Bad Hair Life

Unfortunately I can't blame my bad hair on genetics but some can. Uncombable hair syndrome is a real condition that I came across on boingboing. Apparently it is due to a triangular shaped hair shaft (see electron microscopy) and can be sporadic or inherited. (Anonymous Coward, it only affects hair on the head.
Personally I think it looks awesome.

Canada Rocks the World in Education, Sucks in Innovation

According to some sort of economic study. Kind of a weird combination. We produce a lot of educated graduates but don't give them anything useful to do. Most recent university graduates can probably relate to this...

Also the study points out that the only thing saving our asses right now is a natural resource boom (ie oil):

"Canada is losing ground to other countries that are better at exploiting their own advantages," writes the board's president, Anne Golden. "We appear to be riding high due to global demand for our resources, but this is not a sustainable course for our country."

OMG!!! Canadians SERIOUSLY Worried About High Gas Prices!!!

Yup that's right, according to a Globe and Mail survey, the high price of gas is now Canadian's number one concern. Last year's top issue, the environment ("like OMG, Al Gore figured out that New Orleans is sinking because of global warming!!!"), has been relegated to third place. According to Gloria Galloway this is like total bad news for the Liberal's carbon tax proposal:

"This shift could make it more difficult for Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion to sell the carbon-tax plan he unveiled last week, a complex scheme to cut greenhouse-gas emissions that will be the cornerstone of his party's platform in the next election."

What might be useful here is if people divert their attention away from gas price signs and political documentaries for a second and do some thinking. Hmmmm....maybe these issues are somehow linked? Maybe the larger issue is economic dependence on burning fossil fuels? Hey look - every time we use a litre, there's a litre less left in the world!!! And hey, pollutants are released at the EXACT SAME TIME!!!

Politicians - what Canadians need is a visionary plan that engineers us an escape from the sinking ship that is the fossil fuel economy and builds us a new one. Neither pansy-ass environmentalist appeasement measures nor short-term gasoline price-fixing measures are going to cut it.

Sciencewear

Wear your love of science on your sleeve, or illustrate 'teach the controversy' silliness. The above pictures are clothing designs from wearscience.com. For more of their graphics, go here.

Cancer Carnival Call for Submissions

The 11th Edition of the Cancer Research Blog Carnival is coming in one week. This July 4th Holiday edition will be hosted here at the Bayblab. Due to a screw-up (our administrative negligence), submissions can't currently be made at the blogcarnival.com site so please leave any links in the comments on this post or email them to us at bayblab[at]gmail.com. We look forward to reading your contributions!

UPDATE: Submissions can now be made at blogcarnival.com, here.

Inter-Plant Communication

After hearing about the plot of "The Happening", I wondered how much evidence there is for inter-plant communication. Surprisingly there is quite a bit. The most interesting of which is the use of chemicals to attract carnivorous predators of herbivores. Check out a summary of the evidence for inter-plant communication.
From the Figure Legend of the picture:
Plants respond to herbivory with the emission of chemical cues above and below ground, which can elicit responses in (1) carnivorous enemies of the herbivores, (2) herbivores and (3) neighbouring plants. The plant–plant interactions comprise interactions among conspecifics and heterospecifics. The red broken arrow represents herbivore attack on a plant; the blue arrows represent the emission of chemical cues that affect other organisms. The thickness of the blue arrows indicates the relative knowledge of the interactions.

Urban Birdwatching: Red-winged Blackbird

The Birds is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies (apparantly it's being remade in 2009). Bird attacks aren't that uncommon, particularly if you live in a nesting area for the Red-winged Blackbird. This common species (IUCN: Least Concern) inhabits grassy areas, both dry and wetlands. The males of the species (pictured) have distinctive red shoulders, giving the bird its name. Females are a brown-black colour and lack the distinctive red markings. If you live or commute near a Red-winged Blackbird nest, watch the skies: During nesting season, as some of our readers can tell you first hand, the males become fiercely territorial and will swoop down and peck at unsuspecting pedestrians or cyclists if they should wander too close. Nesting season runs from late May to mid-July.

Tropical Penguins

Penguins are a recognizable bird and a symbol of cold temperatures and frigid climates. However, penguins aren't restricted to Antarctica, nor even cold climes. The African (or Black-footed) Penguin is classified as 'vulnerable' on the endangered species list and can be found on the south-western African coast (South Africa and Namibia). In this region, the average summer daytime temperatures range from 20-34^oC, but in the winter temperatures can drop below freezing at night.

Closely related to the African Penguin is the endangered Galapagos Penguin. This equatorial penguin is native to the Galapagos Islands, and is the only penguin species to cross into the Northern Hemisphere. The temperature on the islands ranges from 15-30^oC year-round. Maybe it's time to rethink our 'do not freeze' labels.

Eating is Bad For the Environment

I was just patrolling TheGoogle for statistics on some official Bayblab-sanctioned research when I came across an interesting stat cited in a CNN article. As Rob recently pointed out in his comments to a previous post, industrial food production relies heavily on energy input from fossil fuels; this number kind of puts things in perspective: production of a 2kg box of cereal requires the equivalent 1.9L of gasoline. That's probably what one person would easily eat in a week, and according to my calculations it's equivalent to the gasoline needed to drive a 2008 Honda civic 33km or so on the highway.

