Mogul Migration
Anticipation for the upcoming ski season is building and it is currently snowing outside. In order to keep my excitement under control I thought I would write a post on the worst aspect of resort skiing, moguls. Moguls are spontaneously forming speed killers and are ubiquitous on certain slopes that don't get machine groomed. They are admittedly impressive as self-organizing structures and their checkerboard regularity can be attractive from a distance. However, how is it possible that the seemingly random actions of skiers going down the slope create and maintain this "mountain acne"? Not only does their formation defy in...
Source: Bayblab - November 10, 2014 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Human Altitude Evolution
An interesting comment on quirks and quarks this week inspired me to do a little research on the adaptations to high altitude in different human populations. The evolution of human traits in response to high altitude environments differs between different populations. There are the legendary Tibetan highlanders of the Himalayas but there are also physiological adaptations of human populations in the Andes and in the Amhara of Ethiopia. Interestingly we also know the genetic basis for these adaptations through comparative genomics.High altitude environments present many challenges for human physiology. These challenges are ...
Source: Bayblab - November 7, 2014 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Human Altitude Evolution
An interesting comment on quirks and quarks this week inspired me to do a little research on the adaptations to high altitude in different human populations. The evolution of human traits in response to high altitude environments differs between different populations. There are the legendary Tibetan highlanders of the Himalayas but there are also physiological adaptations of human populations in the Andes and in the Amhara of Ethiopia. Interestingly we also know the genetic basis for these adaptations through comparative genomics.High altitude environments present many challenges for human physiology. These challenges are ...
Source: Bayblab - November 7, 2014 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Can't replicate your previous experimental work? Publish it.
A morale booster for those cynical about the state of scientific publishing waspublished this week in PLoS ONE. Psychology researchers from Northwestern University were unable to replicate previous experimental results, and instead of hiding from scrutiny and switching gears, published their inability to replicate in PLoS ONE. While obviously the best thing to do for the field, it may have also been a good idea based uponthe positive response. Would such a paper be accepted in a closed-access scientific journal? I wonder if it was submitted to the original journal. In any case this is a breath of fresh air at a time when s...
Source: Bayblab - October 14, 2014 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Can't replicate your previous experimental work? Publish it.
A morale booster for those cynical about the state of scientific publishing was published this week in PLoS ONE. Psychology researchers from Northwestern University were unable to replicate previous experimental results, and instead of hiding from scrutiny and switching gears, published their inability to replicate in PLoS ONE. While obviously the best thing to do for the field, it may have also been a good idea based upon the positive response. Would such a paper be accepted in a closed-access scientific journal? I wonder if it was submitted to the original journal. In any case this is a breath of fresh air at a time when...
Source: Bayblab - October 14, 2014 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Cotton Candy Grapes
Fruit hybrids are nothing new as pluots and tangelos become increasingly visible in grocery store produce aisles. Recently I had the opportunity to sample a fruit that looked no different from your run-of-the-mill seedless grape, but with a unique flavour of cotton candy. The taste is more than reminiscent of the pink spun sugar - it's uncanny. The fruit, a product ofThe Grapery in California are the result of selective breeding of different grape varieties, increasing sugar content and heightening vanilla flavour to result in the familiar taste. Personally, while I found the taste remarkable, I don't think I could eat a w...
Source: Bayblab - August 26, 2014 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Kamel Source Type: blogs
Cotton Candy Grapes
Fruit hybrids are nothing new as pluots and tangelos become increasingly visible in grocery store produce aisles. Recently I had the opportunity to sample a fruit that looked no different from your run-of-the-mill seedless grape, but with a unique flavour of cotton candy. The taste is more than reminiscent of the pink spun sugar - it's uncanny. The fruit, a product of The Grapery in California are the result of selective breeding of different grape varieties, increasing sugar content and heightening vanilla flavour to result in the familiar taste. Personally, while I found the taste remarkable, I don't think I could eat...
Source: Bayblab - August 26, 2014 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Kamel Source Type: blogs
The UV index and cancer incidence
Originally developed by Canadian scientists, theUV index is now a standard measurement of UV radiation that reaches the earth's surface. It is an open-ended linear scale, meaning that there is no upper limit and that, for example, a 4 on the UV index is twice as much radiation compared to when the UV index is 2. The purpose of the UV index is to enable informed choices about sun protection/avoidance as per the recommendations in the chart. In fact the UV index is weighted more heavily for wavelengths in the UV spectrum that cause more skin damage. It is therefore not a pure measurement of the quantity of radiation but a di...
Source: Bayblab - July 16, 2014 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
The UV index and cancer incidence
Originally developed by Canadian scientists, the UV index is now a standard measurement of UV radiation that reaches the earth's surface. It is an open-ended linear scale, meaning that there is no upper limit and that, for example, a 4 on the UV index is twice as much radiation compared to when the UV index is 2. The purpose of the UV index is to enable informed choices about sun protection/avoidance as per the recommendations in the chart. In fact the UV index is weighted more heavily for wavelengths in the UV spectrum that cause more skin damage. It is therefore not a pure measurement of the quantity of radiation but a d...
Source: Bayblab - July 16, 2014 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Yum! Plastic!
It is being proposed that marine animals are consuming 99% of the plastic that was assumed to be accumulating in the world's oceans. Consumption of this plastic by marine animals, and other possible scenarios, are being proposed because otherwise this missing plastic can not be accounted for. I guess I'll just assume that fish now comes with a serving of small pieces of plastic. (Source: Bayblab)
Source: Bayblab - July 4, 2014 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
TED talks - Human Pheromones
Another great place for a quick fix of science is TED talks. Some of them are terrible unfortunately, and some are very good. Almost all TED talks suffer from trying to have a large 'wow' factor, when they don't necessarily need it. Thebayblab has linked to many TED talks previously.A past bayblab post on the topic of human pheromones suggested that there isn't much good data on the topic. A recent TED talk on the subject is an example of a good TED talk. The speaker Tristram Wyatt talks about the background and history of pheromones and the recent discovery of a potentially genuine human pheromone that acts on babies. (Source: Bayblab)
Source: Bayblab - May 21, 2014 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
