Don Herbert, Mr. Wizard, has passed away at age 90.

2nd most important science guy in my life when I was a kid... the most important thing was the giant woolly mammoth in the lobby of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. If you put the handset to your ear the mammoth would tell you all about itself AND what new things there were to see at the museum.

--timball

RIP Mr. Wizard

This course provides a comprehensive and concise review of the neurosciences, with special emphasis on recent and important developments in the field. Topics include basic neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuroendocrinology, neurochemistry, and neurogenetics. The course is intended for clinical psychologists as well as graduate physicians and residents in neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

Video, slides, and transcripts are freely available.

There are a few other seminars you might want to check out, as well:

Introduction to the Art of Venture Valuation

In this e-seminar, Professor Oren Fuerst of Columbia Business School will provide an overview of the main methods of valuation and then demonstrate some of the adjustments that are typically necessary for early-stage technology companies or projects. The e-seminar includes video, audio with slides, case-study examples of valuation, and an interactive final exercise.

Mathematics of Finance

Professor Mikhail Smirnov's Mathematics of Finance is a two-part course on the basics of probability and finance. This course requires a solid understanding of calculus.

In the following lessons, we will explore the notions of derivatives, futures, and options, as well as theories of volatility, arbitrage, and hedging. We will describe and apply the Black-Scholes formula for pricing options and the theory of Brownian motion as it applies to calculating price and risk.

Small Wonders: The World of Nano-Science

The nanoscale, just above the scale of an atom, is the place where the properties of most common things are determined. It is here that the disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering meet and conspire. In this e-seminar, Professor Horst Stormer magnifies the wondrous nano-world and reveals its enormous potential to shape our future.

Basic and Clinical Neurosciences

This is an updated scan of the Prefatory Matter (Title pages, Table of Contents, Preface by Madras Library Association, Foreword by Sir P.S. Sivaswamy Aiyer, Introduction by Mr. W.C. Berwick Sayers), Chapter 1: The First Law, Chapter 2: The Second Law and Its Struggle, Chapter 3: The Second Law and Its Digvijaya, Chapter 4: The Second Law and Its Implications Pages, Chapter 5: The Third Law, Chapter 6: The Fourth Law, Chapter 7: The Fifth Law, Appendix, and Index, from S.R. Ranganathan's The Five Laws of Library Science, Madras Library Association, 1931. Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (1892-1972) was a pioneer in the field of Library and Information Science. S.R. Ranganathan’s The Five Laws of Library Science, the main premise of which is "books are for use," is arguably the most influential work in LIS to date. © Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science (SRELS). Permission for non-profit use granted by SRELS. To purchase reprints of this work, please visit Ess Ess Publications at http://www.essessreference.com/

Ranganthan's 5 laws were:
1. Books are for use.
2. Every reader his or her book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The Library is a growing organism.

--timball

DLIST - The Five Laws of Library Science

Indian scientists say coffee protects mice from radiation and could work the same way in humans.

Researchers at India's Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) discovered mice injected with caffeine survived high doses of normally lethal radiation.

Although the study was limited to animals, Kachadpillill George, the head of the research team, believes the findings could have implications for humans.

"It does suggest that coffee might have some beneficial effects in protecting against radiation," he told New Scientist magazine.

News in Science - Coffee could provide shield from radiation - 25/06/1999

Emory University psychologist Drew Westen put self-identified Democratic and Republican partisans in brain scanners and asked them to evaluate negative information about various candidates. Both groups were quick to spot inconsistency and hypocrisy -- but only in candidates they opposed.

When presented with negative information about the candidates they liked, partisans of all stripes found ways to discount it, Westen said. When the unpalatable information was rejected, furthermore, the brain scans showed that volunteers gave themselves feel-good pats -- the scans showed that "reward centers" in volunteers' brains were activated. The psychologist observed that the way these subjects dealt with unwelcome information had curious parallels with drug addiction as addicts also reward themselves for wrong-headed behavior.

I want the paper.

Study Ties Political Leanings to Hidden Biases

flynn23 wrote:
This week's episode of scienceNOW is probably the best yet. Hydrogen fuel cells. Supercomputing art projects. And proof of global warming!

I caught this show sans tivo and it was infact fantastic.

RE: NOVA scienceNOW

"... the high point of the year ..."

Roger Penrose has a new book.

The Road to Reality : A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe

] The Eskimos, or Inuit, about 155,000 seal-hunting peoples
] scattered around the Arctic, plan to seek a ruling from
] the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that the
] United States, by contributing substantially to global
] warming, is threatening their existence.

Eskimos Seek to Recast Global Warming as a Rights Issue

] CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. %u2014 Food is running so low aboard
] the international space station the two crewmen have been
] instructed to cut back on calories, at least until a
] Russian supply ship arrives in a little over two weeks,
] NASA said Thursday.
]
] If anything goes wrong with the Christmas Day delivery,
] the space agency will have no choice, given the grounding
] of its shuttle fleet, but to abandon the station and
] bring the men home in early January.

This is a bad.

I don't know why it's bad, but the words "Starving Astronaut" don't go well together. Thank God we're going to the moon, cause on the moon at least the Astronauts will be able to all that moon cheese.

CTV.ca | Food supply running low for space station crew

] AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Scientists said on Monday they have
] come up with a cell phone cover that will grow into a
] sunflower when thrown away.

Hippie friendly cellphones.

Scientists Make Phone That Turns Into a Sunflower