The Science of Life

All physical scientists, regardless of the field of study (both on the experimental side and on the theory side), rely upon past experiments.  Regardless of how purely theoretical the work of any particular scientist tends to be, the foundation of the theoretical work is solidified in experiment.  I challenge you to present a case where this is not the case which is not philosophy.  Think very carefully about and thoroughly background check any example you come up with before being set in presenting the example; chances are phenomenal (100%, actually) that either it is based on experiment or is philosophy. Since I am a student of science, I wish to understand experiment construction, running, and replication.  I also wish to have everybody else understand the process of experimenting and why it is so important to the process of science. First, we need to understand why experiments are performed.  Everything about any given experiment follows from the r...

Suddenly, there is silence. It's been quiet for a while now, but now that the rounds are complete, it is complete silence, here on the surface of Mars. Not that this is really Mars. In the deserts of Southern Utah, there is a crew at the Mars Desert Research Station, running simulations for a trip to Mars. There are strict protocols for such things. Ideas accumulated on the ground put into place by The Mars Society. So simple are these ideas that most people – and even higher percent of scientists – would not think of them. Like, for instance, keeping a comp notebook at each piece of equipment to track use and maintenance. Keeping a log on the computer for suggested SOP for the crew who takes over on the next cycle change. In the isolation of the desert, these people can teach us a few things about how to do what we do as Environmental Scientists. For one, it is alright to be a nerd and proud of it. In fact, it is the preferred state of mind for us....

I have had insufficient time to write a full-blown blog this week-end, so I will leave you with a poem. It seems appropriate, since this is a science poem on a science blog, and it ties in with next weeks blog topic, which is the interconnectivity of two particular branches of sciences. I hope you enjoy this. Two Two years. Two groups. One constant. The only person in either group who isn’t going for the “American Dream”, whose primary goal does not involve retiring wealthy. The only one who never did understand this whole war between them, at any level much less this one, seeing as how this peace will save humanity time and time and time again. Two years. Two fields of science . The only constant is the only poet. The only one of either group that realizes that science, too, is a kind of art. After all, Mother Nature is the most intrinsic, the fullest, and best poet in the...

Hello, my name is K. "Alan" Eister (though you've probably gathered that by now). I have an AS in Chemistry from the College of Southern Nevada. I am also a Las Vegas slam poet of close to 8 years. I have never been on the national slam team, but I have come close. Here, I will attempt to combine the two and Help people see the beauty of chemistry. As far as I know (though, I cannot be too sure about this), there is no one that is taking on putting chemistry in the public eye. The most popular theme in putting science in the public eye is doing so through astronomy, which I understand. Astronomy is seen as the most beautiful (and most poetic) science. It is also the science that can be most easily done at home; the materials obtained for amateur astronomy very easily obtained, while the materials for amateur chemistry and biology are not. Chemistry is also beautiful. I will take aspects of the reality around you to help show this. I will start off very general, and will...