Scientists

Two scientists say they've written a research paper questioning the government conclusion that an Army microbiologist at Fort Detrick was the sole perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people and sickened others. Epidemiologist Martin Hugh-Jones at Louisiana State University said the article will be published in the Journal of Bioterrorism & Biodefense. Journal editors didn't respond to queries about a publication date. The article, co-written by Dallas chemist Stuart Jacobsen, maintains anthrax spores were coated with chemicals indicating a higher degree of manufacturing skill than Bruce E. Ivins possessed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 22-mile-long invisible mist of oil is meandering far below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, where it will probably loiter for months or more, scientists reported Thursday in the first conclusive evidence of an underwater plume from the BP spill. The most worrisome part is the slow pace at which the oil is breaking down in the cold, 40-degree water, making it a long-lasting but unseen threat to vulnerable marine life, experts said. Earlier this month, top federal officials declared the oil in the spill was mostly "gone," and it is gone in the sense you can't see it. But the chemical ingredients of the oil persist more than a half-mile beneath the surface, researchers found.

Freeman Dyson, a professor of physics at Princeton University, has just published a book of essays under the title "The Scientist As Rebel. " Dyson successfully gives abundant biographical information to generate thought about the possibility that scientists are peculiarly situated to rebel against conventional opinion. To be honest, while I was aware of several scientists who would qualify for that description, there was no realization that this characterization was widespread.

To the editor: I am relieved to learn that there is only one tribe left in "Judah" (Mr. Miller's letter of June 28) because, judging by the accomplishments of the descendants of the ancient Hebrews, it would be too time-consuming to add the other nine tribes' achievements. Though being the 100th smallest state with less that 1/1000 of the world's population, Israel-Judah can claim an astounding number of society's advances in almost every direction. Intel's new multi-core processor was completely developed at facilities in Israel.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Stephanie Slocum-Schaffer, associate professor of political science at Shepherd University, has been chosen as a recipient of the Mentoring Award by the Women's Caucus of Political Science. She will be honored at a ceremony during the Women's Caucus Business Meeting on Aug. 29 at the American Political Science Association (ASPA) annual meeting in Boston. The Women's Caucus for Political Science is a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the status of women in the profession of political science by promoting equal opportunity for women political scientists in employment, promotion and tenure decisions, as well as graduate school admissions and financial aid decisions.

The Conococheague Audubon Society will assist in the seventh annual "Great Backyard Bird Count" from Friday, Feb. 13, to Monday, Feb. 16. Participants of all ages and skill levels are welcome to help scientists investigate the status of winter birds by observing and counting birds in backyards. Individuals and families from Nome, Alaska, to Key West, Fla., will be taking part. The "Great Backyard Bird Count" is cosponsored by the Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. To find out more and to participate, go to www.birdsource.

Beware rats that dream In answer to the question that has been gnawing at humanity for centuries, scientists announced last week that, yes, rats do dream. Scientists quoted in the Washington Post last week called the news "really exciting. " You may have noticed, though, that everything is really exciting to scientists. If they discover a new, one-celled plant, it is "really exciting. " If the tectonic plates shift one degree to the east it is "really exciting. " If a radio telescope picks up a soundwave from space that goes ztzzztzzz instead of zzztztzzz it is "really exciting.

chrisc@herald-mail.com If there is a science of the future, it is genetics. Nanotechnology still is taking baby steps; computers already have affected nearly every aspect of modern society; lasers have limited applications; space science is sexy but horribly expensive. But genetics, with its new tools and mountains of data is a gold mine waiting to happen. A tool for many purposes You want to find cures for disease? Genetics is your field. You want to develop crops that produce larger yields or grow in harsh conditions?

It's been a big week for science, what with discussions of interstellar space travel and our once-a-decade fusion tease. Fusion, as you may remember if you were paying attention in 1989, is the energy-producing process of joining a couple of simple atoms like hydrogen. It's never been successfully done this side of the sun, but it's a big deal because this is ostensibly the process that would allow us to heat our homes and drive our cars on a tank of ordinary tap water. Of course, if it does get that far, I would hope Exxon Mobil and Dick Cheney will be there with their checkbooks to buy up the technology and put it on the shelf, because there's something about the smell of gasoline I really like.

