CSI comes to Wonju

From the Joongang:

As part of its goal to “promote balanced national development and diffusion of government,” the government is relocating the National Forensic Service’s main office from Seoul to Wonju, Gangwon. 

But that means that all corpses and evidence will have to be shipped to Wonju, which is 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Seoul. And that, critics say, will waste taxpayers’ money and the agency’s time because more than half of the NFS cases occur in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi. And, they say, the move will work against conducting prompt investigations.

Ticks in Gangwondo

Here is a PDF on tick numbers in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.  Mammals were trapped at various locations, including Cheolwon in Gangwon, and their ticks counted and identified.

It's relatively dry, and there are no real standout short quotes.  If you read scientific jargon or spend a lot of time outdoors, it is probably worth the read.

The sky is blue

... and hand washing cuts food poisoning.

Who knew?

In days of yore, when men were men...

From a review of a book that summarizes genetic research into chimps and humans comes an, I don't know, warning(?) about seeking too much comfort.

 ...humans in the last 30, 40, or 50,000 years have been domesticating ourselves.  If we're following the bonobo or dog pattern, we're moving toward a form of ourselves with more and more juvenile behavior.  And the amazing thing once you start thinking in those terms is that you realize that we're still moving fast.  I think that current evidence is that we're in the middle of an evolutionary event in which tooth size is falling, jaw size is falling, brain size is falling, and it's quite reasonable to imagine that we're continuing to tame ourselves.

Recorded history, which for me means the last two thousand years or a little more, is probably too short to really notice the changes described above.  On the other hand, reading about how the Spartans lived is awe-inspiring at least partially because of the privations they faced, and how i would likely have curled up on the ground and cried facing a tenth of them.

Yeah, my lack of toughness and resilience isn't a good indicator.  I felt much the same way in reading Johnny Reb, a book about the day-to-day lives of confederate soldiers.  The Civil War was too recent see evolutionary change in people.

Anyway, when I think of domesticated animals, I think first of dogs.  Dogs are known to be less intelligent than wolves, with smaller brains.  On the other hand, dogs are better able to read and understand human expressions.

I also think about Idiocracy.

Great, another reason to be worried about my son's future - and his children's, and their children...

Leonid Meteor Shower

I remember sleeping out on the backyard of my house when I was 14 or so, to get up and watch the meteor shower.  There were two or three per minute and it was fantastic.

On the other hand, many meteor showers are more like a drizzle (to a layman like me, anyway) or a fizzle.  Boring!

Still, a friend mentioned on Facebook that the Leonid meteor shower was coming soon.  I hope there's something to see, but I fear there will be too much light-pollution and there will be little to see.

From Space.com:

When people hear about an impending meteor shower, their first impression may be of a sky filled with shooting stars pouring down through the sky like rain. Such meteor storms have actually occurred with the annual Leonid meteor shower of November, such as in 1833 and 1966, when meteor rates of literally tens of thousands per hour were observed.

In more recent years, most notably 1999, 2001 and 2002, lesser Leonid displays of up to a few thousand meteors per hour thrilled skywatchers.

This year will be not set any records, but ...

...

[for] much of Asia, India and Indonesia, the corresponding calendar date will be Nov. 18. It will be 12:40 a.m. in Moscow; 3:10 a.m. in Mumbai; 4:40 a.m. in Jakarta and 5:40 a.m. in Beijing, Unfortunately from Tokyo and across Australia, the sun will have already risen, effectively hiding the meteor outburst.

It is yet possible that some meteors will be seen before the peak.  Tomorrow night and Wednesday morning, we will be on the roof.

Remember, keep looking up!

adfdsa

When to close a school: a Japanese study that might work here

Study

review of study.

Some time ago, I saw a link to a study that used hard data to predict when an epidemic is likely and so when a school should be closed.

I should point out that I don't know the exact definition of 'epidemic' - the study uses data to predict if an absentee rate of 10% of students was likely. Losing 10% of students sounds like an epidemic to me, so that's how I am using the word.

The researchers looked at historic absentee rates in previous flu seasons. When they found the magic number of 10%, they looked at the week previous. a single day of 5% absenteeism was a good predictor of 10% absences a week later, but two consecutive days of 4% was better and three days of 3% was better still.

This graph is from a review of the article. I don't know why the numbers are different.

In the study, absences were known to be due to the flu. This might be a problem at my university as students often use a simple prescription form as evidence of illness as an excuse for missing class. They should be using the official excuse letter (Korean "Hal-ae-sa" or "Seo-yo-sa") but many teachers are lenient. This means that some students might be faking the illness but also that the university might not be aware the student was sick.

