jtoney
Posts by this author
January 20, 2011
This is one of my favorite examples of Vi Hart's creative, instructive doodling to teach mathematics.
In this case, the doodles are "binary trees." If you are not familiar with the concept, I am confident that you will be after this brief video!
January 19, 2011
Photo source.
This article was co-authored with Ms. Julie Dalley, Program Coordinator for the Research Academy for University Learning at Montclair State University.
Why pursue a college degree? It is a fair question. People pursue a college degree for many different reasons. It may be the…
January 19, 2011
Inducing a worm to lay eggs with laser light from Samuel Lab on Vimeo.
A research group at Harvard University, led by Prof. Samuel has developed a new way to manipulate nerves using lasers, given the cheeky term "CoLBeRT"{reference to Stephen Colbert}. In science terms, CoLBeRT is:
Controlling…
January 18, 2011
Figure 2: Evidence for dopamine release during pleasurable music listening.
Listening to music invokes our emotions, ranging from pleasure to disdain. It is one of our most human experiences, sometimes so profound that words cannot convey the intensity. One of my closest friends, a professor of…
January 17, 2011
Math is boring. We hear that every day. But there are exceptions. Consider Sir Isaac Newton. He matriculated at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge in 1661, became a Fellow in 1667, and created the "Newtonian" branch of physics. But many may not be aware that he was a master…
January 17, 2011
OpenStreetMap - Project Haiti from ItoWorld on Vimeo.
In Swahili, "ushahidi" means "testimony." I would like to share with you an emerging technology, Ushahidi, an open source platform that can be used by anyone anywhere to share information that can improve disaster response and perhaps someday…
January 15, 2011
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. cautioned in 1964 about a growing disconnect between technological advances and ethical awareness.
Photo: Dick DeMarsico/New York World-Telegram, courtesy Library of Congress
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:
Let us consider his thoughts on science and…
January 13, 2011
Dino egg.
Awwww....
Just reported in this week's issue of Science:
A report of remains of a four foot dinosaur, ten to fifteen pounds, some 230 million years old. Perhaps not so sweet.
From The New York Times:
the little dinosaur was also a fleet-footed meat eater, with an agile body and long…
January 13, 2011
Just a thought regarding civility in the media. This road sign in Tucson, Arizona was just taken down today (yes, January 13) - thank goodness, after President Obama's speech last night. Is this a coincidence? Let us hope this could be the final example of using such provocation towards a…
January 13, 2011
Image source: NOAA.
I am not a climatologist, but these recent data from The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) got my attention.
There has been much discussion about "global warming," but relatively little attention has been given to a more descriptive term: "global weirding,"…
January 12, 2011
As reported on a blog for The New York Times, only three elected members of Congress have signed the "Civility Pledge":
I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.
I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.
I will stand against incivility when I see it.
Could my…
January 12, 2011
"Our situation deteriorates" (since the elections) November 30, 2010
Today marks one year since the disastrous earthquake in Haiti. As we remember the thousands of lost lives, the injured and now the recovering citizens in the face of a cholera epidemic, I wanted to share their voices.
Yesterday…
January 10, 2011
Photo by Bruteitup.
A DOG or cat owner spends roughly $10,000 on the care and feeding of his pet over its lifetime. (Dogs cost more per year, but cats make up for it by living longer.) What does he get for this investment?
Surveys indicate that what most pet owners mainly want is companionship,…
January 9, 2011
I receive many emails from students that were likely composed using a mobile device. Their sentences do not contain capitals ("i request..."), there are often grammatical and spelling errors as well as incomplete sentences. This comes as no surprise, I know.
But tYp3 LyK tHi5?
What is the point…
January 9, 2011
Photo source (pschubert.)
I came across this gem from The Journal of Irreproducible Results (yes, it really exists) and figured that something light hearted would be appreciated after yesterday's horrific shootings in Arizona.
