Tuesday, April 27, 2010

A Good Hens Night Message

Eyjafjöll

is decided, is the last time (until the next time) I am back down to use the news to find the subject of my article. But still a volcano Icelanders who nailed the whole of Europe on the ground that deserves our attention! Secret Attack Bjork's the alien? Revenge in a country's economic brink of bankruptcy? No explanation lies elsewhere if Eyjafjöll (see video at end of article for pronunciation rather sporty) spitting ash as it is because of the Eyjafjallajökull, see!

An island in a polar situation "hot"!



And yes Iceland is really the tip of a volcanic mountain range of 2000m to 3000m and 60 000km in length: the ocean ridge. It is at this string that 70% of the lava poured onto Land is released, usually in water and thus in a rather "discreet."
[ On the geological map of the symmetrical arrangement of land either side of the axis of the ridge shows us the situation in Iceland ]
But Iceland is also located on the plumb a hot spot; those areas where plumes of magma from very deep areas amounted to form volcanic islands among the busiest in the world such as Hawaii or the Meeting.
In both cases the magma that rises in these areas is poorly differentiated (type tholeiitic lavas to alkaline for Iceland) and thus gives rise to fluid lava which flow on the surface without creating any difficulty in passing superb cast and other fountains of lava ... Brief were expressed effusive volcanoes, and we can not say they are manifested by explosions where the emission of dust "anti-aircraft" ...
[ The fountain of lava from Iceland also Krafka ]

But then why does Eyjafjöll irritates us so much?
In fact the problem is that the volcano is covered by a glacier meets the Eyjafjallajökull sweet name! When the magma reaches the surface it heats the ground and melts the ice, water seeps into even more depth that soil is easily distorted by rising magma. When water comes into contact infiltrated magma, it vaporizes. Water vapor is a gas, its volume is significantly higher than that of water, and space is available as to its rather small at this depth. Result, a huge explosion that sprays millions of particles rocks. And that's how cubic meters of rocks are found in the atmosphere in a huge cloud of dust ...
These phenomena of contact between water and magma are referred to as phreatomagmatism ("phreato" as the water table) for a volcano and glacier, a particular case of the Icelanders phreatomagmatism the term "jökuhlhaup" (always unpronounceable).
[ Volcano Islands "Grímsvötn" emerging bottom of the glacier that covered before the eruption ]


Some effects derivatives of such clouds
planes on the ground: And yes reactors do not like too much dust for several reasons: the decrease in the amount of oxygen available (for combustion), abrasion and mechanical damage caused by the particles turbines especially if they are based (which is more than likely at 1200 ° C), which may even go to the blockage of the turbine.
Climate Changes: If the cloud reaches the highest layers of the atmosphere it can remain airborne for a relatively long time, and reduced solar radiation then causes a fall average temperatures as was the case for the eruption of Pinatubo in 1991 when global mean temperature fell of 0.5 ° C.
Health risks: when they fall very fine particles can cause respiratory problems in sensitive people like when pollution peaks.
Beautiful sunsets: particles suspended in the air also have the effect of diffracting light rays thus producing iridescent colors; result: every sunset may soon resemble the biblical images of the descent of God Earth ... (It had to end on a positive note!)

Those who have renounced dubbed "Volcano Islands" others have tried this is what happens:
(For my part I am happy not having to read the article!)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Late Night Gay Syracuse

Virus H "foo" N. .. huh?? A homeopathic dose

With a few months behind the buzz of this school year, here I am too sucked in the media storm and attracted by the easy topics: flu! A particular point will hold my attention: the names data virus! Avian influenza? Swine flu? English Flu? Flu? H1N1, H5N1?
[The influenza "flu" A (H5N1) in gold on the photo]

Initially the virus was!
Influenza is a disease caused by a virus Myxovirus influenzae , named for it causes flu-like symptoms, influenza means in Italian: "fluid flow". The term influenza has now become synonymous with the flu. The genetic code of the virus is written in single-stranded RNA segmented (7-8 single strands of RNA in the virus), which actually a retrovirus like HIV / AIDS for example. Depending on the virus genome (including the number of segments) there are three categories of influenza virus: influenza A
The very aware that because of all influenza pandemics and infects humans, other mammals and birds. The influenza B that infects humans and seals! And finally, the influenza C much rarer that infects humans and pigs. So that's why we talk about flu!
[The influenza virus A and ten proteins encoded by its genome.]

What do the letters H and N?

The virus genome consists of 7 to 8 segments code for each time a dozen proteins, among them two are characteristics of a flu virus and can be classified into subtypes:
The hemagglutinin (denoted HA) and neuraminidase (NA). These two glycoproteins that make up the capsid are antigens (molecules recognized as foreign by the body) whose variation is important. Thus there are 16 types of hemagglutinin and 9 neuraminidase types (ie 15x9 = 144 different possibilities). Their role is to allow entry into the cell in the body will be infected for the hemagglutinin and allow the budding of new virus neuraminidase.

[H as Hemagglutinin - Neuraminidase as N]
humans can not be found three subtypes of hemagglutinin (H1, H2, H3) and two subtypes of neuraminidase (N1, N2), H1N1 and H3N2 combinations being more involved in seasonal epidemics.
In birds, the subtypes are more pathogenic features a hemagglutinin H5 or H7. Yep remember the famous so-called bird flu "H5N1" ...



