Sciencebird

I love you like a love song baby

2012-01-27T16:28:00.010-07:00

I was listening to, “I love you like a love song baby,” by Selena Gomez, in my car the other day. Initially, I thought, “how stupid, a love song can’t love.” Is her love like the love expressed in other love songs, or does she love love songs? Or does she indeed love, like a love song, a thing?

And the lyrics.

"There’s no way to describe what you do to me,

You just do to me, what you do

…

You are magical, lyrical, beautiful, You are…

And I want you to know baby."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8BKcpIeHn0

There’s no way to describe what he does, he just does what he does? I took this to mean, just seeing him say, eating a sandwich, makes her heart flutter, but I read the lyrics to my boyfriend, and he thought it was something sexual, which makes sense too. She lets us fill in the blanks.

Which is dangerous. I once heard a story: four young men in the south during the 60s were driving in a town, and they heard the radio announcer say that a local high school had been recently integrated, and that there was a crowd of people protesting. “What, I can’t believe it, let’s go over there right now,” they all said. They drove up to the area, and two went to the side protesting the integration, and two went to the side supporting the integration. They had all thought they were outraged by the same idea, but no one explicitly said what outraged them.

Back to Selena. The more I listened to the song on the radio, the more I knew exactly how Selena Gomez felt. She was in teenage love, overwhelmed, and god, he just did what he did, he was just so, so, exactly….yeah.

But I plan to practice the discipline of actually using words.

Chevron the rat

2012-01-16T12:34:00.012-07:00

She hears me approach-

What's that, she wonders.

Warm and furry, snuggled next to her sister

atop their cushion of chewed paper.

She rouses herself at the commotion.

Four feet extended,

she walks to the opening of her little wooden house on the floor of her cage.

Whiskers whisking, pink nose pointed,

she sniffs.

And puts her hands on the open cage door to greet me.

My Little Glass Room

2011-08-14T17:26:00.010-06:00

My little glass room.

Viga ceilings and bright light.

Afternoon sun makes it hot

Fans in the window temper the heat.

I love it so much I don’t want to leave.

I read

I nap

I sweat

I feel my solitude.

Like the last queen of Hawaii,

Liliuokalani.

I write in my upstairs bedroom, a prisoner.

Sitting on the toilet,

open window doors frame

the muted greens, reds, and blues on

brown of the desert.

I awake to sunlight and smell bacon beckoning.

But I resist

savoring my last moment in bed.

Labor and Delivery Nights

2011-03-27T10:25:00.002-06:00

The last week of my OBGyn rotation, I worked three nights in Labor and Delivery. I had been dreading it and finding an ascetic pleasure in it, admiring and pitying myself for having to stay up all night.

During days on L&D, I was largely ignored. I felt too tired to assert myself into the unit and compete with the off-service interns and residents, most of them mothers, who seemed very stressed out and talked to each other exclusively about their children. On nights, I was fortunate to work with three men, an intern, an R2, and an R4, who seemed to like their work. The men also had children, but they had stay-at-home partners, who cared for their children. I’ve never liked it when people refer to women doctors or scientists as “bitchy”, stating they are worse than men, because they are trying to be aggressive like men. It was a small sample size, but I think women still have more stress placed on them. They would probably be more mellow if they had a stay-at-home wife or partner caring for their children.

My first night in L&D was long—I helped deliver a woman’s first child, and it took forever. But by the third night, I was loving L&D. The three residents included me. By my last evening, I felt emotionally and physically drained, and became mawkish, wanting to hug the residents goodbye. I wanted to express how deeply I appreciated my time with them, the opportunity to be pimped and learn from them, to help with births, to see and worry about a pregnant mother who smoked meth for motivation to clean her house, to write patient notes, to try to communicate with native Spanish speakers, and to be awake all night in the hospital when most people are asleep. I did not hug them. I thanked them for teaching me. Then I cried all the way to my car after I left. I find as I approach the end of my required rotations, it’s a struggle to both get going to the hospital, and to leave the unit to go home.

OB Triage and Superstition

2011-03-19T09:52:00.000-06:00

A woman at 33 weeks gestation came into the OB triage after it was noted that her amniotic fluid was low. She was told she may need to be induced, and that she would be staying in the hospital. 33 weeks is four weeks shy of 37 weeks, when the baby is full term, and the baby's lungs may not be fully developed at that time.

“I usually wear a green ring, that is dear to me” she lamented, “But this morning I changed rings. I can’t help but think that caused this to happen. I know it’s silly. I’m superstitious. If my husband heard me say this, he would say, ‘Don’t be dumb.’”

I knew exactly what she meant. Superstitions provide comfort to us, giving us a sense of control and reason. An arbitrary cause of a bad event means it could have been prevented. The realization that random luck plays such a prominent role in our lives is quite distressing, while pinpointing a cause can sometimes be satisfying. And we all have people in our lives who dismiss this whole occurrence by saying, “Don’t be dumb.” They mean well too, it takes blame off us, by not making us responsible through superstition.

On Reactions to autism: “I’m sorry” vs. “Cool”

2011-03-17T21:21:00.008-06:00

I told one of the pediatricians I worked with that my nephew has autism.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, with a frowny-face. Her response annoyed me, as he is very healthy.

I cocked my head and looked at her, then said, “Oh, well, it can be hard.” I made sense of it by considering her to understand how challenging autism can be and simultaneously thinking, “We don’t need your fucking pity bitch.”

I met a 20 year old patient at a clinic, who said she was going into education for kids with special needs. “People with developmental disabilities are the new, unspoken for minority,” she explained.

“That’s great,” I told her, “I’m quite familiar with that, because my nephew has autism.”

“Autism, cool.” She smiled.

I smiled too. Is it cool that my nephew has autism? In general, no, but my nephew is a mighty cool seven year old. “Kinda immature response,” I thought. Life would be easier for my family, and likely for him too, if autism was less a part of who he is. But my smile was genuine. I thought about all the things I love about my nephew, his odd nuzzling, his repeated exuberant exclamations in line at Costco, (“No, not the lady!” when we hand something he picked out to the cashier, or "No, don't do it!" if we do something he disagrees with), his predilection for gas stations and chain restaurants. “Cool” made me feel good, and I understood it as celebrating him rather than pitying his difference. I preferred that reaction by far, to “I’m sorry".

Thoughts on urogynecology

2011-03-13T13:31:00.000-06:00

Urogynecology is like urology, but for women.

For the purposes of urogynecology, you are your vagina, your prolapsed uterus. In all fields of surgery, you are draped and covered, with only the relevant part of you left bare, clean and sterilized. I am all for humanistic medicine, the idea of treating the whole person, but in surgery, I find it comforting rather than objectifying, that the person is removed from the procedure, while their organs and pathology are front and center.

Chinese Healing Massage, yes, it's legitimate

2010-11-23T20:08:00.002-07:00

First it was sushi, taking over San Diego, then rolling to Albuquerque. Next, Frozen Yogurt, pull the handle and add your toppings, a pandemic of dead bacteria and sugar disguised as a healthy dessert. And now, Chinese Massage, for $25 an hour.

I first heard of Chinese Massage when my friend Alegra visited from San Diego, saying, "Everywhere I am, I get Chinese Massage, San Diego, Seattle, Houston, and it's very consistent, fully-clothed, in a public room, stretching style massage." Let's do it.

In San Diego, we all thought Asian massage meant "a happy ending", and as a member of the fairer sex, I didn't see how that'd apply to me. But where Alegra's concerned, I'm game for anything. We found several Asian massage centers in town, and luckily happened upon Chinese Healing Massage, on San Mateo and Osuna. The massage was neither clothed nor public. And, the massage therapists are not licensed. You undress to your bottom undergarments, and sit on a footrest with your feet in hot water, with a towel in front for modesty. A small Asian person rubs your back, with hands and elbows. He or she then dries your feet, and you lie facedown on a massage chair (complete with hole and face shield, and she scoots the footrest so that it is now essentially a massage table, with a groove for your hand to gracefully drape over. She massages you, with hands, elbows, and on top of a towel, with knees. You get some head reflexology and stretches too.

