Author: Robert Zimmerman
Fishing under ice
So how peripheral was Dipak Das’ work on the health benefits of wine?
So how central was the research of Dipak Das on the health benefits of wine, now that it is under investigation for fraud? Retraction Watch wants to know!
So how central was the research of Dipak Das on the health benefits of wine, now that it is under investigation for fraud? Retraction Watch wants to know!
LightSquared seeks an investigation into one of the GPS advisory board members that said their system interferes with GPS
LightSquared has announced that it is seeking an investigation into the GPS advisory board which said its system interferes with GPS.
On Thursday, the mobile broadband startup petitioned the Inspector General of NASA to investigate Bradford Parkinson, the vice chairman of a board that advises the government on GPS. Parkinson should be removed from discussions about potential interference between GPS and LightSquared’s proposed LTE (Long Term Evolution) network because he is also a director of GPS vendor Trimble Navigation, LightSquared said in its petition.
As lawyers say, when you’ve got the facts, pound the facts. When the facts are against you, pound the law. And when the law is against you, pound the table. Right now, LightSquared is pounding the law, as the technical results of the GPS investigation were quite clear: their system will interfere with most commercial and military GPS units.
That they went to the NASA Inspector General is instructive, since NASA has nothing to do with this issue.
Note that the law is also against LightSquared. I expect them to soon start pounding the table.
LightSquared has announced that it is seeking an investigation into the GPS advisory board which said its system interferes with GPS.
On Thursday, the mobile broadband startup petitioned the Inspector General of NASA to investigate Bradford Parkinson, the vice chairman of a board that advises the government on GPS. Parkinson should be removed from discussions about potential interference between GPS and LightSquared’s proposed LTE (Long Term Evolution) network because he is also a director of GPS vendor Trimble Navigation, LightSquared said in its petition.
As lawyers say, when you’ve got the facts, pound the facts. When the facts are against you, pound the law. And when the law is against you, pound the table. Right now, LightSquared is pounding the law, as the technical results of the GPS investigation were quite clear: their system will interfere with most commercial and military GPS units.
That they went to the NASA Inspector General is instructive, since NASA has nothing to do with this issue.
Note that the law is also against LightSquared. I expect them to soon start pounding the table.
The Obama State Department has rejected the European code of conduct for space
The Obama State Department made it known today that it has rejected the European code of conduct for space.
“Too restrictive,” Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said of the 12-page document that seeks to promote the peaceful, safe and “transparent” use of outer space. Tauscher, speaking to a gathering of Washington, D.C.-based defense reporters on Jan. 12, let slip at the end of her talk that the State Department had rejected the document as it was written. While answering an unrelated question, she mentioned that, “we’re not going to be joining with the Europeans on their [space] treaty.” She did not share any further details as to what parts of the code were “too restrictive.”
Though I applaud the decision of the Obama administration to say no now, the article notes that Tauscher later admitted that the administration is still willing to negotiate this thing.
Why has Western civilization decided in recent decades that the solution to all problems is to lay down restrictions on what people can do? This authoritarianism goes against every ideal and principle that made our culture a success. Worse, it never works. Like gun control, the only people the rules harm are those who follow the rules.
The Obama State Department made it known today that it has rejected the European code of conduct for space.
“Too restrictive,” Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said of the 12-page document that seeks to promote the peaceful, safe and “transparent” use of outer space. Tauscher, speaking to a gathering of Washington, D.C.-based defense reporters on Jan. 12, let slip at the end of her talk that the State Department had rejected the document as it was written. While answering an unrelated question, she mentioned that, “we’re not going to be joining with the Europeans on their [space] treaty.” She did not share any further details as to what parts of the code were “too restrictive.”
Though I applaud the decision of the Obama administration to say no now, the article notes that Tauscher later admitted that the administration is still willing to negotiate this thing.
Why has Western civilization decided in recent decades that the solution to all problems is to lay down restrictions on what people can do? This authoritarianism goes against every ideal and principle that made our culture a success. Worse, it never works. Like gun control, the only people the rules harm are those who follow the rules.
X-Prize offers $10 million prize for anyone who can build McCoy’s tricorder
Life imitates art: The X-Prize announced today a $10 million prize for anyone who can build McCoy’s tricorder from Star Trek.
