CIA Experimented with LSD on Unsuspecting French Villagers [The Primate Diaries]
CIA peppered bread with LSD in 1951
Image: The Telegraph
Yesterday the UK newspaper The Telegraph published an article revealing that a previously unexplained 1951 outbreak of mass hysteria in France was actually the result of a secret experiment performed by the Central Intelligence Agency when they spiked the village's bread with LSD:
The mystery of Le Pain Maudit (Cursed Bread) still haunts the inhabitants of Pont-Saint-Esprit, in the Gard, southeast France.
On August 16, 1951, the inhabitants were suddenly racked with frightful hallucinations of terrifying beasts and fire.
One man tried to drown himself, screaming that his belly was being eaten by snakes. An 11-year-old tried to strangle his grandmother. Another man shouted: "I am a plane", before jumping out of a second-floor window, breaking his legs. He then got up and carried on for 50 yards. Another saw his heart escaping through his feet and begged a doctor to put it back. Many were taken to the local asylum in strait jackets. . .
Mr Albarelli came across CIA documents while investigating the suspicious suicide of Frank Olson, a biochemist working for the SOD who fell from a 13th floor window two years after the Cursed Bread incident. One note transcribes a conversation between a CIA agent and a Sandoz official who mentions the "secret of Pont-Saint-Esprit" and explains that it was not "at all" caused by mould but by diethylamide, the D in LSD.
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You CAN do the Rubik’s Cube! Have you signed up yet? [USA Science and Engineering Festival: The Blog]
Deadline for the tournament sign up is April 30, 2010 so there is still a little bit of time to sign up for the Rubik's cube tournament!
Are you a teacher and looking to incorporate the Rubik's cube contest into your teaching lessons? There is an orientation workshop on April 10th at the National Electronics Museum (1745 West Nursery Road, Linthicum Hts, MD 21090-2906) where we will show you how to solve the Rubik's Cube and you will hear from Teachers and Educators who already use the Rubik's Cube in their classroom. To sign up for this workshop, simply state so on the tournament registration form.The first 30 teachers/coaches who register for the tournament AND attend the teacher/coach orientation workshop on April 10, are eligible to receive a free Math Education Kit valued at 0.
Since I last posted about the Rubik's cube, I have made substantial progress in learning how to solve the puzzle. I have come within two pieces of solving the puzzle before a wrong move ended up derailing me, but I can consistently one face with two layers solved. It's just that top layer that is eluding me. 
My first goal is to solve the puzzle and my second is to start working on time. With practice and focus it is coming along! I have figured out a few go-to moves that can get me out of a few binds, but I regularly consult my '7 step solution guide' to help me. I am sure it will come with more practice, but hopefully I can convince a few out there that it is possible to learn how to solve. The other great thing is to discover how to use this fun puzzle to teach math. Check out that link and see some great ways to use the Rubik's cube in the classroom. I always enjoyed math class, but I think I would have enjoyed it even more if it were taught with a Rubik's cube! Back to practicing!
Gender-Bending Chickens: Mixed, Not Scrambled [Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)]
tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, gynandromorph, bilateral gynandromorph bird, half-sider, mixed-sex chimaera, sex determination, molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology, endocrinology, birds, chicken, Gallus gallus, ornithology, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club
Half-sider.
Almost exactly one year ago, hundreds of American birders
were thrilled by sightings and photographs of this remarkable
Northern Cardinal, or Redbird, Cardinalis cardinalis,
photographed in Warrenton, VA.
Image: DW Maiden, 2 March 2009.
I'll never forget the first time I saw a bilateral gynandromorph. I was a bird-crazy teenager reading my way through a stack of avicultural publications when I spied the strangest bird I'd ever seen on the cover of one magazine: an eclectus parrot that was very precisely divided down the middle: one side was rich scarlet and the other was brilliant emerald. Because eclectus parrots are sexually dimorphic -- females are red and males are green -- this remarkable bird was easily identifiable as being composed of both sexes, one on each side.
Even though this was the first time I'd ever seen a gynandromorph, these mysterious birds do pop up from time to time. For example, bird watchers occasionally run across them in the wild (see above photograph) and poultry farmers sometimes find them in their flocks: it is estimated that roughly one in 10,000 domestic chickens -- another sexually dimorphic species -- is a gynandromorph.
