Jebel Irhoud may completely change the evolutionary story - pushing back the date for the earliest homosapiens to at least 80,000 years earlier.

It makes one wonder - what else is there to uncover?

[sciencetalks]

Hello, Tumblr.

Just to introduce this blog - I'm an 18 year old girl, I very much enjoy learning about all aspects of science that I can in my spare time. I read several books a week, mostly non fiction and I keep up to date with all the news in the science world. I'm making this blog as a sort of news/educational hub for science but simplified. Also to give my opinions on books and documentaries, so to practice my writing skills.

Peace.