I'm not satisfied with this post - my son wants some more attention, so I must turn away from the computer. Oh, not 'must turn away', 'get to play with my son'. I may look it over again later, but no promises.

Kipling spider is vegetarian?

I am a big Kipling fan.

I have read and re-read the Jungle books and look forward to reading them to and with my son. Kim is another I frequently return to. Captain's Courageous, Stalky and Co and more filled my childhood. As an adult, I have enjoyed The Day's Work and the childhood favorites over again. I doubt I have read all he wrote but I am trying to.

You might think I would be happy that a favourite author has been further immortalized by having an animal named after him. I would be, but, a vegetarian spider? How about a toothless bear (or tiger, in keeping with Kipling's connection to India)? A venomless cobra?

Alright, reports are it is intelligent and as physically active as anyone who is also a fan of Spiderman (and I am) could wish. I guess it would have to be radio-active to be coerced to bite someone.

Links: Photo, essay.

Swine flu...forever

I think I'm a bright guy and am capable of thinking things through. Still, sometimes I need to hear or read or see something, as per my example below, dozens of times before it really sinks in.

My great epiphany last week was about swine flu, or rather contagious disease and our future.

Many K-bloggers have been describing the over-reaction to swine flu found in Korea. Roboseyo just blogged about the number of swine flu deaths compared to the number of suicides and asked why Koreans weren't investing more in suicide prevention.

At the same time, the ex-pat community has been discussing the lack of hygiene seen in Korea. I'm talking about people using bathrooms but not washing their hands, sneezing or coughing without covering their mouths and sharing food even to the point of all customers for an entire day sharing the same bowl of soy sauce. I'm going to point out here that I need to rub my eyes less and wash my own hands more as well.

Well, Korean officials have not been overreacting to swine flu; they may well be reacting exactly right, but they need to do this forever. This is what globalization is all about, this is what is meant by the cliche, "It's a small world." There will always be another disease on the horizon, people will always be in contact with international travelers and preventative measures will always need to be taken.

SARS, bird flu, swine flu, ... disinfectant gels and infra-red cameras and the rest will be with us til the end. The Asian bow will replace European greetings and even the North American handshake. Maybe online classes will come into their own.

I was told all this again and again since my university biology classes in the '80s but only now, standing in line to have my temperature taken and seeing disinfectant stations at doorways on campus, do I really understand.

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One more thing. Matt Ridley wrote a book about the evolution of sex called "The Red Queen". The red queen that Alice in Wonderland met had to run as fast as she could to keep up with the others, to stay in place. One of the explanations for sex in Ridley's book was to shuffle our immunities and cell markers. This kind of evolution is not the sort to change Australopithecus to man but to change the locks on our cells so diseases couldn't get in. For this kind of evolution, our grandfather's locks would work just as well for our grandchildren - as diseases found keys to one set of locks, they lost the keys to the old locks. A newborn, with an entirely new (or very old) immunity suite would be in a better position than a clone, young in body but with a slightly older immunity suite.

Anyway, I wonder how this affects my son. He was born relatively late in my life - I was thirty-eight while my father was in his twenties when I was born. Is he getting a better or worse immunity suite? Will the trend in developed nations of having children later in life make a difference in immunity?

Global Warming news -mostly about Gangwon

Blogger note: In the 'create a new post' window, the two quotes below are the same colour, although the fonts are different. I have this problem frequently now that I am on a Mac.

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The joongang and the Chosun have articles about unusual crops in Gangwondo.

The Joongang has this to say:

Melons now grow in greenhouses in Yanggu County, Gangwon, and apples grow outdoors. Tangerines are being grown in Gangneung, Gangwon.

All of this shows that semitropical temperatures are moving north, leaving some to wonder what the temperature will be like in 100 years. The meteorological administration says that if the temperature continues its meteoric rise, the average temperature in Korea will be about 4 degrees higher. Ski resorts in Jeolla and Gangwon may have to shut down. Pine trees, which are symbolic of the Korean soul for many Koreans, could also disappear.

Apples growing outdoors is a sign of increased temperatures? I confess that I chiefly remember only wild apple trees rather than orchards in my part of Canada, but I have trouble thinking of apple trees as sub-tropical.

"Ski resorts may have to shut down"? Well, perhaps we can be done with Olympics bids, then.