APPLIED MATH DEPARTMENT SEMINAR "FUZZY LOGIC"
Professor B. Vastor,…
January 8, 2011
Stunned by the horrific news of the shootings today in Arizona, my thoughts are with the families of the 18 people shot, including five murdered victims {according to a live news cast at 7:57 pm on CNBC.) I sincerely hope for a full recovery of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. It is a struggle to write…
January 8, 2011
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Photo by cohdra (source)
What is learning? Is it the ability to recall facts or to solve an equation? How can you measure it? For college bound students, the Advanced Placement (AP) exam has attempted to address these questions since 1955 and offers students an opportunity to earn college…
January 7, 2011
Prof. Cornel West, Princeton University (source).
The media storm about altering Mark Twain's classic "Huckleberry Finn," published in 1885, to replace the "N word" with the term "slave" has sparked debate amongst scholars. How can we teach our children about bygone days, if sharing creative…
January 6, 2011
Guantanamo Bay
(Image Source: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Darren Hester, rpmaxwell, Will Montague)
This week's issue of Science has an insightful article on a very important topic: US sanctioned torture of enemies, using enhanced interrogation techniques. The article is co-authored by…
January 6, 2011
Confocal snapshot of the junction between two portions of the Drosophila digestive tract: the midgut and the hindgut. Cell nuclei are labelled in blue, membranes in green and muscles in red. This image was taken by Irene Miguel-Aliaga. {Source.}
This is irresistible. In a paper published in the…
January 5, 2011
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Tanya Kovacs of Iselin holds her 20 month old son Caleb as they take part in a rally in front of the State House opposing new vaccine mandates by the state for children. TONY KURDZUK/THE STAR-LEDGER
As reported by the Associated Press and in The New York Times this evening {"filed 7:…
January 5, 2011
Predicted Median Life Expectancy by Age and Gait Speed
(Studenski, S. et al. JAMA 2011;305:50-58).
Staying active, along with a balanced health diet, is probably the best way to age gracefully. An elegantly simple study was just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that…
January 5, 2011
This Friday, a new bill will introduced in the 112th session of Congress by Rep. Cantor (R-VA), the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act."
Such a provocative title! This may be time for a basic overview of the Affordable Care Act, regardless of your political affiliation. The video…
January 4, 2011
EPA/SHAWN THEW
US President Barack Obama delivers opening remarks at a bipartisan meeting to discuss health reform legislation at the Blair House in Washington, DC USA 25 February 2010.
Renewed debate is imminent about so-called "ObamaCare" {a term used by some as a pejorative for health care}.…
January 4, 2011
Photo source.
I think that's what I'm trying to do," he says. "I think Darwin's life is a great story. So why not tell it as a great story?
NPR Interview with Jay Hosler, Feb. 14, 2005
Amidst the media storms about teaching evolution in the classroom, I wonder whether anyone considered using…
January 3, 2011
Last week, I shared an extraordinary study describing the human brain's "connectome" - our first glimpse into how neural connections are made in our brains. Recently, several studies have appeared attempting to link one's political views with our neuroanatomy - is this coincidence or somehow tied…
January 3, 2011
Lionfish
Photo source.
With New Year's resolutions on our minds, consider something out of the ordinary: not a diet to lose weight, but a diet to help the planet. Become an invasivore. Let me explain.
A recent article in The New York Times describes the invasivore diet this way:
There's a new…
January 2, 2011
A recent article in Science, "Computational Physics in Film" reminded me how far we have advanced in computer simulation - all based upon basic physics of fluid dynamics.
Exoticmatter NAIAD City flood from Igor Zanic on Vimeo.
A spectacular example blending fluid dynamics and art: "Naiad City…
January 1, 2011
Protecting and sustaining our environment is a core value that seems to be common sense. It never occurred to me that this value might somehow conflict with religion - after all, isn't being a good steward of the earth a goal of numerous faiths? Apparently not.
As reported in The New York Times,…
December 31, 2010
My previous postings on the fruit fly brain generated quite a bit of interest, and I wanted to share with you some more detail that I received from Terry C.-W. Yeh, researcher at the Applied Scientific Computing Division of the National Center for High-Performance Computing in Taiwan. Thank you,…