The X PRIZE Foundation and Qualcomm Foundation said the prize, announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, will go to the team that “develops a mobile platform that most accurately diagnoses a set of 15 diseases across 30 consumers in three days,” a release from the the two foundations said. The device must be light enough to be portable, weighing no more than 5 pounds.
Life imitates art: The X-Prize announced today a $10 million prize for anyone who can build McCoy’s tricorder from Star Trek.
The X PRIZE Foundation and Qualcomm Foundation said the prize, announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, will go to the team that “develops a mobile platform that most accurately diagnoses a set of 15 diseases across 30 consumers in three days,” a release from the the two foundations said. The device must be light enough to be portable, weighing no more than 5 pounds.
New Hampshire’s attorney general has opened an investigation of voter fraud, prompted by the O’Keefe videos showing how easy it is there for dead people to vote
New Hampshire’s attorney general has opened an investigation, prompted by the O’Keefe videos showing how easy it is there for dead people to vote.
New Hampshire’s attorney general has opened an investigation, prompted by the O’Keefe videos showing how easy it is there for dead people to vote.
The EPA punishes refineries for not using a non-existent fuel
Touching our lives every day: More on the EPA’s decision to punish refineries for not using a non-existent fuel.
Touching our lives every day: More on the EPA’s decision to punish refineries for not using a non-existent fuel.
25 Cats Who Sleep Funny
The day’s most important news: Twenty-five cats who sleep funny. With pictures.
The day’s most important news: Twenty-five cats who sleep funny. With pictures.
The University of Connecticut has found the chief of its biology lab — an expert on the health benefits of drinking wine — guilty of falsifying and fabricating data on more than two dozen papers and grant applications.
More science fraud: The University of Connecticut has found the chief of its biology lab — an expert on the health benefits of drinking wine — guilty of falsifying and fabricating data on more than two dozen papers and grant applications.
A 60,000-page report issued yesterday (you can read a 49-page summary here) by [University of Connecticut Health Center] (UCHC) found [Dipak] Das guilty of 145 counts of fabrication and falsification of data, involving at least 23 papers and 3 grant applications. … UCHC has frozen externally funded research in Das’ lab, and it turned away $890,000 in federal grants while the investigation was underway. The university has also begun proceedings to fire Das.
Just as in the Stapel case in the Netherlands, we have here another example of the science community responding correctly to scientific fraud. Both examples stand in stark contrast to how the climate science community whitewashed the fraud and malfeasance in its own community.
More science fraud: The University of Connecticut has found the chief of its biology lab — an expert on the health benefits of drinking wine — guilty of falsifying and fabricating data on more than two dozen papers and grant applications.
A 60,000-page report issued yesterday (you can read a 49-page summary here) by [University of Connecticut Health Center] (UCHC) found [Dipak] Das guilty of 145 counts of fabrication and falsification of data, involving at least 23 papers and 3 grant applications. … UCHC has frozen externally funded research in Das’ lab, and it turned away $890,000 in federal grants while the investigation was underway. The university has also begun proceedings to fire Das.
Just as in the Stapel case in the Netherlands, we have here another example of the science community responding correctly to scientific fraud. Both examples stand in stark contrast to how the climate science community whitewashed the fraud and malfeasance in its own community.
Phobos-Grunt’s reentry this weekend
Watch your head this weekend: The re-entry of Phobos-Grunt has been refined, and is expected to come down sometime between 5 pm (Eastern), Saturday January 14 and 9 am (Eastern), Monday January 16.
As you can see by the image on the right, there is as yet no way to predict where it will land, though it appears that — except for the tip of Florida — North America is in the clear. The blue lines show its orbital path during the first half of this window, while the yellow lines show its path during the window’s second half.
Watch your head this weekend: The re-entry of Phobos-Grunt has been refined, and is expected to come down sometime between 5 pm (Eastern), Saturday January 14 and 9 am (Eastern), Monday January 16.
As you can see by the image on the right, there is as yet no way to predict where it will land, though it appears that — except for the tip of Florida — North America is in the clear. The blue lines show its orbital path during the first half of this window, while the yellow lines show its path during the window’s second half.
