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A Reminder on the Validity of Science

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 14:48:40 -0800

This article acts as a wonderful reminder as to the validity and potential of science.

In 1998, the Lancet, a prestigious medical journal, published an article by Dr. Andrew Wakefield which linked MMR (a combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine which was introduced in the 1980s) to autism and bowel disease. The effect on the public could be called no less than severe: no one wishes to give their children autism or bowel disease, and the rates of MMR inoculations diminished greatly.

But questions soon emerged. A newspaper made allegations about the methods used to perform the research and questioned if this constituted valid science. Making a long story short, Britain's General Medical Council opened an investigation and found that Dr. Wakefield had broken research rules and had acted unethically.

Apparently Dr. Wakelfield was receiving bribes and bonuses from solicitors who were in the employ of parents which thought their children had received autism from MMR. Although I was unable to find that many details, the severity was powerful enough to warrant a "full retraction", and MMR should now be considered safe.

How sad that Dr. Wakefield felt compelled to alter his data and essentially ruin the reputation of a pharmaceutical which had helped so many children previously. Rates of the measles and the mumps have apparently risen since MMR became "discredited" - his attempt to vilify the creators of MMR has resulted in embarrassment and the harm of many more children... sad.

But we should also see this as a victory for science. All published work should be evaluated, more than once if necessary, for accuracy and flaws. Most of the time this work is academic, but in the case of the MMR study, essential to a better life for future children.

Maybe future studies will be examined more closely, making tragedies and subsequent investigations unnecessary. Alas!

The Most Distant Galaxies

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 09:44:34 -0800

Hooray for the Hubble Space Telescope! :-)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope underwent a series of repairs and upgrades earlier this year (facilitated by a visit from the Atlantis space shuttle in May of 2009) which have made its performance much more spectacular. Aging cameras and broken machinery were replaced, and results from the "new and improved" Hubble have started to pour into the scientific community.

A recent report from the United Kingdom exemplifies the capacities of the new spacecraft. Using the "Wide Field Camera 3" on Hubble, images have been collected which point to the most distant galaxies ever recorded. Using Doppler "red shifts" and longer wavelengths (which were previously unavailable on Hubble's cameras), the new galaxies were observed when the universe was only 5% of its current age, or within one billion years of the Big Bang. Wow!

Actual and final determination of the exact age will take a bit longer (each galaxy will have to be observed separately), but preliminary results "look promising" and evidence is "very strong." This should also compliment studies performed by scientists at the California Institute of Technology using the "gravitational lensing" technique.

These images are also reportedly the "most sensitive images Hubble will ever take" due to the limitations of the technology in the instrument. More sensitive studies will have to wait until Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, is launched in 2014 (knock on wood!)

Exciting times for astronomers and scientists everywhere!

Our Climate is Changing

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 09:21:01 -0800

This is kind of sad to read, but "foreknowledge is forearmed", and I'd rather go into a situation knowing what awaited me than have an unexpected surprise, so....

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Kingdom's Met Office scientists have been presenting details of the "warmest decade on record" at the United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen.

The decade spanning 2000 through 2009 has seen the largest temperature increase above the long-term average since data has been collected (starting in the 1850s.) This decade saw a global temperature increase of 0.44 degrees C (or 0.79 degrees F) above the long term average (see the graph above.) Most disturbingly, the decade graph also shows a clear warming trend is occurring: the 1980s began a touch of warming, the 1990s were warmer yet, and the newest decade has an unprecedented growth in the warming trend.

NASA has suggested that a new global temperature record will be set "in the next one or two years", according to this article.

We have to act to prevent global warming from altering our landscape so drastically that living becomes impossible. From fears about low Nile river amounts to worries that the Portland Spirit cruise boat in Portland, Oregon cannot pass under Willamette bridges, the effects are becoming increasingly visible and worrisome.

What do the elements look LIke?

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 08:53:10 -0800

It's nice to learn about the elements and the periodic table... this, from a chemistry instructor, should come as no great surprise to anyone reading this article.

But learning about subshell filling orders, or the history of the naming of the elements, or the periodic trends exhibited on the periodic table - all of these can be augmented by pictures of what the elements actually look like "in nature." Seeing is believing, or so they say... :-)

A new website collects photographs from all the available elements and displays them for the public to observe. I loved browsing through the elements, taking in with my "right brain" the images: it felt like I was seeing some of them for the first time! I especially enjoyed the images of Francium (very reactive element) and Polonium (a very radioactive element; the picture was only of Pitchblende, also known as Uraninite, a mineral worked on with abandon by Marie Curie, but it's close enough.) Exciting!

