Transient Luminous Events Update (Sprites, Jets and Elves)

Sprites, Jets and Elves

Fantastic pictures.

Dodo bird verdict

Never heard of this until 10 seconds ago.  (I blame the previous post).

An impressive set of references.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo_bird_verdict#References

Things not found on Wikipedia

While most of this blog won't be found on Wikipedia (actually not any of it) that didn't stop me from starting a blog about things not found on Wikipedia.

Mostly for fun, does not fall into the evidence based science realm.

The blog Evidence based medicine might.

The tides, one more time

Amphidromic points and more

Just found this page (pdf) with excellent info on the nodes as well as why tides act as they do.

The dynamic theory of tides is no longer found on Wikipedia.

Smallpox, Monkeypox and cowpox

Placeholder for future post (like that will ever happen)

Monkeypox seems to be almost the same disease as smallpox.

Smallpox vaccine used to cause terrible things

The vaccine is no longer used

Monkeypox is still around

Some people believe monkeypox is the same virus as smallpox

The entire thing is clouded with controversy, but you would hardly know it

Temperature, Rainfall and climate data

The NCDC site has updated their climate at a glance software

Fascinating science involved

Poisons in our food supply

Chlorine dioxide

Nitrogen trichloride

Benzoyl peroxide

Which one of the above is known to cause an allergic reaction in some human beings?

Which ones are used in food preparation?

Which one was banned from use in the US, but not Britain ?

Which one is a tear gas?

Which of the above can kill you?

Which one is both a medicine and something used to bleach flour?

Which one is linked to childhood asthma?

Science, evidence, safety and the food we eat.  An interesting subject.

The blog is not my child

I was doing a Google search on "Evidence based science", and what did I find?

http://evidencebasedscience.com/

Nothing there yet.  But it ain't me.  The notion spreads.

Five organisms with real super powers

http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?p=14057

Cool enough to post about. (and this helps me find it later of course)

Is it evidence based?  I hope so.

Weasel words and science

On Wikipedia we are advised to avoid weasel words.
Like the following

should
might
possibly
could
may
or
potentially

This is so articles can be fact based, or at least published credible information based, and not full of possible or maybe information.  The irony, and this is opinion, not evidence based science, is that in some scientific fields, weasel words are used all the time.  And defended, by saying science is full of uncertainty, and things need to be qualified.

Of course I can't find a peer reviewed published article to back any of that up.  This doesn't mean there isn't one of course.

More to come.

Or maybe not.

More Gamma Rays and thunderstorms info

Anyone reading this blog (and yes, I do wonder why you do), should know my fascination with lightning, thunderstorms and the mysterious things going on ALL THE TIME above thunderstorms. Here's some exciting news.
Tiny “Firefly” satellite may solve mystery about lightning
I love evidence, and what's better than a tiny satellite the size of a half gallon milk carton?

When thunderstorms happen, powerful electric fields stretch upward for miles, into the upper atmosphere. These electric fields accelerate free electrons, whirling them to speeds that are close to the speed of light.

The 'Firefly' CubeSat will fly through thunderstorms and lightning. Credit: NASA

When these ultra-high-speed electrons collide with molecules in the air, they release high-energy gamma rays as well as more electrons, starting a cascade of electrons and TGFs.

"Gamma rays are thought to be emitted by electrons traveling at or near the speed of light when they're slowed down by interactions with atoms in the upper atmosphere," says Moretto Jorgensen. "TGFs are among our atmosphere's most interesting phenomena."

Who knew we have high energy particle accelerators all over the planet, all the time?  

Meteorologists estimate that, at any given moment, some 1,800 thunderstorms are in progress over Earth's surface, and about 18 million a year around the world. It is estimated that approximately 100,000 to 125,000 thunderstorms occur in the United States each year. 
Read more: http://www.weatherexplained.com/Vol-1/Thunderstorms.html#ixzz2GwbiVZkd

That's a lot of particle acceleration, antimatter and gamma rays going on.