Beer

I like beer. I have a spreadsheet to keep track of the beer that I’ve tried.

I like science. Good science makes my inner nerd very happy. I have huge issues with journalists/bloggers (JBs) who don’t know their science from a hole in the ground. When eejit JBs start talking nonsense smack about beer, it’s time to raise my hand and call BS.

This is the BS in question:

http://banoosh.com/blog/2014/04/03/8-beers-stop-drinking-immediately

I followed the link, read the information about the first beer, and stopped reading. There was no point since the first description was a fat load of dingo’s kidneys. This is the bit that got my Irish up:

“Class 3 and 4 caramel coloring is made from ammonia, which is classified as a carcinogen. “The one and only” beer with cancer causing qualities.”

The article says it used The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) as a source. Horse hockey. Here is a direct quote from the ATSDR Public Health Statement on ammonia:

“There is no evidence that ammonia causes cancer. Ammonia has not been classified for carcinogenic effects by EPA, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), or the International Agency for research on cancer (IARC)”

You can check the ATSDR for yourself:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=9&tid=2

Did I mention that the blog post was a heaping pile of meadow muffins? And codswallop? And more than 1.3 million people have liked the Banoosh Facebook page? Holy crap. It’s no wonder egregious ignorance is rampant.

That banoosh blogger is really stupid. Or ballsy. Or both. Or maybe he/she (we don’t know because the post is unattributed) is knowingly spreading misinformation. Whatever. It’s still BS.

Just because chemical A is made from Chemical B does not mean that the two share the same human toxicologic effects. Geez. That’s Toxicology 101. For instance, some ammonia compounds are beneficial:

·         The active ingredient in smelling salts is ammonium carbonate.

·         Ammonium bicarbonate is used in baking. http://www.food.com/library/ammonium-bicarbonate-780

Words of wisdom from a sarcastic scientist:

Beware of what you read on the internet. Check your facts. Do your own research. Call BS when you read it. 

Science education for the everyman (and woman...and child)

I stumbled across this website via iO9 today and it seems pretty freaking fantastic!  Free online science education at various levels of depth taught by leading experts in an interesting and engaging manner. Perfect for the modern day ADD adult, or child.

The initial offerings are from Brian Greene, who is a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University and the co-director of Columbia's Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics. So basically, he's pretty fucking smart. You can kind of view him as the ying to Neil DeGrasse Tyson's yang.  Both are huge advocates of science education and furthering the "truth" of science but they have differing views about how to go about it.

World Science U will eventually cover many areas of science but it is currently focused primarily on physics and astrophysics.  The cool thing is that it has multiple levels of instruction based upon how deeply you want to dive into a subject.  If you just have a basic conceptual question you can browse through the hundreds of topics posted and find out the basics.  Alternately if you want to take a short course or full on university level course those options are on there as well. Education doesn't have to (and shouldn't!) stop just because you're not in school anymore.  Think how boring life would be be if we stopped learning new things.

http://www.worldscienceu.com/

Now go forth and do a science!!

Oh MY GOD, Becky! Look at THIS research!

What pops in your head when you read the phrase "research from the University of Oxford indicates..."?  Probably an image of some stodgy old English guy in glasses with a pipe expounding on some esoteric interpretation of a newly discovered manuscript on life in Lower Uncton? What if the phrase finished that with "...that women with big butts are healthier and smarter"?  

That's right, dear readers, some English dudes apparently got a grant from the Sir Mix-A-Lot School of Public Health to evaluate badonkadonks.  What they found was that those who are little in the middle and got much back have lower cholesterol, are less likely to get diabetes, have fewer heart problems and are more likely to produce hormones that help metabolize sugar.  Apparently butt fat helps the body while belly fat has the opposite effect.  In addition, that juicy rump is home to high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids which stimulate brain development, so dat ass is like a super charger for her brain.

So next time you're telling some girl to back that ass up, consider the fact that she's also probably capable of backing up her position on a subject with facts and a well reasoned explanation. That's just hella HOT.  I'm going to just assume that Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and Ada Lovelace all had more junk in their trunk than I do in my car...but had to hide it under their labcoats.

Just in case you're the type of person to question the validity of this ground breaking research just remember that when it comes to big butts, I cannot lie.

Okay, technically this study was not specifically about the ladies, it applies to both sexes but I'm not interested in blogging about dudes' backsides.

