Month: October 2007

Flu Clinic Widget

Flu shot

Is flu vaccination a shot in the dark? Regular readers will recall the recent debate on multiple vaccines, statistics, and risk we had here in September. I also have rather close personal experience of one of the risks associated with having the annual flu vaccine – Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). This autoimmune disorder is purportedly associated with a respiratory or gastrointestinal tract infection although there is a statistical risk that connects it to the flu vaccine. A close relative of mine developed GBS symptoms about six weeks after having the flu jab last December and has not yet fully recovered. GBS support groups recommend she not have the vaccine again.

So, it is with mixed feelings that I read an email from Charles Forsyth (a public relations professional at www.btstrategies.com apparently working for the American Lung Association). Charles is helping the ALA raise awareness of the importance of getting an influenza vaccination at this time of year. He explains that part of the campaign involves persuading bloggers and other website owners to add a widget to their site. The widget helps readers find a local flu clinic quickly and easily where they can be vaccinated.

You can try the widget here http://www.flucliniclocator.org and download it to add to your site. Just enter your zip code to find clinics in your area and make an appointment. You could use it to find a clinic for elderly or infirm friends or relatives too or others in high-risk categories, such as asthma sufferers, and those on immunosuppressant drugs.

Tragically, influenza kills about 36,000 people each year in the US, Charles tells me, and requires another 200,000 to be hospitalized. Most of these deaths are preventable by getting a simple flu shot each fall.

The following groups are considered at higher risk than the general population

  • People who are 50 years of age and older
  • Women who will be pregnant during influenza season
  • Young children 6 to 59 months of age [Not sure what changes at 59 months, presumably they just mean under fives]
  • People with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, TB, CF, heart disease, kidney problems, diabetes, and severe anaemia
  • People who have diseases or having treatments that depress immunity
  • Caregivers of those at risk

Charles suggested I add the widget to the Sciencebase bird flu symptoms page, but I think that would be a little irresponsible, given that a vaccine against human influenza will most likely provide absolutely no protection against an impending bird flu epidemic. Instead, I’ve added it to my seasonal page on how to avoid colds and flu in the first place. This page rears its ugly head at this time of year on an annual basis, so it’s as good a place to slot the widget as any. I should emphasize though, that if you have any concerns about the protective efficacy of vaccination or the risks associated with the flu jab you should discuss them with your GP.

Oh, and if you think you have flu or a bad cold, don’t spread it around, stay at home.

ACS Salary Spam

I suspect that a large proportion of the chemical blogosphere has either received the spam message from [email protected] some time this month or if they haven’t they will have seen it on one of the blogs. It’s on Chemical Forums, Peter Suber’s OA blog and from there it went to PeterMR’s blog, and the CHMINF-L discussion group, and several other blogs summarized in this Pg cluster.

The gist of the message is that a purported long-time ACS employee is frustrated by the size of the salary their boss receives and that this somehow relates to how the organisation operates and the profits it makes. Where’s the news in that? Bosses earn more than their subordinates! Shock! Salaries tied to success! Horror!

There is no way to validate the source of the original email from the headers alone, a free Yahoo account was used to send it and the YahooID is not in the membership directory of that site, so it may or may not be from a disgruntled ACS employee, we may never know, unless the person owns up.

My flippancy aside, the email does raise an important point, which Peter Suber and others wish to address and he suggests that the community should raise the following issue in open discussion: “If your professional society has opposed government OA policies, try to find out whether its executives get bonuses based on the revenues or profits of its publications. If they do, ask in a public meeting whether they believe this is a conflict of interest.”

I asked the ACS communications office to comment on the original email, and they got back to me with a statement. In it, the ACS categorically states: “The anonymous author makes erroneous and misleading claims about the compensation of these employees and alleges that the compensation is somehow related to the Society’s position on open access.”

It goes on to say that: “The ACS’s position on Open Access has been developed carefully over many years, in consultation with scientists and publishing experts from a wide range of scientific disciplines and interests. It is measured and seeks to balance the legitimate needs of all stakeholders in scientific publishing. That position has been fully reviewed and approved by the appropriate levels of ACS Governance, including Board Committees and the Board of Directors, and is not a ‘staff decision’ alone.”

So, on the one hand, we have a spurious claim from an anonymous emailer claiming to be an ACS employee, which has been taken up by the chemistry blogosphere and beyond and a statement from ACS denying all the claims in said email and consolidating their stance on Open Access.

Do ChemSpy readers have any thoughts on all of this?

Jonny Wilkinson, Physicist Extraordinaire

Jonny Wilkinson

On this side of The Atlantic, there is growing interest this week in Jonny Wilkinson’s balls, and more to the point how he kicks them. Wilkinson’s drop goals are testament to his keen understanding of the physics of aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, and possibly even the Bernoulli effect. Perfect fodder for a physics science project.

