What's New Robert L. Park 18 March 2011

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 18 Mar 2011   Washington, DC

1. BAD WEEK: WE MUST FOCUS ON HELPING THE PEOPLE OF JAPAN.
In yesterday's New York Times, science reporter Bill Broad covered the=20
projected movement of the radiation plume by the UN=92s Comprehensive Tes=
t=20
Ban Treaty Organization.  The forecast is based on patterns of Pacific=20
winds and, =94the predicted path is likely to change as weather patterns=20
shift."  Weather patterns always shift, but for the US any radiation from=
=20
the plume will be down to a safe level.  What is a "safe" level?  It's ti=
me=20
to repeat my "radiation-hormesis" rant.

2. HORMESIS: THE LINEAR NO-THRESHOLD MODEL MUST BE WRONG.
Airline crews experience a high total-radiation exposure.  But the exposu=
re=20
of airline crews is spread over many years, while Chernobyl survivors got=
 a=20
concentrated dose.  Statistically they are not distinguished.  Do the=20
derivatives matter?  According to a story in the news this week, Chernoby=
l=20
survivors today suffer cancer at about the same rate as others their age.=
 =20
The same is true of Hiroshima survivors.  If true, it would seem to suppo=
rt=20
the radiation-hormesis thesis.  "Hormesis" refers to things that are toxi=
c=20
in large doses, but harmless or even beneficial in small doses.  Trace=20
amounts of selenium, for example, are essential for cell function of=20
animals.  But selenium salts in larger doses, are highly toxic.  Airline=20
pilots or not, we are all exposed to background levels of ionizing=20
radiation every day of our lives.  We do not all succumb to cancer.  It=20
seems there is a repair mechanism that compares neighboring strands of DN=
A=20
and patches up damage.  The comparison can work only if damaged strands a=
re=20
isolated.  If the damage rate is very high, the same repair mechanism cou=
ld=20
multiply the damage.

3. MAXWELL: THE SESQUICENTENNIAL OF MAXWELLS EQUATIONS.
Maxwell=92s equations were published 150 years ago this month in=20
Philosophical Magazine.  This week they are honored in a Nature editorial=
=20
as a "bold unifying leap."  When first exposed to Maxwell=92s equations a=
s a=20
student I considered giving up physics.  Not because I couldn't understan=
d=20
Maxwell=92s equations, but because I realized that I could never compete =
on=20
that level.   But I soon realized that there was only one Maxwell.

4. DEFORESTATION: WOODSMAN, SPARE THAT TREE, BUT AXE THE ACRONYMS. =20
Andy White of the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), says we need,=20
Growing Restoration, Employment and Energy Now (GREEN), which is crucial=20
for the success of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest=20
Degradation (REDD).  =20

5. MESSENGER: NASA SPACECRAFT IS IN MERCURY ORBIT.
Congratulations!  It took six years of looping around solar planets,=20
including Earth, to enter Mercury orbit perfectly.  NASA does planets=20
really well.  Acronyms are another matter.  The spacecraft's poetic=20
sounding name turns out to be a labored acronym: MErcury Surface, Space=20
ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging.=20

6. DALLAS: THE APS MARCH MEETING NEXT WEEK.
I'll be there to give an invited talk about what's new in Voodoo Science,=
=20
Thursday, March 24 at 8:36AM, in C1.=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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