Science, Astronomy, Skepticism and promoting citizen science education projects like www.60secondscience.net
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Frog Series - Orgy
Over the last week we have had some serious floods here in SE Australia.
The frogs have responded by having an orgy!
Listen to the sounds of a frog orgy:
The frogs have responded by having an orgy!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
42
Erik D. Andrulis has published a theory that claims to explain everything.
"Theory of the Origin, Evolution, and Nature of Life"
Red flag: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"
The paper invents a lexicon, much like Tolkien, then makes the extraordinary claim that elements in the lexicon explain the world as we know it..... without any evidence.
The paper claims that the theory makes predictions ....(p50) "The aminogyre makes some very profound and testable predictions about the specificity of the genetic code and how proteins behave, lengthen and shorten, and fold and unfold in response to physical and biometabolic changes or changes in genetic information content of RNA."
However these predictions appear to be 'theoretical predictions' (p61) only and are not tested in this paper.
And the claim is made that (p65) "Indeed, this theory not only predicts but also proves that the universe is teeming with life."
Now call me picky, but even my undergraduate biochem and science taught me that a theory can certainly make predictions, but it is in the observations that we find the proof. The theory in itself is not a proof .... perhaps the author has made observations of alien life forms that the rest of us have missed out on.
This diagram doesn't really help:
Nor this one, despite the accompanying text.
By all means read the paper in it's entirety
Or just get out your old 1979 copy of James Lovelock's "Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth"
"Theory of the Origin, Evolution, and Nature of Life"
Red flag: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"
The paper invents a lexicon, much like Tolkien, then makes the extraordinary claim that elements in the lexicon explain the world as we know it..... without any evidence.
The paper claims that the theory makes predictions ....(p50) "The aminogyre makes some very profound and testable predictions about the specificity of the genetic code and how proteins behave, lengthen and shorten, and fold and unfold in response to physical and biometabolic changes or changes in genetic information content of RNA."
However these predictions appear to be 'theoretical predictions' (p61) only and are not tested in this paper.
And the claim is made that (p65) "Indeed, this theory not only predicts but also proves that the universe is teeming with life."
Now call me picky, but even my undergraduate biochem and science taught me that a theory can certainly make predictions, but it is in the observations that we find the proof. The theory in itself is not a proof .... perhaps the author has made observations of alien life forms that the rest of us have missed out on.
This diagram doesn't really help:
Nor this one, despite the accompanying text.
By all means read the paper in it's entirety
Or just get out your old 1979 copy of James Lovelock's "Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth"
Homoeopathy
A Homoeopathy person recommended their 'International Journal' to me ...
http://t.co/sdosGx31
Went to the latest edition and looked up their latest 'Clinical Research'. Surprise surprise Gomer, the study cited was neither clinical nor research.
http://t.co/sdosGx31
Went to the latest edition and looked up their latest 'Clinical Research'. Surprise surprise Gomer, the study cited was neither clinical nor research.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Australia Day - Southern Cross
To finish off Australia Day, I spent 15 minutes with the Southern Cross. 50mm f\4.5 iso400
I bet you can easily find the southern Cross and the two pointers.
I bet you can easily find the southern Cross and the two pointers.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Under Dark Skies
My daughters, 13 and 15 sometimes take over Mum's DSLR to take some starsnaps.
Recently Ms 15 got this nice shot of Comet Lovejoy. 55mm iso 800 f/5.6 27secs
And Ms 13 got up at 5am last year to capture the June lunar eclipse.
She won the 2011 National Junior Astrophotography Award with this montage.
which she stitched together using PaintshopPro.
Her Photo, along with the other winning astrophotographs are touring Oz,
and they are currently on display at Scienceworks in Melbourne till April.
Recently Ms 15 got this nice shot of Comet Lovejoy. 55mm iso 800 f/5.6 27secs
And Ms 13 got up at 5am last year to capture the June lunar eclipse.
She won the 2011 National Junior Astrophotography Award with this montage.
which she stitched together using PaintshopPro.
