What is pseudoscience?
In the course of reviewing a manuscript I’d submitted to a journal, a referee inquired about what I’d meant when I invoked the term “pseudoscience.”
Category: 4th HELIX BLOG
Rain Did Not Follow the Plow
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in settlement-era U.S. as well as in parts of the Canadian and Australian territories, homesteaders were encouraged
Science Readers Are Getting Older, Says NASW Panel
The demographic reading science journalism is “getting older” according to a panel member at the breakout meeting entitled “A View From the Future” presented at NASW’s 2013 meeting at Gainesville, Fla. Read about this and other conference topics.
An Important Update on the Heart Association and Cardiologists’ Cholesterol Guidelines
New guidelines could increase the number of people prescribed statin drugs, medications used to lower cholesterol levels.
Is Our Best Friend Just a Scavenger?
“Those beasts are not our best friends, but are vermin…, ” says Dr. Clive D.L. Wynne, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University.
Mind Your Dust!
Here in Arizona, we have personal experience with dust storms, called “haboobs,” that carry large quantities of dust for miles on atmospheric gravity currents. Similar storms are observed in the Sahara desert, across the Arabian Peninsula, in Kuwait, and regions of North America. Dust storms from Africa dumped 50 million metric tons of dust on the state of Florida in the summer of 2013.
Yes, Baby Boomers Are Interested in Science, and We’re Tech Savvy!
I met Rosie Klingman in the Las Vegas International Airport on Nov. 1, 2013 where she was charging her cell phone while waiting for a plane. Rosie remembers Mr. Wizard, and like many Baby Boomers, she’s interested in science.
Don’t Do This Unless You’re a Grasshopper Mouse!
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer might have titled her book “Scorpions for Breakfast,” but the grasshopper mouse really does eat them. Don’t try this yourself unless you’re the grasshopper mouse!
About “The Fourth Helix”
“Watch Mr. Wizard,” a television program that ran from 1951 to 1965, was a science show just for us—the Baby Boom generation. Mr. Wizard entertained and enlightened his viewers with experiments concocted from every-day items. The Fourth Helix is written especially for the grown-up fans of Mr. Wizard, but anyone can join us!