A lot of spectroscopy and a little maths

  • Uranium hard drive – A new uranium-containing compound maintains its magnetic behaviour at low temperatures. The discovery could take us a step closer to magnetic memory devices with capacities thousands of times denser than current high-end hard drives.
  • Clouds from both sides – Atmospheric and climate models may have overlooked the fact that exactly how clouds appear to reduce the amount of sunlight available for warming the surface of the earth depends on the wavelength being measured across the spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet. The finding could now help researchers improve climate models by factoring in the effects of cloud cover more precisely.
  • Soap story – It is perhaps no real surprise to any chemist who has unblocked a drain clogged with white lardy deposits, but new FTIR spectroscopic evidence confirms that degraded fat, oil and grease (FOG) reacts with calcium compounds in the murky water of drains to form hardened deposits that are, to all intents and purposes, composed of soap, leading to blockages and overflows.
  • Volcanic ash cloud nanoscience – When Eyjafjallajökull spewed volcanic ash into the atmosphere in 2010, airlines were thrown into chaos as the aviation authorities grounded all planes. But was the move justified, did it stop potentially catastrophic damage to aircraft? A new study that takes a close look at the behaviour of ash particles would suggest so.
  • SERS calcs – New quantum calculations show how electrical charge can slosh from a target molecule to the metal being used to enhance Raman signals in Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The finding could finally explain the mechanism by which this technique boosts Raman spectra in terms of the chemical contribution to the effect.
  • Zen and the art of decision making – Buddhists are different from other people, at least when they meditate on an important decision. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) shows that specific regions of the meditating brain become active when confronted with an ethical decision but that these are different from the brain regions apparently active in people of a less Zen disposition attempting to make the same decision.
  • The mathematics of elections – UK is to vote on a possible new voting system soon. There are good arguments as to why the alternative vote (AV) is mathematically a better system than first past the post (FPTP), but ultimately the decision people make in the ballot box next week is all about politics, not mathematics. Do you want a system that picks a winner with strong support from a minority of voters (FPTP) or one where the leading candidate is vaguely liked by a majority of people (AV)? No amount of equations can help you reach a decision.

The latest seven science stories to hit DB’s virtual desktop @sciencebase.

10 definitions of junk science

“Understanding how the term junk science is used will enhance debates surrounding the science of sustainability. For by better understanding what science is, we will be better positioned to use it optimally and accurately as we seek to plot a sustainable path forward.”

That’s the conclusion of US social scientist Michael Carolan of Colorado State University in Fort Collins who has analysed a decade’s worth of print media searching for a definitive definition of the term “junk science”. The media and politicians are full of it. Legislative battles are waged over it. Regulatory agencies devote resources almost to the limit in trying to understand it and differentiate between it and genuine science. But, how do we, how can we, know that we are illuminated only by the light of reason when there are so many conflicting accounts of rationality?

It’s a noble goal – to allow important decisions to be made based only scientifically valid evidence. But, who’s to decide what’s valid and what’s junk? How can you tell, anyway? In this debate, we’re not talking about data obtained fraudulently, such as the stem cell debacle in South Korea or other deliberately falsified results. But, we could be…until the bluff is called, usually by scrupulous scientists attempting to reproduce and experiment, it is impossible to know that any superficially rational decision is the right one based on the data as it stands, peer-reviewed or otherwise. Imagine the millions of dollars that might have been wasted building cold fusion power stations over the last twenty years, for instance.

The problem, says Carolan, is that defining a “finding” as junk science relies on our having a “clear and unproblematic understanding of what science is , and just as importantly what it is not”. We might think we do. It approximates to that observation-hypothesis-prediction-experiment-new-observation-amendment-(peer review)-theory cycle with which we are all fairly familiar. But, many things we call science, such as experiments that cannot be repeated independently, the LHC experiments, large-scale clinical trials, climate modelling etc, do not fit and cannot even be forced to fit this cycle. Moreover, of the many thousands of scientific papers out there that comprise the scientific literature, very few, but for some worthy exceptions, are ever repeated by other scientists.

