From the WSJ:
Americans say they are underwhelmed by the economic recovery,...
...Yesterday's report also contained the government's annual historic GDP revisions, and growth was revised downward for the last three years. This means the U.S. is $130 billion, or 1%, poorer than previously thought and that growth will have to be that much faster to catch up...
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Americans Cut Back on Visits to Doctor
From an article in the WSJ:
"People just aren't using health-care like they have," said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint Inc.'s chief financial officer, in an interview Wednesday. "Utilization is lower than we expected, and it's unusual."
But from a reader comment:
"Wow - it is shocking that when a consumer has to pay more for a service or all of the cost that the usage would go down. Remember Econ 101 in College? Supply & demand curves - price goes up and demand declines. It is easy to spend someone else's money."
"People just aren't using health-care like they have," said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint Inc.'s chief financial officer, in an interview Wednesday. "Utilization is lower than we expected, and it's unusual."
But from a reader comment:
"Wow - it is shocking that when a consumer has to pay more for a service or all of the cost that the usage would go down. Remember Econ 101 in College? Supply & demand curves - price goes up and demand declines. It is easy to spend someone else's money."
Saturday, July 17, 2010
White Matter Matters More TOT
TOT= Than Once Thought
From 2007 but still interesting.
FTA: Two research groups have turned the conventional wisdom about glial cells—that they do not form synapses with neurons—on its head, opening up new avenues of scientific exploration directed at glia. ...
Their work is the latest chapter in a succession of unanticipated results that are challenging the long-held view of glia as the necessary but unremarkable supporting cast to the reigning star of the nervous system, the neuron. ...
and finally MRIN: “Like any good study, this one raises many more questions than it answers,”
From 2007 but still interesting.
FTA: Two research groups have turned the conventional wisdom about glial cells—that they do not form synapses with neurons—on its head, opening up new avenues of scientific exploration directed at glia. ...
Their work is the latest chapter in a succession of unanticipated results that are challenging the long-held view of glia as the necessary but unremarkable supporting cast to the reigning star of the nervous system, the neuron. ...
and finally MRIN: “Like any good study, this one raises many more questions than it answers,”
Friday, July 16, 2010
Twice as Many Grizzlies ...APT
Link
...the hair that grizzlies leave behind when they rub up against tree trunks and branches works as a genetic name tag, allowing researchers to count bears and track trends in the populations. It also turns out, that the new method is showing there are about 2.5 times more grizzlies than thought, which brings into question its status as endangered.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Black tea contains more fluoride TPT
according to a new study cited in a press release by Medical College of Geogia.
...the new study showed fluoride in black tea can be up to 9 milligrams per liter, almost doubling the early estimate. ...
However, serious bone health [problems] can result from ingesting about 20 milligrams a day over a period of 10 or more years....
The findings came after Dr. Whitford examined four patients who suffered advanced skeletal fluorosis - ... These patients had one thing in common: they drank 1 to 2 gallons of tea every day for 10 to 30 years.
***
A corollary: Some people drink more tea TPT possible.
...the new study showed fluoride in black tea can be up to 9 milligrams per liter, almost doubling the early estimate. ...
However, serious bone health [problems] can result from ingesting about 20 milligrams a day over a period of 10 or more years....
The findings came after Dr. Whitford examined four patients who suffered advanced skeletal fluorosis - ... These patients had one thing in common: they drank 1 to 2 gallons of tea every day for 10 to 30 years.
***
A corollary: Some people drink more tea TPT possible.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Hanford nuclear waste mess worse TYT
TYT= than you thought.
The amount of plutonium at the Hanford nuclear waste site near Richland, Wash., is almost twice what was last reported ...
...The cancer-causing material is migrating at a faster-than-anticipated rate toward the site’s subterranean groundwater,...
The amount of plutonium at the Hanford nuclear waste site near Richland, Wash., is almost twice what was last reported ...
...The cancer-causing material is migrating at a faster-than-anticipated rate toward the site’s subterranean groundwater,...