Looking for Beagle 2
SpaceX outlines its new design goals for Falcon 9
What competition brings: SpaceX outlines its new design goals for Falcon 9 and its Merlin rocket engine.
[U]pcoming upgrades to the engine (Merlin 1D) will provide a vast improvement in performance, reliability and manufacturability – all of which could provide a timely boost to aiding the potential for success for the fully reusable Falcon 9.
Increased reliability: Simplified design by eliminating components and sub-assemblies. Increased fatigue life. Increased chamber and nozzle thermal margins,” noted SpaceX in listing the improvements in work.
Improved Performance: Thrust increased from 95,000 lbf (sea level) to 140,000 lbf (sea level). Added throttle capability for range from 70-100 percent. Currently, it is necessary to shut off two engines during ascent. The Merlin 1D will make it possible to throttle all engines. Structure was removed from the engine to make it lighter.
Improved Manufacturability: Simplified design to use lower cost manufacturing techniques. Reduced touch labor and parts count. Increased in-house production at SpaceX.
That’s just the engine. Most of the article however talks about the company’s effort to make as much of Falcon 9 reusable as possible. Hat tip to Clark Lindsey.
What competition brings: SpaceX outlines its new design goals for Falcon 9 and its Merlin rocket engine.
[U]pcoming upgrades to the engine (Merlin 1D) will provide a vast improvement in performance, reliability and manufacturability – all of which could provide a timely boost to aiding the potential for success for the fully reusable Falcon 9.
Increased reliability: Simplified design by eliminating components and sub-assemblies. Increased fatigue life. Increased chamber and nozzle thermal margins,” noted SpaceX in listing the improvements in work.
Improved Performance: Thrust increased from 95,000 lbf (sea level) to 140,000 lbf (sea level). Added throttle capability for range from 70-100 percent. Currently, it is necessary to shut off two engines during ascent. The Merlin 1D will make it possible to throttle all engines. Structure was removed from the engine to make it lighter.
Improved Manufacturability: Simplified design to use lower cost manufacturing techniques. Reduced touch labor and parts count. Increased in-house production at SpaceX.
That’s just the engine. Most of the article however talks about the company’s effort to make as much of Falcon 9 reusable as possible. Hat tip to Clark Lindsey.
“I’d hoped for something different.”
“I’d hoped for something different.”
Me too. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. And this is all the more reason to vote more conservatives into power. And to not be afraid of new faces whom we’ve never heard of. The familiar names surely aren’t doing what is necessary.
“I’d hoped for something different.”
Me too. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. And this is all the more reason to vote more conservatives into power. And to not be afraid of new faces whom we’ve never heard of. The familiar names surely aren’t doing what is necessary.
Man charged after baby was found abandoned in an Occupy DC tent
Man charged after a baby was found abandoned in an Occupy DC tent.
Which immediately makes me think of this video comedy sketch:
Man charged after a baby was found abandoned in an Occupy DC tent.
Which immediately makes me think of this video comedy sketch:
How it’s made – Bubble gum
A solar system in miniature
Another space tourism company moves forward with flight plans this year
Another space tourism company, Xcor, has announced its test flight schedule for 2012.
Taxi tests are scheduled to begin in October or November, which will be quickly followed by a short hop and finally a brief first flight by the end of the year.
Another space tourism company, Xcor, has announced its test flight schedule for 2012.
Taxi tests are scheduled to begin in October or November, which will be quickly followed by a short hop and finally a brief first flight by the end of the year.
The EPA is fining companies millions because they didn’t use a fuel that doesn’t exist
Touching our lives every day: In 2011 the EPA fined companies millions because they didn’t use a fuel that doesn’t exist.
Touching our lives every day: In 2011 the EPA fined companies millions because they didn’t use a fuel that doesn’t exist.
“Who wouldn’t firing these people?”
“the EPA touches on the lives of every single American every single day.”
Obama today: “The EPA touches on the lives of every single American every single day.”
Truer words were never spoken, but not in the way the President intended. He was speaking to a gathering of EPA employees in Washington, DC, and was praising them for their work. To the rest of the nation, however, the EPA’s effort is increasingly seen as a terrible burden that is squelching both the economy and the freedom of Americans.
Obama today: “The EPA touches on the lives of every single American every single day.”