I recently reported on the revocation of “natural” status for a compound that was previously described as having been extracted from Antrodia camphorate. But, that’s just one small example, there tens of thousands of papers any one of which might contain an error of scientific “fact” that may never come to light but on which a small, but significant decision might be made.

Carolan writes in the current issue of IJSS how there are a limited number of definitions that can be gleaned from the media sample to define junk science. In other words, the context of why this phrase was used in a given article gives us the 11 definitions of “junk science”. A third of articles analysed over the decade did not provide any definition or qualification for using the term “junk science”.

  1. Bad policy based upon (8.8%)
  2. Experts with agendas (7.0%)
  3. False data (surprisingly or not surprisingly a mere 1.8%)
  4. No data or unsubstantiated claims (14.0%)
  5. Failure to cite references (5.3%)
  6. Using non-certified experts (3.5%)
  7. Poor methodology (as determined by whom?) (21.1%)
  8. Too much uncertainty to arrive at conclusions drawn (14.0%)
  9. Revealing only that data which supports findings (7.0%)
  10. Non-peer reviewed claims (7.0%)

Research Blogging IconCarolan, M. (2011). When does science become ‘junk’? An examination of junk science claims in mainstream print media International Journal of Sustainable Society, 3 (2) DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2011.039917

Latest science news

  • Crowdsourcing a clinical trial to treat ALS – Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a pretty grim disease. Victims experience progressive muscle weakness, leading to death; patients survive a median of only two to five years following the onset of symptoms. Currently, there are no effective therapies. So it's not surprising that when a preliminary study shows a hint of efficacy, patients will do what they can to get access to the drug and share their experiences with fellow patients. A company called PatientsLikeMe has now used this tendency to share information to crowdsource a sort of clinical trial, obtaining data on the effectiveness of off-label use of a drug.
  • China seizes 26 tonnes of melamine-tainted milk powder – It's the food story we hoped we'd heard the last of, but Reuters is now reporting that Chinese police have seized more than 26 tonnes of milk powder containing melamine. The toxic nitrogen-rich organic molecule melamine has been added illegally to milk products to spoof higher protein content and so boost profits illicitly. Sciencebase reported on the melamine in milk scandal as the story broke three years ago.
  • Chernobyl: a quarter of a century later – 25 years on, with Japan struggling to avert a potential nuclear disaster, Ukraine is marking the anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl with a commemoration ceremony to remember those that lost their lives trying to control the situation in the immediate aftermath.
  • SETI scope suspends search – There is a new answer to the Fermi Paradox – which asks why, if the universe is vast and the basic ingredients life plentiful, have we not yet discovered another civilization? The answer may be: because we can’t afford to. SETI has pulled the plug on its search Array because of financial woes.
  • John James Audubon – John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter. He painted, catalogued, and described the birds of North America in a manner far superior to what had gone before. In his embrace of America and his outsize personality and achievements, he represented the new American people of the United States. Google celebrated his birthday with a Google Doodle in 2011.

The latest six science stories to cross the virtual desktop of David Bradley Science Writer @sciencebase.

Five feisty science books on David’s desk

Five super science books landed on my desk during the last week or two, everything from a Haynes manual for the Space Shuttle to hacking life and from astrobiology to the discovery of Lucy by way of the fact of evolution.

