Royston

Well here's the official website... http://www.tensunits.com/ are these used professionally at all...they look a bit gimmicky, but I might be wrong. Just checked...my bad, they are used professionally.

I found a link that explains the use of electrical fields on bone repair, I googled when this was first discovered and it was back in 1971, I can't seem to find anything that says it's actually used as treatment, but it does work, so I don't see why not... http://www.curatronic.com/scientific2.html#5

Emil Du Bois-Reymond reported 150 years ago that electrical currents had the potential to speed up the healing process of wounds on the body, though the idea has been ignored until now. In short, cells and tissues basically function as chemical batteries, with positively charged potassium ions and negatively charged chloride ions flowing through the membranes. When tissue is subjected to a wound it disrupts the electrical field, and repair cells are guided to the damaged area. By applying electrical fields to a wound, research has shown that the healing process can be sped up or stopped completely. The research was conducted by Josef Penninger of the Austrian Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, and Min Zhao of the University of Aberdeen, UK. The researchers have also located the gene responsible for the transit of repair cells, please see the New Scientist article below. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125624.400-to-heal-a-wound-turn-up-the-voltage.html

JFK...apparently I like power, because it increases my sexual options. That can be construed in many, many ways.

Well yeah, I was really concentrating on the opinion of the two proposals, the concensus appears it's either one or the other...obviously it takes effort from both parties to make a difference, but I see the governments carbon rationing idea as a means to shift responsibility. The problem should be tackled from the source IMO, rather than penalizing individuals who not only have no choice in the energy they consume (financial reasons, location et.c) but also, I'm sure there's plenty of people who simply 'don't care' and will just pay extra. They're either not educated in the effects of burning fossil fuels or it's the 'well I won't be around when this becomes a real problem' or 'nobody else makes an effort, why should I, attitude. I agree that it's impossible to stipulate whether such a plan would work, I was more interested in the opinion of this being a 'fair' solution. It's good oil companies are taking the steps you mentioned, it's a start.

I was watching BBC news this morning and a proposal back in 1990 for carbon rations has been brought back into the limelight again for the UK. If the plan goes ahead, residents of the UK will be issued a 'carbon card' where they have a limit on the amount of energy they use. If the amount of energy used is below the agreed limit, then credit can be obtained and exchanged for money...similarly if the amount exceeds the limit then obviously a charge is applied...presumably per unit of excess energy used. The problem with this plan is that for anybody who has no choice in their energy consumption e.g somebody who lives in the countryside and has to drive 30 miles to work everyday will almost certainly lose out...as one example. The other solution is for the government to lead by example, and commit to cleaner sources so people who do have no choice, are treated fairly, and not charged for energy consumption that is out of their control. The first proposal would put the UK in line with the Kyoto agreement (whatever your feelings are on that agreement.) If anybody has anything to add or has more info on this subject, that would be great. What does everyone think, should everybody take 'liable' responsibility for future energy consumption, or should the government be fully responsible in supplying clean and efficent energy sources so certain individuals don't lose out due to their personal situation.

Same, a friend told me it had some desired effect on the brain...but they're not particularly scientific, I gave it a shot anyway. However I couldn't tell if it was a placebo effect because of what I was told. I did notice an improvement when I studied though. Perhaps there is some benefit in using omega3 to help concentration ?

Well I live in the UK, and I see the Brits as a load of Bentley driving toffee nosed cads, who stuff their face with strawberries and cream, and shout incoherent nonsense like 'toodle pip' and 'bounder' and are all good at playing cricket. If you're British then (providing you're not a bigot) you'll see everyone as individuals...it's where I live, modern society (especially in the west) has incredible diversity and mixture of cultures. As YT2095 said, forming an opinion from a programme...on an entire country, is frankly ridiculous.

Thanks zaphod, for anyone interested the bbc link below has a short film on the discovery, and a bit more detail... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5036618.stm Apparently there were no live scorpions found, but there is still much to explore, they're even hoping to find animals that may feed on the scorpions. The main source of food for this ecosystem appears to be bacteria.

That's the problem, I used to drink it when I was younger...and I grew to hate it, along with cider...just the smell of cider makes me want to chunder. Though pear cider rocks...if you're going to glastonbury next year, go to the cider stall where they have pear cider, it tastes fantastic. Not all pear cider is up to scratch, our local sells it and it's hideous, it has a foamy film on the top, and looks like dish water, and tastes as much.

Yeah, sorry aj47, can't stand the stuff...IIRC they used to dish it out at hospitals, can't remember why exactly, but I liken it to hospital food. bleugh!

No they don't, they have lots of rugby players on stag do's. I've lived in South America, and Australia so far, and they're not a patch on South East England, It rocks ! I have the beach and the South downs both 5 mins away !

Are we really that stereotyped in the states ?

I found this very interesting, apparently South America's indigenous Aymara people percieve the past as the future. I'm not sure how they'd react if entropy was explained to them, but as the rest of the world consider time as a property of space that shifts forward (so to speak) their perception is in reverse (obviously not physical events). Here's a quote and link to the physorg article... Until now, all the studied cultures and languages of the world – from European and Polynesian to Chinese, Japanese, Bantu and so on – have not only characterized time with properties of space, but also have all mapped the future as if it were in front of ego and the past in back. The Aymara case is the first documented to depart from the standard model," said Nunez. http://www.physorg.com/news69338070.html EDIT: Should of added that the results are not absolutely conclusive, but nevertheless it's interesting how culture can have such a profound influence if the findings are correct.

A recent study has shown that ants actually count their steps to navigate home, rather than using visual clues. To test the hypothesis, they had to cut the feet off of a number of ants, and attach little stilts to another selection, to see if the amputees fell short of their goal, and similarly to see if the 'ants on stilts' overshot their goal home. Please see the livescience article below... http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060629_ant_pedometers.html

28 years

Not sexual, more toilet humour...you flushed me out, or something along those lines, errrr (silence, tumble weed rolls past.) I wasn't sure if there was any changes as to what made it to the home page, just checking really, I certainly wouldn't take it personally anyway, my study is cramming work in 'part time', I'm well within my rights to get things wrong Thanks for the response Phi for All !

I've noticed if I post on a science related forum (so not general discussion, P & R et.c) it doesn't appear on the home page. Is this because I got a couple of things wrong recently, or is this an error ?

These were precisely the two jobs that got mentioned as career choices when I signed up for my degree...yawn. I suppose it's easy to understand, when there have been no huge leaps and bounds since the 70's, and with the comparitively low wages offered by academic careers, there's also the issue of demand. Regarding theory's, with GR and QM firmly in place, and such a huge gap of 'lot's of work, but no solid results' only seems more disheartening, but I personally think the next decade for physics will be incredibly interesting. The rapid increase in computing power, LHC, the continous research into the CMB, and the study of neutrinos at Sudbury to name a few could have profound effects on future theories. I think technology is going to breath new life into the theoretical side of physics. I don't think it's time for getting jaded just yet.

Happy B'day SFN ! Happy B'day for yestarday Bascule !

errr how short are the skirts YT wears ?

Yeah, should of realised that, going by previous Guiness ads, which are also really good...shame about the product. No wonder the mudskipper pulls that face.

I'm not sure if this is a myth, but isn't China an exception to this rule...I heard the media are restricted to reporting solely good news. They must have quite a different view on current affairs if this is the case.