Curiosity and The First Day of School

Most of the time, people are resistant to change. We like the comfortable, "I have this down" feeling that comes with time and repeated experiences. 

I was thinking about this aversion to change while sitting in the slowed traffic that comes with the start back to school. I drive past 2 schools on my way to work, so I get to see eager students in their new clothes saying good-bye to caring, committed, and/or harried parents trying to get to work on time.

Well, okay maybe the older students are not so eager. But mostly, the young ones are excited to see friends they missed over the summer months. 

Why aren't they all equally excited?

I believe young children are still mostly information sponges. They ask why a million times a day (or so it seems). Change is their watchword, their motto, their way of life. It isn't until much later - after a few failures or someone older said an idea was impossible - that curiosity dims and change becomes something to be avoided. 

So the next time you talk with friends, parents, and colleagues, think about that. Curiosity is important! We need to nurture and celebrate it not just on the first day of school, but every day. Curiosity and asking why are the foundation of the scientific method. Go Science!

Just for Fun Science

Trivia and other knowledge-based activities have been around a long time. I enjoy testing myself with lots of different brain challenges. I am particularly addicted to word finds.  

So when I ran across the May 2018 crossword puzzle by The Scientist, I gave it a try. 

It covers a number of science topics including everything from a breed of dairy cow, biologically produced poison, and African blooms to Asa Gray's field, and #3 on the Periodic Table. 

It's just the thing for a Friday or to keep the brain thinking about science over the weekend. Do you have favorite science brain teasers? List them in the comments. Have a great weekend and go science!

Cyber Countermeasures

Happy New Year! Now that we're back from the holidays, let's talk cyber. It has been a hot topic for a while. Every time we turn around a bank, credit card company, or health care system  (to name a few) gets hacked. Personal and financial information are stolen and we are left feeling violated and helpless. Don't even start on the ongoing incursions by foreign entities (a topic for another time). 

Anyway, I was excited to read about a new way of protecting data code, called Shuffler being done by researchers at Columbia Univ., Brown Univ., and the Univ. of British Columbia. 

Here's how it works. Instead of protecting against a hackers' inserted code (meant to hijack a program's operations and info), Shuffler runs alongside the home team's program and protects it by constantly shuffling or re-randomizing the code as it is running (i.e. making it harder for an intruder to lock on to a constantly moving/changing target.) On top of that, Shuffler shuffles itself! Cool.

So until unhackable quantum computing is used by everyone, Shuffler appears to be a easy-to-use tool in the fight against cyber crime. Go science!

Drug Discovery and Development

Finding new ways to treat illness is big business. It takes thousands of tests and millions of $ to figure out if a compound is effective. 

Then, researchers must discover whether there are any side effects. If there are, how bad are they? Will a person get back aches, grow hair in their ears, or experience life threatening side effects (i.e., the treatment is worse than the illness/disease)?

In April, I will be looking at clinical trials and drug discovery. there is a lot of information about this critical tool in the health improvement arsenal. To get started, check out the Nature articles dealing with this subject.