Power ... beneath Yellowstone National Park is much greater TPT
From Science 2.0 in Mar 2007
A 17-year University of Utah study of ground movements shows that the power of the huge volcanic hotspot beneath Yellowstone National Park is much greater than previously thought during times when the giant volcano is slumbering.
FTA:
Yet 17 years of GPS measurements show "the textbook model for a normal fault is not what’s happening at the Teton fault," Smith says. "The mountains are going down relative to the valley going up. That’s a total surprise."
A 17-year University of Utah study of ground movements shows that the power of the huge volcanic hotspot beneath Yellowstone National Park is much greater than previously thought during times when the giant volcano is slumbering.
FTA:
Yet 17 years of GPS measurements show "the textbook model for a normal fault is not what’s happening at the Teton fault," Smith says. "The mountains are going down relative to the valley going up. That’s a total surprise."
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Asian Water Shortages May Not Be as Bad as PT
This post is part of a special National Geographic News series on global water issues.
FTA: It's rare to get good news on climate change--but if the study's predictions come true, China and much of India could be better off than many scientists had expected.
[Lots of AGW slant despite noting retractions of previous scaremongering.]
In their blogging they don't quite get the connection between bad data and bad conclusions. Otherwise known as GIGO.
FTA: It's rare to get good news on climate change--but if the study's predictions come true, China and much of India could be better off than many scientists had expected.
[Lots of AGW slant despite noting retractions of previous scaremongering.]
In their blogging they don't quite get the connection between bad data and bad conclusions. Otherwise known as GIGO.
Fundamental Questions about the nature of the Universe
Big Bang data errors larger TPT
Astronomers' Doubts About the Dark Side:
FTA:
...The two scientists find evidence that the errors in its data may be much larger than previously thought, which in turn makes the standard model of the Universe open to question. ...
and of course MRIN:
FTA:
Prof. Shanks concludes "Odds are that the standard model with its enigmatic dark energy and dark matter will survive -- but more tests are needed. The European PLANCK satellite, currently out there collecting more CMB data will provide vital new information and help us answer these fundamental questions about the nature of the Universe we live in."
Astronomers' Doubts About the Dark Side:
FTA:
...The two scientists find evidence that the errors in its data may be much larger than previously thought, which in turn makes the standard model of the Universe open to question. ...
and of course MRIN:
FTA:
Prof. Shanks concludes "Odds are that the standard model with its enigmatic dark energy and dark matter will survive -- but more tests are needed. The European PLANCK satellite, currently out there collecting more CMB data will provide vital new information and help us answer these fundamental questions about the nature of the Universe we live in."
Greenland ice melt not as scary as PT
... or as hyped.
Thread from Watt's up with that(WUWT) blog.
News report in Science.
"glaciologists reported at the American Geophysical Union meeting that Greenland ice’s Armageddon has come to an end."
and in fact was worse 80-90 years ago.
From WUWT blog:
"Every good citizen knows that the poles are melting – because they have been fed a continuous stream of gross misinformation. The press loves to print this stuff, but never makes any serious attempt to set the record straight later."
Thread from Watt's up with that(WUWT) blog.
News report in Science.
"glaciologists reported at the American Geophysical Union meeting that Greenland ice’s Armageddon has come to an end."
and in fact was worse 80-90 years ago.
From WUWT blog:
"Every good citizen knows that the poles are melting – because they have been fed a continuous stream of gross misinformation. The press loves to print this stuff, but never makes any serious attempt to set the record straight later."
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Scientists discover [ten] new marine species
Story Link and Pictures
Professor Monty Priede, director of the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab, said: "This expedition has revolutionized our thinking about deep-sea life in the Atlantic Ocean. "... Using new technology and precise navigation, we can access these regions and discover things we never suspected existed"
Professor Monty Priede, director of the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab, said: "This expedition has revolutionized our thinking about deep-sea life in the Atlantic Ocean. "... Using new technology and precise navigation, we can access these regions and discover things we never suspected existed"
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Movable sequences of DNA are more common TPT
Link: 29 June 2010
...retrotransposons: DNA sequences which can 'copy and paste' their genetic code around the genome.
