This video review of the Apple iPod Shuffle 4th-gen sums it up the best, take a look:

I think it’s strange that Apple would go back on their technological advances and release an iPod shuffle that’s bigger, with less capacity than the one before it. For shuffle’s, things like this really matter! I was sure that the next step would be something smaller – even more unobtrusive.

There’s nothing new, the VoiceOver was there before, and so was the clip… and in fact, the buttons were introduced in the 2nd-generation (2G) one already… perhaps they found that people wanted them back? Or maybe it was because of the faulty remote controls on Apple headphones?

What do you think? Are you going to buy the new 4th-generation iPod shuffle? If yes, why?

If not, why not?

The boring definition of ‘double-blind’ goes along the lines of:

A double-blind test or trial of something (some new medicament, effects of high frequency noise and your perception of ghosts, reactions to 2 Girls 1 Cup), is where information is withheld from both the tester (the person in charge of running the experiment) and the bunny (aka subject).

This is done to not influence their behavior by any disruptive or skewing means, and thus giving better results. In testing some new medicine, for example, neither the experimenters nor the experimentees (although some ethics scientists are against calling them that) will know which group is getting the placebo (control drug… basically, nothing), or the real deal (that could cause some serious side effects, like death, kidney failure and a rash).

To get the picture, the experimentees would be told as little as possible about the test, and the scientist would make a guide (with pretty pictures) for an external person that’s meant to overlook and run the experiment.

Wait, there’s more benefits:

The scientist who designed the test would not influence the way questions are asked, or how things are run. So, you avoid control freaks.

You also avoid the case where the drug-designer (no not that kind of drugs) may see that his/her treatment as having an effect, when in reality, it’s useless. (Well, maybe this works for ‘those’ kinda drugs too.) In any case, without double-blind, normal changes in a subjects health may be blindly linked (pun intended) to the drug by both the drug-lord, and the participant… all while the pill have just been pooped out days ago without effect.

A double-blind test also gets rid of those annoying brown nosers. In other words, the ‘good patient effect’ (where the experimentee tries to make the experimeter happy – for whatever reasons, lust, lust or lust) is avoided. If you didn’t catch that, it’s where the participant may attempt to alter his/her answers/results to give the scientist what the participant thinks the scientist wants. (That probably wasn’t any clearer.)

So, that’s pretty much it. This is something to look out for if you want to do any sort of experiment… it also gets you out of having to do any work, and saying it’s for the sake of scientific integrity.

Lame joke: “The names blind, double blind” (get it? Bond, James Bond…)

The most obvious reason lies in tides – the rise and fall effect of sea level. This happens due to the Moon – its gravitational pull shapes the Earth in an oval shape. How is this important to life? Well, in the areas where tides are evident on the landscape – such as seashores – the retreating and returning of sea water is pretty much changing it from one ecological niche to another. This happens over the space of a few hours, and creates a very unique environment.

This allows for life in one niche experience the conditions of the other, while returning to its home environment. Over time, and due to evolution, living things that are initially sea-dwelling, could become amphibious. It’s life spreading from one niche to an other (e.g. from the oceans to land).

A long long, LONG time ago the Moon used to be closer to the Earth – meaning that these effects would have been more evident. Furthermore, if its gravitational pull would become aligned with that of the Sun, then there would be tidal effects on solid landmass! Giving rise to intense deformation and radioactive elements… which may have enhanced the melting of Earth’s surface and helped initiating plate tectonics (a reason why there’s life on Earth!). It sounds horrible, but actually such an event could help shape a lifeless rock into a dynamic planet (Earth). How? Well, it would give the much needed heat loss (the Earth was too hot for us to handle then), boost land surface production (through things sticking out in the ocean), promote new life forms and, eventually, the biodiversity that we enjoy today

But that’s not all.

One theory suggests that the Moon was formed after a Mars-sized planetesimal (small planet) stuck the Earth and blew off a big chunk. This would have eventually accumulated into a spherical shape. At the same time the Moon was forming, the Earth enjoyed some changes of its own. Pretty much, there would have been a reforming of the Earth, new and improved, with a molten rock outer layer – called the mantle (hundreds of kilometers thick where the convection of plate tectonics takes place). Thus, Moon equals plate tectonics, sort of.

(The lunar rocks collected on missions, and calculations that the Moon is gradually moving away from the Earth strongly support this theory.)

That’s still not all.

This even would have sped up Earth’s rotation (simple physics – something hits something on the side and makes it spin faster), giving us our short 24h days. And the tile of the Earth’s spinning axis was changed to the present 23.5° (responsible for seasons – another pretty cool thing). Not only that, afterwards, the Moons pull could have helped stabilize the tilt of the Earth, without which the Earth would suffer extreme changes in surface conditions thru the amount of sunlight places get. Without that we’d be pretty much like Mars, cold where there’s sun, and uber-cold where there isn’t (and for really long times).

So, for today’s Earth, the tilt allows for varied, but sensible, climates to support life. Next time you curse the moon for shining in your face while you try to sleep and making the neighborhood dogs go nuts at night – think back and realize that without it you’d be a Martian.

P.S. Boring stuff:

At a less obvious glance, the lack of metal on lunar samples and the abundance in deposits at the surface of Earth suggests that the collision between the proto-Earth and a Mars-sized planetesimal let some of the Earths metallic inner core spill outwards onto the top layers and the mantle where it would later emerge under plate tectonics within the reach of developing, intelligent, technological civilization.