I've had three Chinese massages, and they were all relaxing, but the last one I had was the best massage I've ever had ever, totally top notch, with a very intuitive therapist named Helen. So try it, Chinese Healing Massage, with two locations to serve Albuquerque, on San Mateo by Osuna (505) 884-0830, and on San Mateo by Candelaria (505) 884-1155. Don't be put off by the blackened windows (there is a sign stating the therapeutic and platonic nature of the massage). The interior of the location by Candelaria is spa standard, clean, with soft coloring and Asian style spa music. Refresh yourself with tea or water while you wait.
With all the traffic they receive, call to make an appointment before going. I tip $8-$12 depending on the effort placed, but anything above $5 is acceptable. Both male and female therapists are available.

Cat invasion to Come

2009-09-08T11:36:00.015-06:00

After careful consideration and analysis of how much time I'll spend at home next spring while I study for step I of the USMLE, I decided to get a cat.
Me, with a cat? I've always hated pets. Well, over the summer, I spent some quality time with a dog named Bear who changed my mind. Bear belongs to a pediatrician I worked with over the summer. I borrowed Bear to hike with me. After when I went to visit the doctor, Bear wanted lots of attention. It was endearing. I like dogs, but eventually rotations will start, and I won't have time for a dog, but a pet at home will be fun. So I decided an elderly cat will be best.

I went to the Albuquerque animal shelter and picked out a lovable 11 year old female cat, or so I thought. This morning I received a phone call informing me that what they thought was an un-spayed female is actually a neutered male. Kitty has lots of fur, mistakes can be made. And the cat has advanced dental disease. Bummer. I have decided to pick him up anyway because he was so friendly. He looked out of his cage at me wanting my attention, and he purred when I held him. He is a grey bundle of hair, skin, and bones, with intelligent green eyes. At the animal shelter, if things don't work out with your furry friend, you can take him back within 30 days and get the adoption fee credited toward the adoption of a different animal. Cats over three years old are currently only $10, which pays for vaccinations, fixing, and a microchip for identification, and you get a referral for one free veterinarian visit. What a bargain!

Frozen yogurt everywhere!

2009-04-02T18:05:00.041-06:00

I went to San Diego to visit friends, and they told me about a fad centered in southern CA, frozen yogurt. This isn't TCBY or Golden Swirl, though I liked their yogurt. This new trend features tart yogurt, yogurt that still smacks of bacteria, although I don't think acidophilus is an extremophile, so I don't think it survives in frozen yogurt. We sampled three places: Pinkberry in Hillcrest, Yogurt World in Clairmont, and Yogurt Land in PB. Among the three places, the nutritious value of the yogurt, calories, and the amount of sugar was consistent, ranging from 11-20g of sugar for various flavors. Surprisingly, the plain yogurt has the most sugar. Alegra explained this adequately, pointing out that dark chocolate is often higher in sugar than milk because more sugar is needed to overcome the bitterness. The same is true for the plain yogurt. To cut to the chase, the winner was Yogurt Land.

Pinkberry

Pinkberry had the best tasting, but most expensive yogurt. They featured three snobby flavors: green tea, pomegranate, and plain. The yogurt was creamy and tart, but it was not self-serve, so it lacked what I now think of as the "frozen yogurt experience". The toppings were very high quality, and included kiwi, blueberries, strawberries, and candy and nuts.

Why so big for so little, cup?

Lovely yogurt and toppings behind the counter.

Small portions, but tasty and enjoyable.

Yogurt World

Yogurt World had many flavors, including taro, bananas foster, birthday cake, and green apple, and they have large signs proclaiming the health benefits of yogurt, including making the lactose intolerant lactose tolerant. Some of the machines did not have yogurt, but ice cream. This was not labeled, so it was slightly misleading if the customer only wanted yogurt rather than custard ice cream. Also, the toppings were not as high quality as those at Pinkberry. But at 38 cents/ounce, you can fill your cup. I recommend chocolate Pebbles to top your yogurt.

The orange decor, signs, and self-serve machines of Yogurt World.

Got ailments? Get yogurt.

Yogurt Land

Yogurt land has the best-priced yogurt: a mere 30 cents/ounce! They had about a dozen flavors (their tart blueberry is delicious) and they are self-serve. You can pig out on samples because the shop is run by college and high school students who don't give a rat's ass about the business. The toppings are nicely arranged and labeled, and they are also self-serve. The place was hopping at 10pm on a Monday night. Yogurt Land also claims to "build better skin". I believe yogurt can also fix our economy. Probably indulging in lots of samples will not.

A blurry treat.

The full shop.

Both Yogurt World and Yogurt had tasty yogurt, although the plain tart yogurt was not quite as good as that at Pinkberry. However for the price difference, Pinkberry loses. Yogurt Land has good yogurt and toppings at a great price, and Yogurt World is worth a visit for good yogurt and funny signs.

Crazy concoction for < $7 at Yogurt World. This would have been ~$5 at Yogurt Land. Only the wealthy could afford so much yogurt at Pinkberry in our bleak financial era.

New Adventures in Med School

2009-02-09T18:51:00.004-07:00

Last week, I performed a neurological exam on a real patient in a real clinic, alone! The situation was quite surreal, involving over-age adoption and a blind monk, but I cannot go into the details due to confidentiality. I was allowed to perform the exam by my supervising physician's assistant, primarily because it was not necessary.

On Sunday I witnessed several autopsies. Being a fan of the X-files, I have seen Scully carry out several autopsies, however this situation was completely different, very smelly, and also rather surreal. I would not recommend viewing one.

I'm now in the third week of neuroscience, and I'm starting out this block much better than previous blocks. Who knows, maybe it will continue to go well!

AIDs patient cured in Germany

2008-11-13T20:51:00.006-07:00

A patient with both leukemia and HIV was cured in Berlin, by receiving hematopoetic stem cells (the basic cell that gives rise to all your blood cells) from a match who was CCR5-. First, the patient had intensive chemo- and radiotherapy, then received a bone marrow transplant.

There is a high risk for the patient with a 10-30% chance of death from having your immune system and bone marrow cells wiped out before the transplant. Still, this is fascinating.
NYtimes Article

Autistim, or Schizophrenia?

2008-11-11T13:34:00.026-07:00

According to Dr. Crespi and Dr. Badcock (thrilling surname!), epigenetic gene silencing of the father's versus the mother's genes may tilt a person more toward autism or more toward schizophrenia (NYTs article, Nature essay). Epigenetics is the term that describes changes to the genome that change which genes are expressed but do not change the genome itself. In general, methylation, the adding of a CH3 group to the 5 carbon of the nucleotide cytosine in a promoter, silences the expression of a gene, while demethylation or acetylation (tagging with a -CoCH3 group) increases expression. When a section of a genome is silenced depending on a parent's gender, that is called imprinting. As we all carry two alleles (one variant of a specific gene) total, one from each parent, when our sperm or eggs are being made only one of each of our alleles gets put into the sperm or egg. With a few genes, a paternal allele in an egg should be silenced, and a maternal allele in a sperm should be silenced (with many genes, both alleles are expressed in the baby). When the sperm and egg come together, there are two alleles, with one or the other silenced through imprinting. The proposed theory of mental health suggests a paternal allele in the mother that should have been silenced results in reduced social skills, and the expression of a maternal allele in the father that should be silenced results in emotional problems. So, too much paternal expression creates social ineptitute, and too much maternal expression makes crazy harpies?