On one hand, this doesn't seem like a lot - at least it's fairly insignificant compared to what the average North American puts into her car. The average commuter might reasonably burn 10 times as much gasoline than this in her car each week. On the other hand, when you think about how much heavier and therefore harder to move cars are than people, 33km is looking pretty good. It's clear that cars are making much better use of fossil fuels than humans are. So maybe we should stop "eating" fossil fuel energy and just feed it to our cars and other machines. That would make living difficult though, wouldn't it? And besides, aren't the machines just there to make life better/easier for us in the first place?

(Follow-up Bayblab bonus homework: With the manufacturing processes in use right now, how much ethanol fuel can you get out of the grain in a box of 2kg cereal? How far could you drive that 2008 Honda civic on this ethanol? How much additional fossil fuel input is needed to convert the cereal grain into ethanol? How far could you drive a Honda civic on that extra fossil fuel?)

Kristin-gate at the OHRI

Notice anything strange with these blots? Apparently the data on it was faked and photoshoped along with "19 panels of Western blot data, appearing in 11 figures in 3 publications" by a post-doc fellow who shared working space with some bayblab readers and contributors. The story is all over the news today as we learned that her employment with the OHRI was terminated. You can find coverage of the whole story in the Ottawa Citizen and the National Post. The OHRI is trying to do some damage control, and thankfully the fraud wasn't commited here in the Ottawa lab but during Kristin's PhD at the university of Pennsylvania. The Office of Research Intergrity has taken the following disciplinary actions:

"for a period of five (5) years, beginning on June 7, 2007:

(1) Dr. Roovers is debarred from eligibility for any contracting or subcontracting with any agency of the United States Government and from eligibility or involvement in nonprocurement programs of the United States Government referred to as ``covered transactions'' as defined in HHS' implementation of OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension at 2 CFR part 376, et seq.; and

(2) Dr. Roovers is prohibited from serving in any advisory capacity to PHS, including but not limited to service on any PHS advisory committee, board, and/or peer review committee, or as a consultant."

This is bad news for everybody involved, the university, the institute and the scientific community. How could such blatant fraud make it past peer review? I would hate to be one of the innocent co-authors. Science is stressful and sometimes frustrating, and there can be tremendous pressure to have experiments work, but I am still baffled by the extent of fogery in this case. Any thoughts on the subject?

Quack hunting season is open

Apparently the FDA is going after quacks who are selling cancer "cures" over the internet. They sent letters to 25 of these outfits and may follow-up with seizures and criminal prosecutions. from the article:

"The letters criticized unproven claims made about these products including the ability to "destroy the enzyme on DNA responsible for cancer cells," and the power to "neutralize" carcinogens. One product's Web site had a testimonial claiming it had cured a patient's skin cancer in three days, according to one of the letters.

The ingredients of these unproven treatments include bloodroot, shark cartilage, coral calcium, cesium, ellagic acid, and a variety of mushrooms among other products."

Urban Birdwatching

The Peregrine Falcon is often called the fastest animal on earth, reaching speeds of up to 320 km/h during an aerial dive. It is also an example of successful conservation efforts. Widespread use of DDT severely affected the Peregrine population, putting the bird on the endangered species list. The chemical altered adult breeding behaviour, and its accumulation in bird tissues led to inadequate calcium and more fragile eggs. In the 70s, a DDT ban and conservation programs helped the bird make a comeback and in 1999 it was removed from the endangered species list. Today it enjoys 'least concern' status.

One doesn't have to go far to see the Peregrine Falcon in the wild. While historically they built their nests on cliffs in coastal areas, they've also adapted to life in the big city. Replacing the cliffside with a highrise and with an ample pigeon population to feast on, the falcon is also at home in an urban setting. Here in Ottawa, a downtown nest can be found at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Lyon Street) where they are monitored by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists club and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Two new chicks were hatched there earlier this month.

Music Appreciation

There are few afflictions that affect as many people and are as severe as left-handedness. However I recently heard of another that is almost as bad, and affirms my genetic superiority. Indeed I am not tune deaf (TD). A recent Science Friday program talks to Dr. Allen Braun who investigates tune deafness. Tune deaf essentially means that you can't really distinguish when notes are played off key. Take the Distorted Tunes Test to see if you are tune deaf (beware Quicktime!). If you failed that test I find it hard to believe that you could ever really appreciate music, but a couple of callers into the science friday program say that despite TD they do enjoy music. Fortunately this affects only 2% of the general population so it is not as prevalent a problem as left-handedness. Unfortunately it is highly heritable.
More interestingly, from ScienceNOW (link added):
As expected, these subjects did not have the typical MMN response to poorly played tunes, the team reports today in PLoS One. But to their surprise, the researchers did detect the P300 response to the incorrect notes. Braun believes these results show that the brain can detect the differences even though tune-deaf people aren't aware.
Thus these subjects possibly have a deficiency in transfer between conscience and unconscience knowledge of incorrect tones. The authors of the paper propose:
In light of this, TD may provide a novel opportunity to study conscious perception. Unlike lesion-based disorders such as blindsight it should be possible to study the process in a brain that is structurally intact, and in a patient population that is far larger. In addition, TD is a highly heritable condition, and investigations currently underway may identify the genetic variants that underlie this condition. The tune deaf population may thus constitute a group in which the problem of consciousness might be approached at the cellular and molecular level using the tools of genetic research.

