Good overview at In the Pipeline. It's hard to imagine how disruptive this could have been if this patent was allowed to stand.1 I don't just mean disruptive to a bunch of rich people fleecing a bunch of productive people. I mean disruptive to the process of staying alive. This was a grab to patent the process of saving someone's life.
Now if only they had an opportunity to do the same for software patents.
This may sound cynical. I really dislike fake science holidays like Pi day and Mole day. My impression is that they are "celebrated" ironically by most people. It's the time of year that everyone can agree that there's something valuable about science and math but only so far as it can fit on an ironic shirt.
"Um, turns out..." almost no one is interested in what a Mole actually is once I tell them it's not an animal.
From PeriodicTable.com comes a video of the real-world periodic table. Stunningly beautiful.
By way of In The Pipeline
From BoingBoing
"When those inarguable triumphs stop coming, the anti-science people begin making inroads to a degree that educated people can not even comprehend. For example by denying that the moon landings ever even happened."
Of all the things that frighten me about the future, it it the willful and gleeful pursuit of ignorance rampant today. Cultures from across the planet are reaching back into the dark ages and rediscovering the pleasures of ignorance and rejecting generations of discoveries.
BoingBoing has an article out today that is titled in a cute “Maker” sort of way.
"HOWTO make aerogel"
Gee. Fun. The kids will love it. As they point out though, the ingredients are hazardous. Let me talk to you kids out there. Epichlorohydrin is NASTY and you don't want to use it even with a respirator. This stuff should only be handled by a trained chemist. I've used it, and it is quite reactive and plenty hazardous.
This article at In the Pipeline is specifically about Biotech, but I think it applies to just about any young industry.
Derek Lowe covers the Research Works Act in detail. Great background and detail. I’ve already complained to my representatives about this one. I worry that there are just too many very bad things working to throttle innovation that we can not stop all of them.
I see news every week with claims that some new breakthrough in science will imminently revolutionize some aspect of our world. As a science insider, I’ll give you a tip. The chances of a significant “breakthrough” are vanishingly small. The chances that said breakthrough will lead to a mass marketed product is also very small. I think most people imagine that scientists investigate some genius idea that suddenly and unexpectedly bears fruit.
Found on ChemBark. Acronyms are dangerous.
Chemical Abstracts Service is being uncharacteristically generous to unemployed chemists by providing their SciFinder service for free. I can’t stress enough how important this would be to an employed chemist. Keeping abreast of the chemical literature is nearly impossible without spending huge amounts of money. The service doesn’t provide the actual articles but just being able to find a paper trail regarding your job-talk is invaluable.
By way of The Pipeline