At times a mis-expression of an allele is indeed a problem, as an example, consider Prader Willi and Angelman syndrome. A specific region of chromosome 15, designated as 15q11-13, is responsible for both conditions. In this section of the genome, alleles from both the paternal and maternal lines should be expressed. In Prader Willi, either the father's gene is silenced or two copies of the mother's are mistakenly passed along: an imbalance in favor of maternal genes. In Angelman, the maternal gene is silenced or two copies of the paternal alleles are passed along: an imbalance in favor of paternal genes. According to the article, the two syndromes result in very different behavior, more compliance in Prader-Willi's, and more hyperactivity in Angelman's, although from the description in my genetics book, both conditions present unique challenges and temper tantrums.

The article also suggests that mother's have, through evolution, silenced genes that result in difficult offspring, silencing any paternal genes that pass through into their eggs. Both articles reference the IGF2 gene, responsible for growth of the baby in the womb. Apparently this gene is expressed in the sperm and imprinted in the egg. If both alleles are expressed, the baby is 50% too big and hard to deliver, if neither is expressed, the baby is too small. It so happens the father's is expessed, resulting in typical fetal growth. What if the imprinting was simply reversed, silenced in the father and expressed in the mother?

While Badcock and Crespi propose an interesting theory, I am not sure the evolutionary interpretation holds much weight. A child with autism or schizophrenia can both present a great challenge, and in the accepted discrepancy in imprinting resulting in Angelman or Prader Willi, this is also true. So imprinting and epigenetics are being shown to cause behavioral and physical phenotypes, but the interpretation that places where the maternal alleles are imprinted may be due to ease of child birth and child rearing has only subjective speculation to back it up.

I believe I have heterogenous imbalances, as I am of late both social inept and emotionally hypersensitive and blissfully living in a state of self-deception. But I'm finally doing well in medical school, in genetics and neoplasia.

There Will Be Blood

2008-10-04T21:32:00.006-06:00

What a terrific movie! There Will Be Blood opens slowly, in real time, with Daniel Day Lewis looking for oil. The story evolves into a biopic of his character, Daniel Plainview, whose hatred for people simmers and gushes out in harsh retribution. I found his character to have some positive traits: independence, self-reliance, intelligence, and the ability to plan ahead. His chief negative trait was that he murdered people. Everyone has some good and some bad in them. At one point he says he has a competitiveness inside, that makes him hate to see others succeed. He channels this negative energy into controlling a large share of the American oil industry and accumulating wealth. I found his single-mindedness rather inspirational, if a bit excessive. I'm fired up to conquer the head and the neck in human structure, function, and development--one more quiz and one more exam!

How med school differs from grad school...

2008-08-25T19:46:00.001-06:00

Graduate school is not about classwork, it's about research. And physics is different from biology. In physics, you can think about a problem, and if you know a few principles, say, the uncertainty principle and energy conservation, you can make headway. In biology, not so much. Physics graduate school is about the forest, research is about the twigs, and medical school is about the trees, with a picture of the forest in mind.

Donate your body to science!

2008-08-21T18:14:00.003-06:00

I've told everyone that the first day of class, we started cadaver dissection. The cadavers come from NM donors, people who decided to donate their bodies for our medical education. We are very grateful to all of our donors, and after we finish our coursework, their bodies are cremated, and we have a memorial service for them with their families.

The dissection is rather beautiful and everyone is very respectful. Generally, older people are used because the families of younger people who die often request autopsies, and perhaps younger people more often have their organs harvested. If I find myself to be older and medical school still use bodies, I may donate my body.

For more information on anatomy and cadaver dissection, visit the famous Michigan anatomy site here.

I will write more on medical school in the future, because that's basically my entire life now.

the Nervous System

2008-08-21T17:38:00.009-06:00

Medical school. It's as hard as everyone says. Many mnemonics exist for learning anatomy. This famous phrase deals with the nervous system: "Sympathetic, fight or flight, parasympathetic, rest and digest." These two divisions are part of the autonomic or visceral system, involuntary parts that regulate your internal organs, sweat glands, and arrector pili muscles which make your hair stand on end. Regarding the mnemonic, how do you make sense of erections? Erections are handled by the parasympathetic system, and ejaculation by the sympathetic system. I believe this means that if you had an erection, and a bear charged at you from the forest, you would ejaculate, but as I have no experience with this situation, I may be wrong.

If this bear happened upon you, he may ask if you would like tea. And let's keep our forests and hiking trails erection-free and do more of the rest and digest thing rather than test crass musings.

Mamma Mia, what a terrific movie!

2008-08-09T23:45:00.011-06:00

I'm late, I know, but I saw Mama Mia several weeks ago, and it was terrific! Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan were both excellent, as well as the lovely young actress from Mean Girls, who sings well. Pierce Brosnan doesn't sing well but is endearing. Don't miss him dancing in ABBA ice capades glory at the end of the movie. The Greek island setting has lovely shades of blue, and the movie is uplifting, silly, and full of heart and life. By all means, go see it, even if you don't like ABBA. You too will be singing, dancing, and using trite phrases to describe your feelings.

This is sciencebird light, but ya'll know I just started medical school. My first week we plunged right into cadaver dissection, and I failed a quiz! Anyone who loves me can mail me the Mammia Mia DVD when it comes out, or line dance in flippers for me. On my vacation time, I'm going to that Greek island.

Am I the only one who didn't like Batman?

2008-07-22T16:30:00.007-06:00

Batman, the Dark Knight, has opened to critical aclaim, and many fans have viewed it multiple times. How? Why? I didn't like it and had to force myself to stay awake. Admittedly, I was tired, but even so, the movie lasted forever. And I liked Heath Ledger, I was very sad to hear of his death. It was a little creepy for me to see him in last performance in his joker make-up, fitting perhaps, but I'm not big on creepy, I'm more of A Knight's Tale kind of gal.

I finally found a review that expresses my reaction in salon.com: Batman Review. I found the plotline of the Dark Knight difficult to follow, after reading Stephanie Zacharek's review I can better blame Chris Nolan. The highlights for me were the performances of Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, and Heath Ledger did a phenomonal job. There were not enough scenes with the Joker and Batman in them together. And Harvey Two-Faced seemed thrown in at the end, and he died too quickly. I thought he had a longer life-span as a villan. I'm going to see Mamma Mia tonight, hopefully that will meet my campy ABBA expectations.

The Hike

2008-06-22T14:04:00.033-06:00

After hiking on the same two trails for the last year, I finally connected them.
Along with Jim and Alicia, I took the Quemazon trail, starting from 48th off Trinity on the Quemazon nature trail to Pipeline Road, and on into Canada Bonita by Pajarito ski area. We estimated the distance to be 7-9 miles.
The hike took us through desert tuff, into the area burnt by the 2000 fire, and down through aspen and poderosa. If you want to do this hike, you have to shuttle, meaning one car is at the Quemazon trail head and one car is at the Pajarito ski area.
Pictures from the full journey are on my Facebook profile under "The Hike". Here are select photos.

The view from Quemazon, early in the hike.

Out of the openness of Quemazon and into more forested area.

Jim and Alicia on Pipeline Road. Pipeline used to be a jeep road, but is now closed to vehicles.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
This definitely seems true for the love in friendship. We all enjoyed the view from the high point of this hike. Swallows were darting all about and there were some larger birds too.

The pipeline, or a section of an actual pipe? What is this really?

This little fork reconnects in 100 yards or so. The Guaje ridge trail starts here, but we keep going on to Canada Bonita, a cross-country ski trail maintained by the ski club pictured in a past blog entry.

A wonderful gloomy view of the town from the start of Canada Bonita.

The end of the road, or the trail head of Canada Bonita.

The hike took us six hours at a leisurely pace, from leaving my house to arriving in the ski hill parking lot. We took several breaks and had a picnic lunch, complete with shiraz, thanks to Jim.
If you want to hike this trail, it is very direct. All the paths from Quemazon lead to the same place. After three miles or so, you reach pipeline road, go left. Then there are no more choices, just follow the main trail. There is a change in elevation of 2500 feet. The first 4-5 miles or so are at an gradual incline, and the descent into Canada Bonita is all downhill.

