Science news snippets from the net meanderings of David Bradley
- Sir David King on climate change – King said, “We hear enough from the climate change skeptics that I have to repeat some fundamentals that you’ve probably heard before.” Fifty-five million years ago, atmospheric CO2 concentrations stood at about 1,000 ppm and global temperatures were much higher and ocean levels were about 110 m higher than they are today. Large mammals developed on Antarctica because the climatic conditions on all of the other continents were inhospitable to such development.<br />
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In the past 500,000 years, every ice age was characterized by atmospheric CO2 concentrations around 200 ppm; every short interglacial period by concentrations around 285 ppm, which was also the preindustrial atmospheric concentration of CO2. Today, the atmospheric CO2 concentration stands at 389 ppm and is rising by 2 ppm per year.<br />
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“Could we get back to 1,000 ppm CO2 by burning all of the fossil fuel on Earth?” King asked. “Yes.” - Save the Forensic Science Service – Brits are starting to get a feel for what it must have been like for US scientists under Dubya with the hacking and slashing of science that the current unelected UK government is doing. Petitions might help…
- Switching to a standing desk – Is it time we desk jockeys made the switch to a standing desk? I wouldn't be too quick to rush into this form of working. Yes, it's not a good idea to spend 50 hours a week hunched over a desk, but your feet and the vascular system in your legs will not thank you in years to come for standing for that length of time each week. Maybe it's choice between avoiding a lardy arse now and varicose veins later…
- Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 – Microsoft Mathematics provides a graphing calculator that plots in 2D and 3D, step-by-step equation solving, and useful tools to help students with math and science studies.
- ScienceSeeker – ScienceSeeker collects posts from hundreds of science blogs around the world, so you can find the latest science news and discussion on any topic.
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals Magazines, White Papers, Reports, and eBooks – Launched today, the Chemspy chemical and pharma resources site. Those in the industry or academia qualify for free biotechnology & pharma magazines, so-called white papers, eBooks and reports.