...
"This tells us that active human retrotransposons are much more common than we expected. Individual active L1 retrotransposons are quite rare - but there are a lot of them."
Original study in Cell.
FTA: Therefore, these results suggest that hot L1s are more abundant in the human population than previously appreciated, and that ongoing L1 retrotransposition continues to be a major source of interindividual genetic variation.
****
Another impetus to rethink 'genetic clocks'
p.s. after reading this link I'd say 'Molecular clock dating is even more uncertain TPT'.
...retrotransposons: DNA sequences which can 'copy and paste' their genetic code around the genome.
...
"This tells us that active human retrotransposons are much more common than we expected. Individual active L1 retrotransposons are quite rare - but there are a lot of them."
Original study in Cell.
FTA: Therefore, these results suggest that hot L1s are more abundant in the human population than previously appreciated, and that ongoing L1 retrotransposition continues to be a major source of interindividual genetic variation.
****
Another impetus to rethink 'genetic clocks'
p.s. after reading this link I'd say 'Molecular clock dating is even more uncertain TPT'.
Friday, July 9, 2010
'Aliens cause Global Warming'
From Michael Crichton in a talk given at Caltech in 2003 and linked to from 'Wattsupwiththat'. read the whole article.
...
I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus, and the rise of what has been called consensus science. I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you’re being had.
Let’s be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world.
In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. There is no such thing as consensus science. If it’s consensus, it isn’t science. If it’s science, it isn’t consensus. Period.
...
[Note: The article was scrubbed from the original website but is available via a web.archive.org version. Something fishy going on with the deletion?]
...
I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus, and the rise of what has been called consensus science. I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you’re being had.
Let’s be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world.
In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. There is no such thing as consensus science. If it’s consensus, it isn’t science. If it’s science, it isn’t consensus. Period.
...
[Note: The article was scrubbed from the original website but is available via a web.archive.org version. Something fishy going on with the deletion?]
The Staffordshire Hoard
The Staffordshire Hoard: found in July 2009
"This is going to alter our perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England… as radically, if not more so, as the Sutton Hoo discoveries. Absolutely the equivalent of finding a new Lindisfarne Gospels or Book of Kells."
Leslie Webster, Former Keeper, Department of Prehistory and Europe, British Museum
In the picture: The suitably warlike inscription, mis-spelt in places, is probably from the Book of Numbers Ch. 10 v 35 and reads:
Surge domine et dissipentur inimici tui et fugiant qui oderunt te a facie tua ~ "Rise up, o Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee be driven from thy face"
...previously unrecognized genetic substructure...
One of my current interests. Population dynamics.
The genome-wide structure of the Jewish people
FTA: In contrast, Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) and Indian Jews (Bene Israel and Cochini) cluster with neighbouring autochthonous populations in Ethiopia and western India, respectively, despite a clear paternal link between the Bene Israel and the Levant.
The genome-wide structure of the Jewish people
FTA: In contrast, Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) and Indian Jews (Bene Israel and Cochini) cluster with neighbouring autochthonous populations in Ethiopia and western India, respectively, despite a clear paternal link between the Bene Israel and the Levant.
...molecular interactions between proteins are very different TPT
London, July 9 (ANI): Scientists have discovered a previously unknown mechanism by which cells direct gene expression, ...
..."This discovery opens new doors in genome biology research, and has broad implications in the field of epigenetics of human biology of health and disease," said Martin Walsh, ...
The study has been published in the July 8th issue of Nature. (ANI)
..."This discovery opens new doors in genome biology research, and has broad implications in the field of epigenetics of human biology of health and disease," said Martin Walsh, ...
The study has been published in the July 8th issue of Nature. (ANI)
Ebola vaccine found better than thought
BETHESDA, Md., May 24 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say an experimental Ebola vaccine protects monkeys against not only the two most lethal Ebola virus species, but also a new Ebola virus. ...
The research is reported in the journal PLoS Pathogens.
The research is reported in the journal PLoS Pathogens.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up
Here is an interesting article that doesn't contain the words TPT. But its interesting in the same light.