However, it’s not all about the shape of the ball nor the swing of the leg, according to UK research published this month. The prodigious kicking success of England rugby player Johnny Wilkinson may rely more on what he does with his arms than his legs, according to a paper published in the journal Sports Biomechanics. Scientists at Bath University analysed the kicking techniques of professional and semi-professional rugby players to see which technique is most successful.

They found that players who swing their non-kicking-side arm across their chest as they make contact with the ball are the most accurate kickers, particularly over longer distances. It could be that the increased momentum produced by this arm movement helps the kicker control the amount of rotation in their bodies so that when they kick the ball their body is facing the target for longer.

Although Wilkinson’s trademark posture in lining up for the kick is well known, it is his arm movement you should watch out for in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final, it might just signal defeat for the Springboks. Or, maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part. Two RWC victories in a row, could it happen, could England swing it?

A Tricorder for Blood Disease and Breast Cancer

Med-tricorder

Science news with a spectroscopy bent from my desktop hit the virtual newsstands today over on SpectroscopyNOW.com First up, an atomic coilgun that can stop atoms in their tracks using a sequence of pulsed magnetic fields has been developed by US scientists. The device opens up the possibility of slowing and trapping atoms regardless of atomic number, which is not possible even with Nobel prize winning laser trapping science, which works only for specific atoms. The new approach could allow technologically important elements such as iron, nickel, and the most fundamental element of all, hydrogen, to be slowed to a standstill.

Next, we have a story for fans of Italian cuisine in which scientists have figured out the details of how enzymes in the fragrant herb basil give it its sweet zing so beloved of pesto fans. structure of eugenol synthase, frozen in mid-action as it makes its natural product, eugenol. The researchers at the University of Michigan have taken an X-ray snapshot of basil’s enzyme eugenol synthase working on a substrate molecule key to the biological synthesis of the aromatic component of fresh basil leaves, eugenol. Apparently, the enzyme has a rather unique action in that it involves a push-pull mechanism that evolved from a simpler enzyme seen in other plants and basil’s ancestors.

We also have a rather gory story in this week’s issue related to sticky blood. In it, an entirely new approach to testing for the sticky blood disorder known as Hughes syndrome, or antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is developed. The technique involves a statistical analysis of near-infrared (NIR) spectra recorded for suspect blood samples. The accurate results suggests that NIR might one day be developed as a non-invasive test that can be carried out without piercing the skin for a blood sample. Some observers are already suggesting this is yet another step towards a Tricorder type device for medical diagnostics.

Finally, NIR spectroscopy is also being investigated as a new approach to detecting the microscopic calcium salt crystals that form in tissue during the early stages of breast cancer. A Harvard medical team is developing the novel scanning technique and has invented an easy to make compound that latches on to the microcalcifications and lights up in the near-infrared region of the spectrum. Presumably, the same observers heralding a medical Tricorder type device for blood diseases will see this as another example of so NIR and yet so far.

Rush Natural Science

Rush natural science, photo by David BradleyEarlier this week, I went to see “one” of my childhood musical heroes, progressively rocking Canadian three piece Rush. The band was on top form as ever and the crowd jostled to the music almost in synchrony like so many atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) as the band raised the energy levels. They played most of their latest album, covering themes of humanism and faith without religion as well as resurrecting some stonkers from their vast back catalogue including the epic Natural Science from 1980 album Permanent Waves.

It was just before that album came out, 78-79, that I first got into Rush, perhaps it’s no coincidence, that the technicality of their music appealed to my early noodlings on the guitar while the content of their lyrics, which aren’t so much sword and sorcery as science and nature, appealed to my inner geek. Not the more usual sex, and drugs, and rock & roll for the maturing Rush of late 1970s, more the cynical take on our place in the world, with tracks such as the aforementioned Natural Science discussing the balance between the natural and the synthetic world and how integrity of purpose could allow us to reach an equilibrium between control and understanding through science.

Science and Rush were always a likely match. They did a song called Chemistry, after all, and a two-part conceptual epic spread over two albums about the black hole Cygnus X-1, and guitarist Alex Lifeson is on record as being quite a science fan. I’m quite proud of the sheer coincidence that not long after I published an article about earthshine, drummer and lyricist Neil Peart saw fit to write about that very subject as an allegory of the public perception of our inner selves. But, it’s no coincidence that Rush generally top the ubergeek’s playlist.

In fact, just for fun here’s a few other scientifically minded fans of the band: Paul May, chemist, Bristol Uni, creator of MotM, Steve Sain, statistician, unfortunately also confesses to having seen Billy Joel in concert, Mark Lewney, physicist, and rock doctor (think Einstein meets Hendrix), Nicole Biamonte, Iowa University music theorist, David Muir, educational computing guy, Arvind Gopu, lead systems analyst for the Open Science Grid Operations group at Indiana University, Anthony Francis, artificial intelligence researcher and science fiction author, Jon Price, geotechnogeek at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Let me know if you want to add your name and link to the list.

Now, tell me what is the biophysics behind post-gig ringing in the ears?