Truer words were never spoken, but not in the way the President intended. He was speaking to a gathering of EPA employees in Washington, DC, and was praising them for their work. To the rest of the nation, however, the EPA’s effort is increasingly seen as a terrible burden that is squelching both the economy and the freedom of Americans.
Democratic dead people receive ballots to vote in New Hampshire primary
The dead, mostly Democratic, get to vote in the New Hampshire primary.
The story includes video of election workers handing out the voter ballots for deceased voters to whomever asks and telling them they didn’t need to show id to use those ballots to vote.
The dead, mostly Democratic, get to vote in the New Hampshire primary.
The story includes video of election workers handing out the voter ballots for deceased voters to whomever asks and telling them they didn’t need to show id to use those ballots to vote.
Kepler finds more planets orbiting double star systems
Kepler has found two more planets orbiting double star systems.
The data also suggests that there will be millions of planets in the galaxy orbiting double stars.
FYI, all this astronomy news is because the American Astronomical Society is having its conference this week in Texas, and today is releasing has what I consider the best news stories.
Kepler has found two more planets orbiting double star systems.
The data also suggests that there will be millions of planets in the galaxy orbiting double stars.
FYI, all this astronomy news is because the American Astronomical Society is having its conference this week in Texas, and today is releasing has what I consider the best news stories.
Astronomers have concluded that the stars in the Milky Way must average at least one planet per star.
Billions and billions! Astronomers have concluded that the stars in the Milky Way must average at least one planet per star. More importantly, the data says the galaxy should have billions of habitable planets.
[According to astronomer Uffe Gråe Jørgensen], a statistical analysis … shows that out of the Milky Way’s 100 billion stars, there are about 10 billion stars with planets in the habitable zone. This means that there may be billions of habitable planets in the Milky Way.
Billions and billions! Astronomers have concluded that the stars in the Milky Way must average at least one planet per star. More importantly, the data says the galaxy should have billions of habitable planets.
[According to astronomer Uffe Gråe Jørgensen], a statistical analysis … shows that out of the Milky Way’s 100 billion stars, there are about 10 billion stars with planets in the habitable zone. This means that there may be billions of habitable planets in the Milky Way.
New data suggests that the crash of two white dwarf stars caused the nearest supernovae in 25 years
New data has found that the crash of two white dwarf stars not only caused the nearest supernova in 25 years, but appear to be the prime cause for these types of supernovae.
The data also says that there are no white dwarf primary systems in the Milky Way that are candidates to go supernova in this way. Thus, we can all sleep easy tonight!
New data has found that the crash of two white dwarf stars not only caused the nearest supernova in 25 years, but appear to be the prime cause for these types of supernovae.
The data also says that there are no white dwarf primary systems in the Milky Way that are candidates to go supernova in this way. Thus, we can all sleep easy tonight!
The most distant supernova discovered so far.
The most distant supernova discovered so far.
SN Primo is the farthest Type Ia supernova whose distance has been confirmed through spectroscopic observations. The supernova was discovered as part of a three-year Hubble program to survey faraway Type Ia supernovae, enabling searches for this special class of stellar explosion at greater distances than previously possible. The remote supernovae will help astronomers determine whether the exploding stars remain dependable distance markers across vast distances of space in an epoch when the cosmos was only one-third its current age of 13.7 billion years.
The most distant supernova discovered so far.
SN Primo is the farthest Type Ia supernova whose distance has been confirmed through spectroscopic observations. The supernova was discovered as part of a three-year Hubble program to survey faraway Type Ia supernovae, enabling searches for this special class of stellar explosion at greater distances than previously possible. The remote supernovae will help astronomers determine whether the exploding stars remain dependable distance markers across vast distances of space in an epoch when the cosmos was only one-third its current age of 13.7 billion years.
Hubble takes a close up of the double nucleus of the Andromedea galaxy
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a close up of the double nucleus of the Andromedea galaxy, and found an interesting cluster of hot blue stars in between the two clusters.
Click on the image for the full resolution version of the image.
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a close up of the double nucleus of the Andromedea galaxy, and found an interesting cluster of hot blue stars in between the two clusters.
Click on the image for the full resolution version of the image.
Obama Gets Only 82% of Democrat Vote in New Hampshire – Running Unopposed
Forget about the Republican primary. I think this tidbit is far more instructive: Obama got only 82% of the Democrat vote in New Hampshire – running unopposed.