More on the wild in our lives

2008-06-19T10:44:00.025-06:00

People who have pet cats sometimes have to give them baths. Apparently some cats don't mind, but some do.

This little kitty named Tesla is not too happy about the process.

A problem with cats is, they like to roam around and occasionally fight other kitties. They are in danger from cars, other cats, and dogs. As long as the kitties are fixed and vaccinated, I think it's ok for them to be outside. Most animals live longer in captivity, including zoo animals, but being indoors versus being outside seems like a big price to pay.

However I recently met a man hiking who has a house kitty. He claims his cat has never been allowed to leave the house and is happy. And I've heard older cats don't mind being indoors. I think it's a balance between the kitty's happiness and how upset the owner will feel if the cat gets squashed.

Here is a picture of the guy with the house kitty:
I ran into this man unexpectedly on a hike. As a woman, when I am alone on a trail and I meet a strange man, I wonder, should I leave? This man and I were starting on the same trail at the same time. I thought, he seems ok, it's unlikely anything will happen, so I walked and chatted with him along the trail. At the apex he turned to me, brushed my forehead, and said, "You're sweatin' babe." Ew.
Nothing worse happened, but it bothers me that hiking alone is my limit. I feel too nervous to backpack or camp alone, mainly because of my gender. I have a similar problem as a kitty, strike out independently on my own and risk being attacked with no backup, or stay home. I miss out if I can't hike alone, but avoid being attacked or called "babe" by strange men. There are other risks too, like being bit by stray dogs or tripping and falling down a canyon with no help. Cats have a greater risk of being maimed or killed by a car, but conceptually it's a similar dilemma.

Another note on wildlife, here is a photo of rats nesting in a truck:

You can see their little eyes glowing at the bottom of the truck, like small furry aliens. The photo is taken at night in infrared with a motion-sensitive camera. These rats are enjoying the security of the truck to build their nest.
Should the rats be allowed to remain in the truck? It's not being used, and they like it. But they will probably have to be erradicated at some point. How we interact with animals and how we weigh the value of security versus freedom are two questions we face in life. I would like to have a pet bird, but I feel sorry for the bird to be kept in a cage.

Wildlife enters my parking lot and Into the Wild

2008-06-13T15:55:00.014-06:00

If you are lucky enough to live in Los Alamos you see lots of coyote, deer, elk, and interesting types of rodents. And you don't see roaches .Yesterday I was pulling into my parking space and saw a coyote. I grabbed my camera and tried to take a picture, but he ran away. This was the best shot I got:

Then he ran across the street to go to the library. I once saw several coyotes crossing the street to the library in the winter.

I watched Into the Wild last night, directed by Sean Penn. I saw Sean Penn interviewed on the Charlie Rose show, along with Eddie Vedder, when the movie was released. Sean Penn was smoking. I don't like smoking, but I hadn't seen anyone smoke on tv for so long that it was delightful to see him exhale, the smoke rising in front of Charlie and Eddie's faces. I enjoyed the movie and sympathized with the character's desire to chuck it all and relocate into the wild. I am not sure what state he was in at the movie's end though, and if it was completely impossible for him to leave the magic bus and try to walk to a road in his weakened condition. I don't know how much time passed between him falling ill and dying.

I rather envied the freedom of roaming around the US. I have been hiking more and would like to backpack. I thought the film was well-done, particularly the stark contrast between Alex's (Christopher's) experience in the wilderness and the LA scenes, when he peers through a fancy cocktail bar and sees himself, clean-cut and well-dressed, mingling and social networking. It validates his choice. I like that at the end he reconciles his two selves. It was sad that he never did contact his family.

I love living in Northern NM. I had considered moving away, but lately I can't imagine living outside of NM for more than a few months. In UNM's medical school, during July and August of the first year, students are required to live and work in a rural clinic to experience rural medicine. I'm very excited about this. I'm happy to move to Albuquerque, my hometown, but after living in Los Alamos for the past two years I will definitely miss the mountains and wildlife, although I have seen coyotes in Albuquerque and even San Diego.

Who is Karl Rove?

2008-06-06T23:14:00.016-06:00

I was playing the name game with a group of friends, when the name Karl Rove was slapped on someone's forehead and I realized I was not sure who he was, "Someone in the Bush administration or a basketball player", I thought.

Many of you know I made a New Year's Resolution to be more up-to-date with current events, and to be fair, I have been keeping up with international news, for instance, did you know that a cyclone hit Burma and an earthquake hit China last month? Of course you did, I'm joking. But US politics? I suffer to learn who the candidates were for president.

So, who is this strappling young fellow, and should you know his name?

First off, he is no longer in the Bush Administration. He resigned in 8/07, to spend time with his family apparently. He is know as the architect behind Bush's re-election campaign, the puppet master of the Bush administration, and a loyal friend of George W. Bush. There is a very interesting Frontline online about Karl Rove, titled, The Architect, which details how Karl Rove brought about the dominance of the republican party in America. Bush then named Rove the Deputy Chief of Staff.

And you've got to hand it to Rove: he masterminded Bush's win against Ann Richards as the governor of Texas in 1994, he got Bush elected as president in 2000, and he got that unpopular president reelected in 2004.

Rove was very clever and sneaky and was quite willing to do many ethically questionable things to keep Bush in power and get Republicans appointed to positions of judicial authority. If you google him, you can find articles on his involvement of the retaliatory ratting out of former CIA agent Valerie Plume. Those cases are all rather complicated however, and I am tackling US politics in baby-steps.

Watching the Frontline special made me wish the democrats had such a mule pushing for a democratic majority. On the other hand, though clever and admirable for getting what he wants, Karl Rove seems sullied, and it is unclear to me that he is following his convictions. Rather, he seems to exemplify Kant's saying, the ends justify the means. He decided to help bring about a Republican majority in US politics, and that's what he did. For example, in 2004 he pushed the issue of gay marriage to the forefront of political issues, as a hot button to bring out right-wing voters. A completely ridiculous issue to focus on in a time of war! Does Rove really have passionate feelings about gay marriage? I am sure not. But it did encourage lots of conservatives to vote who might have stayed home.

In the democratic primaries, I was not sure who to vote for, Obama, or Clinton. Now that decision is made, and I hope that Obama can win the hearts and votes of Americans by reaching out conscientiously to voters using both strategy and conviction, while keeping important issues on the table and having genuine principles.

On Skinny-Fat Men and Fortune Cookies

2008-06-06T15:13:00.015-06:00

I've been frequenting China Moon, the premier Asian buffet in Los Alamos. Yesterday I got a fortune cookie which said, "It's a nice day." Actually a cold front had blown through the city making it frigid in June, and internally I felt freaked out and panicky. So the day was not nice, and that's beside the point really--what I want from a fortune cookie is a prediction, an actual fortune, or at the very least, a truism.

I think fortune cookies should have advice on men, specifically about skinny-fat men. A skinny-fat man is thin and not volumous, yet is unfit and has poor muscle definition. He may have a bit of a paunch, but if it gets too big, he will move into the plain old "fat man" category. Skinny men often like women who are not skinny, some cushion to balance their edges. Fat men will also accept a non-skinny woman because they themselves are not thin. But a skinny-fat man neither needs the cushion of a woman, nor thinks of himself as a fat man: he deludes himself into thinking he's fit because he's thin.

So "date fat man, ok, date skinny man, ok, date skinny-fat man, no eat ice cream in peace." Why not put that on a fortune cookie? I'd also settle for a compliment inside my cookie.

Skinny-fat men are the first people to call people like Tyra Banks fat. And they cannot protect you in a fight, because they cannot invoke their inner tiger or panda, only the perl programmer, which is the weakest of all kung fu forms. They make poor workout partners because they do not workout, and you cannot enjoy eating at buffets with them, so there is no benefit to a skinny-fat man.