Paper summary

lower levels of cholesterol and are more likely to produce hormones to metabolize sugar. Having a big butt requires an excess of Omega 3 fats, which have been proven to catalyze brain development
Read more at http://www.universityherald.com/articles/5306/20131031/women-with-big-butts-are-smarter-and-resistant-to-chronic-illnesses.htm#4KB14HS4355tA5C0.99

lower levels of cholesterol and are more likely to produce hormones to metabolize sugar. Having a big butt requires an excess of Omega 3 fats, which have been proven to catalyze brain development
Read more at http://www.universityherald.com/articles/5306/20131031/women-with-big-butts-are-smarter-and-resistant-to-chronic-illnesses.htm#4KB14HS4355tA5C0.99

lower levels of cholesterol and are more likely to produce hormones to metabolize sugar. Having a big butt requires an excess of Omega 3 fats, which have been proven to catalyze brain development
Read more at http://www.universityherald.com/articles/5306/20131031/women-with-big-butts-are-smarter-and-resistant-to-chronic-illnesses.htm#4KB14HS4355tA5C0.99

Show Me the [Research] Money!

"...data are consistent with the possibility that semen may antagonize depressive symptoms and evidence which shows that the vagina absorbs a number of components of semen that can be detected in the bloodstream within a few hours of administration."[1]

Dudes, seriously?!? Can you PLEASE share your secrets with us??? HTF does one write a grant proposal for some of these studies coming out?  WHO funds them? The John Holmes Foundation???

As I'm currently suffering from an attack of the ladybrain (which will be scientifically detailed in a future post), I'm trying to find every possible means to direct this surge of energy into creative outlets instead of checking my phone every 3 minutes and/or listening to the untruths the ladybrain whispers in my ear, such as "maybe you should call Verizon just to make sure your phone is working?" or "maybe he crashed his bike and that is why he hasn't texted back?"  MAKE IT STOP!

Since we're on the topic of the "internal voice," I've been reading up on this claim made by two researchers at New York State University in Albany in which they postulate that semen acts as an antidepressant in females.  AGAIN, how does one receive money to do this research???  Is it over cocktails at a nerd conference??? 

#d-bag1: Hey dude, my gurl isn't putting out and I'm soooo allergic to condoms...I wonder if SCIENCE can help me out???

#d-bag2: Oh, I heard the John Holmes Foundation has money earmarked for studies in female manipulation.  Maybe we can connect depression to a woman's lack of semen uptake?

#d-bag1: Whoa dude...why don't they let us drink these jager-bombs in the lab???

Initially, I pulled out some dusty text books and scoured the interwebs to refresh my memory (ie, learn for the very first time) how to develop a null hypothesis and do chi-squared, t- and p-tests to PROVE these douchebags wrong on a MATHEMATICAL level. But, then I got lazy (read: confused), and realized that they already gave me the ammunition I needed right in the paper.

This is YET another example of how journalists read merely the abstract of a scientific study and not the DISCUSSION section which includes all the CAVEATS...you know, the part where the scientists admit how their research project sucked and suggestions for the next set of researchers to design a better study.  These CAVEATS include:

• "Although our findings raise more questions than they answer...."
• "It is important to acknowledge that these data are preliminary and correlational in nature, and as such are only suggestive."
• "More definitive evidence for antidepressant effects of semen would require more direct manipulation of the presence of semen in the reproductive tract and, ideally the measurement of seminal components in the recipient's blood."

Oh, HOLD THE PHONE! Actually, journalists don't even read past the TITLE, as this is the headliner for a post I saw online...

"Oral sex is good for women's health and makes you feel happier, according to a study which studied the effects of semen's 'mood-altering chemicals.'"

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2190863/Semen-good-womens-health-helps-fight-depression.html#ixzz2koWMUGWA 

And yet, the researchers CLEARLY STATE (albeit on the last page)...

"It would be interesting to investigate the possible antidepressant effects of oral ingestion of semen, or semen applied through anal intercourse (or both) among both heterosexual couples as well as homosexual males."

So in short, journalists rarely research the actual source and just end up rebranding someone else's poorly researched as their won.   Also, the most bizarre research always seems to be in the medical field.  Hence the conception (no pun intended) of this blog...bringing the people INTERESTING and HUMOROUS science stories without the JAGER-BOMBED uninformed reporting.

_____________

[1] Gallup, G; Burch, R; Platek, S (2002) Does Semen Have Antidepressant Properties? Archives of Sexual Behavior 31(1): 289-293.

Dead Dudes I'd Like to Date: Prologue

Seriously! Why didn't anyone tell me that anthropology wasn't all Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider and droopy boobs??? Get paid to hang out with bearded dudes? SIGN THIS GURL UP.

Lately, I've had to defend my propensity for the highly decorated male half-species.  Decorated as in beard, tattoos and glasses.  Maybe its because I like the bad boys with a side of intelligence. Maybe because there is no real right-of-passage for Western men. Or maybe its just EVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE bitches!

"Understanding is a lot like sex; it's got a practical purpose, but 

that's not why people do it normally." -Frank Oppenheimer

These dudes in Australia (already HOT!) showed about 400 women photos of men in various stages of beardedness (yes, this is a goddamn word, it was published in a scientific journal), from clean shaven all the way to 10 days growth[1].  Oh, these dudes were wicked smart because they also tracked the variable of the women's menstruation cycle.

