WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 25 Sep 09 Washington, DC

1. CELL PHONES: "INCONCLUSIVE" MEANS THEY FOUND NOTHING.
Last week, Senate hearings were held asking whether cell phones cause brain
cancer. Brian Walsh, writing for Time, described the outcome
as "inconclusive." A collective groan rose from the nation’s
physicists. "Not again?" It's been almost 17 years since David Reynard,
whose wife died from brain cancer, was on Larry King Live. Reynard was
suing the cell phone industry.

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 18 Sep 09 Washington, DC

1. NORMAN BORLAUG: THE DEATH OF THE GREATEST AMONG US.
He died Saturday at the age of 95. Writing in the Wall Street Journal,
Gregg Easterbrook described him as "the very personification of human
goodness." He was that, but he was also a brilliant scientist and tireless
teacher of poor farmers in distant lands. His own education began in a one-
room schoolhouse in Iowa. His work in agronomy led to the Green Revolution
and saved perhaps 1 billion lives.

WHAT’S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 11 Sep 09   Washington, DC

1. PLACEBOS: WOULD THEY WORK BETTER IF THEY HAD SIDE EFFECTS?
Every doctor seeks to evoke the placebo effect.  They might wear a white
smock with a stethoscope around the neck for a start.  A diploma and
license mounted on the wall further enhances the effect.  The doctor may
say that your condition has been studied, and effective treatment is
available.  "You should feel better in a few days," the doctor says while
writing a prescription.  You feel better before you fill it.

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 04 Sep 09 Washington, DC

1. CLIMATE CHANGE: HOTTEST ARCTIC SUMMER IN 2,000 YEARS.
A major study published in today's Science marks a seminal advance in
climate change research. Sediments from Arctic lakes were used to compile
proxy temperature records for the last 2000 years. Arctic summer
temperature declined for thousands of years due to a shift in Earth's
orbit.

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 28 Aug 09 Washington, DC

1. WIKIPEDIA: IT’S STILL A BEAUTIFUL IDEA, BUT MAYBE NOT PERFECT.
Let me begin with two observations: 1) people often know a lot about
something, and 2) technology exists that can store and retrieve whatever it
is they know. Eight years ago, a visionary group including Jimmy Wales
and Larry Sanger put 1) and 2) together to make a free encyclopedia. They
called it Wikipedia. Here's the visionary part: It’s not just free
information; anyone is free to edit it.

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 21 Aug 09 Washington, DC

1. NIH: TO THOSE WHO HAVE MUCH, MORE SHALL BE GIVEN.
With an annual budget of $30 billion, NIH was already the world's top
funded research agency; now throw in another $10.4 billion from this year's
stimulus package and you should have an organization that can respond to
every challenge. The new director, Francis Collins, outlined his
priorities this week, including health-care reform and the translation of
research into medicine.

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 14 Aug 09 Washington, DC

1. HOLY WAR: HAS IT FINALLY COME DOWN TO THIS?
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times ran an opinion piece by Chris Mooney and
Sheril Kirschenbaum with the provocative title, "Must science declare a
holy war on religion?" They contrast the "in your face" style of Richard
Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, to the strategy of the National Center
for Science Education, which simply focuses on getting the facts right in
public science education. I love them both.

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 6 Aug 09 Washington, DC

1. CLIMATE: LETTERS TO CONGRESS ARE EXPOSED AS "ASTROTURF".
They look like a grass-roots campaign, but they’re fakes. The letters
purported to be from registered nonprofit groups. Rep. Edward Markey (D-
MA), a sponsor of the climate bill, has begun an inquiry into whether the
fake letters amount to fraud. The American Coalition for Clean Coal
Electricity disavowed the scurrilous tactic and said it was considering
legal action against the Hawthorne Group, a firm it paid to make the
climate bill disappear.

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 31 Jul 09 Washington, DC

1. CERN: IT ALL DEPENDS ON HAVING THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS.
The LHC took a public relations lead by providing background footage for
Angels and Demons http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN09/wn022009.html , but
it still can’t smash particles. Now researchers have found flaws in
different electrical connections that could limit the LHC energy.
Depending on how serious the problem turns out to be, it could delay
restart of the accelerator, now slated for November.

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 24 July 09 Washington, DC

1. NEWSCASTERS: JON STEWART DONS THE MANTLE OF CRONKITE.
Even as the revered anchor of CBS News was laid to rest, Time released the
state-by-state results of a poll of 10,000 Americans across the nation,
asking: who is now the "most trusted" newscaster in America? The
overwhelming choice, with 44%, is Jon Stewart. Coming in a distant second
was Brian Williams, with 29%. What sets Stuart apart is that he is totally
fearless. He speaks the truth without equivocation -- no matter who is
offended.