Category Archives: Science And Society

Aging Brain Decline

Thwarting a protein reverses it in aged mice:

The team used two techniques to block VCAM1: One of them genetically deleted the protein from the mice’s brains. Another injected an antibody that binds to it to stop anything else attaching. Both methods prevented signs of brain aging in young mice infused with old plasma and reversed existing markers in elderly mice brains. The researchers then gave the mice learning and memory tests. In one, which involves remembering which of several holes is safe to drop through, treated elderly mice performed as well as youngsters once fully trained. “The aged mice looked like they were young again in terms of their ability to learn and remember,” Dubal says. “It’s remarkable.”

Faster, please.

The Mann Lawsuit

We have filed a petition to the Supreme Court to grant a writ of certiori.

[Mid-morning update]

National Review has filed as well. Their petition is here.

[Update mid-afternoon]

A reminder that we have 24 amici curiae in this. I suspect they’ll join the petition, and Mann will remain amiciless.

[Update a couple minutes later]

I also see that in re-reading that (I may have noted it at the time), that they misspell “warm mongers” in citing the blog post, and attribute my Jerry Sandusky comment to Mark Steyn, who was quoting me.

[Friday-morning update]

Here’s the press release from CEI. And the Daily Caller has a story on it.

[Bumped]

Global Heating

Our children will never know what snow in Yosemite in mid-May looks like.

This has been an unusually wet winter, even in southern California. We got quite a bit of rain here early Sunday morning, with more showers expected in the next couple days and this weekend (Memorial Day!). The new growth, including in the burn areas up the coast north of Malibue, is tremendous. It’s still green, and will be into June or July, but it’s going to make a lot of fuel when the rains stop in late summer and fall. If every winter was like this one, we would no longer be living in a desert. That’s the kind of climate change I could definitely get behind. But we’d still be stuck with our crazy voters and government.

The Left’s Ongoing War On Science

Twitter has blocked an eminent psychologist for political incorrectness on gender.

[Update Monday morning]

Related, sort of: Conservatives should not fear evolutionary theory. It would be nice to get them to accept this, because it’s one of the few areas in which the Left can claim that “the right” is “anti-science.” It’s nice to see this published at National Review.