Two places to go in NM

2008-06-02T11:54:00.007-06:00

So it's been a long time for Sciencebird, but don't worry, you needn't miss me any longer, I have many fabulous posts planned to both educate and titillate you. I'd like to call your attention to the fact that two NM destinations made the NYtimes "The 31 Places to Go This Summer." The two places are Farmington and Jemez. I think you, me, and everyone we know should get together and go to Jemez to get a massage, apparently starting at $37, at the Jemez Springs bathhouse. Sounds a bit Roman, eh?

The review of Farmington highlights a cave bed and breakfast, which at $240/night I will skip.

Soon I will move to Albuquerque, so I aim to catch all of Northern NM while I can.

Lessons from Friends

2008-03-12T20:35:00.026-06:00

Skiing

Despite my predilection for snowshoeing, I did ski Pajarito twice this season, and I plan to go again soon. I met my friend Alicia up there, and Bruce, who was kind enough to photograph me before his ski patrol duties began.

Alicia has been giving me pointers, and I think I'm improving.

Baking

Inspired by my friend at sunkencupcakes, I bought a cupcake/muffin pan from Cook'n in Style. In the medium-size, my only options were to buy an Aluminum or Silicone pan, they were out of the non-stick variety. I purchased an America-made blue silicon pan with six cups.

The thermostat in my oven, recently replaced by my landlord, is still broken, so I decided to break my new pan in with a cheap muffin mix in my toaster oven.

I also purchased an expensive springy whisk because it was cute.

I did not time the muffins and had trouble keeping my toaster oven at 400F. Also, the muffin tops were brown, yet the non-brown parts looked raw. Rather than risk burning them, I took them out. A mistake.

Still, they are tasty, and sitting in this nice plastic container, three of them look store bought. I'm sure my co-workers won't notice they're raw. What's a little salmonella between friends?

I'm not giving up on my toaster oven.

Tomorrow is a new day, a caldera cupcake day, a day for monitoring the temperature and timing. Hopefully the caldera will be free of prokaryotes.

Of Dust Mites, Lost Friends, and Allergy Shots

2008-03-05T09:07:00.038-07:00

I was tested for allergies a few weeks ago, and found I'm allergic to dust mites, cats, one variety of mold, cockroaches, and many kinds of trees, weeds, and grasses. Basically everything except cottonwoods and dogs, which is brilliant because I love dogs. My allergist was very surprised to see that I'm highly allergic to dust mites. According to the Johns Hopkins allergy site, dust mites do not live at altitudes above 3000ft and need the humidity to be >40%. They thrive at humidity >55%, so NM is indeed dust mite free (more evidence that Los Alamos=Utopia).

Apparently I developed my dust mite allergy when I lived in San Diego, so I've decided to rid my bedroom of pillows I brought from San Diego. But my monkey companion also lived with me in San Diego. He has to face the washer and dryer and move out of my bed. Luckily, I have Sneaky Snake, a NM native, to keep me company in bed. I'm revealing too much about myself here.

I've started immunotherapy shots to hopefully reduce my allergies permanently. If you have severe, year-round allergies, or asthma, you should make an appointment with Dr. Sussman in Los Alamos. The more allergic you are, the better your chance of conquering your allergies with them. If you experience a discomfort level of 10, say, on a scale from 1-10, you have an 80-90% chance of reducing your discomfort to a 3 or 4, and less chance of developing new allergies. My select EPO UHC insurance covers them too, otherwise I'd be out $1300 for the extract and $25 per shot.

Based on your allergy profile, the doctor orders allergen extract. I have enough allergies for two separate vials: one labeled "cat, trees, and grass", and one labeled "weeds and dust mites". You must get a weekly shot for six months. This is the moving up period, in which the amount of antigens injected in you is increased, visible as four separate extract vials ranging from clear to dark brown, each good for six shots. After 24 injections, you continue with shots every two weeks for another six months at the therapeutic level, and I think move to monthly shots after that. The theory is, your immune system will become desensitized to the allergen with the frequent exposure. Full benefits are seen a year or two after the therapeutic level is reached, but may be evident 2-4 months after the shots begin. I will become a more tolerant person, one with cats, grass, trees, roaches, Obama-followers, and dust mites.

When I lived in Albuquerque, I suffered greatly from allergies and even had asthmatic symptoms. It takes a few years to develop allergies, so I felt better in San Diego, dust mites aside, and I suffer less in Los Alamos. Hopefully the therapy will start to work before I move back to Albuqueruque.

Another cute picture...

2008-02-28T08:51:00.008-07:00

Love, love makes your heart dance. In the movie Adaptation, Donald Kaufman says, it doesn't matter who loves you, it matters who you love. Both matter, in my opinion, but for really feeling good, I agree that it is better to love than to be loved.
You know I love both pigeons and monkeys. Now, they love each other, and I think it speaks well for them.
I've stated my New Year's Resolutions elsewhere, and one of them is to keep up with current events. I have to stab needles in my arm to listen to anything political, so I focus on world events. There are lots of bad things going on, all the time. Save your money to help feed starving children in the future, because according to the UN, there's going to be more of them. Love love love.

Nice websites!

2008-02-27T10:49:00.009-07:00

Many of you know, I am moving to Albuquerque soon to start medical school. I had the idea that once I was admitted, I would be very relaxed, and overall, I am more relaxed, but the big change is also a little scary. I've been worrying about where I should live, and whether I should buy a house or not. I found a nice website called http://www.hotpads.com/. It has rental and sale listings, and a calculator to help you decide which to do. For me, renting may not be such a bad option. Hats off to the web designers of hotpads. I will sleep better tonight because of you.
Another website that helps me relax is pandora.com. I listen to a music station based on Hans Zimmer.
Currently I'm reading the Witch of Portobello, written by Paulo Coelho, which is helping me to focus on the present.
So thanks to all the web designers and artists who improve our lives by helping us relax and find places to live. This entry opens with a cute photo I stole from stuffonmycat.com. I've never had the occasion to use it.

A Noah's Ark for Plants

2008-02-26T10:48:00.018-07:00

To save the animals from God's wrath, Noah brought a pair of each species on board his ark. Now, to save plant diversity from any possible calamities, floods, greenhouse effects, fire, nuclear war, invasion by aliens, etc., we have a place to keep seeds, the humble beginnings of plants. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault has just opened, a place where all countries can send their seeds, a place safe from humidity and global threats. The NYtimes article raises some interesting objections to the seed vault.

Snowshoe Pajarito

2008-01-31T10:10:00.001-07:00

Los Alamos, a city filled with history, science, and an odd assortment of people. Many postdocs here feel the social scene is limited. If you feel this way, snowshoe.

You don't need friends to snowshoe, only snowshoes. You may also ski, if that's your thing. The advantage of snowshoes is they don't require special boots, bindings, or poles; they hug whatever closed shoes you have and protect you. When times are hard and your social circle either doesn't exist or collapses, you still have yourself and the mountains.

Bad things are happening in Kenya, Bill Richardson dropped out of the race (well, we knew his chance was slim), people in Los Alamos suffer from depression, gossip, and loneliness. Embrace your isolation; the ski hill sits quietly, a beautiful bird waiting and welcoming. And vote. Donate money to causes you care about, and start a project: volunteering, learning Spanish, or perfecting cupcake recipes.

Everything bad is good, er, right?

2008-01-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Finally, confirmation that violent movies reduce crime! According to two economists (economist=psychologist), young men aced to wreck havoc and mayhem on society may get their yayas by watching violent movies instead of actually committing violent acts. During the weekend of violent movie premiers and in the few days after, there is a dip in reported crime. So not only do violent films keep these scoundrels off the streets, it pacifies them for awhile. There is some logic to this, as undesirable no. 1 cannot be in two places at once (at least not without some polyjuice potion). The conclusion of the article is to find other ways to keep young men entertained, perhaps with seductive older women, funding more Adam Sandler films, or distributing passes to hear Mike Huckabee. Keep danger off our streets!

