New Theory of Everything

If you have ever sat up reading books like God and the New Cosmology, The Tao of Physics or The Dancing Wu Li Masters, listen up. If you follow the attempts of certain physicists, in the off duty hours, to discover a theory beyond quantum physics, this might just be for you. It does bend my brain pretty far, but, hey, that's good for you!

The Theory - A soliloquy on the ultimate theory

The author, who writes the above blog anonymously, is presently a tenure-track Assistant Professor in a basic science department at a major medical school in the United States of America. He performed predoctoral studies in human molecular virology and cancer etiology, received his doctorate in yeast genetics, biochemistry and cell biology, and completed postdoctoral studies in fly biochemistry, molecular, cellular, and developmental biology in the late 20th century.
He has extensive experience in journal publishing, having authored or co-authored 16 peer-reviewed articles over the course of 15 years. He has also authored ~15 research grants over 12 years, 3 of which were awarded by the National Institutes of Health.

Dolphins Recognized

Dolphins have been declared the world’s second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as “non-human persons”.
Jonathan Leake, Times Online 3 January 2010

Not sure what he means by "non-human persons" but it sure is nice to see them being recognized for the brilliant creatures they are. After all, they certainly seem to enjoy life more than humans do, and wreak much less havoc on earth' s other species.

BBC On The Deep Thinking of Dolphins

I love dolphins and have all my days. Seeing a pod of wild dolphins swim close to shore and stick their heads out, making vocalizations at my niece and myself for a half hour or so was the most amazing wildlife encounter of my life.

These frisky, intelligent and beautiful sea mammals are amazing to watch. They've been the subject of scientific study for years and this short (28 minutes) BBC documentary on their behavior will blow your mind.

Enjoy!

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Heya You, Shut Up & Eat Your Garlic Pasta

I'm sold on the Mediterranean diet. I've been reading articles about it and hearing people talk about it for years, and now here is evidence from ScienceDaily (and here and here) that it is justa soooo gooda for you. (The French paradox is interesting too.) Please pass the fruits, veggies, legumes, Parmesan reggiano, whole wheat pasta, polenta, wine, modest servings of lean meat, garlic, olive oil and fresh fish. Bellissimo!

QUOTE ScienceDaily (Apr. 25, 2005) — The Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal.
The Mediterranean diet is characterised by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals; a moderate to high intake of fish; a low intake of saturated fats, but high intake of unsaturated fats, particularly olive oil; a low intake of dairy products and meat; and a modest intake of alcohol, mostly as wine.

Current evidence suggests that such a diet may be beneficial to health.
The study involved over 74,000 healthy men and women, aged 60 or more, living in nine European countries. Information on diet, lifestyle, medical history, smoking, physical activity levels, and other relevant factors was recorded. Adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet was measured using a recognised scoring scale.
A higher dietary score was associated with a lower overall death rate. A two point increase corresponded to an 8% reduction in mortality, while a three or four point increase was associated with a reduction of total mortality by 11% or 14% respectively.
So, for example, a healthy man aged 60 who adheres well to the diet (dietary score of 6-9) can expect to live about one year longer than a man of the same age who does not adhere to the diet.
The association was strongest in Greece and Spain, probably because people in these countries follow a genuinely Mediterranean diet, say the authors. UNQUOTE

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Dreams and Creativity

This book was brought to my attention today by Rob Brezsny, and has bumped its way to the top of my long must-read list. Dream on, dear friends, dream on. Let's re-dream the world.


The Secret History Of Dreaming by Robert Moss
From Amazon.com

QUOTE What do the first major oil discovery in Kuwait, Mark Twain’s fiction, and Harriet Tubman’s success conducting slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad have in common? They were all experienced first in dreams. Dreaming is vital to the human story. It is essential to our survival and evolution, to creative endeavors in every field, and, quite simply, to getting us through our daily lives. Robert Moss traces the strands of dreams through archival records and well-known writings, weaving remarkable yet true accounts of historical figures influenced by their dreams. With eloquent prose, Moss describes beautiful Lucrecia de Leon, whose dreams were prized by powerful men in Madrid and then recorded during the Spanish Inquisition, as well as the fascinating dream correspondence between Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung. The Secret History of Dreaming addresses the central importance of dreams and imagination as secret engines in the history of all things human, from literature to quantum physics, from religion to psychology, from war to healing. UNQUOTE

Two Men I Admire

The Pope and Stephen Hawking.

photo by Reuters

QUOTE There is no contradiction between believing in God and empirical science, Pope Benedict told a Rome gathering of eminent scientists including cosmologist Stephen Hawking.
Pope Benedict, who briefly met the wheelchair bound physicist at an event hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, described science as the pursuit of knowledge about God's creation, MSNBC reports.

"There is no opposition between faith's understanding of creation and the evidence of the empirical sciences," the pope said.
"Galileo saw nature as a book whose author is God."
Hawking is a guest at the week long event, which will explore the theme: "Scientific Insights into the Evolution of the Universe and of Life." UNQUOTE

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