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Shout Out to sciencegeekgirl! [USA Science and Engineering Festival: The Blog]
This week we have found a couple of bloggers who have promoted the festival on their blogs! A shout out to Dr. Stephanie Chasteen at sciencegeekgirl with a blog post this week about the festival!
Do you have a blog and would like to help us get the word out about the science festival? Contact us if you have written a post about the festival. We will give you a shout out, re-post it here and link to your blog. Thanks!
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From sciencegeek girl's blog post on March 10:
USA Science & Engineering Festival - October in DC
Sorry I neglected to write a post with real content last week, but I have one in the works! Stay tuned. For now, though, here's a note about an science festival event in DC that they're trying to create some advance buzz on. I'm a big fan of science festivals -- bring science to the streets, and have people run across it who wouldn't usually go out of their way to go to a science museum or science talk. We have art festivals, music festivals, why not science festivals? There's a big tradition of this in Europe, apparently, and we're trying to learn their style. I know there were a lot of sessions on science festivals at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meetings several years back. Apparently this festival (which is the first nationwide festival!) are inspired by those international efforts. Interestingly enough, it's led by an entrepreneur and venture capitalist (Larry Bock), with a science bent, rather than a scientist. Kudos. Sounds like someone who knows how to get things done!
Here's the info on the event in DC:
USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo Dates: October 23 & 24, 2010; 10:00am-5:30pm; This event is free of charge - no tickets required
What is the universe made of? Why did dinosaurs go extinct? What do magic tricks and hip-hop have to with math? What can amphibians and reptiles tell us about the environment? What do engineers have to do with baseball? Find out at the first ever USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo on the National Mall! Explore science & engineering with hundreds of free, hands-on activities and over 40 science shows on three different stages. The two-day Expo is perfect for teens, children and their families, and anyone with a curious mind who is looking for a weekend of fun and discovery. Build an underwater robot, chat with a Nobel Laureate, explore the science behind the magic of Hogwarts Academy and see a car that drives itself. From bugs to birds, kitchen chemistry to computer games, environmental monitoring to electronic music - the Expo has something for everyone and is completely free of charge. The Expo is the pinnacle event of the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival to be held in the greater Washington D.C. area October 10-24, 2010. The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a collaboration of over 500 of the nation's leading science and engineering organizations. For more information on all Festival events and how you can get involved, visit www.usasciencefestival.org
Get involved now: join the over 400 organizations that have already signed up to host an Expo exhibit, become an official Festival Partner, organize a Satellite Event in your community, host a Festival Event, check out our cool school programs like Nifty Fifty and Lunch with a Laureate, volunteer, donate, become a sponsor, participate in one of several contests, buy a Festival T-shirt, follow our blog, and stay on top of it all by signing up for our bi-weekly e-newsletter. Will you be there when science takes over the National Mall?
I am a science education and communications consultant -- view my website for my full range of services.
Google Adds Cycling Routes to Their Maps! [Obesity Panacea]
Photo by Kamshots.
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Shout out to The Open Helix Blog! [USA Science and Engineering Festival: The Blog]
I recently discovered this blog post from early January that mentions the USA Science and Engineering Festival. We would like to give a Shout out to Mary at The Open Helix Blog for her post on January 4th covering the science festival!
Do you have a blog and would like to help us get the word out about the science festival? Contact us if you have written a post about the festival. We will re-post it here and link to your blog. Thanks!
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USA Science and Engineering Festival 2010
4 January, 2010 (10:31) | General Science | By: Mary
http://www.usasciencefestival.org/
I've been following the announcements about this festival for a while now. These are the kinds of things that really could excite some kids to follow a path into science and engineering if they get inspired by some booth or project. I was lucky: I got hooked on biology from the tide pools at our nearby beach. Not every kid has that opportunity.
It's also great to see science celebrated in DC. It wasn't like that for a few years, if you'll remember....
Anyway: they are taking proposals for events and they are offering grants for student clubs, and all sorts of neat stuff is shaping up. Get on their mailing list to keep abreast of it. I'll put the science club grant language from the newsletter here to entice anyone involved with a student group, but there's more coming all the time.
Calling All Students! Win a 0 Grant to Bring Your School's Exhibit to the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo on the National Mall
(Know a Science Teacher? Please forward this to them...)