Baboons

2007-10-10T10:14:00.000-06:00

This great article highlights how baboons have a social hierarchy of which each baboon is distinctly aware. Male baboons who move up the social ladder often kill the previous alpha male's babies to send the female back into estrous so she can get pregnant. A female baboon with good social contacts is more likely to keep her baby with a previous alpha male than a female with better social standing. It's not who you are, but who you know.

In psychology, the theory of mind is the ability for us as humans to recognize that other people have their own minds and may know and believe different things than ourselves. Do animals have this ability? Apparently baboons do not. Some people have little of this ability. We should learn from the baboons and develop good social connections to protect ourselves from disasters, and also develop our theory of mind and recognize that other people are not us and have their own thoughts and desires.

It's definitely worth registering for the NY times to read the article on baboons.

Farewell!

2007-09-18T09:36:00.001-06:00

I remember as a kid watching the end of the year montage of famous people who had died, and they were mostly a bunch of old people I'd never heard of. But this summer, many people and creatures famous to me have passed the way of the dodo. Pavarotti sung his last, and these three people are also history.

Alex the parrot, who challenged our ideas on what it means to be conscious, died on September 6th (this post is a little late). This NYtimes article is exceptionally interesting and reveals Alex's personality: Alex Wanted a Cracker, but Did He Want One?

Also, a belated fairwell to Albert Ellis (died 7/25/07), the father of rational emotive behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Anyone with a bad habit like drinking or self-hate should look into CBT. Here is his NYtimes article.

Madeleine L'Engle also died on september 8. I had read some of her books, the most famous of which is titled A Wrinkle in Time. The mother of the children in that series was a chemist.

smorgasbord

2007-09-12T09:44:00.000-06:00

I heard on public radio this morning that sunlight may help guard against Multiple Sclerosis. As you move away from the equator, rates of MS increase, peaking at northern latitudes. Also, in studies of twins, the twin who had more sun exposure was 25-75% less likely to have developed MS. And people with MS are 20% less likely to have skin cancer, possibly because they have less sun exposure. So be tan, stay mobile, and die of skin cancer, or be wrinkly and MS-free. Enough with the gross oversimplifications, but whichever dead Greek guy advocated moderation in all things, listen to him.

I've been listening to the soundtrack of Man of La Mancha, a musical based on Don Quixote. I'm not sure since I haven't read the book, but it seems that the prostitute Aldonza, whom Don Quixote calls Dulcinea, at first resents his illusioned view of her as a maiden of virtue, but with time, his idealized image of her transforms her into a lady. What had been a false image becomes the truth. Initially, Dulcinea screams, "Can't you see me for who I am?" Is it better to be loved as you really are, or is it better to be loved for the potential within? To be loved for who you are has more security, since it requires no change, and can lead to self-acceptance, which could be a good thing. To be loved for an idealized image could shatter a person's view of themselves, and help them recreate themselves as the ideal. In Man of La Mancha, Don Quixote catalyzes Aldonza's transition from a prostitute to a maiden through his belief in her. Is Don Quixote a madman, or is he seeing Aldonza's true self, the Dulcinea in her, smothered by her life of prostitution? The danger with illusion is if the holder of it is disillusioned, love may fail because the beloved cannot live up to the illusion, but maybe the illusion can lead to change.

Bee Update!

2007-09-07T11:36:00.001-06:00

Scientists now believe the primary, but not sole, culprit in the mysterious loss of bees is due to a virus, the Israeli acute paralysis virus. Theories such as climate change, cell phone signals, and genetically-modified crops were rejected. http://www.eurekalert.org/bees

The Art of Quitting: Goodbye Zodiac!

2007-08-16T10:03:00.001-06:00

Evan Harris has a book called, "The Art of Quitting When Enough is Enough." I received this book as a birthday present from my good friend Alegra. A hint? What does she think I need to quit?
According to Ms. Harris, there are six basic quits:

1) Job
2) Person/People
3) Thing
4) Location
5) Idea
6) Habit

Soon after reading the book, I saw a quit glaring at me from the heavens: Astrology. Those of you who know me have not taken my musing on the zodiac very seriously, because I am very very serious and very very skeptical, and would not look at sun signs to interpret affairs of the heart or business. But I do read my horoscope and have spent hours discussing the compatibility of different signs in relationships. Furthermore, I confess to pointing out that people really ought to know their moon sign and ascendant house. I have stopped short of cancelling events based on horoscope advice and choosing my boyfriend based on his sign. Recently, three people have pointed out to me that the sun wasn't even in the constellation of Leo when I was born. This statement appears to be true, and along with Evan Harris's book, has motivated me to quit astrology. So Leos, start a torrid affair with a Cancer or Pieces. Even the most poetic, literary horoscope, while tempting, is not worth reading if one can't decide which sun sign's horoscope to read.

Creeping Critters in Daily LIfe

2007-08-03T21:24:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, I was walking on the lawn outside my apartment chatting on the phone, when I saw the brightest blue squirmy thing in the grass. A worm? A snake? It was about 5cm long. Lucky for me, the small creature wiggled onto the sidewalk and under one of my planters. It was a lizard of some kind. I described it on the phone to my friend from Austin, who correctly identified the lizard as a "skink". I managed to take the above picture of it. I believe this is a blue-tailed skink. Apparently skinks lose their blue tails when they enter adulthood.

Last week, I had a close encounter of the 8th kind with an orb weaver. A stray jacket left outside the building was brought inside out of the rain and hung on a doorknob waiting for its owner to recognize it. Although the jacket was not mine, I thought I'd try it on and without realizing it, tried on the high-jacking spider for size too. I was admiring myself in the bathroom mirror, then went to, well, you know, when I saw the orb weaver sitting on my leg. I was quite startled. I brushed the spider off and carried it to safety on a paper towel.

There are many small rodents and lizards in Los Alamos, but fortunately, I have yet to see a roach. Which is just another reason that Los Alamos is indeed, utopia.

Invasive Species: Rats and Pythons

2007-07-27T13:03:00.001-06:00

The Asian python has infiltrated the glades of Florida, courtesy of negligent pet-owners who have become overwhelmed by their exotic friends.

Rats must have been an early invader, traveling everywhere by ship, land bridge, etc. They are smart animals who enjoy sex, have similar immunology and addiction behaviors as humans, are compassionate to other rats, and also know what they know and know what they don't know. In one experiment, rats were rewarded with a large treat for correctly discerning the length of a beep. The rat had a choice of pressing a long bar for an 8s beep, and a short bar for a 2s beep. The rat also had the option to stick its nose through a hole and receive a small treat if the rat couldn't decide how long the beep was. Discerning between 2s and 8s beeps was easy for the rats, but as the beep length approached 5s, the rats more frequently opted to stick their nose in the "I don't know" box and get a small reward. The recent NY times article on rats is wonderful. The NYT is free online, but you do have to register to access their articles.

Obviously, we need to breed larger rats to recapture or possibly eat the pythons. As an alternative, don't buy snakes for pets. Rescue a cat or bird instead. I would like a pet bird, but I don't think I have time, since they are very social creatures.

Flowers on Pajarito

2007-07-10T12:23:00.000-06:00

On June 30th, I climbed the ski hill and noticed some lovely purple flowers growing on the rocky part of the trail. It was dusk and very beautiful, after a particularly charged day. On the way down the hill, a white dog saw me and started barking like mad. He came closer. I saw an older man far behind him, who after a delay called the dog off. But Mr. Man didn't leash or hold his dog, although I had not passed them, and after a head pat (the man on the dog), the dog turned and ran back toward me barking. I was terrified and almost pepper-sprayed the dog. The man eventually caught up with the dog and leashed him, assuring me that the barking monster that traveled 100 yards off trail to harass me was "okay".

