Reader blogs
THE UNITY OF THE MIND – OR NOT?
Ayad Gharbawi
July, 2009
VOIDS OF VISION AND MIND = CONSTITUENTS OF FINAL PHYSICAL MATTER
October 3, 2009
Ayad Gharbawi
Recently, I have been on a conference of young scientists in Warsaw. These were great three days of meeting people, eating, drinking, sightseeing, and, occasionally, watching some presentations. I didn't prepare anything myself, but it was still a good opportunity to see what other PhD students work on, and how they handle all the difficulties caused by the imperfect system of higher education in Poland (mainly related to money). One of the precious observations I have made during the conference is that engineers are not as fond of the finite element method as I had imagined. This is a great news for me because I want to put a lot of effort to improve the FEM by making it easier to use, and, this way, available for more people. Let me share with you some of my thoughts.
STUDIES IN ‘REALITY’: CHANGING FACES IN ONE FACE
Ayad Gharbawi
October 16, 2009
A new review published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) shows how stem cell based therapies in mice can slow down the progression of kidney disease in Alport Syndrome: “Stem Cell Therapies Benefit Alport Syndrome” LeBleu V et al, 2009.
DOES INTELLIGENCE EXIST WITHIN THE LAWS OF PHYSICS?
Ayad Gharbawi
October 2, 2009
Can it be possible that the atoms simply ‘know’ what to do as they interact with other atoms and molecules? Do they have any degree of consciousness or self-awareness like animals do?
What is reality?
You may say, ‘All that is real, is reality.’ And, by the word ‘real’, I understand, all that can be seen, felt or heard. So, for example, if I see a flower in front of me, then it is obviously real. No one can seriously doubt that fact! No one can seriously say that the flower is not ‘real’.
Really?
NASA's Kepler Telescope asks a question: Can we identify Earth-like planets with atmospheres suitable for life?
The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) asks: Can we find remnants of a particle we think existed milliseconds after the creation of our universe that forced an imbalance of matter over anti-matter that is responsible for the universe existing as we know it.
Tietze's syndrome--a painful disorder of the costal cartilage--can mimic a heart attack, pulmonary blood clots, or even psychological stress. Diagnosing the disorder is often a matter of ruling out what disorders a patient doesn't have, and reaching a diagnosis by exclusion.
People who have been following this blog know that birth order affects who you are friends with and who you marry. Here's some comprehensive recent evidence on race. It probably won't come as a surprise, but it's nice to have numbers.
Where do research participants come from?
I am in the process of revamping the Internet laboratory, as I'm trying to increase the number of participants. Some very successful websites recruit ~500/day. I have been averaging about 30/day -- still respectable, but it limits what I can do.
Not long ago, a Canadian research team discovered something surprising: In the recipe for great sex, orgasm is optional. Said the head researcher, "There is plenty of evidence that most people believe that the secret to sexual fulfillment is technical, that it's about better manual and oral stimulation techniques." In fact, "You could have terrible sex with orgasms and despite orgasms, but you could have optimal sexuality without orgasm."
So where did humans get the idea that sex must always lead to orgasm?
As a fan of professional science, I was thrilled to hear that the Nobel Peace Prize was offered to President Obama, and not just because I want to hear someone yell "you lie!" during his speech in Oslo before getting tazed by agents of the King. My hope is that the bold initiative taken by the Peace Prize committee will finally extend to all the other Nobel categories.
The most recent findings from an independent researcher can be reviewed here:
http://www.carnicom.com/blood2.htm
There are documented independent findings posted at this link, as well:
http://www.carnicom.com/conright.htm
Why is it CDC won't identify these unusual components and why won't the EPA identify the filament?????
Most denizens of the interwebs (at least of this corner of the interwebs) will have heard the announcement that the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be given to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for their work on telomeres - the structures found at the ends of human chromosomes. You may already have read a little about the research behind it (if not, the NobelPrize.org press release is a very good place to start) so I’ll try to keep the background as short as possible. What I would like to do here is to explain the assertions that “cancer research has also benefited from the Nobel-winning trio's work”. If you haven't already done so, I also recommend reading "Understanding Cancer Part 1"