News Flash to Students! Student groups and clubs are invited to submit a proposal to exhibit as part of the two-day Expo on the National Mall. A limited number of 0 grants are available to student groups to help offset the cost of materials for developing their exhibit. To win a grant, each school must submit a brief proposal describing the planned exhibit and how funds will be used.
Elna Clevenger, Science Department Chair at Washington DC's National Cathedral School, an all girls' school, explains why her students have applied for an exhibit grant: "A large percentage of our students are very interested in science and pursue careers in the sciences. However, it is important for everyone to be scientifically literate, regardless of their chosen field of study and work. Our exhibit will show how polymers are involved in all aspects of people's lives."
Lisa Davis, Community Developer at San Diego-based High Tech High Foundation, adds that participation in the Festival's student exhibits "helps our High Tech High Chula Vista students to enhance leadership capacity, reinforce learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and give back to the community by encouraging others to experience interactive science!"
"Our TransTech Academy students have been exposed to the latest technology in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. It is important for our students to share the exciting and employable skills they have attained at the 2010 inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival," says Andrea Young, Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator for TransTech Academy.
So, what constitutes a cool, winning exhibit for the Expo?
Festival organizers say student science and engineering groups should create an interactive, hands-on activity that will give Expo-goers the opportunity to explore a scientific or engineering concept. All activities should be both educational and fun and targeted at a 10th grade understanding of science or below.
The girls from National Cathedral School, for example, invite Expo-goers to "Observe superabsorbent polymers in action. Make instant snow, see alligators and other beasts grow, and discover the many uses of these unique polymers in a variety of commercial products."
For examples of what other exhibitors are offering, visit the Festival website.
To submit your online proposal for a grant, click here. Proposals must be submitted no later than January 31, 2010. Applicants will be notified by February 15 as to whether they have been awarded a grant.
Your Friday Dose of Weird: Two new Cambrian critters [Laelaps]
When it comes to aliens, Hollywood really does not have much imagination. Most extraterrestrials that have appeared on the big screen look very much like us, or are at least some kind of four-to-six-limbed vertebrate, and this says more about out own vanity than anything else. It would be far more interesting, I think, to take the weird and wonderful organisms of the Cambrian as inspiration for alien life forms, and two new critters have just been added to the odd Cambrian menagerie.
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Want to See Something (ok Two Things) Really Cool? [Casaubon's Book]
First of all, I present to you, the cover for my new book (not yet finished, but it will be really soon) forthcoming this fall. I didn't think it was possible that they could come up with something prettier than the cover for Independence Days (which you can see on the sidebar), but I think they did.
I admit, I'm pretty impressed by it! Plus it fulfills the maxim that all my covers must have food on them, whether the books are about food or not.
Second of all, if you want to see someone's impression of me headlocking a fellow science blogger in a free-for-all, I'm in panel three of this very funny comic:
http://ataraxiatheatre.com/2010/03/12/what-erv-really-stands-for/
Clearly, I need to do more direct battle with my fellow science bloggers - and cultivate a better vocabulary in creative name calling.
Sharon
Fast Friday Flotsam: Volcano updates a’plenty! [Eruptions]
Leaving for Death Valley tomorrow - I'll be sure to take some pictures of Ubehebe Crater and the volcano at the Mirage. This will likely be the last new post until about a week from now, but look for the Erta'Ale Volcano Profile, maybe a new Mystery Volcano Photo and I'll leave a thread open for any new volcano news.
Colima in Mexico.
- Eruptions reader Tim Stone sent me this image from Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi's Twitpic feed - it is a stunner of the caldera on Jebel Marra in Sudan. The only known historical eruption for this volcano was ~2000 BC within the Deriba Caldera, but it has produced pyroclastic flows that travelled upwards of 30 km from the caldera.
- There are a couple new pictures from Colima in Mexico posted on the Colima Volcano Database. The picture show the growing phases of the dome since 2008 and the new lava flow on western side of the volcano.
- A number of Eruptions readers have mentioned an increase in activity at Costa Rica's Turrialba. OVSICORI said that it appears clear that new magma (spanish) is moving into the volcano based on the current seismicity and gas emissions at the volcano. Turrialba experienced its first phreatic eruption in the last 100 years in January, but new magma has yet to be seen at the summit crater.
- You can always count on great shots of volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula from the NASA Earth Observatory team, and this new image of Klyuchevskaya (Kliuchevskoi). It shows the new dark grey ash from the current eruption on the snow the lines the flanks on the volcano. Some of the recent eruptions of Kliuchevskoi have produced plumes upwards of 6 km / 20,000 feet.
