What's New Robert L. Park 17 Dec 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 17 Dec 2010   Washington, DC

1. SCIENCE MAGAZINE: REVIEWING THE 259th DECADE OF SCIENCE.
This week the news staff of Science is "stepping away from the trees for =
a=20
look at the forest."  I'm a little late getting WN out because I couldn't=
=20
stop reading.  The incredible, and somewhat frightening, rate of scientif=
ic=20
progress prompted me to go back and look at the first decade of science. =
=20
Thales of Miletus used the occasion of a full solar eclipse that passed=20
over Melitus to state the first law of science: for every observable=20
effect, there is a physical cause.  The occasion is taken to mark the bir=
th=20
of science, but it also marks the death of superstition.

2. CANCUN: LOOKING FOR PROGRESS IN THE SECOND DERIVATIVE.
China pledged to reduce the rate at which its emissions are increasing.  =
=20
Well, at least they're talking, but emission rate is a second-order=20
problem.  First we should worry about the world=92s uncontrolled fertilit=
y=20
rate.   Reduce the population and emissions will be reduced=20
proportionately. It is the only emissions-control policy that is guarante=
ed=20
to work. China=92s leaders know more about the population problem than=20
anybody, having undertaken the courageous one-child policy to avert an=20
inevitable catastrophe from Mao=92s wacky economic theories.  The mere=20
mention of population inevitably draws comments that the industrialized=20
nations have already achieved zero population growth and warnings by=20
futurists such as Fred Pearce about a "population crash."  The bitter tru=
th=20
is that Earth's population must be reduced.=20

3. ARSENIC: NASA EXPLORES INNOVATIVE WAYS TO HYPE RESEARCH.
"The definition of life has just expanded," declared Ed Weiler, NASA=20
Associate Administrator for Science.  An extremophile bacterium, adapted =
to=20
tolerate the relatively high concentration of arsenic found in Mono Lake =
in=20
the California desert, has been found.  Arsenic is in the same column of=20
the periodic table as phosphorus, and would be expected to have similar=20
chemical properties.  It would not be totally surprising if arsenic=20
sometimes substitutes for phosphorus in the Mono Lake bacterium. It is al=
so=20
not totally surprising that, coming out of NASA, Weiler=92s remarks set o=
ff a=20
frenzy of media reports that an extraterrestrial life form had been=20
discovered. =20

4. HOMEOPATHY: FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF NATURE TAKE PRECEDENCE.=20
The Science and Technology Committee of the UK Parliament released a repo=
rt=20
urging the government to withdraw funding and licensing of homeopathy. It=
=20
is unlikely to happen; even the Queen has her own personal homeopathist. =
=20
This year is the 200th anniversary of Samuel Hahnemann's "Organon of the=20
Medical Art."  The prevailing philosophy of medicine at the time=20
was "vitalism,=94 the belief that life involves some spiritual=20
essence. "Medicinal energy," Hahneman wrote, "is most powerful when it=20
communicates nothing material."  He was unaware of the extent to which he=
=20
achieved this ideal by sequentially diluting his medications.  It would b=
e=20
another 50 years before Loschmidt determined Avogadro=92s number.  It is =
now=20
clear that Hahnemann was many dilutions beyond the dilution limit.  Last=20
week WN commented on the mistaken belief that cell phone radiation causes=
=20
cancer. The photon energy in the microwave region of the spectrum is only=
=20
about 1 millionth of the energy required to create a mutant strand of DNA=
,=20
which is the initiation of cancer.  There is no need to go any further. =20
Epidemiology is expensive, time-consuming, and prone to statistical error=
s=20
and faulty recall.=20

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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