Archive for August, 2008
Another example of evolution in action
Aug 31st
Dung beetles – evolving
One of the lies frequently used to refute evolution is that it can’t be seen happening. That argument is, of course, both irrelevant and untrue.
Evolution is routinely observed in action and a recently published paper (reported in The Economist) has illustrated yet another case. What I like about this case is that it illustrates speciation.
Speciation is more than an animal evolving a trait (like a longer tail, or bigger teeth) but rather a single species evolving into two different species. The resulting species are unable to interbreed and will go on to evolve completely separately – just has humans and chimps have evolved separately since their own ancient split.
The object of the study was the humble dung beetle, or rather a specific species of dung beetle which has recently split into four species. The beetles in question were introduced into eastern Australia, western Australia and North Carolina within the last 50 years.
Since then (through a fascinating mechanism that has to do with the relationships between horn, penis and vagina sizes – read the article for more detail) the different populations have developed to the point where they are (or very nearly are) completely different species.
Well within a human lifetime. Take that.
Diagnosing by smell
Aug 31st
The Economist has this interesting article on an emerging field called ‘olfactory diagnostics’. Basically diagnosing ills by analyzing the air exhaled by patients. It has already been shown that more than 3,000 compounds are regularly exhaled, excreted or exuded from the human body.
By analyzing these compounds and their relative quantities a surprising amount of information can be gained. For example specially trained dogs have been diagnosing bladder cancer for years. However, advances are now being made in order to automate and increase the diagnoses possible.
It is plausible that in future incredible amounts of information could be gleaned through analysis of the air we exhale. Imagine the privacy concerns if, for instance, your employer could learn about your eating habits and possible health problems by analyzing the air you exhale at work.
Friday Five Flickr Fotos 1
Aug 15th
I love Flickr. It’s an awesome photo sharing site. The developers are innovative and I believe this is one rare case where the Google offering (Picasa) isn’t the best:
- There are awesome online communities. People commenting, organizing groups, messaging each other, etc
- A lot of the images are Creative Commons licensed so they can be used for all sorts of things (they often pop up on Do Stuff in Cape Town)
- Flickr have opened up an API which allows other programs and websites to easily access their data
- They come up with interesting features like the Interestingness feature for finding great pictures
Every now and then I send Jules a mail with some of the best photos that I have seen recently on Flickr. I thought I would turn that mail into a blog feature. So, here is the first of the “Friday Five Flickr Fotos” series. Enjoy.
It took me a little while to figure this one out. A mostly submerged trolley in some reflective water. Nice effect
Taken between two cruise ships in Greece
Taken from behind glass in a zoo
You don’t need to tell me twice!
One of my own photos
BigDog video
Aug 13th
Go here to watch video footage of an amazing robot called BigDog. It’s a 4 legged beast that reminds me a little of a horse because of the lifelike way that it moves. BigDog is amazingly capable, but what makes the video interesting is how lifelike the thing is.
It runs on a little petrol engine (very noisy from the looks of things) and is able to get over some serious terrain while carrying quite a load. The video shows BigDog:
- Walking and slipping on ice. When it falls it manages to quickly get back up.
- Walking up a steep slope. Later the slope is covered in snow
- Climbing ‘carefully’ over rubble and rocks
- Getting kicked hard by a technician. BigDog manages to avoid falling – quite impressive
- They even show it galloping along and jumping over an obstacle
BigDog about to get kicked – no problem for this lifelike robot
If you’ve got the bandwidth I highly recommend taking a look. If you get bored skip into the video – you won’t be sorry.
Placebo tablets for sale
Aug 12th
Placebos work remarkably well – a lot of the time people aren’t really sick. I’m reading Captain Corelli’s Mandolin at the moment (seems pretty good) and one of the characters is a doctor on a Greek island occupied during WW2. He notes that in hard times (occupation) suddenly the islanders have far fewer medical complaints. They have something else to concentrate on!
So I find it pretty cool that this company is selling Placebo tablets in a very official looking container. The product is called Obelcap (You see they did there? Placebo backwards. Sneaky) and is described as “Delicious pharmaceutical grade natural cherry chewable tablets” Useful.
Perhaps doping in sports should be allowed
Aug 9th
With the Tour de France just over and the Olympics now underway, doping in sports is a topical issue. You don’t often hear the argument for doping, but this article from The Economist argues well that doping shouldn’t be cheating.
Why should doping be cheating? There are two arguments against allowing athletes to enhance their abilities by doping:
- Fairness. Athletes go to all sorts of lengths in the quest for a little extra performance – why is doping any more unfair than some of those measures? Why is doping cheating when complex nutritional compounds are not? Why isn’t the new Speedo swimwear that offers a significant advantage unfair? Modern athletes routinely go to great and unnatural lengths to excel – why should doping be any different?
- Safety. The far more compelling argument against allowing doping is on the grounds of safety. Many think that doping is unsafe and in many cases it may be. Unsafe doping should be banned, but if doping were opened up it could be better regulated. Athletes would be required to list exactly what substances are being used thus making regulation easier – and doping safer.
Doping should be allowed or not based on safeness – and there is a case to be made that opening up doping could make it safer for athletes. Interesting.
Americans shouldn’t worry much about the rise of China
Aug 1st
According to this article from The Economist Americans are apparently unhappy with the state of their country in general. According to the article 80% of Americans think the country is going the wrong way.
The article lists several reasons that the national mood is low – the war on terror and the economy are the major categories. The rising China also seems to be freaking the Americans out pretty badly – let’s see how they react when China wins more medals in the Olympics.
America has gotten into sullen moods before and recovered. But:
“Still, countries, like people, behave dangerously when their mood turns dark. If America fails to distinguish between what it needs to change and what it needs to accept, it risks hurting not just allies and trading partners, but also itself.”
There are things that do need to be changed. For instance: education, health, the war on terror and Guantánamo Bay. However, it is an attitude adjustment that is required when it comes to the rise of Asia and China.
There are two reasons not to worry about the rise of China:
- “Even at its present growth rate, China’s GDP will take a quarter of a century to catch up with America’s; and the internal tensions that China’s rapidly changing economy has caused may well lead it to stumble before then”
- “Even if Asia’s rise continues unabated, it is wrong-and profoundly un-American-to regard this as a problem. Economic growth, like trade, is not a zero-sum game. The faster China and India grow, the more American goods they buy”
I like the last paragraph:
“Everybody goes through bad times. Some learn from the problems they have caused themselves, and come back stronger. Some blame others, lash out and damage themselves further. America has had the wisdom to take the first course many times before. Let’s hope it does so again.”
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