FTA: "The problem with science, then, isn’t that most experiments fail — it’s
that most failures are ignored."
When something doesn't meet our 'PT', perhaps that is a great opportunity. Creativity comes from recognizing those chances.
FTA: "The problem with science, then, isn’t that most experiments fail — it’s
that most failures are ignored."
When something doesn't meet our 'PT', perhaps that is a great opportunity. Creativity comes from recognizing those chances.
Penguin DNA changes faster TPT
This one is from November 2009 but illustrates the concept of TPT.
FTA: "...scientists may have miscalculated the rates at which genetic clocks tick off evolutionary time..."
Of course, that's the good thing about 'science'. New experiments cause us to reinterpret old understandings. Anyone who tells you the 'science is settled' isn't a scientist.
FTA: "...scientists may have miscalculated the rates at which genetic clocks tick off evolutionary time..."
Of course, that's the good thing about 'science'. New experiments cause us to reinterpret old understandings. Anyone who tells you the 'science is settled' isn't a scientist.
NEET problem worse TPT
So what is NEET?. I guess it's backwards for TEEN and refers to those Not Employed or in Education or Training.
Useful economics lesson. Raise the minimum wage and fewer people get hired. Raise taxes and more people are out of jobs, etc. This story is from England but the same problem exists in the US.
Useful economics lesson. Raise the minimum wage and fewer people get hired. Raise taxes and more people are out of jobs, etc. This story is from England but the same problem exists in the US.
Protons are smaller TPT
PARIS — Scientists lobbed a bombshell into the world of sub-atomic theory on Wednesday by reporting that a primary building block of the visible Universe, the proton, is smaller than previously thought...
from comments on my facebook:
Larry FTA: ...Either way, physicists still have some serious explaining to do.
Danimal: very cool article. what do "TPT" and "FTA" mean?
Larry:
TPT= than previously thought... see my earlier post about this.
FTA= from the article.
and another abbreviation that I'll start using..
MRIN= more research is needed.
...
Danimal: MRIAlwaysN -- looking forward to the follow-ups on this one, could be exciting
Larry: So far TPT and MRIN are almost always in the same story.
from comments on my facebook:
Larry FTA: ...Either way, physicists still have some serious explaining to do.
Danimal: very cool article. what do "TPT" and "FTA" mean?
Larry:
TPT= than previously thought... see my earlier post about this.
FTA= from the article.
and another abbreviation that I'll start using..
MRIN= more research is needed.
...
Danimal: MRIAlwaysN -- looking forward to the follow-ups on this one, could be exciting
Larry: So far TPT and MRIN are almost always in the same story.
TPT= 'Than Previously Thought'
'Than previously thought' is an interesting phrase in a lot of news reports. Google gives 22 million hits... Bing gives 70 million. Here are some examples. Just replace the ... with TPT.
Huntington's disease more common...
Earth and Moon formed later...
Universe to end sooner...
Dinosaurs may have been smaller...
Dinosaurs might be older...
BP oil leak worse...
Penguin DNA evolving faster ...
Human genome more variable...
...southern Greenland was warmer...
Placebo treatments stronger...
Stone age medicine more advanced ...
Incidence of AIDS in US higher...
Oprah's impact on book sales bigger...
Fewer kids dying...
The universe has more stuff...
I guess a lot of this depends on what was 'previously thought'.
The world is a big place. There are lots of new things to learn and old things to unlearn. This blog will link the ones I find interesting.
Huntington's disease more common...
Earth and Moon formed later...
Universe to end sooner...
Dinosaurs may have been smaller...
Dinosaurs might be older...
BP oil leak worse...
Penguin DNA evolving faster ...
Human genome more variable...
...southern Greenland was warmer...
Placebo treatments stronger...
Stone age medicine more advanced ...
Incidence of AIDS in US higher...
Oprah's impact on book sales bigger...
Fewer kids dying...
The universe has more stuff...
I guess a lot of this depends on what was 'previously thought'.
The world is a big place. There are lots of new things to learn and old things to unlearn. This blog will link the ones I find interesting.
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