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Tizer
VIP Member


5150 Posts
Posted -  25/01/2008  :  13:01
Science News

Following suggestions, I have started this thread in the General Chat area to post occasional press releases describing science and technology news (they were previously in a sub-forum). I will post further science releases into this same thread unless OGFB readers say they prefer them to be in individual threads, i.e. one thread per news release. But tell me if you don't want them - I won't be offended!   Tizer

Here is the first news story...




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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 04:29
I think I cut back on salt a bit too far recently. I was getting cramp in my right leg when I sat reading in the afternoon. Started using a bit more and it seems to have done the trick. I knew about salt and cramp but I didn't make the link at first. The body never lies!

Just realised the site dropped my last post. I like the quote about stats Pluggy.


Stanley Challenger Graham




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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 13/07/2011 : 08:30
Have a look at this LINK for what could be superfluous advice on the benefits or otherwise of drinking water. I can't help wondering what good opinions like this can do. Is there really a problem with people drinking too much? Could it be that anyone reading this headline and not looking into the matter properly might convert it to 'drinking water is bad for you'?  It's information overload and could do more damage than good.


Stanley Challenger Graham




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Bodger
Regular Member


892 Posts
Posted - 13/07/2011 : 09:48
Tizer, interesting link to 3 d printing,  "King Dick" / "Snapon", eat your heart out.
http://www.wimp.com/functionaltools/


"You can only make as well as you can measure"
                           Joseph Whitworth
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panbiker
Senior Member


2301 Posts
Posted - 13/07/2011 : 13:37
The D&T department at my last school had one of these beasties for A Level Design Technology. Fascinating to watch and a fantasic bit of kit.


Ian Go to Top of Page
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt


2021 Posts
Posted - 13/07/2011 : 13:53
Would it be safe to asume that this would only work if the original was not worn and was flawless, or can you "design out" any imperfections?


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panbiker
Senior Member


2301 Posts
Posted - 13/07/2011 : 15:34
You can either copy an original or input to the printer from CAD or 3D design software in which case the output should be perfect. A good device for proto-typing.


Ian Go to Top of Page
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt


2021 Posts
Posted - 13/07/2011 : 15:57
Thanks Ian. Water can be dangerous if like anything else, it is overdone. Thirst under normal conditions is a state of mind and can be slaked by simply wetting the lips tongue and mouth, as for quantity, what goes in will to a great extent come out again, not always convenient. The healthy human body is a wonderful thing, and will function well, unless abnormal demands are imposed on it. Jogging is not what I would call natural, walking briskly is a better way and far more comfortable. Keep the mouth and throat moist, dont try and drown them, go a bit further before reaching for the bottle, better still, do without and have a nice relaxed cool drink when you have finished. It never fails to astound me that people get paid for telling us what should be common sense. Do we really need advice on what has been a part of life for centuries.


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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 14/07/2011 : 05:45
Agreed. Mind you, it does help sell water at a higher price than cider!


Stanley Challenger Graham




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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 21/07/2011 : 06:35
A study reports that for every 4" over 5ft a woman has 16% more chance of having a cancer. I always knew the shorties had an adventage!


Stanley Challenger Graham




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wendyf
Senior Member


1439 Posts
Posted - 21/07/2011 : 07:41
Yesterday's study told us that being fat was the major factor in developing breast cancer.


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Tizer
VIP Member


5150 Posts
Posted - 21/07/2011 : 11:04
Much of medical research is now based simply on statistical associations rather than proof of `cause & effect' relationships. The scientists make some efforts to remove `confounding factors' but it's too quick and easy to get another published paper (another scalp on your belt) this way. Before I took any notice of this type of research (such as the height & cancer `link' above) I'd want to see other scientists elsewhere confirming the results in their own experiments and some work done to provide a sound basis for how your height can change your risk of getting cancer.

Many such links can be described as `fortuitous', meaning that it's not cause & effect but just that a third factor makes the link between the first two. For instance, if short men tended to die early of heart disease it would skew the results to make it look like tall men (who would thus live longer and be exposed to more chance of cancer) had a greater cancer risk. But it wouldn't mean being tall caused you to get cancer.

Another problem these days for interpretation of science is that new studies get picked up by the news media and reported worlwide (and often in sensational tones) long before they are ready to be in the public domain. Scientific research proceeds in a series of slow, careful steps. The first reseach team will publish its results in a learned journal and present them at conferences so that other scientists have the chance to challenge them - and believe me, scientists can be like a pack of wolves when they start dissecting each others' work. All this leads to the original researchers and other teams elsewhere repeating and improving on the original work. Gradually, over the years, we begin to see who is right and a consensus view develops. It takes a long time, not just due to the practicalities of doing the experiments but because publication can take at least 6 months, often a year (it involves peer review by other scientists, perhaps in other countries).

What is happening now is that the new media get hold of study results at that very first stage and report them as if they were done and dusted. The government and universities are mostly reponsible for this change, most scientists don't want it. The government has demanded that scientists and universities justify their work and explain it to the public and has set up organisations to publicise rsearch as soon as (or even before) it's published in the journals. This led to a university career structure where scientists get ahead by publishing the most journal papers and becoming known to the public, and also to university publicity departments that put out the results far too soon and in a simple manner aimed at the media and the public. So now the public is presented with raw information, unconfirmed, sensationalised and confusing. No wonder people say scientists are always changing their minds, no wonder they no longer trust scientists.

Edited by - Tizer on 21/07/2011 11:07:19


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Cathy
Senior Member


4249 Posts
Posted - 21/07/2011 : 11:11
I wish being short (I'm 5'1") was an advantage against lower back pain and sciatica.  Oh dear.  Frown


All thru the fields and meadows gay  ....  Enjoy   
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Bruff
Regular Member


479 Posts
Posted - 21/07/2011 : 11:56
Think there's a lot of truth in that Tizer.  But I would also add that ignorance of 'science' is almost a badge of honour amongst the public and the media.  It is perfectly acceptable to profess a profound ignorance of the most basic science, maths etc whatever your position in life.  Whereas if one professed a profound ignorance of say the works of Shakespeare there would be questions asked about the state of our education system, or the quality of one's education.  Indeed there are many influential commentators and journalists who actively discourage the studying of science and so on (Simon Jenkins being one, though unfortunately this ensures when he's off on one he damns himself by making the most hilarious scientific howlers.  You have to admire his chutzpah in keeping going with the theme).

 
Just the other week, Emily Maitlis was interviewing a mathematician on the move by some to reclassify 'pi' as 'tau', that is '2 x pi', as it makes more sense.  Ms Maitlis was sniggering, 'crikey, this is hard eh' and 'ooo blimey-ing' all over the place.  As I say, almost a badge of honour.  No way would she have gone 'Dickens, all those words, blimey, what's all that about, eh?'

 
Nowt against Ms Maitlis - she is the daughter of Peter Maitlis FRS, Emeritus Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Sheffield University.  I imagine her childhood saw science loom large.  But societally, science is all a bit hard isn't it, and scientists are all mad boffins aren't they?  And I guess she is just reflecting that.

 
Richard Broughton 



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Tardis
Regular Member


453 Posts
Posted - 21/07/2011 : 15:45
Scientists know how to make bigger and louder explosionsCool


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Tizer
VIP Member


5150 Posts
Posted - 21/07/2011 : 15:56
Agree 100% Richard. Germany and the US appreciate science more but you've only got to look at a country like India to really see the difference and to realise where the future lies for science and technology. They are turning out large numbers of scientists and technologists, as is China too. A difference between the two Asian countries though is that most of the Indian science students speak English - and they have a better command of English than many British graduates.


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