:: Baddour.net ::

:: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 ::

The problem with much biology research today

The argument: we would have a better chance of truly understanding cell function (or any other complex biological system) if biologists worked more like engineers. Here is the argument very eloquently presented by Yuri Lazebnik in his 2002 article in the journal Cancer Cell. Although this article is almost 1.5 years old, it was just brought to my attention recently.

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Automated Scientists and Inventors?

Can science be automated? The scientific method is, after all, simply an algorithm that could be programmed. However, I doubt that scientists are going to become obsolete any day soon; well, except for maybe geneticists!

And what about the creative art of invention? One would think that this is only something a human could do: our advanced intellect and logical thinking working in synergy with our intuitions, memories and emotions. It turns out that an artificial neural net can become an excellent inventor as well when it is disrupted by a little bit of noise. It makes you wonder about the accuracy of the "nutty inventor" stereotype; it may not be such a silly typecast after all. A noisy brain can be a good thing!

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The Power of Water

A classic method of electricity generation, hydroelectricity, employs water (and gravity) to mechanically drive turbines. The newest method proposed to generate electricity also uses water: University of Alberta researchers have devised an electrokinetic method in which water dripped through about 450,000 microscopic channels in a ceramic filter causes positive and negative charges to build up, while electrical current is conducted along a pair of wire coils attached to the filter. The process produces only tiny amounts of electricity, but it could be enough to power small electronic devices. The next step may be the development of "electrokinetic cells", analagous to solar cells or fuel cells, to construct an environmentally clean battery that would run in any condition -- no sun or light is required, and there is no need to spend energy to separate hydrogen from oxygen, as is required by fuel cells.

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Think you're better than Gary Kasparov?

For those who want to try their hand at challenging Deep Junior, the software currently locking horns with the famous chess grandmaster in New York City, you can purchase version 7.0, last year's version, here. The new version, Deep Junior 8.0, is expected to be released in March/April 2003. In effect, Gary Kasparov is simply a glorified beta-tester, allowing the programmers to iron out any bugs or weaknesses in the new version.

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Fear of Terrorism Potentially Choking Scientific Research in the U.S.A.

As a result of 9/11, both the U.S. government and researchers are debating how to strike a balance between the long-held tradition of keeping science research open, and worries that terrorists could exploit such research for nefarious purposes. There currently are no U.S. federal guidelines dictating what types of research should be kept secret, but attempts to impose restrictions on academic initiatives have met with criticism and refusal: Some major universities have rejected government contracts and grants because they came with the proviso that research required federal approval prior to publication. For more on this trend, read this article.

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