Tom-a-to, Tom-ah-to

Above is a map of regional use of generic terms for soft drinks in the US (curiously, 'soft drink' doesn't make the cut). I find the use of 'coke' as a generic term kind of interesting. It's sort of like kleenex, except if you ask for a kleenex nobody is going to complain if you get a Scott tissue instead of a Kimberly-Clark.

"I'll have a coke please"
"What kind?"
"7-up"

To see what classifies as 'other', or for Canadian statistics, go here (Massachusetts calls it 'tonic')
[h/t: Gene Expression]

Updates on the CCRG and C-51

We received the following email from a reader, updating us on some goings-on with respect to Bill O'Neill and the Canadian Cancer Research Group as well as Bill C-51. [Links added]

Hi, Bayblab . . .
I took an interest in Bayblab as soon as I learned that Bill O'Neill (CCRG, ISM) threatened to sue you. That put you in very distinguished company.

Here are some fairly recent developments on the CCRG, ISM scene, most of which you likely already know about:

-- Immune System Management, ISM, has been granted 'corporate membership' in OCRI.

-- Bill seems to be switching the emphasis from his CCRG to his ISM: The directory board inside the Fifth Avenue Court building still lists the CCRG as a tenant, but the sign swinging above the entrance to Bill's offices that once read "CCRG" has been replaced with one reading "Immune System Management."

-- He still hasn't replaced Dr. Eoghan O'Shea but his websites still say he has at least one "medical doctor" on staff.

-- The CCRG website began proclaiming that it had launched a lawsuit again CTV and W-Five more than 2 years ago but it has never come to court.

-- With the words "swindling people living with cancer is one of most despicable forms of fraud" the Competition Bureau launched "Project False Hope" last March to coincide with Fraud Awareness Month. It comprises 2 clever features meant to steer the unwary away from phony "cancer clinic." The Bureau grumbles that it has the power to do more. Don't hold your breath.

-- The Ottawa Citizen reported the other day that Tony Clement has folded under the intense pressure brought against his Bill C-51 by the Natural Food Products manufacturers. The original bill had enough power to force the CCRGs and ISMs to submit medical claims to scientific rigor. What with Parliament set to adjourn for the summer, it now appears certain Bill C-51 will go to the Standing Committee on Health for review and revision.

Regards . . .

Quickly checking some of those sites, Project False Hope seems like a nice idea, but as our reader points out, is largely toothless. What it does have is a dummy natural product site and quiz to help identify health fraud, but little else (and no mention of particular companies or groups that should be avoided). I wasn't able to find specific details about the proposed changes to C-51, but it sounds like the revised bill will create a separate category for natural health products (the current version has them grouped with prescription drugs as 'therapeutic products') which takes acknowledges "that natural health products are generally of lower risk and that their long history of use has some value." [Globe and Mail] I'll be interested to see if the proposed changes alter any of C-51's language dealing with standards of evidence and marketing for natural products which I thought was one of the major benefits of the original bill.

On not seeing the forest for the trees

N: which is correct, seven and five IS thirteen, or seven and five ARE thirteen?
Joker: Neither.
Joker: Because it's twelve.

[From bash.org]

Human ovulation caught on tape

Surgeons who were performing a partial hysterectomy witnessed a spontaneous ovulation and were lucky enough to have a camera to record the event. The pictures (I wish there was a video), will be published in the journal "Fertility and Sterility". Surprisingly, the ovulation was not an "explosive" event as it is assumed to be, but rather a 15 minute long and smooth release of the egg...

Radioactive beer belly determined early in life

Apparently you can tell how old cells are based upon pulse chase-like experiments. A group of researchers has done this on human subjects and found that the turnover rate for fat cells is about 10% per year. This result was independent of body mass index and suggests that in early childhood the number of fat cells is determined. Not only is that interesting itself but also interesting is the fact that the 'pulse' used in these experiments were provided by nuclear bomb tests. Genius. At my current computer I can't access the paper, but I wonder if they looked at any other tissues?

Global Warming & Vinegar

FYI. The retreating glaciers are not going to mean an abundance of the purest form of vinegar or acetic acid, commonly called glacial acetic acid. Glacial acetic acid is simply water-free acetic acid and is named such for the ice-crystals that will form at 16.7C. Perhaps everyone already knew this, not surprisingly I did not have a clue.

Weekend Games

I mentioned this at lunch today, a drinking game called 'Wisest Wizard'. I'm pretty sure there are more complete rules somewhere else. But you get the idea.