Also of interest here: if viewing pictures of the elements fascinates your curiousity, definitely check out "A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe" by Theodore Gray (Amazon link here.) This book, which was first recommended to me by one of my students, is also a tour-de-force regarding pictorial views of the elements.

The Chemist Composer: Borodin

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:41:27 -0700

People can always exhibit more than they might realize... and a fine case in point can be seen by examining the life of the "Chemist Composer", Alexander Borodin.

Alexander Borodin was born on November 12, 1833 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The illegitimate son of an elderly Georgian prince, he received an appreciable education in both the sciences and music; he had a passion for the piano, the violin, and other instruments as a child, and he spoke several languages. He went on the obtain a doctorate degree in medicine, and the main focus of his life revolved around chemistry and science... however, his wife Ekaterina was an accomplished pianist, so he never removed himself completely from the artistic realm.

As a chemist, Borodin worked with Mendeleev (creator of the periodic table), and later with Erlenmeyer (named after the Erlenmeyer flask) on benzene derivatives; he also studied aldehydes extensively and discovered some unique pathways for transforming aldehydes using ammonia and other reagents. Later Borodin was credited with the discovery of the Aldol reaction along with Wurtz (they discovered it independently of each other.) There is also a reaction named in his honor, the Borodin reaction, whereby silver salts of carboxylic acids can be reacted with halogens to give organic halides.

These accomplishments would be quite worthy in and of themselves; however, Borodin also managed to create several stunning compositions of music. He completed a successful symphony ("Symphony No. 1 in E flat major"); he mostly completed a second symphony ("Symphony No. 2 in B minor", the successful version of which received assistance from Rimsky-Korsakov). Borodin is noted for his opera, Prince Igor, which is seen be some to be one of the greatest of the Russian operas. Prince Igor contains the "Polovetsian Dances", a small subset of the opera which is often performed by itself. Alas, Prince Igor was left unfinished upon Borodin's death, and Rimsky-Korsakov finished it posthumously.

Borodin accomplished great things during his lifetime. I was particularly moved by this quote attributed to him:

"As a composer seeking to remain anonymous, I am shy of confessing my musical activity... For others it is their chief business, the occupation and aim of life. For me it is a relaxation, a pastime which distracts me from my principal business, my professorship. I love my profession and my science. I love the Academy and my pupils, male and female, because to direct the work of young people, one must be close to them."

I salute Borodin and his many accomplishments in both chemistry and music.

To listen to samples of Borodin's music on iTunes, click here.
To listen to samples of Borodin's music on Amazon, click here.

The Rejuvenated Hubble!

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:29:50 -0700

This is a good day for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)!

Pictures have been posted showing the enhanced functionality of the Hubble Space Telescope. In May of 2009, the STS-125 shuttle servicing mission performed a wide variety of upgrades and repairs to the aging Hubble Space Telescope. They installed two new instruments (the Wide Field Camera 3 and Cosmic Origins Spectrograph), and two other instruments (the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph) were repaired "at the circuit board level."

The results have been nothing short of spectacular. The graph below shows a sample spectrum of carbon and oxygen found in Supernova Remnant LMC N132D using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph:

A plethora of science observations using Hubble are planned in the near future. The population of Kulper Belt objects at the edge of our solar system has been planned; also, a planned "deepest ever near-infrared portrait of the universe" has been scheduled to reveal never before seen infant galaxies that existed when the universe was less than 500 million years old - whoa!

My hat is off to NASA for repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. Let the scientific discoveries start pouring in!

The 33 Most Deadly Substances

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:47:32 -0700

Have you ever wondered what the most deadly substances might be?

Maybe you're thinking about a poison used in a movie... or perhaps what kind of substances might be used to eliminate pests in your home?

Or, maybe, you might want to know what would happen if you ingested a leaf from the plant in your backyard?

Look no further: click here. "The 33 Most Deadly Substances on Earth"

Now, to be fair, I'm not quite sure how they developed their "most deadly substances" list, so the accuracy may be a bit questionable. Still... how interesting!

Surprises for me when I pursued this list:

Castor Beans - "Even two beans, well chewed, can be fatal."