Her Photo, along with the other winning astrophotographs are touring Oz,
and they are currently on display at Scienceworks in Melbourne till April.
Possums
A. These possums live in the wall, not the roof thankfully. Possums making possums is very noisy.
B. My veranda needs painting
B. My veranda needs painting
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Under the Flightpath
Wagtails are nesting on our veranda for the 3rd time since October.
In each case 3 eggs, 3 successful hatching and 'fly-aways'. Fringe benefit .... no mosquitoes ... mum & dad wagtail catch all the flying insects nearby to feed the young wagtails. They hunt Dragonflies very effectively. This time I'm going to see how long it takes the Wagtails to go from hatching to flying:
Day 11: "Eyes ... check! Wings ... check! Tails ... check! Perfect weather ... check! Ok folks! We're ready for flying lessons!"
Day 10: Not much room in this nest ...
Day 9: 3 pairs of very observant eyes ...
Day 8: Volume of chicks > Volume of nest (beginning to open their eyes)
Day 7: Not much room in the nest now ...
Day 6: Really starting to look like little birds now ... and being fed up to 35 times/hour!
Wings have really developed more feathers in the last 24 hours!
Day 4: Wing feathers starting to develop
Day 3: Eyes closed, but know the food comes from the sky ... being fed 20 times/hour
Day 2: They are taking up much more space in the bottom of the nest.
 |  |
Day 11: "Eyes ... check! Wings ... check! Tails ... check! Perfect weather ... check! Ok folks! We're ready for flying lessons!"
Day 10: Not much room in this nest ...
Day 9: 3 pairs of very observant eyes ...
 |  |
Day 7: Not much room in the nest now ...
Day 6: Really starting to look like little birds now ... and being fed up to 35 times/hour!
Wings have really developed more feathers in the last 24 hours!
Day 4: Wing feathers starting to develop
Day 3: Eyes closed, but know the food comes from the sky ... being fed 20 times/hour
Day 2: They are taking up much more space in the bottom of the nest.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
What's the harm? Lots!
.
For those with a laissez faire attitude, those who pride themselves for their laid back and even handed approach to life ....
Consider the implications when we say "oh, what's the harm?" when we hear some kook spouting some nonsense.
For example, "What's the harm?" in the doomsayer 2012 nonsense?
(thanks to Fraser Cain, Universe Today for this link:
Here's a well researched article on the 2012 nonsense by Ian O'Neil in DiscoveryNews
http://news.discovery.com/space/dear-doomsayers-we-will-be-watching-you.html
And the bottom line in his article for those in a hurry ...
"In short, doomsayers, you've been put on notice. For every book you sell, you needlessly frighten people who would have otherwise lived their lives without the worry of thinking their families were at risk from some fantasy. It is up to scientists and the science media to react, debunking your false claims."
For those with a laissez faire attitude, those who pride themselves for their laid back and even handed approach to life ....
Consider the implications when we say "oh, what's the harm?" when we hear some kook spouting some nonsense.
For example, "What's the harm?" in the doomsayer 2012 nonsense?
(thanks to Fraser Cain, Universe Today for this link:
Here's a well researched article on the 2012 nonsense by Ian O'Neil in DiscoveryNews
http://news.discovery.com/space/dear-doomsayers-we-will-be-watching-you.html
And the bottom line in his article for those in a hurry ...
"In short, doomsayers, you've been put on notice. For every book you sell, you needlessly frighten people who would have otherwise lived their lives without the worry of thinking their families were at risk from some fantasy. It is up to scientists and the science media to react, debunking your false claims."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Amateur Radio Telescope tragic
- Building a radio astronomy facility as we rehab a 40acre block with a shearing shed on it. First, some baby steps: 1. I do not know much about EM radiation 2. how can radio waves from space be ‘seen” 3. how do antennas work? 4. there is a Mobile Phone Tower only 700 metres away. but hey, learning all that shit could be a heap of fun. Helpful advice accepted.