  • The Fact of Evolution – Opponents of evolution are wont to say it's "just" a theory, as if that somehow implies it's a fiction or not proven. Scientists often dislike talking in plain or making absolute, definitive statements. But, science writers and some scientists really don't mind telling it like it is. Forget the wishy-washy word "theory" with its non-scientific baggage, this is the Fact of Evolution. The onus is on opponents to prove otherwise by coming up with evidence for their own "theory".
  • Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life – Biopunks, as defined by science writer Marcus Wohlsen, are part of a loosely knit, multifaceted movement to find ways to permit people to engage in DNA research without the restrictions and costs imposed by the scientific and medical establishment. Practitioners, some self-taught, set up shop in their kitchens or garages, believing that significant biological advances are more likely to occur as more people get involved in the enterprise. DNA for DIY GM, in other words.
  • The Lucy Man – Biography of the man who discovered 'Lucy' – perhaps the most well-known fossil ever. Scientists dream of making a discovery that changes the way we think. That dream came true for Donald Johanson when he found 'Lucy' (Australopithecus afarensis); Lucy changed everything we know about human evolution.
  • From Dying Stars to the Birth of Life – Personally, I'm with Fermi when it comes to intelligent ET – if they're out there, where are they? Nevertheless, there could very well be less than technological life on other worlds, indeed it is almost inevitable. This is the incredible story of the birth of an entirely new field of science called astrobiology – a field that is now investigating whether life might exist on other worlds. From the discovery that other stars in our galaxy are circled by planets to the detection of single-cell organisms found living on Earth in extremely hostile environments, this account details the recent breakthroughs made by astronomers and earth scientists over the last few decades. Based on these findings, it argues that scientists now have the technology they need to move from speculating or fantasizing about extraterrestrials to possibly providing humanity with the first definitive proof that we are not alone.
  • Space Shuttle Haynes Manual – The NASA Space Shuttle Manual: An Insight into the Design, Construction and Operation of the NASA Space Shuttle (Owner's Workshop Manual). Sounds like a spoof but an astrogeek's insider dream. Shame they're all heading for museums rather than flying more missions…

The latest five science books to land on the desk of David Bradley Science Writer @sciencebase.

Recent science news roundup

  • Optical catapulting for explosive fingerprint detection – Optical catapulting-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy has been used to successfully detect residues of common explosives in human fingerprints, according to researchers from Egypt and Spain.
  • Unsettling enzymes – Millisecond oscillations can massively impact how an enzyme functions, a new NMR spectroscopic study in the US reveals. The study suggests that finding ways to control such movements, without altering the overall structure of an enzyme might be useful in disabling an enzyme in disease. Proof of principle was demonstrated with an enzyme from Escherichia coli.
  • Melanoma lead – Cheminformatics has helped researchers home in on a single compound that could lead to a new approach to treating malignant melanoma. Laboratory tests show that the compound reduces the number of cell types formed by neural crest progenitor cells.
  • Life on Earth – New hints as to how life emerged from the "primordial soup" have been recovered by US chemists investigating the intramolecular communication within a large RNA-protein enzyme. X-ray data on the system, which is responsible for expressing the genetic code for the amino acid glutamine, point to a deeper origin for this aspect of biochemistry.
  • Court date for e-waste crime – A court date has been set for the UK's largest ever investigation into the illegal exportation of e-waste. A total of 14 individuals and companies accused of illegally exporting waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) from the UK to developing countries, are due at court on 17 October 2011.

A roundup of recent science news selected by David Bradley Science Writer @sciencebase.

Five more science stories

  • Fukushima did not get any worse and is no Chernobyl? – Nothing had changed when they elevated Fukushima to the same level as Chernobyl, leaked radiation has gone down, although efforts are ongoing to cool the nuclear fuel and prevent any further radioactive material from escaping. The change simply recognises that it overall it was worse than at first thought. BUT this is still no Chernobyl.
  • The Chemist of Life and Death – Science has always been capable of huge innovation, and frightening destruction. The life of one scientist encapsulates that tension more than any other – Fritz Haber.
  • Milk poisoning in northwest China ‘deliberate’ – Three children who died after drinking tainted milk appear to have been the victims of deliberate poisoning, Chinese state media says. Investigators said the industrial salt nitrite had been added to fresh milk at two dairies in the north-western Gansu province in order to harm people.
  • Cancer risk ‘raised by even small amounts of alcohol’ – A possible link between alcohol consumption and cancer incidence was widely reported last week. But, NHS Choices points out several caveats in the research. E.g. The underlying data on alcohol intake was self-reported by participants, and the quality of the consumption data would rely on them accurately estimating their drinking. The study also looked at consumption during past decades, which might be particularly difficult to recall.
  • One billion computing core-hours for science, with love Google – Computing is an invaluable resource for advancement of scientific breakthroughs. Today we’re announcing an academic research grant program called Google Exacycle for Visiting Faculty, which provides 1 billion hours of computational core capacity to researchers. That’s orders of magnitude larger than the computational resources most scientists normally have access to. This program is focused on large-scale, batch computations in research areas such as biomedicine, energy, weather and climate, earth sciences and astronomy. For example, scientists could use massive amounts of computation to simulate how pharmaceuticals interact with proteins in the human body to develop new medicines.