An epidemiological concept: the focus of infection
Note that new subtypes may emerge by rearrangement and exchange of RNA segments in one animal consistent with many subtypes such as the pig. When viruses H5N6 and H1N1 are found in another one organization, it can then give rise to a new subtype as H5N1. Such a phenomenon described as an "antigenic shifting" is responsible outbreaks, such as the devastating English flu of 1918 (40 million dead). Indeed the people who come into contact with this new virus then has no immunity against it, and if the pathogen is then the consequences can be dire ... From this point of emergence or outbreak of endemic infection, the virus is transmitted when receiving a see epidemic to a pandemic.



Finally, what name to use?

Like a virus can mutate while maintaining the same subtype, and this was the case this winter to the Mexican flu A (H1N1) there is a significant probability of seeing a resurgence in the type already known. It therefore appears more appropriate to name each episode epidemic by date and site of infection "essential". So English flu, or Mexican is actually more interesting than influenza A or influenza H1N1, whatever the English and Mexican ...

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Noise Screeching Maytag Wash Machine

...

We all around us someone who can be treated with homeopathy, these small granules sweet, standard medicine "soft "who are behind the expression "in homeopathic doses." But what lies behind this term? At what point homeopathic medicines are diluted and they may well reflect what the CH number appears on the side of the tube granules homeopathic?

1 CH: Diluting the hundredth!
Consider a drop of mother tincture made by macerating plants and dilute it in 99 drops of solvent (eg water) we obtain a dilution hundredth, is for centesimal 1CH Hahnemann (named after the inventor of homeopathy). By taking a drop of this solution is diluted 1CH in 99 drops of solvent gives a solution to 2CH (or a dilution of 1 / 10 000 th or 1 x 10 -4). So whenever the number of CH increases by 1, the dilution factor increases by 100! The maximum dilution in homeopathy is currently 30CH, representing a dilution to 1.10 -60 th of the initial concentration! To imagine that this represents a dilution of 1x10 -60 th , try to visualize the amount of water in which our drop original has been diluted ...

dilution astronomical!
A drop to an average volume of about 0.03 cm 3 ; dilution to our then must multiply that amount by 10 60 this corresponds to 3 x 10 52 m 3. Difficult to imagine such a volume you will say. The edge of the cube corresponding to a volume such as 3.11 x 10 17 m. Trying to find a comparable length, such as Earth-Sun distance: it has a length of about 1.5 x10 11 m! If we report these two lengths (stops the water cube / Earth-Sun distance) we get about 2 million.
[If you dropped this diagram should help you!]
In conclusion for the dilution corresponding to 30CH, we must put a drop of tincture in a water cube that is 2 stops million times the Earth-Sun distance!

Specifically, there's there is something in these pellets? Suppose a drop
contains exactly one mole of active molecules (that is an approximation very widely above facts). Just then multiply this by the number of mole Avogadro number to know the "exact" of molecules in our drop or 6023.10 23 molecules (groups of atoms!). So we 6,023.10 23 molecules in our starting solution, then each dilution the number of molecules is divided by 100! So at a dilution of 12 CH is the number of molecules divided by 1x10 24 or 0.1 molecules present in the dilution. So from 12CH, all granules exclude statistically one of the active molecule.

recall in conclusion that France consumes 20% of world production of "medicines" homeopathic, so it represents only 1% of the world's population. Successful only related to the placebo effect, the marketing campaigns (" Oscillococcinum is a drug " says the ad) and 20% of doctors who prescribe these products (reimbursed at 35%). Medicine or sheer lunacy, for you to see!

to read on this subject: Wikipedia entry
PS placebo effect associated with homeopathy may be greatly altered by reading this article!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The Word For First Anniversary Of Death

Infanticide in the lion.

This is a highlight for us civilized humans who have inherited this idea of Rousseau that the nature is good and the evil creation of human societies: "The male lions are killers of young lions! " Infanticide is indeed something very common among polygynous mammals (several females to one male dominant) including lions.
[To give you an overview here is a little video of the murder conscious and ruthless lions "cute" by the "king of beasts ..."]
If this behavior is common, it it has been selected, there is never a coincidence in nature (or almost). And yes, if absolutely wants to kill Simba Scar in "Lion King" there has a biological reason for this, it is not pure evil, though it is certainly very very bad ...), which may then well be the reason?

To understand, see things from the perspective of the lion ...

You're a lion in the prime of life, dominated by your male hormones, your aggressiveness, you can win the battle against the previous dominant male. Bravo is a beautiful victory, but useless if your harem of lionesses are unavailable for reproduction ... And so, they are all busy-care for their cubs. Raising a cub last two years, two years during which the females are no longer in heat! How frustrating, especially since the probability of being still in power in two years is rather low, you can not afford to wait. Moreover what is the point protect the male cubs previous (ie lowest since defeated in the final battle) ...
And if you took a drive killer? More cubs, so the females available for breeding, and a whole range of new cubs inheriting the passage of nature "a little" aggressive their father! Future killer lions in power, which recur also more easily pass on their genes "aggressive" etc.. etc.. And that's how infanticide is selected!


How do we conclude?
-First we consider here is that the behavior phenotype and that from the moment he is "heritable " (which is also able - h ² index) can be selected even if you have not yet identified genes of behavior ... Natural selection always takes place elsewhere on a phenotype.
-Then we see here that the natural selection occurs at the individual and not at the species level. So even if infanticide is counterproductive for the number of lions is still selected because at the individual level it is productive. "EXIT" so the concept of "survival" or "Good of the species."
-Finally, we can equally and finally draw a line on the alleged morality of nature. The concept of good and evil is foreign to nature. It is a vision of man who applies his thinking to a biased picture of its environment. And of course you will notice that the default antropocentrisme / morphism is a bias very hard to eradicate if we are to judge by the second paragraph this item ...