From the Chosun, we learn that Gangneung has planted a field of sunflowers along the Namdae River:

The 8,000 sq. m field is made up of one million sunflowers and it is drawing people out of their cars to get a closer look. These sunflowers are different in that they only come up to a person’s waist, whereas ordinary sunflowers usually grow to the average person’s head.

Alright, maybe sunflowers aren't tropical either (and the article made no such connection) but they have the word 'sun' right in the name. Read critically, people!

I will work, next week, on finding and photographing one or both of these crops.

Roboseyo* has (re)posted a video about global warming that compares the costs and benefits of acting on global warming with whether or not such warming is taking place. The speaker in the video makes a fair point but I feel the worst-case-scenarios (while possible) aren't the way to convince fence-sitters.

On the other hand, I would have added that if we take action against global warming and it never does occur (and that Gore and the others, the many, many others, were wrong), we still come out ahead. I say this because most of the action needed to reduce or slow global warming have other great benefits - reducing fuel emissions is good for more than keeping us cool, it also prolongs how long we actually have fuel, reduces other forms of pollution, and walking and cycling rather than driving may make us healthier.

This is a point that GI Korea (link is to a search on his site for global warming) might not get. Either that, or he wants to argue the problem on it's own merits (is global warming happening or not) and not go off on tangents. Anyway, his blog is the best place for clear-headed anti-global warming information (not that I agree with it, mind you).

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Added later:

the Korea Times also has an article, an editorial this time, about Korea becoming subtropical. The writer is concerned that Lee Myoung-bak isn't doing enough. I can't really say, but I do know that Canadians have/had trouble accepting their government's One Ton Challenge, and Canadians produce far more carbon as individuals than Koreans do. I'm not exactly blaming Canadians: citizens are fewer and spread further out than Koreans are, making automobiles far more necessary.

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Roboseyo is also involved in KIVA, which is very cool. Follow the above link to his site. KIVA is sort of micro-loan bank. Instead of giving large groups piles of money, the micro-loans go to small-business people - to buy a sewing machine or a bike or, well, I don't know, but the loans are in the order of $20 to $50 or so. I don't think the loaner, Roboseyo in this case, makes money, but he has a wonderfully high likelihood of having the loan repaid and so is able to use it again. I have wanted to get involved but have always been too lazy.

Happy Birthday, Galileo's telescope

It is 400 years old today.

I tried to buy a galileoscope - two actually - but sent them to an obsolete address for my sister. I may try again and send her two, with the expectation that I will get one at some point. Oh, they only can be shipped to American address. You could order yours here.

How do New Zealand and Finland teach science?

However they do it, they do it well. Graph from Nature.

Despite their small populations, they have a large percentage of top performers in science. Korea has more top performers but, due to it's larger population, a much smaller percentage. I wonder, though, if it works better for Korea as at least some Korean scientists are basically trapped here due to language and cultural isolation.

There is another interesting graph in the article but I can't understand what it is saying -the childish style is cute, but impenetrable. I'm clearly not a 'top-performer'.

Hat Tip (if needed) to Pharyngula.

toronto Star Scientific Literacy Test

The Tor Star archives its articles after a week or so. If you want to do this test, hurry!
Here is the link.

I will try to write my comments below in white. After the test, highlight the area below to read (AFTER THE TEST!)

I got five wrong (#2,16,22,24,26)

#2 I don't understand. Sure, the side facing the sun is illuminated, but I thought the phases came from the Earth's shadow.

#16 - Am I confused by the 'best describes' part? I thought the sun and the Milky Way would be the same age, and both younger than the universe.

#22 I was wrong and shouldn't have been. I guessed 'b'.

#24 DNA allows cells to run chemical reactions? Well, it creates catalysts, but chemical reactions will happen come what may.

#26 Our ancestors go all the back to the pre-Cambrian and beyond. Go far enough back and we are related to plants.

Koreans and genetics: this time Dr Hwang doesn't appear to be involved

Recently, two articles were published in prestigious scientific journals describing the genetic sequences of two Koreans. Unsurprisingly, there is now controversy, although problems with publishing etiquette seem mild compared to previous shenanigans.

Total Eclipse - a short swim south of Jeju

Alright, a long swim, but we should be able to see at least a partial eclipse on July 22

Image from news for a cruise, as is further information (including a countdown).

If this interests you, even a little, you should already be listening to the 365 days of Astronomy Podcast.

World Malaria Day, April 25

I've been taking part in events over the past week; chiefly drinking gin & Tonics and killing the odd mosquito in our apartment. I recommend both activities for all readers.