Forget about the Republican primary. I think this tidbit is far more instructive: Obama got only 82% of the Democrat vote in New Hampshire – running unopposed.
The Supreme Court looks hard at the EPA and doesn’t like what it sees
The Supreme Court looks hard at the EPA and doesn’t like what it sees.
This case is about the EPA’s ongoing effort to steal property from private landowners.
The Sacketts wanted to build a home on a 0.63-acre lot near Priest Lake in the Idaho panhandle that they bought for $23,000. But after three days of bringing in fill dirt and preparing for construction in 2007, officials from the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered the activity stopped and said they suspected the land contained wetlands.
Months later, the agency sent the Sacketts a “compliance order” that said the land must be restored as a wetlands before the couple could apply for a building permit. The government acknowledged Monday that fines for failure to comply with the orders could be as much as $75,000 a day.
The Supreme Court looks hard at the EPA and doesn’t like what it sees.
This case is about the EPA’s ongoing effort to steal property from private landowners.
The Sacketts wanted to build a home on a 0.63-acre lot near Priest Lake in the Idaho panhandle that they bought for $23,000. But after three days of bringing in fill dirt and preparing for construction in 2007, officials from the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered the activity stopped and said they suspected the land contained wetlands.
Months later, the agency sent the Sacketts a “compliance order” that said the land must be restored as a wetlands before the couple could apply for a building permit. The government acknowledged Monday that fines for failure to comply with the orders could be as much as $75,000 a day.
Two TSA workers who pleaded guilty to stealing $40,000 from a drug mule’s luggage were each sentenced to six months in prison today.
A slap on the wrist: Two TSA workers who pleaded guilty to stealing $40,000 from a passenger’s luggage were each sentenced to six months in prison today.
I wonder if the TSA will give them their jobs back when they get out. They seem perfectly qualified for the work the TSA does.
A slap on the wrist: Two TSA workers who pleaded guilty to stealing $40,000 from a passenger’s luggage were each sentenced to six months in prison today.
I wonder if the TSA will give them their jobs back when they get out. They seem perfectly qualified for the work the TSA does.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has renamed the thirty-one year old Very Large Array (VLA) after Karl Jansky, the man who invented radio astronomy.
A fitting honor: The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has renamed the recently upgraded thirty-one year old Very Large Array (VLA) after Karl Jansky, the man who invented radio astronomy.
Karl Guthe Jansky joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey in 1928, immediately after receiving his undergraduate degree in physics. He was assigned the task of studying radio waves that interfered with the recently-opened transatlantic radiotelephone service. After designing and building advanced, specialized equipment, he made observations over the entire year of 1932 that allowed him to identify thunderstorms as major sources of radio interference, along with a much weaker, unidentified radio source. Careful study of this “strange hiss-type static” led to the conclusion that the radio waves originated from beyond our Solar System, and indeed came from the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.
His discovery was reported on the front page of the New York Times on May 5, 1933, and published in professional journals. Jansky thus opened an entirely new “window” on the Universe. Astronomers previously had been confined to observing those wavelengths of light that our eyes can see. “This discovery was like suddenly being able to see green light for the first time when we could only see blue before,” said Lo.
A fitting honor: The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has renamed the recently upgraded thirty-one year old Very Large Array (VLA) after Karl Jansky, the man who invented radio astronomy.
Karl Guthe Jansky joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey in 1928, immediately after receiving his undergraduate degree in physics. He was assigned the task of studying radio waves that interfered with the recently-opened transatlantic radiotelephone service. After designing and building advanced, specialized equipment, he made observations over the entire year of 1932 that allowed him to identify thunderstorms as major sources of radio interference, along with a much weaker, unidentified radio source. Careful study of this “strange hiss-type static” led to the conclusion that the radio waves originated from beyond our Solar System, and indeed came from the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.
His discovery was reported on the front page of the New York Times on May 5, 1933, and published in professional journals. Jansky thus opened an entirely new “window” on the Universe. Astronomers previously had been confined to observing those wavelengths of light that our eyes can see. “This discovery was like suddenly being able to see green light for the first time when we could only see blue before,” said Lo.