Science Advocacy
Science Advocacy
Every year millions of people world-wide cut down a perfectly good conifer and welcome it into their home for Christmas. There is a lot of information out there on issues from the ecological impact of using a live vs artificial tree to how to keep your tree looking “fresh” the longest. Here’s a quick look at the science of Christmas trees!
Am I doing the right thing?
Many argue an artificial tree is better for the environment as you’re not cutting down a living tree; however, artificial trees need to be manufactured (usually using plastics and metal) which comes with a completely different host of environmental issues. To make a positive impact on the environment, you’ll need to use the same tree for at least 8 years, and maybe as long as 20 years in order to offset the environmental impact of building and transporting an artificial tree.
In some places (cities, or areas with no local tree farms), an artificial tree makes good sense, despite your grandmother’s disapproval of not having a “real” tree.
The best place to get a tree is at a tree farm. If you don’t have one anywhere near your house, it may be time to make an 8-20 year commitment to an artificial tree. If you are lucky enough to live with a tree farm near by, environmentally speaking, a real tree is the way to go. We all know that trees are good for the environment: eating up carbon dioxide and producing oxygen all the while providing a habitat for all sorts of cute critters. By supporting a sustainably managed tree farm, you can minimize your impact on the environment and still get a great natural tree.
Welcome to Bad Science on the Internet! Here, we highlight some of the crazy and sometime dangerous stuff people post online, and then give you the facts.
The bad science: Several companies are selling soaps that they claim can help you burn fat and lose weight. Not by eating it, just by washing with it. I’m totally serious, check it out here and here.
What do they claim? Here are some of the specific claims I found, rated by the level of scientific implausibility*:
and that can help with your weight loss either by consuming it or drinking it as tea, so it’s not that far fetched to assume it could do the same for your body through slimming soap.” Scientific implausibility score = 8/10. If eating or drinking it works (which is doesn’t), then rubbing it all over yourself must too, right?
On the way to school Oliver and Edward were walking next to the Liten Burial Ground, a local cemetery located in Basingstoke in south central England.
They walked along their daily route to school, but this time, something unusual caught their attention: The boys heard a faded screaming voice coming from one of the graves, but it was too quiet understand the words.
“Do you hear that or am I just going crazy?!” Oliver asked Edward in disbelief.
“Bloody Mary! I do! It sounds like somebody shouting through a glass jar,” said Edward, “What should we do?”
“If we go explore the cemetery now, we’ll be late for class and get in trouble. Let’s tell the headmaster about this. Adults always know what to do.” Said Oliver.
Oliver and Edward ran quickly to their school and approached their school headmaster.
“Mr. Thomson, there are voices coming out from the graveyard!” Oliver cried out to his teacher.
“That’s nonsense! Young men should not be running around and telling lies about the deceased.” Said Mr. Thomson, “For our next class, read the remainder of book of Exodus and then present a summary of it in front of the entire class. Edward, you look guilty, so you’ll help Oliver.” Mr. Thomson added angrily.
“But, Mr. Thomson, we are not lying! There REALLY are voices coming from the cemetery.” Said Oliver with tears in his eyes.
“You should know better than that. Discussion is over!” Said Mr. Thomson to Oliver and Edward and the boys walked away.
***
The boys were not lying – the screaming was the voice of Mrs. Blunden, who had the misfortune of being buried before she was actually dead in Basingstoke England, in mid-July of 1674. Several people that day repeated Oliver’s and Edward’s claims, but by the time the grave was re-opened it was too late. Mrs. Blunden’s nails were covered with blood and her coffin was scratched from the inside in her attempts to escape.Continue reading…
Vampires and zombies and werewolves, oh my! Halloween is upon us, and it’s time to get creepy!
Imagine a world like Sam and Dean’s Supernatural: where every monster, every soul-sucking, flesh-eating creature, every undead lurker you heard about in the shadows of the campfire actually existed. Except, instead of being sustained by magic, it was all scientific! How would that be possible? Let’s have a little fun today and talk about the science behind a few Halloween favorites.
Ridiculous question from the internet: What were Louie Armstrong’s first words when he stepped foot on the moon?
Source of said ridiculous question: Yahoo Answers
Science’s answer: Louis Armstrong (the musician) never made it to the moon. He was already 68 when Neil Armstrong (the astronaut) stepped onto the moon and said “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” There is some controversy about whether Armstrong included the correct indefinite article “a” before the word “man,” but frankly it’s an awesome quote either way. Had Louis Armstrong made it to the moon, we assume he would have played something jazzy on his trumpet.
Ever wonder if a furlong is longer than a league? [Spoiler: it’s not.] What on earth is an angstrom or a beard-second? Is a parsec really a measurement of length, or did George Lucas just make it up? UYBFS has the facts!
Welcome to Ask a Scientist, where we answer questions from our readers on a wide range of scientific topics. Got a scientific question? Drop us a line.
Are “blood boys” like the one on Silicon Valley a real thing, and if so do they work? – D.L. Madison, WI
Yes! They totally are! Well, sort of – here’s the skinny:
The idea of using the blood of younger people to heal or slow the aging process has been around for a while. There has been a recent resurgence in interest for two reasons. First, some intriguing new data has been generated and widely publicized, and second, some folks in Silicon Valley (the place, not the show) may actually be trying it.
The data has come from “heterochronic parabiosis” experiments in mice. Heterochronic parabiosis is the surgical pairing of the circulatory systems of two animals of different ages. Importantly, these experiments are performed in an attempt to understand the role of blood (and the factors it contains) versus the cells in the aging process – not in an attempt to develop a treatment for aging. Studies have shown that the cells in older mice benefit from being exposed to the blood of younger animals. That sounds great! However, there are some caveats. First, these mice are usually surgically connected for weeks to months of time – these effects have never been shown with a single or even multiple infusions – only continuous parabiosis. Second, the younger animals experience negative effects (their cells act like they are older), so it’s not something anyone is likely to sign up for.