Rhubarb - "The rhubarb itself is harmless and even healthy. However, if the leaf is accidentally cooked along with the rhubarb... (troubles follow.)"

Fox Glove - "All parts of the fox glove plant are toxic."

Fascinating read! Very interesting!

A homage to Jabir

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 19:52:55 -0700

Students will teach the teachers, and this is a great example of this concept.... :)

Two of my students recently gave a presentation on two outstanding scientists who I have heard of but did not honestly know very much about prior to their lecture. One of them, Abu Al-Oasim Khalaf Ibn Al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (also known in the West as Albucasis), was a great physician and often considered to be the "father of surgery" - no small title, but quite reasonable considering his many talents. But he did not tickle my fancy as much as the other scientist.

His name is quite lengthy (which is common in Islamic culture). Officially this great scientist's full name is Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan Al Azdi, and in the West he is often known as Geber or Jabir, the latter of which I will use to refer to him in this article.

The exact background of Jabir is unknown. It is not clear if he is Persian or Arab, but he was apparently born in Tous, Iran around 721 CE. His father is thought to have been a pharmacist, and this could have led him to his place as the "father of chemistry".

Jabir is amazing. He is credited with the discovery of sulfuric acid, one of the most widely used raw materials used today. Jabir is credited with isolating samples of arsenic, antimony and bismuth and also to classify sulfur. He created a host of laboratory equipment for use in a laboratory. He is also quoted as saying, "The first essential in chemistry is that you should perform practical work and conduct experiments, for he who performs not practical work nor makes experiments will never attain the least degree of mastery."

On top of all this, he is credited with developing a paper which resisted fire an an ink which could be read at night!

I'd encourage you to explore Jabir in greater detail. What a wonderful scientist! My hat is off to Jabir!

Thermal Imaging and the Flu

Mon, 4 May 2009 15:13:15 -0700

Smile, swine flu virus! You're on Candid Camera! :)

OK, so my dorky introduction (with a reference to an antiquated 1970s TV show) to this technology aside, I've been impressed with the application of thermal imaging cameras towards the detection of diseases, especially in crowded, passenger-sensitive areas such as airports and border crossings.

Thermal imaging cameras are just like regular cameras except that they are sensitive to the heat emanating from objects (both living and non-living.) They are sensitive, incredibly sensitive actually, capable of measuring temperatures down to a fraction of a degree Fahrenheit.

Recordings from these cameras appear on LCD monitors with hotter objects appearing brighter and colder objects appearing darker. These cameras can be used to scan crowds, looking for individuals with fevers. The cameras are getting cheaper, but they still cost more than $10,000 generally.

Thermal imaging cameras began their careers during the SARS outbreaks of 2002 and 2003, and certain airports (such as Singapore and China) have used them consistently. Mexico has increased its desire for additional thermal imaging cameras; they already have ten, and 40 more have been ordered to fight the swine flu disease.

Of note to Oregon residents: Wilsonville, Oregon-based FLIR Systems creates cameras that use thermal imaging to detect the H1N1 flu epidemic. Their cameras can be used to scan crowds for potentially infected individuals; these people can be taken aside for additional fly testing, etc. as appropriate. FLIR Systems website also lists products aimed at government, military, police and related customer bases... who would have known, right here in Oregon! :)

Fascinating technology in a troubling, chaotic period of life!

Filming Carbon Atoms

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:42:28 -0700

As a scientist, I find this absolutely amazing...

A group of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory collaborated with TEAM 0.5 (TEAM = Transmission Electron Aberration-Corrected Microscope), the world's most powerful transmission electron microscope, to create a movie that shows real time carbon atoms repositioning themselves around the edge of an artificially induced hole in a sheet of graphene.

Graphene consists of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms arranged in a one atom thick planar sheet. Some scientists call it "atomic scale chicken wire" and is similar to other allotropes of carbon such as graphite and fullerenes. A picture of graphene is shown on the right.

TEAM 0.5 is capable of producing images with half Angstrom resolution, which is less than the diameter of a single hydrogen atom. The collaboration between TEAM 0.5 and the National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM) produced the video shown below:

The "hole" is in the upper middle of the video, and each "circle" shows an individual carbon atom. The carbon atoms are in flux, attempting to rearrange to a new stable configuration on the edge of the hole.

Exciting!!!!! A movie of atoms!!! Wow!