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Statistical Sampling Could Protect Food Safety
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08/30/2010
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by Tim Studt
The current recall of hundreds of millions of eggs based on a couple of hundred cases of salmonella poisoning (none fatal) reflects on the statistical sampling methods in place to protect the public’s safety. This is also reflected in the large recalls seen throughout the automotive industry from firms that formerly were thought to be ‘good, reliable’ manufacturers like Toyota and others.
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The Positive Remnants of Swine Flu
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08/23/2010
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by Michelle Longo
Less than a week ago, the World Health Organization declared the swine flu epidemic officially over. This, of course, is good news; however, it has also renewed the debate on how international governments handled the potential epidemic.
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Data Sharing Should Be Standard
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08/16/2010
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by Ashley Glowinski
According to the National Institute of Aging, experts suggest as many as 5.1 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's, an incurable and fatal form of dementia. Despite our heightened awareness of the disease in the past century and ever-increasing medical technology, fighting Alzheimer's remains an uphill battle.
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Searching for Cousteau
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07/30/2010
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by Tim Studt
I often wonder what Jacques Cousteau would say about the state of affairs of the world's oceans. What would he think about the floating islands of plastic garbage in the Pacific twice the size of Texas, or about rapid ocean acidification linked to increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, or about changing ocean currents because of melting icecaps and glaciers, or about BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?
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Get Accustomed to Disasters
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07/06/2010
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by Tim Studt
Another change in the American landscape is taking place in the Gulf of Mexico, as BP’s destroyed Deepwater Horizon rig continues to spew oil from the 100-mile long underground oil reservoir that it had tapped into. And to offset some of that oil, planes are spraying dispersants onto the floating oil plumes in much the same manner as planes sprayed herbicides and defoliants (Agent Orange) onto the jungles of Vietnam and Laos in the 1960s.
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Checks and Balances
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06/04/2010
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by Tim Studt
As “corporate employees,” from the minute we walk into our research labs we’re trained in how to operate the equipment correctly and safely and how to document the results of the tests performed with that equipment. That’s our job whether the products we test are golf balls, fertilizers, or tomato soup.
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A Starved America
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05/13/2010
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by Erin P. T. Canning
At the center of every culture, food plays a crucial role in our identities: ie. Italians and their lasagna, Pakistani biryani, English fish and chips, and Japanese udon. In this regard, America is starving.
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The Price of Mobility
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04/08/2010
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by Tim Studt
On April 1, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) jointly issued new federal rules for national greenhouse emission standards. The rules will significantly increase the fuel economy of new passenger cars and light trucks (CAFÉ, or corporate average fuel economy) from 23.5 mpg in 2010 to 34.1 mpg in 2016.
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The Rapidly Evolving Automated Lab
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03/11/2010
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by Tim Studt
Implementing lab automation, robotics, and automated analyses are the easy parts. Integrating these technologies with the next technology level—artificial intelligence, autonomous operation, and android-like interfaces—will take a little more effort. But it will come.
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Then, Now, and Tomorrow
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02/18/2010
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by Tim Studt
Looking back and seeing how previous technology predictions fared over the intervening years to now is always interesting. In April 1997, John Gibbons, then director of President Clinton’s OSTP, issued “A Report to the Congress-Science and Technology Shaping the Twenty-First Century,” which mostly focuses on S&T accomplishments without stating any future goals.
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Time for Action
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01/05/2010
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by Tim Studt
The United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen ended on December 18th with the issuance of a “Copenhagen Accord.” This non-legally binding Accord is mostly a face-saving political statement that the generation of greenhouse gases needs to be combated on a global basis.
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The Asia Card
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12/04/2009
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by Tim Studt
It should come as no surprise to our readers that the Peoples’ Republic of China and other Asian countries are rapidly increasing investments in their science and technology infrastructures.
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