The Science of Life

I just finished the book " The Vaccine Narrative " by Dr. Jacob Heller.  I feel it is a good idea to post a review of it on here, since it fits all of what I am trying to do with this blog.  Fair warning, if you intend to read this book without spoilers, this review does have spoilers a plenty. Dr. Heller looks at the narrative through history of the pro-vaccination side of the public argument we all know about.  He opens with the sentiment that yes, he is pro-vaccination, but he also feels the need to correct misconceptions which are prevalent in the narrative propagated by his side of the public debate.  The best way to convince those with legitimate concerns about vaccines (not those who are anti-vax conspirators, but those who have questions as a result of those conspiracy theorists) is to be completely open and honest about all aspects of vaccines, not just those aspects which are positive.  The first step in being honest to concerned parents is to...

These are the sources of information and video content for the Meat-Cancer link video, found here . The World Health Organization Science Press Release: "Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat"; published online on October 26th 2015 http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2815%2900444-1/fulltext They wish you to register before they provide the article for free, and it is a good idea to do so. Big Beef is bigger than Big Poultry.  Here's the proof: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ldpm-livestock,-dairy,-and-poultry-outlook/ldp-m-256.aspx The happy cows video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onWzeDElz6w The Minecraft cow can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUSByiRUgE4 The Bull taking a dump can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwbxlSnKE9U Gameplay of DOTA 2 found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iphorNRO_Go The 18% Video can be found here: https://www.youtu...

These are the sources for my video " The Science of the News: Vaccines and Autism ". 1998 Paper Connecting Vaccines and Autism: " Ileal-Lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children "; Wakefield, A.J. et. al.; 28FEB1998; The Lancet; Vol 351; p. 637-641; doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0 1998 BBC Report: "Child vaccine linked to autism" The Independent report " Doctors link autism to MMR vaccination " Denmark MMR-Autism Link Study: " A Population-Based Study of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination and Autism "; Madsen, K.M. Hviid, A. Vestergaard, M. Schendel, D. Wohlfahrt, J. Thorsen, P. Olsen, J. Melbye, M.; New England Journal of Medicine; vol. 348; 11/07/2002; 1477-1482 Scientific Reports in Direct Response to the 1998 Paper: " Association of Autistic Spectrum Disorder and the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccine "; Kumanan Wilson, MD, MSc, FRCP(C);...

I apologize for a longer-than-acceptable absence. My academic progress is getting in the way of so much of my life right now, including but not limited to this blog. I will, however, persevere in continuing with it – both the academics as well as the blog. I have also been working on a few projects outside of academia and outside of this blog. This includes a new website which incorporates poetry, chemistry, undergraduate papers, ACS news, and my tutoring in chemistry. For those of you curious, it can be found at http://poetchem.alexandersdesigns.net/ .  Over the course of the next few months, I will be transitioning this blog over there. For this blog entry, I will detail how one of my classes – in particular, Calculus III – relates to the real world. This is one project I have been working on for the past few semesters.  This will also be my final extra credit project for that course. There is something you have to understand about the realm of mathematics,...

I apologize for taking so long with this entry of my blog. I have been abnormally busy lately with my academics and poetry. Today, I am writing on how all of the sciences are related to one another, in the hopes that you will come to realize that the sciences are not as separate as popular culture and news has us believe. This blog will be geared to those individuals – weather you're the average person or a student of science, or a full blown scientist – who have the opinion that the different fields of science are completely isolated from one another. This sentiment is not true, and I hope to show the false-hood of this concept here. In physics, we have the concept of “The Right-Hand-Rule”. This pretty much determines whether the a force perpendicular to two vectors is “positive” or “negative”. Torque is a good example of this. The amount of torque placed on, say, a bolt by a crescent wrench is perpendicular to the position vector and the fo...

To begin, I would like to thank my biochemistry Professor, MaryKay Orgill, Ph. D., for fact checking this post, despite her busy schedule, and despite today being her birthday. Happy birthday Captain! Before I begin my topic today, I want to clear up some confusion the general population has about homonyms . The confusion is that the general use of a word is perceived to also be the scientific use of the same word. With the exception of the vast majority of astronomical terms (because astronomy, for the most part, has the capacity to be an exception), this is not true. These are homonyms, which are words in English which are spelled the same, sound the same, and have different definitions. In engineering, the term moment means to apply a force in a circular fashion, not a general short period of time. In biology, a Calorie is a specific unit of energy in chemical reactions, not merely something you have to consume. In chemistry, reactions are transfer of electrons ...

In this weeks blog, I will describe the second law of thermodynamics and how it applies to biochemical mechanisms. There seems to be a lot of confusion, misunderstanding, and downright misrepresentation of this topic, so the intent here is to clarify everything. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy always increases for spontaneous processes. Notice here that the reference frame is not specified. This is because, in most scientific realms, the context is assumed to either be an isolated system or the universe as a whole. Also notice that I said entropy always increases for a spontaneous process. For non-spontaneous processes, the entropy decreases. I will talk about spontaneous thermodynamic processes in this blog. Later today, I will post a an entry in my other blog talking about non-spontaneous thermal processes. The Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us whether a process is spontaneous or not. This is based on the h...

In the past few days, I had to switch classes. I had to drop Biology, but I have picked up Biochemistry to take its place, which is vital to my degree program. I bring this up because, seeing as how I want to have parallels between this blog and what I am learning in academia with an emphasis on the chemical, I view this as a more chemical outlook on biology, which is logical, seeing as how the name of the course is “Biochemistry”. With that in mind, let me begin with the meat of the blog. For those of you pre-medical students reading this blog who are taking organic chemistry and wondering why you need to take organic chemistry, this blog entry is one of many examples of why pre-meds need chemistry. There are also reasons why you should take physics, but that will be for future blog entries. All of us are made of chemicals. Stomach acid is a mixture of acids which are used for reacting with the food and drink we consume, to produce compounds which our intestines c...

Starting this blog with a poem seems appropriate, since I am a poet.  The second post will be my introduction post. :) These Magic Little Things Who am I? This is what she wants to know. Because I have shielded myself from her that thoroughly that well. So I look at her, deep in her eyes, and I tell her this: “When you were first told about these strange little things called atoms, you can't quite comprehend their existence. Something that small, with so much empty space. And when they come together, magical things can happen. And that you are made of these magical things. Everything that makes you... you. Made of these magical little things. “Well, ever since I was a small boy, before anyone ever told me of these strange little atoms and the magical things they do, I could feel them inside of me. Tiny little molecules in my veins, reacting at the lungs with other molecules, flowing through my veins until they get to the muscles and orga...