Richard Dawkins must surely be one of the most prolific writers of modern times. While his forte is evolutionary biology, he comfortably ventures into other fields of science. His newest publication, “The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True,” is another gem for one's library. It is, without a doubt, one of the best illustrated science books to be written. Dawkins deals in a masterful way with a very slippery word, “reality.” Dawkins, at the same time, might surprise those who are certain they know “reality.” The pattern followed throughout this book is to tell the mythological origins of each topic and then to show what scientists have found using the tools and methods of science.

Two scientists say they've written a research paper questioning the government conclusion that an Army microbiologist at Fort Detrick was the sole perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people and sickened others. Epidemiologist Martin Hugh-Jones at Louisiana State University said the article will be published in the Journal of Bioterrorism & Biodefense. Journal editors didn't respond to queries about a publication date. The article, co-written by Dallas chemist Stuart Jacobsen, maintains anthrax spores were coated with chemicals indicating a higher degree of manufacturing skill than Bruce E. Ivins possessed.

Richard Dawkins might properly be ranked as the most prolific, gifted and colorful writer in explaining the workings of science to the reading public. In “Unweaving The Rainbow,” Dawkins is at his best educating the public about the nature of science with emphasis on evolutionary biology and a deliberate attempt to awaken each reader to the poetic wonder of the awesome universe. Science is not, according to Dawkins, a pessimistic, fatalistic unraveling of nature by soulless investigators.

Last summer wasn't a day at the beach for Yunji Seol. It was weeks in a lab. While other teens might have been working on their tans, Yunji, surrounded by microscopes and test tubes, was working on advancing a career in science. The 17-year-old Williamsport High School student was one of a select group of young people who participated in Hagerstown Community College's Biotechnology Summer Institute. Through the competitive program, Yunji gained valuable hands-on laboratory experience, had opportunities to work with professionals and earned college science credits.

Local astronomers and those with an interest in the stars don't have to travel far for an educational fix. The William M. Brish Planetarium, formerly called the Washington County Planetarium, offers programs for the public during the school year. The public programs are held on Tuesdays at 7 p.m., beginning Oct. 5 with "The Universe of Dr. Einstein. " The program runs through Nov. 16. Adult admission costs $3 and $2 for children/students. Senior citizens with a WCPS Gold Card are admitted free.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 22-mile-long invisible mist of oil is meandering far below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, where it will probably loiter for months or more, scientists reported Thursday in the first conclusive evidence of an underwater plume from the BP spill. The most worrisome part is the slow pace at which the oil is breaking down in the cold, 40-degree water, making it a long-lasting but unseen threat to vulnerable marine life, experts said. Earlier this month, top federal officials declared the oil in the spill was mostly "gone," and it is gone in the sense you can't see it. But the chemical ingredients of the oil persist more than a half-mile beneath the surface, researchers found.

COVINGTON, La. (AP) -- The Gulf oil spill has surpassed the Exxon Valdez as the worst in U.S. history, according to new estimates released Thursday, but the Coast Guard and BP said an untested procedure to stop it seemed to be working. A team of scientists trying to determine how much oil has been flowing since the offshore rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20 and sank two days later found the rate was more than twice and possibly up to five times as high as previously thought.

IRAPUATO, Mexico (AP) - Now it is established scientific fact: Smut is GOOD for you. Corn smut, that is. For years, scientists have assumed that huitlacoche, a gnarly, gray-black corn fungus long savored in Mexico, has nutritional values similar to those of the corn on which it grows. But test results just published in the journal Food Chemistry reveal that an infection that U.S. farmers and crop scientists have spent millions trying to eradicate, is packed with unique proteins, minerals and other nutritional goodies.

Freeman Dyson, a professor of physics at Princeton University, has just published a book of essays under the title "The Scientist As Rebel. " Dyson successfully gives abundant biographical information to generate thought about the possibility that scientists are peculiarly situated to rebel against conventional opinion. To be honest, while I was aware of several scientists who would qualify for that description, there was no realization that this characterization was widespread.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Shepherd Ogden wants you to know where your food comes from - down to the seeds. On Thursday, that's the message he's hoping to convey at Shepherd University during his public lecture, "A Seedy Business: Tales from the International Seed Trade. " The event is the last in the campus's Food Fight Series, highlighting topics addressed by Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" "We have come to understanding the idea that there's a whole chain of production that goes back to the seeds," said Ogden, a nationally recognized gardening expert and author.