Timid but missing the hill, I went up the next week. Luckily, I ran into a very fit woman with hiking poles at the top of the hill. We hiked down together, and in addition to making me feel safe, she knew the name of the lovely flowers: Columbine.
We also saw some deer, a female and a buck.

Columbines differ from other flowers because they have five "spurs", which are tubes that typically serve as nectar reservoirs. The high number of spurs have contributed to the diverse speciation of Columbines: there are 70 species, which have spurs adapted for specific animal pollinators: short spurs for hummingbirds, longer spurs for hawkmoths with long tongues. I don't know if these Columbines are specific for a pollinator.

They grow on a rather stark ascent on the trail.

This is the view from the summit on the west side. The land goes back with no manmade structures in sight, but also conveys a secrecy. What inhabitants are hidden? Spanish explorers would not have known. Some may have disappeared there. Far from home, looking at the view, the only feeling is liberation. You could walk down and disappear into the wilderness and become part of the mystery.

Hike Los Alamos. No risk of detonation.

2007-06-29T09:43:00.000-06:00

Los Alamos is a world famous city. Atomic bomb Atomic bomb. But we're so much more than that, and the perceived paradigm is shifting. Why, my favorite soap opera couple on the Young and the Restless got married in Los Alamos, portrayed as a Texas cowboy town on the show (their plane had to make an emergency landing at the Los Alamos airport due to bad weather).

I can tell you, not many Texan cowboy types here. And I work with computer models to better understand HIV and the immune system, not bombs. The division I work in focuses on science that helps people. I don't know a single person who voted for Bush in my building. I can't vouch for people outside my building though.

Develop your own view of Los Alamos, come here and hike.

We have beautiful aspen and pine trees. Aspen are not individual trees. They share a common root system that shoots up new trees when the old ones die. An aspen grove grows and can cover more ground each year.

In the winter, you can ski or snowshoe.
I have big plans for future blog entries. I like hiking, but I grew up in a city and was never a girl scout. I know almost nothing about geology, flowers, or local birds. My preferred way to learn is to hike with knowledgeable people who can show me these things. Soon, I will highlight the volcanic influence on the landscape here, and also include some flowers and their names. Come visit me.

A tough egg to crack.

2007-06-28T20:48:00.001-06:00

Life is hard. If you don't believe me, watch March of the Penguins. Perfect illustration of how things are rough all over for everyone.
Earlier I wrote about baking eggs instead of boiling. "No water," I said. "Perfect consistency is within your reach!" I tried to exploit this technique to make an egg that had firm whites and a runny yolk, and then realized I had read the original article incorrectly. While the egg white protein Ovotransferrin denatures at 142 degrees Fahrenheit and the yolk at 158F, the majority of the egg white, Ovalbumin, doesn't coagulate until 184F.

I realized my mistake when I tried to bake eggs again, first in my oven, then my toaster oven. I discovered my secondhand appliances cannot maintain a constant low temperature. How can I become an egg connoisseur with such poor oven resolution? I wanted to be like Hervé This in the Discovery article, "Ah, a 152 degree egg." I ran my first trial with two eggs: I set the oven to 160F. When I returned 30 minutes later, my oven thermometer was at 200F. Rubbery eggs. In my toaster oven, I left an egg for 15 minutes with the oven temperature at 140F and the thermometer reading 150F. The white was uncooked and the yolk had coagulated: obviously not enough time.

Finally, I set the toaster oven on at 150F and watched it diligently. The thermometer showed a temperature of 160F. I left a single egg in the oven for one hour. I unpeeled it. It was cooked, not rubbery, and quite good. But I will not bake any eggs until Easter. If you want runny yolks, frying or poaching is easier, and you don't have to peel.

You could follow the suggestion of Hervé This: "But if the oven in your kitchen is not accurate, cook eggs in plenty of water, using a good thermometer." But then, we're back to using water.

Survival of the fittest, or humans kill meadow birds?

2007-06-14T22:30:00.001-06:00

Whenever I hear about an invasive species driving out weaker local species, such as the Argentine ant in California, or crows everywhere, I sometimes think, good for them. Crows are smart, beautiful birds that can thrive alongside people. If they out compete other birds, they deserve to live. I have a hard time appreciating the pure value of diversity.

The Audubon society and the US Geological survey reported early today that many once familiar meadow birds are fading from our sight. Our homes encroach on the meadow birds' homes. Farm land creeps into the birds' territory. Plans to increase reliance on biofuels will only exacerbate this problem. The numbers of more specialized birds are declining. Apparently even household cats are numerous enough to impact bird populations. The poor little guys can't survive in human settlements. Their numbers have declined by as much as 82% in the last 40 years, while turkeys, Canadian geese, and other hardy birds increase in number.
So this is not a war among birds, we are moving into the birds' roaming grounds too fast for them to adapt.

Audubon "Birds in Decline" report, with pictures.

Long term science, dedication beyond death.

2007-06-13T22:36:00.001-06:00

I learned about the Long Term Ecological Research Network from fellow blogger Alegra. Currently, 26 sites around the world are involved in this work with the goal of understanding climate change, the human-environment interaction, and changes in biological cycles in both local ecologies and individual species. Scientists are tracking changes in the climate, vegetation, and wildlife using logs from the past and making observations in the present, while planning better data collection strategies for the future. Studies are mapped out for the next 200 years! Although some of these studies will likely reveal scary things about our coming environment, I find it both inspiring and peaceful to picture scientists looking at past data and taking data for future generations. Global warming aside, there is a human continuum beyond our individual lives, that can contribute to an understanding of nature. Hopefully this work will help us prevent the continuum of other species from ending.

This blog is going to the Dogs!

2007-06-05T10:25:00.000-06:00

Do not consume.

I once made a bet with friends that I could eat twelve donuts in 30 minutes. I never made the attempt because if I lost, I lost face, and if I won, I gained waist, plus the knowledge that I can indeed eat a dozen donuts. Kind of lose lose. Unless you are Joey Chestnut, the new champion hot dog eater. Now I love hot dogs, but 59 in 12 minutes? What's the science behind that?

In the world of competitive eating, scientists speculate that champion eaters can 1) repress their vomiting reflex, and 2) tolerate a higher level of discomfort due to fullness. As far as speed goes, the bottle-neck is getting the food down the esophagus, which contracts and relaxes, directing food into the stomach. It takes 9-15 seconds to get it down, which puts an upper-limit of 80 continuous swallows in the 12 minute window. Some speed eaters dream of relaxing their throat muscles like sword swallowers, bypassing this system, and "pouring" food into their stomach, although this dream may be unattainable. See the most scientific article I found on competitive eating here; it's well written.
Thanks to Joan, for pointing this news out to me.

A Perfect "Boiled" Egg Update

2007-06-01T10:47:00.000-06:00

My first attempt to bake eggs in the oven, see 5/26 posting.

I set my oven to 160F, who knows what it really is, and set two eggs on the top rack. I forgot about them until I was about to leave for work. Everything was fully cooked, and not rubbery, but the eggs were too fresh and hard to peel.

Next time I will use an oven thermometer and time the eggs, but this does show that no water or pan is necessary to cook an egg in it's shell. I'll never wash dishes again!

The story of our lives...

2007-05-30T19:41:00.000-06:00

The NYT has an article in Mental Health and Behavior on psychologists' views of how the narratives we tell about our past reflect our personality and outlook, on not only our past, but our present and future too.

Sometimes I tell stories from my past, and it is very true that how I relate the story depends on my mood at the time. Sometimes my past seems miserable and haphazard, and other times it seems like a wonderful breadth of experience that has made me who I am today. According to Cognitive Therapy, not only will my mood affect how I tell my story, but how I tell and think about my story will also affect my mood.