The latest selection of five science stories, picked up by David Bradley Science Writer @sciencebase.

Comical rhyming history of life, free ebook

Last year, James Dunbar researched and wrote a scientifically accurate, rhyming comic book about the origin of the universe. This year, he’s back with part 2 of the trilogy:

“It’s Alive! The Universe Verse: Book 2”

Dunbar’s new tome, available digitally or in paper tells the story of life on Earth and its likely origins from non-living chemicals. It covers the formation of the solar system, Earth’s early history, the fundamental principles of evolution and natural selection and the basic structures and systems of life as we know it. It’s (w)rapped up in a well-written rhyme and reason full-colour illustrated book. Dunbar covered the various costs by crowd-sourcing funds using Kickstarter. You can preview the book on his website, order the $15.95 paperback, or download the low-resolution PDF version of the book courtesy of Sciencebase, with Dunbar’s kind permission.

To get the free version of Dunbar’s “It’s Alive” please “like” the Sciencebase page on Facebook and then pop back here to download the 4.8Mb PDF version.

Five more science stories

  • Tevetron finds new particle – Scientists at the particle accelerator have reported a study of the invariant mass distribution of jet pairs produced in association with a W boson using data collected with the CDF detector which correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.3 fb^-1. The observed distribution has an excess in the 120-160 GeV/c^2 mass range which is not described by current theoretical predictions within the statistical and systematic uncertainties. They found a new particle, in other words. Possibly.
  • Open-source chemistry – Nothing beats ChemDraw…apparently…but if you're on Linux, you're stuck. Simply doing a search in the Ubuntu Software Installer for chemical drawing software turns up quite a few results, often with confusingly similar names (Xdrawchem, GChemPaint, JChemPaint, Chemtool, ChemSketch, Marvinsketch, BKChem, to name a few). Are there alternatives out there for Linux users?
  • Molecule to dye for – Worms live longer if protein homeostasis is maintained by adding a dye molecule to their diet, according to new study. The dye molecule Thioflavin T precludes the kind of protein misfolding that, in humans, leads to aging effects and Alzheimer's disease.<br />
    The research by an international team from Sweden and the USA investigated how aging might be slowed and lifespan extended in the biomedical researcher's favourite worm Caenorhabditis elegans by exposing it to the dye molecule. They used fluorescence and absorption studies to assess exposure and results.
  • Antioxidant cosmeceuticals – While cosmetic manufacturers tend to avoid producing actual medical effects in skin for fear of their products being subsumed into the pharmaceutical regulatory process, there is a need to understand how so-called "cosmeceuticals" might affect the aging process in skin. Resonance Raman spectroscopy has recently emerged as a useful technique for the non-invasive investigation of the interaction of carotenoid antioxidants with free radicals in the skin.
  • Designer drug identified – A new "designer" drug related to "ecstasy" (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and methamphetamine has recently been found on sale as bath salts in the USA, although it was first identified on the black market in Germany in 2009. A new study discusses how infrared and NMR spectroscopy were used in conjunction with mass spectrometry to identify the compound as 3,4-methylenedioxypyrrolidinobutyrophenone.

The latest selection of five science stories, picked up by David Bradley Science Writer @sciencebase.

Young Science Writer of the Year

Looks like the Guardian and Wellcome Trust are taking up the young science writer gauntlet with a new award. Winning an award like that can be a great start to a career in science communication.

If I remember rightly, I first entered the Daily Telegraph Young Science Writer of the year awards in 1990 after I returned from an extended trip to Australia. I wrote about the world’s biggest organism having the world’s biggest orgasm (the annual spawning of the Great Barrier Reef) and was a runner-up that year receiving and the next year I think I got a merit award. It was my third entry that netted me the First Prize in 1992. That year it was an item entitled “Not every sperm is sacred” (alluding to the classic Monty Python song from The Meaning of Life) about the ins and outs of fertilisation, sperm selection in humans and the manual research techniques used to obtain samples. All very ooh-err missus, which was obviously a hit with the judges.