Nobel Prize for Peace 2007

Oscar winning politician Al Gore and the hundreds of scientists of the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change established by the United Nations) have been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace for their work on raising international awareness of our responsibilities when it comes to climate change.

The award highlights the fact that climate change could have a significant impact on international relations and world peace. Indeed, former IPCC chairman Dr Bob Watson, said that, “What the Nobel Committee has done is to demonstrate to the world that climate change is not just simply an environmental issue but an issue of peace. Climate change can threaten security both at the national and regional level and has brought into sharp focus just how serious this issue is.”

Current chairman Rajendra Pachauri said that this is a prize for all scientists pushing for action against climate change. UN Secretary General said that the Prize, for them, shows that it is beyond doubt that climate change is affecting the world.

Solar Power, Japanese Hair, X-Rays, and Winning SONS

Japanese women

This week, The Alchemist learns of awards to two chemists funded by the European Science Foundation and undertaking cutting edge multidisciplinary work in solar energy and liquid crystals.

It turns out that when it comes to crystallography size no longer matters, thanks to developments in how well x-ray beams can be focused and the positioning of microcrystals for analysis by diffraction. Also this week, could an extract from bilberries be effective against certain types of tumor or even prevent specific cancers developing in the first place?

And, while water cannot burn, there is new evidence that a novel photocatalyst is getting solar energy experts hot under the collar in the search for the perfect hydrogen-production process. In inorganic chemistry, mercury shows its true mettle when confronted with plenty of fluorine and, finally, Raman spectroscopy can now see through even the most highly pigmented hair, revealing the secret of aging Japanese locks.

Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2007

Gerhard Ertl

The Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2007 goes to Gerhard Ertl of the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces. Congratulations Professor!

We have the semiconductor industry of the 1960s to thank for the emergence of surface chemistry. Gerhard Ertl was one of the first to see the potential of the new techniques and has pioneered methodology for different experimental procedures that give us a clear picture of surface reactions.

I wrote about Ertl’s work on several occasions for ChemWeb.com in its previous incarnation and reported on a catalyst surface science meeting of the UK’s Royal Society in 2004. There is a list of past winners on Sciencebase together with links and a brief summary of their research here.

Mapping Chemical Industry Knowledge

Joana Mendonça and Rui Baptista of the Centre for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research at the Technical University of Lisbon, working with Paulo Conde of Solvay in Brussells, Belgium, have examined how innovation occurs within the chemical industry, by examining the processes and activities undertaken by the Portuguese branch of a multinational chemical company. They have looked at the company’s formal innovation process and from that they have gleaned a map of the knowledge bases used in the search for innovative, new products.

Europe is a major player in the global chemical industry, but recently supply has begun to shift towards the Asian and Middle East markets. Demand from these regions is increasingly rapidly but their own fast-developing industries may not face the same high production costs and strict environmental regulations that increasingly make Europe a less attractive investment.

Couple this socioeconomic and geographical shift in production with a fall off in R&D spending in Europe and the exodus of skilled labour and on the surface it appears that chemical industry innovation within Europe is on the wane. Faced with this prospect, Mendonça and colleagues suggest that it, “is of crucial importance to analyse its processes within the chemical industry.”

Their analysis of the chemical industry has allowed them to produce a map showing the spread of the industry’s widely distributed knowledge bases and to demonstrate how knowledge flows between them and how it is used. They have found that the ability to generate value-creating knowledge is concentrated in the early stages of the industry’s lifecycle regardless of region. In contrast, the Portuguese industry is mostly concentrated on activities that have already reached maturity and, in some cases, are in decline rather than looking to innovation. “Owing to this asymmetry, disembodied knowledge flows are difficult to create, and other types of relationship should be pursued,” they suggest.

They also point out that multinational companies tend to rely strongly on internal improvements and do not seek new knowledge from outside sources that might lead to profitable innovation or improvements in efficiency. Indeed, any innovative activities that take place are actually focused on preventing “unwelcome surprises and to minimise risk” as opposed to facilitating the kin of “freewheeling, imaginative, and risk-taking approach that characterises entrepreneurship”.

All is not lost, add the researchers, “large multinational companies can have a decisive role in the innovation process by providing their market expertise to entrepreneurs and the case study presented shows a path other companies may follow.”

The original research paper, “A map of the knowledge bases for the chemical industry” can be found in the current issue of the International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management (2007, 7, 245-262)

Nobel Prize for Physics 2007

This year’s Nobel Prize for Physics went to Albert Fert (France) and Peter Grünberg (Germany), who share the prize fifty:fifty for their discovery of giant magnetoresistance in which a very weak magnetic change gived rise to a major difference in electrical resistance of a system.

This effect underpins the technology that is used to read data on hard disks. It is thanks to their discovery that it has been possible to miniaturize hard disks so radically in recent years. Sensitive read-out heads are needed to be able to read data from the compact hard disks used in laptops and mp3 players, for instance.

You can read more details on the Nobel site here