Category Archives: Science And Society

Business, Culinary, Health, Media Criticism, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Good Food Advice

8 Comments

…for the wrong reasons:

Breads made with white flour have not only been stripped of all of their nutrients, but they might even contain remnants of the chemical used in the bleaching process. Our obsession with white foods (sugar, I’m looking at you) is totally odd and unfounded. The natural, unbleached version tastes the same (if not better) and is far more nutritious.

Not really. You should cut out the bread, period.

Why must everything that tastes so good be so bad for us? Our beloved creamy, fulfilling ice cream is extremely high in sugar and fat. And since milk is an animal protein, it’s also high in cholesterol. Sure, you can opt for some yogurt or a vegan dessert, but they’re not the same.

The problem with ice cream is the sugar, not the fat or cholesterol.

There is nothing wrong with ordering a regular cup of coffee (and you can even toss in a little half and half if you need it), but the calories add up very quickly when it comes to those fancy $7 coffee beverages. They taste so good because of all the added sugar and fat. You’ll get an immediate boost from a huge sugar rush, and then you’ll crash hard. Then you need another high-calorie coffee drink to feel better.

Again, it’s the sugar, not the fat or the calories that’s the problem here. Counting calories is junk science.

Bacon, sausage, and even cold cuts: they’re oh-so-yummy, but they’re just awful for your health. They contain high levels of unsaturated fat and sodium.

No, bacon has saturated fat. Which is good. And there is more danger from underconsumption of sodium than over.

A guaranteed way to add inches to your waist is to indulge in fried food. High in calories, fat, saturated fat, and carcinogens (yup, in those beloved french fries), there is nothing good about this. Except for their scrumptious flavor, obviously.

The problem with fried foods is not the fat, saturated fat, or calories (unless you’re frying it in seed oils, in which case the fat is bad because of the omega 6s). The problem with fried foods is carbohydrates in the batter. Deep frying dusted veggies in lard or tallow is fine.

Health, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Azithromycin

3 Comments

Maybe I should start taking it:

“If we consider our results and then we also consider what results have been achieved in clinical trials with cystic fibrosis patients, we are probably looking at the same mechanism(s), whereby antibiotics are removing inflammatory senescent cells and boosting healthy ones.

“Undoubtedly, our results have significant implications for potentially alleviating or reversing tissue dysfunction and slowing the development of many ageing-associated diseases,” explains Professor Federica Sotgia, a co-lead of this study.

Yes, undoubtedly.

Business, Science And Society, Space, Technology and Society

Back To Space

8 Comments

Virgin Galactic just completed the first flight of SpaceShipTwo to space, if one considers the boundary to be 80 kilometers (it reportedly got to 82). At the Galloway Symposium last week, Jonathan McDowell made a good case that this, not the traditional Karman line of 100 km, is the right altitude. If one accepts that, it is the first flight of humans to space from American soil since the Shuttle retired over seven years ago. Here’s hoping that Blue Origin does the same thing next year (except they’re designed to get to 100 km).

[Update a few minutes later]

Here‘s Emilee Speck’s story.

[Update a while later]

Link to the McDowell paper should be working now, sorry.

[Update a while later]

Tim Fernholz has a story up now.

[Update a few minutes later]

And here’s a story from CNN‘s Jackie Wattles.

Business, Economics, Law, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

The Climate Wars

5 Comments

The first shots are being fired in western Europe:

Who pays for environmental virtue?

The gilets jaune revolt begs the issue: who pays to save the planet? The Paris accords absolved the very countries driving emission increases — China and India — from mandating emissions cuts until 2030, leaving the burden largely on the backs of the West’s own middle and working classes.

Yet many of these people need fossil fuels to get to work or operate their businesses. Tourists may gape at the high-speed trains and the Paris Metro, but the vast majority get to work in cars. More than 80 percent of the Paris metropolitan area population lives in the suburbs and exurbs, in an area nearly the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

Like the revolutionaries of 1789, people are enraged by the hypocrisy of their betters. In pre-revolutionary times, French aristocrats and top clerics preached Christian charity while indulging in gluttony, sexual adventurism and lavish spending. Today they see the well-off and well-connected buying their modern version of indulgences through carbon credits and other virtue-signaling devices. Meanwhile, as many as 30 percent of Germans and as many as half of Greeks are spending 10 percent or more of their income on energy, the definition of “energy poverty.” This is occurring while these policies prove sadly ineffective in reducing emissions while the much disdained US leads the large countries in cuts.

It’s not about saving the planet; it’s about the “elites” (who are elite in name only, not in talent or competence or intelligence) signaling their virtue to their peers, while defecating on the commoners and telling them it’s cotton candy.

[Update a while later]

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost exactly nine years since I wrote this piece about the Precautionary Principle. And nothing has changed.

Business, Law, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Space, Space Science, Technology and Society

Europa

23 Comments

Elections have consequences; Eric Berger looks into what Culberson’s loss means for the mission. This is politically huge:

During their November briefings with Culberson, the Europa scientists were careful to say they still planned to launch the Clipper on the SLS rocket, but that has not stopped them from looking at alternatives. Until recently, there hadn’t been any good ones. However, as Goldstein said during the briefing, “We’ve had a major development, and it’s really relieving for the team.”

The development had come about as the Europa planners had worked with NASA’s Launch Services Program and SpaceX. All of the rockets available for launch today, including SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, require multiple gravity assists to reach Jupiter, because they just could not provide Clipper the change in velocity needed to go directly to Jupiter.

Until the breakthrough, all of these rockets, including the Delta IV Heavy, needed about 7.5 years to reach Jupiter, and they also had to go into the inner Solar System to obtain a gravity assist from Venus as they ramped up energy for the outbound trip. In fact, this tortuous trajectory necessitated gravity slingshots around Earth, Venus, Earth, and finally Earth again before moving toward the outer Solar System. The mandatory Venus flyby troubled planners, because passing so close to the Sun would raise all manner of thermal challenges and require significant changes to protect Clipper from high temperatures.

The breakthrough referenced by Goldstein involved the addition of a Star 48 “kick stage” to the Falcon Heavy rocket, which would provide an extra boost of energy after the rocket’s upper stage had fired. With this solid rocket motor kick stage, Goldstein said Clipper would need just a single Earth gravity assist and would not have to go into the inner Solar System for a Venus flyby.

“Nobody is saying we’re not going on the SLS,” Goldstein said. “But if by chance we don’t, we don’t have the challenge of the inner Solar System. This was a major development. This was a big deal for us.”

Gee, I’m old enough to remember when I was cricized for saying that FH could do the job. And you know what? Star 48s have been around a long time. The only “major development” here is the ability to talk about a non-SLS Europa mission in polite company.

[Update a few minutes later]

I would note, though the article doesn’t, that while Enceladus is a tougher mission from a velocity standpoint, it’s a lot easier from a radiation standpoint.