The official website, which lists Korea as an elimination zone.

Previously at Gangwon Notes:

Confused Joongang Ilbo

Not-so-funny

Comet found by Yeongwol amateur astronomy

I had originally planned to write about the Joongang Ilbo article to mock the writer who mixed up insectarium for astronomical observatory. However, I was probably wrong and the writer right; the amateur astronomy also works at the insectarium so the writer doesn't seem to have screwed up - sorry for doubting you.

Still, the story is interesting on it's own as the amateur astronomy discovered a comet.

In related news, I will try to take the little guy and my mother, who is visiting from Canada, to Yeongwol, at least partially to see the observatory, this weekend. I now also want to see the Insectarium.

Was the Pope right about AIDS in Africa?

A Facebook friend linked to an article in Il Sussidario titled: as a liberal, I say the Pope is right.
Dr. Green, the above-mentioned liberal, explains that condom use encourages more risky behaviour. He has the background to know what he is talking about: Dr. Edward Green is Director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at the Harvard School of Public Health and Center for Population and Development Studies. He is a medical anthropologist with 30 years of experience in developing countries and in the fight against AIDS.

I wish I had commented earlier because I suspected this might be the case - but now no one will believe I was so insightful.

I thought the Pope might be right about condom use increasing the spread of AIDS because of reports of using 'protection' in other areas causing increased risky behaviour.

Hockey and football players are known to hit harder now that they have more and better armour. In the book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), by Vanderbilt (which I will get to reviewing some day), the same problem with safety features in cars. Anti-lock brakes allow people to go faster around corners, so they do, rather than maintaining the same speed and having fewer accidents.

Green also points out that condom use, in Africa, is often reserved exclusively for casual sex; unprotected sex with a spouse is still the norm.

I am not a fan of the Pope and I am not convinced that he is right, but I can see that he might be.

I can't resist; highlight below for the inevitable off-colour response:
The Pope should be knowledgeable on the subject; the Church has worked to cover up the results of illicit sex for years.

Wobbling weakly through my work day

I gave blood today. That and yelling to be heard over the roar of fighter jets training overhead have exhausted me. Time for a nap on my sofa before I take the shuttle bus (and nap on it) home.

Oh, the answers to the questions are two "Yes" and the rest "No". The last question is whether you have been out of the country in the past three years. Stating yes on this one is typically not going to disqualify you from donating.

Can cloned wolves reproduce?

Seoul National University is again publicizing it's cloning program. I sincerely hope things go better this time than they did with Dr Hwang's work there.

They have cloned four wolves ( I guess they could be litter-mates as they would not necessarily be brother and sister. Also, are they four cloned wolves or two clones each of two wolves?) and will try to mate them this spring.

``The mating of wolves, even for natural ones, would be a very tricky process, and it would require tight collaboration between the veterinarian researchers at SNU, Seoul Grand Park and Cheongju Land,'' Lee said.

Are they wolves or hedgehogs?

...considering that the mating season for the female wolves comes around in March, we could see some results as early as spring next year."

I am guessing the interview was last year, as the gestation period for wolves in North America is around two months, not one year.

The reason the proposed mating is big news is that the DNA for the eggs and sperm is unusually old, having gone through two full childhoods - the original wolf growing into maturity, then the cloned wolf starting as a fetus and growing to maturity. The wolf might have youthful strength and vigor but the DNA has double the likelihood of mutations.

The wolves are apparently on display: The female wolves are currently at Seoul Grand Park, while their would-be mates are at the Cheongju Land Zoo in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

Finally, an English language note. Most people are aware that third-person singular can be awkward ( "a student can talk about his/her family" or "a student can talk about their family"). I see similar awkward formulations coming if cloning becomes as common as science fiction authors and SNU professors (Dr Hwang is both!) have their way.

The Thagomizer

I bought the book Dinosaurs: The most complete, up-to-date encyclopedia for dinosaur lovers of all ages, ostensibly for my son but really for myself.

We frequently leaf through the book, enjoying the pictures and trying to pronounce the exotic names. I still plan to read the book but haven't sat down to it yet.


Yesterday, we were reading about the stegosaurus and read a matter of fact account of how the "thagomizer of the stegosaurus provided a powerful defence". The word sounded strangely familiar; where had I seen it before? So, I did read the page and found that Thagomizer is now the proper scientific term for the spikes on the end of a stegosaur's tail and came from a Far Side cartoon (image from wikipedia).That Gary Larson was the coolest guy around.

John Carlson at Prairie Ice agrees.