Science

Monday Afternoon News Roundup

Posted on: February 11th, 2013 by ecthompsonmd 6 Comments

 

flu shot

Monday Afternoon News Roundup

Looks like the worst of the flu season is over.

Pope Benedict XVI is stepping down as Pope. Here's a look back. I would like to take a moment and talk about the Catholic Church. First, as a caveat, I'm not Catholic. On the other hand, I do respect what the Catholic Church stands for. I am Christian. As a Christian, I've been deeply saddened by the lack of responsiveness that the Catholic Church has shown to its members. We have seen, over the last 5-10 years, the Catholic Church suffer a slow death by a thousand cuts. The problem with priests molesting children was originally exhibited as a tale of an isolated crazed individual, but it was much more than that. So, in this era of modern communications, instant messaging and 24-hour news service, one would figure that the Church would get out ahead of the story and admit its culpability, stand up and say that this type of behavior is unacceptable and will never be tolerated. Unless I missed it, I never heard that kind of admission. To me, as someone who is on the outside of the Catholic faith, this is an unfortunate legacy of Pope Benedict XVI. Finally, I just don't understand the tradition of electing somebody who is in their late sixties or early seventies.

The cause of the Dinosaurs' extinction has been theorized to be a meteor. There is now more evidence to support this theory.

In Oregon, protesters decided to exercise their rights by showing up to the State Capitol with guns.

Binary Star Metaphor

Posted on: January 25th, 2013 by Neil Aquino

 

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I've been looking for an analogy or metaphor--because analogy and metaphor give substance to solid things--that would express the at-times insoluble gap between reaching out to people who have worked hard to see the world in flexible, hopeful and real terms, and to also live in a way that reflects my belief that the stone that was rejected will become the cornerstone no matter who it is that has been rejected.

Of equal frustration is the split between what I want to accomplish, and the stuff I have to do everyday. This is true for myself and billions of other people.

I read an article in New Scientist magazine recently that said that contrary to what had been thought, life could survive in solar systems that have two suns.

A planet in such a solar system would have a wild climate and a habitable zone of an odd shape that would be defined by the complicated variables of the orbits of the two suns. This is the analogy I was looking for.

The picture is of a binary star system called 61 Cygni. The picture was taken by the European Southern Observatory.

Minute Physics: In the rain is it better to walk or run?

Posted on: December 28th, 2012 by ecthompsonmd 2 Comments

 

I love this guy. He does Minute Physics. The combination of thoughtfully presented narrative and his drawing animation means that he can present complex ideas on You Tube in just a couple of minutes.

So, if you are in the rain, is it better to walk or to run if you don't want to get wet? I had to watch this a couple of times. The answer is cool.

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