Month: December 2015

Terrorism in Brazil

on May 12, 2006, São Paulo came under a violent and coordinated attack. The attackers moved on foot, and by car and motorbike. They were not rioters, revolutionaries, or the graduates of terrorist camps. They were anonymous young men and women, dressed in ordinary clothes, unidentifiable in advance, and indistinguishable afterward. Wielding pistols, automatic rifles, and firebombs, they emerged from within the city, struck fast, and vanished on the spot. Their acts were criminal, but the attackers did not loot, rob, or steal. They burned buses, banks, and public buildings, and went hard after the forces of order—gunning down the police in their neighborhood posts, in their homes, and on the streets.

Cambodian iron fish hack

interventions like these are crucial to make the world smarter.

In 2008, Christopher Charles was thinking about anemia. Anemia is often caused by an iron deficiency. It makes you tired and weak. It makes you have trouble thinking clearly. Almost 50% of Cambodia’s population suffers from this disease! Over 3.5b people on our planet have anemia, a $50b drain on global GDP. You can cure anemia with iron supplements – but they taste bad, and they often cause stomach pains, constipation, and even more disgusting problems. So Charles had another idea: give villagers little blocks of iron to drop into their cooking pots. The iron gets released slowly as the water boils. But at first, people hated them. They thought the iron blocks where ugly. They thought the iron blocks would scratch their pots. So they turned them into doorstops. He kept trying. Eventually he came up with a second idea, that could make the first idea work.

He realized that in rural Cambodia almost everything revolves around fish. People earn money fishing, they’re a big part of the Khmer diet and their folklore. So, he made iron into “lucky fish”. And people are now happy to put one into the pot when cooking.

1 of those who has been using the fish is Sot Mot, a 60-year-old grandmother who lives just outside Phnom Penh. She drops the fish into boiling water as she chops up garlic, ginger and lemongrass for Khmer chicken soup. “Before, I felt tired and lazy and my chest shook when I was tired. But after I use the fish, I have strength and energy to work and I sleep well, too.”

1 of her granddaughters seems to be improving, too. “Before, when I went to school I felt tired, and I didn’t do well at math, maybe the 6th in the class. Now, I’m No. 1.”

2023-09-13: And sometimes you have to take something out, like lead

Last year in Get the Lead Out of Turmeric! I reported that adulteration of turmeric was a major source of lead exposure among residents of rural Bangladesh. Well there is good news: the lead is gone! Wudan Yan at UnDark reports the remarkable story of academic research quickly being translated into political action that improves lives.

Gendered products scam

the exact same product in pink costs significantly more. it’s crazy that this kind of nonsense is still going on, enabled by dumb consumers.

Radio Flyer sells a red scooter for boys and a pink scooter for girls. Both feature plastic handlebars, 3 wheels and a foot brake. The only significant difference is the price. Target listed one for $24.99 and the other for $49.99.

Biofilms

Biofilms are extremely tough to get rid of, so this is very welcome news.

A solution for biofilms — a scourge of infections in hospitals and kitchens formed by bacteria that stick to each other on living tissue and medical instruments — has been developed: Injecting iron oxide nanoparticles into the biofilms, and using an applied magnetic field to heat them, triggering them into dispersing.

2017-09-15: Physics of biofilms

Bacteria are extremely adept at building biofilm cities, often in places humans don’t want them: catheters, sewer lines, and our teeth, to name a few. Now scientists are working to unlock the structural mysteries in order to eradicate unwanted bacterial buildup. The first biofilm researchers focused more on the chemical environments of these microbial communities rather than the physical forces that also governed their existence. In the past 10 years, advances in microscale engineering and high-resolution microscopy have allowed scientists to measure physical forces acting on individual cells and replicate a range of environmental conditions in the lab that have enabled scientists to begin to track the formation of a biofilm, cell by cell.

Enemies of civilization

From alarmists touting an artificial intelligence apocalypse to activists fighting against genetically improved foods, this report highlights 10 of the year’s most egregious cases of neo-Luddism in action.

  1. Alarmists tout an artificial intelligence apocalypse.
  2. Advocates seek a ban on “killer robots.”
  3. States limit automatic license plate readers.
  4. Europe, China, and others choose taxi drivers over car-sharing passengers.
  5. The paper industry opposes e-labeling.
  6. California’s governor vetoes RFID in driver’s licenses.
  7. Wyoming outlaws citizen science.
  8. The Federal Communications Commission limits broadband innovation.
  9. The Center for Food Safety fights genetically improved food.
  10. Ohio and others ban red light cameras.