Vittorio Zincone: tipico Italiano medio che ha in odio la scienza

Date una morbosa occhiata alla “intervista” di Zincone a Antonio Ereditato e capirete tutta la spocchiosa strafottenza dell’Italiano medio verso la scienza.

In fondo l’ignoranza e’ il problema maggiore di troppi Italiani. Col fatto di credersi furbi, troppi Italiani pensano di poter pontificare su tutto senza sapere nulla. E’ difficile trovare un Italiano che osi dire: “non lo so, non e’ il mio campo”. Tutti si fanno gli affari altrui, senza sapere neppure muoversi nella propria specialita’. E cosi’, mentre perdono tempo a sfottere gli altri per motivazioni fasulle, non imparano nulla per migliorare se stessi.

I genitori sanno meglio dei maestri, i guidatori meglio delle regole del codice della strada, e anche i Zincone meglio degli Ereditato. Che immonda figura, o Zincone. Persino la De Pasqua avrebbe fatto meglio! Ma che dico: persino Franco Foresta Martin avrebbe organizzato domande migliori! Complimenti al Corriere della Sera, carta per avvolgere il pesce serve sempre.

Combinatorial evolution: new crazy paths of adaptation

Many of you still probably know that evolution merely acts on our genome sequences. Mutagens have the ability to change the sequence of our genes, resulting in defective proteins which can either lead to disasters like cancer or to positive features like … blond hairs

That’s why you trust GATTACA-like movies or cheap companies sequencing your DNA for 1,000$ – but the story is much more complicated and goes beyond DNA sequences.

It is already known from a few decades that genes can be switched on or off like light bulbs, without the need of altering their sequences. The “switch” is operated by special proteins which clamp DNA and pack it, so that they are physically off or on. But that’s not all, yet.

It’s brand new story that even prions are evolution engines. Yes, prions, those packed fiber-like proteins which, for example, make you crazy like a cow. What was found is that also very-important-proteins, which regulate every protein translation, i.e. control every read out of our genome, have also the ability to “get prionified” and therefore inactivated under some stress conditions.

It’s like if traffic lights got inactivated in rush hours: chaos would rise, but also new ways to reach home. This is exactly what was observed in yeast cells with such prionified very-important-proteins: death, but also very quick new ways of adapatation to stress conditions.

Interesting, isn’t it?  Newly discovered fast and randomized adaptation changes that are driven by… prions! In the picture: cadavers of yeast which did not develop fast enough to survive baking stress

We should think about our Planet with more gravity

At least depending on where we live. I find this new gravity point of view on our Planet very intriguing. Cold areas: low gravity pull; hot areas: high gravity pull. All measured with a orbiting satellite. Pity no scale is present.

Now some time for science fiction based on this study. Considering that more is the mass in a specific area, higher is gravity, what is that low gravity hole below India? A huge depression in the crust thickness due to a metheorite impact? Or a change in its composition? Do places with vulcanic activites cause more gravity? Or does more gravity promotes vulcano? Do we sense planetary gravity changes with our bodies? Were ancient humans following gravity and therefore crossing Bering towards Americas? Whatever, I like this animation a lot.

Better single mothers than wives?

The friend panorama around us recently changed quite dramatically . It is long that reproduction took the lead and some friends already reached the second or even the third heir. At a smaller pace, some couples with kids broke down.

Nobody knows what’s going on between husband and wife. Nevertheless, quite constantly the wife left the husband (and took the kid with) because not in love any more / tired of her couple life. Unfaithful, violent husbands? Not that I know.

Women who chose such direction are economically independent. I ask myself what then really happened in the past, when the only job of a woman was taking care of the family. Was it really love between our grandparents, or just negated freedom? And if it was so, what are families for nowadays? Do kids really need “mother” and “father” or one parent is more than enough in most of the cases? Really society is “based on the family”, like the never married, catholic priests like to mantra?

Your gain is their pain, also for chicken eggs

Disgusting chicken factory in North Italy. Like this are many all around the world. Buy only eggs from bio and/or oper air chiken farms. Jump to 0:55 to visit the chiken KL.

Bloody biofuel produced in Africa

I know people still crying nowadays for native Americans, deprived of their lands by European pioneers. The very same happens now in Niger, Mozambique, Tanzania and many others, where tribes are stolen of their lands by European, American and Asian companies for biofuel production.

It seems natives become good for movies and books only after their extinction. Now we need their land, so they can silently and quickly face extinction. Next time you tank your car with carbon neutral biofuel, think thankfully to the African farmer died of hunger for us.

Mucosolvan: advertising science good for Mickey Mouse

In the post picture are two lungs from Mucosolvan advertisement, now on, for example, in corriere.it
Please notice the two lungs, represented like two glass empty balloons. The yellow mucous pointed by arrows, represented like “schleim monsters” (!) in the German ad, is here climbing up the “empty space in lungs” to finally disappear.

Now please, describe anatomically these “empty lungs”: are they tumoral or what? If I were the Pharma producing Mucosan, I would change the art department

Trust no one: 10 rules to live better

1) Trust no mobile phone company sponsoring medicine research

Mobile phones may give cancer, especially to your kids.

2) Trust no biotech company paying for research on GMOs

GMO tech is still too young to trust its producers

3) Trust no tobacco company publishing how healthy are cigarettes

Who trusted them died of cancer

4) Trust no beverage company bottling in plastic

Plastic at hot temperatures releases bisphenol A, an estrogen mimicking molecule.

5) Trust no food association denying aspartame risk

Aspartame has been reported causing cancer in the nervous system of mice.

6) Trust no pharma producing the anti baby pill

Playing with estrogens may cause breast cancer and other illness

7) Trust no market research operated by banks

Anything to explain?

8 ) Trust no miracle from beauty company

Botox makes you stupid

9) Trust no one making fun of climate change

There are data, not witchery, behind the studies on climate change

10) Don’t trust who gives sure answers to your questions

Science is about probability: if any of your behaviours could (might, maybe) lead you to premature death with quite high probability, wouldn’t you change it?

Quite a warm Sunday in Switzerland

I mean, why complaining about it? Warm temperature, nice blue sky … but where is the snow? With this weather Christmas trees and merry lights are more annoying than usual.  Low quality pictures shot with my Galaxy.

 

Cloudspotting from the over the top

Enjoy this awesome mix from NASA ISS photoshooting with some quite good music in the background. Video password? My birthday, in ddmmyyyy format (no dots, no slashes in between, e.g. 08102011 )