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Tag Archives: fun
The Science of Tequila Shots
When I was in graduate school, some colleagues once served a round of drinks in 50mL conical centrifuge tubes. If only someone had dipped a pipet into one of those shots, we might have beaten these guys to publication: Researchers … Continue reading
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Tagged entomology, fun, molecular biology, science, taxonomy, tequila
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Health Hazards of Hobs
Sometimes it’s easy to tell when a paper has been published in a British journal: Frying meat on a gas hob may be more harmful to health than using an electric hob, because of the type of fumes it produces, … Continue reading
What about Scotch and Beer?
George Thorogood and John Lee Hooker should take note: Many alcoholic beverages contain byproducts of the materials used in the fermenting process. These byproducts are called “congeners,” complex organic molecules with toxic effects including acetone, acetaldehyde, fusel oil, tannins, and … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Nature
On this date 140 years ago, a British publishing firm began putting out a little magazine called Nature. Their latest volume cuts a transect through the book’s entire history, with samples at 20-year intervals. You can also see the first … Continue reading
Mmmm, Crow
After dissing (and ditching) Twitter and Plaxo, and blogging about my reasons, I’ve now backtracked. In response to overwhelming peer pressure, I joined that 800-pound gorilla of social networking sites, Facebook. This doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind about the … Continue reading
Alan Thinks Elmo Should Get Vaccinated
The Department of Health and Human Services has collaborated with Sesame Street to release a set of public service advertisements about flu prevention. Actually, the PSAs are about general hygiene, but the recent H1N1 flu emergence was what prompted this … Continue reading
Good News from Worm; Bad News for Worms
The latest issue of Science has some encouraging news about the state of global fisheries, which after decades of over-exploitation are, in a few cases, starting to recover. The researchers analyzed ten marine fisheries around the world, and found that … Continue reading
The Associated Press Picks up My Crumbs Again
Well, it’s happened again. Those ungrateful hacks at the Associated Press have lifted another one of my scoops without crediting me. This time, it’s the idea of reporting the annual list of gifts received by government officials. Longtime readers may … Continue reading
I'm Betting These Guys Have Tenure
Researchers in Cardiff, Wales are reporting an interesting correlation: Doctors in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today are urging the Vatican’s medical team to keep a special watch over the Pope this Christmas, after their research investigating the link … Continue reading
The Hidden Costs of Shaping Up
About a year ago, I started taking my workout routine a bit more seriously. I’d been following the same sequence of exercises since college, but after reading the standard text on weightlifting, I stepped up to a somewhat more intense … Continue reading