Low-and-behold, the female participants chose the heavy bearded photos as the most attractive. Women in the "fertile phase" of the menstrual cycle were absconding to the restroom with the beard photos.  These results confirm the researchers' findings that beardedness impacts "male socio-sexual attributes" judgement by females, and that these glorious full-bearded individuals may be perceived as "better fathers who could protect and invest in offspring."

Obviously, the researches didn't expand their study to my four-prong vignette above.  I'll include my newly acquired Minnesotan vernacular to explain:

• Clean-Shaven Gosling: Hey 'der
• Bearded Gosling: Fer shure
• Tatted Gosling: You betcha
• Bearded-Bespectacled-Inked Gosling: HOT DISH!

Now that you kiddos have been introduced to this basic evolutionary concept, stay tuned for the next edition of Dead Dudes I'd Like to Date.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[1] Dixson,B; Brooks, R (May 2013) The role of facial hair in women's perceptions of men's attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities. Evolution and Human Behavior. 34:3; 236-241.

[2] Ryan, C; Jetha, C (2012) Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships. Harper Perennial.

This guy...is awesome

So I haven't written a blog post in like forever, not necessarily because there hasn't been anything cool or funny happening in the world of science, but more because I have ADD and got distracted by other shiny objects.

I'm breaking back in with this video by awesome guy Thomas Blaise who composed this amazing cover of one of my favorite songs, Queen's magnum opus Bohemian Rhapsody,  as part of his Master's Thesis to explain string theory.  You don't even need to understand what he's talkng about to appreciate the effort that went into it so here you go:

PS- Thanks to Miriam Glaser Heston for posting it on Facebook so that I could have something awesome enough to get me off my ass and back on the blog.

I have also been warned that there may finally be another installment of "Dead Dudes I'd Like to Date" coming out soon. STOKED!

Life imitating art - Happy Valentine's Day!

Courtesy of sciencenews.org

Sea slug carries disposable penis, plus spares 

By Susan Milius

Web edition: February 12, 2013

A bristly hermaphroditic sea slug mates employing a use-it-then-lose-it penis, and carries one or two extras for future use, researchers have discovered.

Some 20 minutes after copulating, the still-stretched-out penis of a Chromodoris reticulata sea slug “just falls off,” says evolutionary biologist Ayami Sekizawa of Osaka City University in Japan. The sea slug then cannot mate for a matter of hours. But when researchers waited 24 hours to offer the slug a second partner, a backup organ segment appeared in place of the discard, she and her colleagues report February 13 in Biology Letters.

“New tissue emerges like lead in a mechanical pencil,” Sekizawa says.

The source of that emerging lead turned out to be lengths of spare penis tissue coiled in reserve below the currently operative segment, Sekizawa found in studying tissue samples under a microscope. Given a little time between matings, the sea slug can essentially advance the pencil lead to extend three usable sections before having to replenish the reserves by regrowing the whole structure.

A detachable penis may be especially useful when animals compete with other potential fathers. On the surfaces of used slug penises, Sekizawa found abundant backward-pointing barbs, some of which had snagged masses of sperm. She and her colleagues propose that the barbed surface scours out sperm from a previous mating partner. But the same scouring barbs may make the penis difficult to retract, and all in all easier to simply discard.

A string of three “tear-off” penises is how Janet Leonard of the University of California, Santa Cruz describes the sea slug’s genitalia. The banana slugs she studies, of the genus Ariolimax, also part with genitals but in a different way. “On rare occasions, an Ariolimax acting as a female — these are hermaphrodites — will chew off its partner's penis, a process caused apophallation,” she says. “On even rarer occasions an Ariolimax will chew off its own penis.” Yet these events are rare, so the report of sea slugs’ routine genital disposal with back-ups is unique, as far as she knows, and “quite exciting,” Leonard says.

Sekizawa and her colleagues got the first hint of the Chromodoris detachable penis when they noticed a sea slug with a truncated organ during an earlier experiment. Watching 31 matings, the researchers determined that each slug extends its penis into the reproductive tract of the other, with mutual sperm delivery lasting nine minutes on average. As the slugs disengage, they each crawl around, penis extended. Finally the penis, with no preliminary shrinking or pinching inward, simply detaches.
Several evolutionary paths could lead to detachable penises, says evolutionary ecologist Nico Michiels  of the University of Tübingen in Germany. In many species, a male plugs the female reproductive tract and stymies a rival, at least temporarily, Michiels says. An abandoned penis could certainly serve as a plug.

Also, a left-behind penis could autonomously inject sperm after the donor flees the dangers or constraints of more-intimate mating. “Not as wild as it sounds,” Michiels says. “Male bees have their whole male copulatory system ripped out during copulation, and it continues to pump sperm into the queen even after the male has gone to die.”

Courtesy of King Missile