The Times article goes on to say that psychologists have found correlations between our moods and behavior with how we picture past events: whether we experience them again in the first person, or whether we view ourselves in the third person as if we were watching a movie. In a 2005 study at OSU, college students asked to visualize embarrassing moments from the third person tended to identify less with the bumbling fool in the story, and to feel more confident and social after their visualization, as measured by a research mole waiting to hit them up for conversation in the exit room. Students asked to visualize embarrassing events in the first person were more likely to state that they hadn't changed very much since high school, and were less friendly to the undercover lab coat outside. In a 2004 study, people who pictured themselves voting at the poll booth during the presidental election were more likely to go vote than those who did not. Can these technique help people achieve other goals? Who knows! I rarely picture myself in the third person. Frankly, I find it disturbing to look at myself. I'm really glad I don't have a twin.

But I'll try picturing myself on the big screen today, and you try it too. Picture yourself running a marathon, successfully completing projects at work, exercising, or being calm in congested traffic, and see if it helps you achieve those goals. I'm going to picture myself finishing a manuscript I'm working on and sleeping, because I've been an insomniac lately.

Skin Elasticity and Kate Hudson

2007-05-29T20:09:00.000-06:00

Many women are concerned about loose skin remaining after they lose a lot of weight or have a baby. Kate Hudson has recently been featured as having a saggy belly in Star magazine's Best and Worst Beach Bodies, and has in the same week been featured in Us and In Touch as having a toned tummy.

People on the web have commented that the Star photo is fake, but I believe it is simply old; she felt a lot of pressure to lose her baby weight very fast (her kid is three or four). Stretched out skin can take up to two years to firm up. In the saggy photo Kate looks stressed out and scrawny, and her tummy has more fat and muscle in the newer photo.

I tried to find more scientific information on the topic of skin elasticity, but alas, all I came up with were articles on body contouring in plastic surgery journals. The best writing I came across is by Justin Leonard:

Weight Loss, Extra Skin

Question: I have recently lost a lot of weight and seem to have extra skin with some fat covering my lower abs. Is surgery the only solution?
Justin Leonard: Not necessarily . . . For some, the skin's elasticity will change over time back to its normal state. But admittedly, others' will never change. You may want to give it a couple months for improvement, just to make sure it isn't a temporary state for your skin.

He has a nice website on weight lifting and fitness issues.

One thing for sure is, kudos to Kate for baring her tummy and not getting impatient and having it tucked, and kudos to Star for publishing these pictures, even though they should have been in the "Stars, They're Just Like Us" section.

A Perfect "Boiled" Egg

2007-05-26T13:57:00.000-06:00

How do you cook a perfect egg that is transportable?
Normally we boil our eggs, and they come out rubbery and bounce around and sometimes crack. You can solve this problem by baking your egg in an oven, no water needed. The various proteins in an egg denature and coagulate between 142-184 or so degrees Fahrenheit, far below the boiling temperature of 212 degrees F. By baking eggs at different temperatures in this range, you can bake an egg with the consistency you prefer. I like mine runny. Thanks to my organic chemistry professor for pointing this out to my class.
See the full article on baking eggs in Discover Magazine here. Those stuck on boiling may want to look at this site.
As soon as I get an oven thermometer, I will try out these techniques and post pictures.

Oh, what a lonely shark in Nebraska can do!

2007-05-25T10:54:00.000-06:00

For anyone who missed it, a hammerhead shark in Nebraska gave birth to a baby she conceived on her own, with no male contribution (technical term: parthogenesis). The full story is here, on the NYT website.

Rumi, the sufi mystic poet, wrote a poem saying whenever a man and woman become lovers, a child is born, even if actual conception doesn't take place. The union of a man and woman is still an act of creation, whether in a one night stand or a marriage. This poem needs a new stanza:

Come come, called the mother, I will focus within.
Come come, little light, be born.
My time in confinement, surrounded by flat plains,
has resulted in you, my dear one.

Toxic Seats or Toxic Science?

2007-05-24T14:16:00.000-06:00

Recently the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor issued a study of toxic chemicals in car and baby car seats. In the baby seat rankings, various car seats from several companies such as Graco and Eddie Bauer were ranked in terms of Lead, Bromine, and Chlorine.

What does this study say about your baby's car seat? They tested only one sample of each model, so we have no idea how these toxic chemicals vary among individual car seats. Also, all seats tested below the FDA allowable limit in Lead, yet each seat is rated relative to the other models tested on a scale from "least concern" to "most concern". Seats with the worst ratings are still within acceptable limits and seats listed as "least concern" may come from a better manufactoring plant than the seat sitting on the shelf in the Albuquerque Wal-Mart. We really don't know what these scales mean, with no absolute and only one sample.

I do think we need to minimize toxic chemicals in our life, but a poorly executed study like this raises an unnecessary amount of fear. And where will all these toxic car seats be disposed, when people rush out to buy new products?

Hopefully the Ann Arbor study will put pressure on car seat manufacturers to make more environmentally and child friendly seats, and open up the discussion on what to do with the toxic stuff we already own, without too many mothers believing they need to buy a new car seat or worrying that they damaged their child by buckling them in.

Here is a more detailed Eopinion review of the study.

Intel International Science Fair 2007

2007-05-23T09:31:00.000-06:00

Last week I was a judge at the Intel International Science Fair. I judged in the physics and astronomy category, and also in microbiology. I had the chance to look at some posters in medicine and behavioral science also. About 40% of the students asked an interesting question that could come up in day-to-day life, and devised an experiment to answer it. The rest had grad school level research projects. Everyone did a great job, but I was inspired by the students who had more straightforward experiments, such as, how does dress inpact your success at getting adults to take a survey (Aubrey Lynn Havold), or can you influence what color of skittle a person will choose with subliminal messages (Robert MacKenzie), or what is the effect of snow density on ski speed (Elizabeth Magnussen DiMascio)? They showed that simple questions that come up and actually impact your life can be answered, or at least approached, with simple, scientific methods. Of course the students who solved 20 year old problems in astrophysics (Temple Mu He) or showed the dark side of anti-hormonal therapies on cancer (Tejal Ulhas Naik) were impressive too. I was also impressed with how poised and articulate the students were.
If you have a chance, be a judge at a science fair, or design experiments to answer any questions of your own.
Intel International Science Fair

Polls, Evolution, and Stupid Americans

2007-05-22T12:21:00.001-06:00

I work with a man from Sweden obsessed with and apalled by Americans' belief in creationism. Every so often, he sends out a statement of disbelief, along with a link to polls concerning Americans and evolution: http://www.pollingreport.com/science.htm.

According to the Harris poll, roughly half of people believe humans and apes had a common ancestor, that fossil evidence supports evolution, and that other plants and animals evolved. The same poll also says that 64% of people believe God created humans in their current form, so some people both believe humans and apes had a common ancestor and that God created humans without evolution.

Does expressed belief in creationism indicate an anti-science attitude? Only a third of people believed that religion and science conflict with each other. Most people, including me, have a deeply rooted belief that humans are special and distinct from other animals, so it is difficult to accept evolution on an emotional or instinctual level. If the scientific community can support its viewpoint that creationism differs from a scientific theory and should be left out of science curriculums, we will gain more ground than by belittling people's religious belief and feeling incredulous that religious people exist. Let's support the teaching of evolution without comment on religion.

Why Drought Makes Plants Sad

2007-05-08T13:27:00.001-06:00

I just saw a talk by Nate McDowell on climate change and the ecosystem. I learned that when the air is dry, leaves close little openings in their outer leaves (stomata, not to be confused with stigmata) to prevent moisture from escaping. During a drought, the stomata stay closed, which causes processes of defense, growth, and the intake of nutrients stagnate. The leaf becomes weak and dehydrated and bark beetles can have their way with the hapless plant.
In this way, drought leads to closed, unhappy plants.