At the awards ceremony in Southampton (1992’s BA meeting), Roger Highfield quoted me as saying I’d like to one day oust him from his science editor’s desk at the Telegraph. Well, that never happened and his DT desk no longer exists (Roger is now editor of New Scientist), but I have been pretty active in science communication ever since, as some of you may have spotted. And, if I feel like name dropping I can always tell you about the time I built a hump-back bridge with Sir David Attenborough who told us a tale of a Fellow who hadn’t twigged that trees are plants too…

Meanwhile, my fellow young science writer laureates are some of the most well-known names in scicomms, journalism and across the blogosphere, they include:

Ed Yong (2007) Not Exactly Rocket Science
Phillip Broadwith (2006) Chemistry World
Yfke Van Bergen (2005) Times Higher Education Supplement
Claire Bithell (2003) Royal Institution
Kate Ravilious (2000) The Guardian
Lynn Dicks (1999) Freelance science writer
Ian Sample (1998) The Guardian
Tom Wakeford (1996) Freelance science writer
Nick Flowers (1995) Freelance science writer
Katie Mantell (1995) SciDev.net
Sharon Ann Holgate (1994) Freelance science writer
Bob Ward (1993) Royal Society
Harriet Coles (1993) Nature
David Bradley (1992) Freelance science writer
Francesca Happe (1991)
Clive Oppenheimer (1990)

If you were placed in a past young science writers awards and I’ve overlooked you, please let me know.

A year of Materials Today

I contribute materials science news and editorials to most issues of the journal Materials Today and usually bookmark each item on Sciencebase and Delicious. But, you can subscribe to the electronic edition of Elsevier journal Materials Today for free if you're in the USA. Just fill in the form so they know who to send it to and to demonstrate that you're in the trade. Meanwhile, here’s an update to my Materials Today archive.

Visibly invisible: Optical Materials  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issue 3March 2011Page 65

Well-stacked nanowires: Polymers and Soft Materials  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issues 1-2January-February 2011Page 8

Superconducting cables with a new twist: Electronic Materials  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issue 4April 2011Page 130

Cell migration: Biomaterials  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issues 1-2January-February 2011Page 10

Brighter nanotubes: Nanotechnology  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issues 1-2January-February 2011Page 13

Spinning up water beams: Tools and Techniques  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issue 3March 2011Page 68

Shattering the image of brittle glass: Metals and Alloys  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issue 3March 2011Page 64

Is DNA a conducting nanowire?: Nanotechnology  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issue 4April 2011Page 133

Splitting water with rusty nets: Nanotechnology  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issue 4April 2011Page 129

Chewing over dental structure: Composites  
Materials TodayVolume 14, Issue 3March 2011Page 66

Material priorities in Europe  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 9September 2010Page 6

Stretched Janus material: Magnetic materials  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 10October 2010Page 10

The darkest forest: Carbon  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 10October 2010Page 8

The long and winding road to synthetic silk: Biomimetics  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 4April 2010Page 12

A safe reaction: Nuclear  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 5May 2010Page 8

Flat-packed carbon: Carbon  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 6June 2010Page 9

Ordered energy storage: Energy  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issues 1-2January-February 2010Page 9

Nanotube revelations: Nanotechnology  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issues 1-2January-February 2010Page 10

Bubbling up water repellence: Surface  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 4April 2010Page 10

Self Powered Sensors: Biomaterials  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 5May 2010Page 10

Magnetic solder for 3D microelectronics: Magnetism  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 4April 2010Page 8

Composite damping is music to the ears: Carbon  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issues 7-8July-August 2010Page 13

Magnetic stent therapy: Biomaterials  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 6June 2010Page 13

Dendrimersome library: Characterization  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issues 7-8July-August 2010Page 12

Snappy silicon surfaces: Surface Science  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issues 1-2January-February 2010Page 13

Dipping into nanotechnology: Nanotechnology  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 6June 2010Page 8

Nanotechnology fights cancer: Nanotechnology  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issue 6June 2010Page 10

Gen F Scientists  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issues 1-2January-February 2010Pages 54-55

Paradigms, peers, and patents  

Materials Today
Volume 13, Issues 7-8July-August 2010Pages 62-63