science

Neutrino Transformation Could Help Explain Mystery of Matter

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Cool story in Wired today … Two research teams have found new evidence of transformations in elusive elementary particles called neutrinos. The findings may finally help explain why the universe didn’t vanish shortly after its birth. “These results are just the beginning of the story for neutrinos,” said physicist Robert Plunkett of Fermilab in Chicago. … Read more

(News Today) – Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

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Type 2 diabetes can not only be treated, but can now be cured. You need never actually have it; provided that you adopt a sensible lifestyle of good diet and exercise then you are never going to suffer the condition, barring extremely bad luck in your genes. Similarly, if you are headed down the path … Read more

Weeping in utter frustration – anti-evolution bills on the NH legislative agenda!!!

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The National Centre for Science Educaion reports … Antievolution bills are on the horizon in New Hampshire. Included on a list (PDF) of legislative service requests dated June 14, 2011, are two requests to have antievolution bills drafted for the 2012 legislative session. LSR 2012-H-2176-R, submitted by Jerry Bergevin (R-District 17), asks for a bill … Read more

Naming New Elements

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We have two new elements in the periodic table, 114 and 116. The details are in the Journal of Pure and Applied Chemistry here. Both are highly radioactive and exist for less than a second before decaying into lighter atoms, so blink and you will indeed miss them. This has been on the cards for some time now, and have been submitted for inclusion along with claims for 113, 115 , and 118. Well, 114 and 116 just made it.

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Unicorn no longer extinct

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Now here is a small piece of encouraging news from Today’s Guardian … Unicorn’s are no longer extinct. Basically … the last wild Arabian oryx was shot in 1972, thus making it more or less extinct. However, a successful captive breeding programme and reintroduction efforts mean its population now stands at 1,000. You can read … Read more

Vaccines and Foreign aid

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There is a great article in today’s UK Telegraph by Hugh Pennington , the emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen. It has been written in response to the news that Bill Gates and also the UK government have comitted huge sums to money, when  yesterday they pledged £814 million on top of the UK’s existing commitment to GAVI (the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation) of £680 million between 2011 and 2015.

Here are a couple of choice quotes that I’ve plucked out because I really like them …

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