Science this week
Lab disinfectant harms mouse fertility
(interview in Nature)
This interview is with the woman who discovered that Bisphenol A, or BPA--a chemical that leaches from plastic bottles into water--is carcinogenic. Among the culprits are Nalgene bottles, baby bottles, and some type 7 and type 3 plastics (look for the number inside the Recycle symbol on the bottom).
I've included the interview because Patricia Hunt is not a toxicologist. She only discovered BPA's toxic effects because most lab plastic is produced by Nalgene, and her samples were behaving oddly.
Turns out she's discovered (or perhaps stumbled upon) two more. These are ADBAC and DDAC. They're both found in household disinfectants (like the kind you use on that toilet seat you sit on, or the kitchen counter you use for cooking). She identified them as the cause of massive infertility in mice.
(Incidentally, a brief perusal of the Seventh Generation website showed that they don't use these chemicals. I'm not sure about other companies. Certainly Bleach or Ammonia should be good enough disinfectants, provided you NEVER EVER MIX THEM.)
Out of the ovary
(news blurb in Nature, about images published in New Scientist, and a forthcoming article in Fertility and Sterility)
Really freaking cool! A surgeon "accidentally" took really clear pictures of ovulation! (Don't worry, work safe. It's from inside. Inside is okay, right? Naked skin showing is "dirty," but pictures of the inside of a uterus are not.)
Astronomical Anagrams
(skipping the Nature news briefing on it)
Basically astronomers like Galileo used anagrams to hide information. Kind of nifty.
Rolled up sheets of stuff always has the same angle of bend on the innermost sheet
(Nature news about this article)
Just bizarre. Turns out when you roll up paper, carpet, and a bunch of other stuff, the inner sheet always bends inward from the roll by 24.5 degrees. It doesn't even matter what material they tested--it was always the same.
Fizzicists are so weird.
Massachusetts funds science to the tune of $1b
(Nature news)
Good for them. Science funding in this country is pretty low right now. I guess the fundamentalists don't want us getting ideas, or something.
So this blogging science news every week takes up a shitload of time. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep doing it.
(interview in Nature)
This interview is with the woman who discovered that Bisphenol A, or BPA--a chemical that leaches from plastic bottles into water--is carcinogenic. Among the culprits are Nalgene bottles, baby bottles, and some type 7 and type 3 plastics (look for the number inside the Recycle symbol on the bottom).
I've included the interview because Patricia Hunt is not a toxicologist. She only discovered BPA's toxic effects because most lab plastic is produced by Nalgene, and her samples were behaving oddly.
Turns out she's discovered (or perhaps stumbled upon) two more. These are ADBAC and DDAC. They're both found in household disinfectants (like the kind you use on that toilet seat you sit on, or the kitchen counter you use for cooking). She identified them as the cause of massive infertility in mice.
(Incidentally, a brief perusal of the Seventh Generation website showed that they don't use these chemicals. I'm not sure about other companies. Certainly Bleach or Ammonia should be good enough disinfectants, provided you NEVER EVER MIX THEM.)
Out of the ovary
(news blurb in Nature, about images published in New Scientist, and a forthcoming article in Fertility and Sterility)
Really freaking cool! A surgeon "accidentally" took really clear pictures of ovulation! (Don't worry, work safe. It's from inside. Inside is okay, right? Naked skin showing is "dirty," but pictures of the inside of a uterus are not.)
Astronomical Anagrams
(skipping the Nature news briefing on it)
Basically astronomers like Galileo used anagrams to hide information. Kind of nifty.
Rolled up sheets of stuff always has the same angle of bend on the innermost sheet
(Nature news about this article)
Just bizarre. Turns out when you roll up paper, carpet, and a bunch of other stuff, the inner sheet always bends inward from the roll by 24.5 degrees. It doesn't even matter what material they tested--it was always the same.
Fizzicists are so weird.
Massachusetts funds science to the tune of $1b
(Nature news)
Good for them. Science funding in this country is pretty low right now. I guess the fundamentalists don't want us getting ideas, or something.
So this blogging science news every week takes up a shitload of time. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep doing it.