- Before I forget, here is this week's Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report.
- And for those of you not following the Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) earthquake swarm thread, the swarm does continues to march on - the question still is, to what is it leading?
When Cheap Food Isn’t Cheap [Casaubon's Book]
More than 2.5 million Floridians are on food stamps, up from three years ago where 1.2 million residents received assistance.
That's according to records kept by the Department of Children and Families, which administers the program.
DCF Secretary George Sheldon told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Tuesday that Florida's food stamp rolls grew the fastest in the nation since 2007.
Some of this is due to increased efforts on the part of states to expand access, but it is also, I think, a compelling measure of the economic situation. But it is more than that - food stampls, as I've been arguing for many years, are important because as they become more universal (we're already at 1-in-9 Americans using food stamps, next year's numbers will probably be 1-in-8, and many states are at 1-in-6 - and American children are at 1-in-4) food stamps become more important. They shift from a safety net program to a basic food subsidy that serves a larger and larger percentage of Americans who can't afford food. And that should look very strange to all of us.
The case for industrial agriculture has rested heavily on cheap food over the years - the idea that it was worth all the subsidies, the land degradation, the health costs because we all had plenty was a fundamental premise of the move to industrial farming. But if industrial agriculture can't provide affordable food even with its massive subsidies (at this point a large portion of industrially produced food is being subsidized twice - first at the agricultural subsidy level and then at the food stamp level) what is the compelling case for large scale industrial conventional production?
Perhaps the focus should move. Michael Pollan has proposed, for example, that food stamps should pay double when used at farmer's markets. Right now only about 40% of all farmer's markets in the US are set up to take food stamps - making food stamp and WIC acceptance universal, and doubling pay outs when used to buy healthy food would do a lot both for local agriculture and for those who are struggling to eat and eat well.
The case for bringing agricultural subsidies to small family farmers is more complex, and among others, Gene Logsdon has argued that subsidizing organic agriculture (which is beginning to occur) may not be the answer:
This is supposed to be good news. Our dear government has finally recognized that organic farmers are at least as deserving of bribery as all those sinful chemical farmers. After all, industrial agriculture gets .2 billion dollars in direct payments every year so surely a little bit of money ought also to go to holy, humble, horse and hoe husbandmen who also help keep the world from starvation. In fact, organic farmers now have their very own farm subsidy program under the Environmental Quality Incentive Program to the tune of million bucks. Ain't that wonderful?
I will go as far out on the end of my bucket loader as I can and bet even money that this is the beginning of the end of organic farming. Government learned a long time ago that farmers, like everyone else, can be persuaded to do what the government wants done by handing out money. The result? Since government subsidy programs got serious about 70 years ago, the number of commercial farmers has plummeted from over 12 million to something less that one million. That's how helpful the payments have been. Then along came small organic farmers who although unsubsidized for the most part, began doubling and tripling in number with each passing year. Whoa. Can't have that, for heaven's sake. That might mean that government subsidies don't really help farmers. Maybe, perish the thought, government doesn't know how to help farmers. Or, perish two thoughts, maybe government doesn't really want to help farmers but just wants cheap food so the people can afford to buy more SUVs. Any trend toward farmers becoming successful without government subsidies has to be stopped. Uncle knows how to do that. Offer them money.
If you think I am only joking, examine the rules of this new game. The fifty million dollar "Organic Initiative" subsidy is to help organic farmers, and I quote, "implement conservation practices on the farm." Hmmm. Isn't every real organic farmer already doing that? Isn't that part of any proper definition of organic farming?
Rule number two: "Conservation practices that farmers have already adopted are not eligible for payment." Amazing grace. If you have already been doing what every responsible farmer should be doing, you don't get any money, sucker.
Logsdon goes on to observe that with the inclusion of "transitional" farmers and the emphasis on giving money to those previously making the biggest negative environmental impact, the subsidies will go disproportionately to industrial organic producers.
But at a bare minimum we could ask ourselves about whether agricultural subsidy payments should exist at all? Most organic and small scale producers would be happy just to have the playing field levelled a bit. At a minimum, we need to ask ourselves this -if the food we get industrially is unaffordable in an environmental sense and unaffordable in a practical "how do we get dinner" sense, what's the case for conventional corporate ag again?
Sharon