These skeletal muscles are connected to the skeleton (with tendons). They form part of the mechanical system that moves the limbs and other parts of the body. The structure of a muscle is ordered in a decreasing hierarchy, best described alongside a diagram:

What's inside the biceps?

Skeletal muscles, such as the biceps above, are made up of many neighboring muscle-fiber bundles – bound together by connecting tissues. Each bundle contains a few single muscle fibers, which are cells with their own (multiple) nuclei – along a plasma membrane.

The muscle fibers themselves are made up of many parallel and elongated contractile threads known as myofibrils. These myofibrils are made up of two, even smaller, threadlike sub-units: thin filaments (consisting of coiled-up actin molecules [two] and two other regulatory proteins) and thick filaments (made up of many staggered myosin molecules) – together, these two polymers are grouped as myofilaments. (Campbell & Reece, 2005) Their organization is orderly, and repeated under a unit called ‘sarcomere’ – beginning and ending at each Z-line, as marked on the diagram (and microscope-image) above.

To summarize, another word for skeletal muscle is striated muscle, which is defined as “muscle tissue in which the contractile fibrils in the cells are aligned in parallel bundles, so that their different regions form stripes visible in a microscope [as in the photo above]. Muscles of this type are … under voluntary control”. (“Striated Muscle”, 2007) The contractile action of the muscle is controlled by an overlapping (and non-overlapping) and movement of the myofilaments.

References:
- Campbell, N.A., Reece, J.B. (2008) Biology, 8e Int’l. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin
Cummings.
- “Striated Muscle” (2007) New Oxford American Dictionary. Macintosh OS X Dictionary,
Version 2.0.2 (51.4).

There are two main premises that allow fingerprints to be used to identify individuals.

Firstly, formed before birth, the friction ridge pattern (or fingerprints) remains unchanged throughout the life of an individual (apart from growth, scarring/purposeful alteration). A fingerprints pattern arises from a layer in the skin (dermal papillae), which can survive even after death. (Jackson & Jackson, 2004)

Secondly, the ridge characteristics make individual fingerprints unique, and allow individualization with the probability of two matching prints at 1 out of 1 with 60 zeros. (Saferstein, 2004) Over the years, no two full prints have been found to be the same, (Jackson & Jackson, 2004) however, everyone has them.

To introduce, fingerprints can leave a trace upon contact with surfaces. Naturally, this is due to: the sweat that is released from the pores atop the ridges, present even after washing; and the oil that comes from touching oily skin (e.g. regions of the face). These prints are often accidently left by the perpetrators at the scene of a crime.

In most police forces around the world, it is common practice to record the fingerprints of  suspects and criminals. This is usually done through the use of inks, however, digital scans are also now being taken in the EU and US. Therefore, “due to recent advances in digital imaging, computer databases, and software, fingerprints can be cataloged and searched electronically”. (Bell, 2008, p. 151)

Putting fingers to faces

Once developed, the fingerprints from a crime scene are analyzed for possible matches. This can be performed with the aid of computer technology; however the final decision is made by the fingerprint analyst involved. Matches are identified according to uniqueness at certain points (minutiae). However, it should also be noted that in the UK, for example, there is no longer a minimum amount of minutiae needed for match (unlike the previous 16-point rule from 1953); the number of matching points needed to ascertain a match is at the discretion of the expert analyst, which can sometimes prove problematic.

Conclusively, “the technology associated with the collection of fingerprints is well developed, reliable and, in most cases, easily applied”. (Jackson & Jackson, 2004, p.35)

References:
- Bell, S. (2008) Encyclopedia of Forensic Science. New York: Facts On File, Inc.
- Jackson, A.R.W., Jackson, J.M. (2004) Forensic Science. Harlow: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
- Saferstein, R. (2004) Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science, 8e. New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Meteorological measurements slightly before, during and after the twentieth century show a mean surface temperature increase of around 0.6°C.

Thsee two paragraphs are strongly linked. Here’s how.

Skies over the Baltic Sea

The recent increased amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere can be traced back to fossil fuel burning and deforestation through isotopic composition and other signatures.

As documented in tree rings, corals, ice cores and other climatic indicators – 1000 years before the 20th century, there was an irregular, but constant cooling of around 0.2°C, and the mean fluctuations from century to century were less than 0.3°C.

Mathematical models taking into account global temperatures tied in with atmospheric greenhouse gas levels have predicted and correctly confirmed changes in the climate both today and before, therefore, we can assume they are accurate when extrapolated to the direction in question, showing the human “fingerprints” of the enhanced greenhouse effect.

“Dangerous interference with the climate system”, as described by the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), can arise if the temperature rises to a certain point – a tipping point. If emissions continue as they are today, this value is put between 1.5 to 4.5°C by the IPCC, and most researchers have suggested values within that range. Simulations predict that the lower limit increase of 1.5°C could be reached in 20-30 years.

The message is clear.

Further reading:
- Just Who Takes Global Warming Seriously, Anyway?
- Happy 150th, Oil! So Long, and Thanks for Modern Civilization

There’ll be a fair share of cool info from both the natural sciences and the social sciences. We hope you’ll enjoy reading, and if you have something to say – feel free to leave a comment!

urEditor