Right, then.
Dec. 13th, 2006 12:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptTwo down, one to go. Tomorrow at noon, I officially finish another semester’s worth of classwork. One more to go. Will I manage to survive long enough? We’ll see. If my classwork assignments don’t try to trip me up. (Fools. I’ll destroy them all.)
There’s a new tax credit available - if you've been paying long distance federal excise taxes in the last three years, you may be able to claim a tax credit. Apparently, this was instituted a while ago as a luxury tax, before phones became ubiquitous. With the way the money’s being spent out of the coffers, maybe they should keep the tax for a little while longer.
Regarding the war, P! reminds us of the way things were supposed to go, according to the Republican script, and the way things are going to go, according to the Democratic one. Neither of which reads like a stunning example of democracy and good government in action.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jokermage peeks inside the psychology of memes. I’m sure there’s more than can be discovered than what’s there, so give it your best thoughts.
For those who practice the art of magic, Key23 has a few thoughts to share about the nature of the art. Magic, perhaps like any other art, just is? (For those who don’t have any reason to believe or practice magic, perhaps you can find a suitable substitute word that will give the piece meaning to you.)
In terms of the VEWPRF, please be reminded that many Christmas symbols have ancestry that predates the Christians. (Actually, the piece is really about how you should be able to bury war dead with their preferred religious symbol, which a pentacle is still apparently lacking from.) Also, Pinko Feminist Hellcat gives a better send-up of the Falwell gaffe (pagan backpack mail) I mentioned a few days earlier. In something that’s purely about the VEWPRF, however, from what we know of science, the jolly old fat man's skills might be possible. He just has to have some serious tech and advanced knowledge up at the North Pole.
Kofi Annan pulls no punches on what he thinks the U.S. should do in the Middle East in his farewell speech today. After 10 years, Mr. Annan steps down from the post of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Once can only hope that his successor will continue to have faith in the organization, while having the might and foresight to change and update it to reflect the modern world.
As yesterday’s comments proved, there are always at least two sides to any issue, if not more. The Vorlon in me says that it’s unlikely either side has made it to the truth yet, mostly because you can only predict. Thus, you can have the debunker’s guide on one end, and a simulation that says Arctic ice may be gone by 2040, researched by scientists at the University of Washington, McGill University of Canada and the United States National Center for Atmospheric Research. In these cases, I suppose, it’s as much a matter of who(m?) you want to believe. I would hope, though, that all persons involved agree that moving toward a more environmentally conscious policy, replete with less polluting, more efficient, fully renewable technology and resources is a smart idea. If they truly believe so, though, I would expect to see more money being poured into research and a heavier emphasis on developing those kinds of technologies as replacements for the current breed. (Also, quite possibly, a push for mandatory and university programs to train more people in the ways of science (SCIENCE!), but one thing at a time.) If the DOE’s study that says off-peak power generation could recharge nearly every car in the country if it were a plug-in hybrid is true, then there might be a big push toward electric vehicles. Gas tanks and engines might still be needed, in the short term, for longer-distance trips than the daily commute, but even then, if you can recharge your car overnight for cheaper than the gas you use to make the commute... emissions down, savings up, possibly more money to make better power plants faster? These sorts of options should probably be looked into. (And if we had things like fully-electric Smart cars for our commute to complement our gasoline vehicles... we could do a lot for the environment, potentially.)
Another area that probably needs an overhaul in thinking is the War on (Some) Drugs, a war that we're no closer to winning that the War on Terror. But if Mr. Bush takes the same attitude towards this war that he has toward the war in Iraq, which appears to be if it's not going well, I don't want to hear about it, then it still could be a long time before any progress is made.
33 names of things you never knew had names. Proving that once you have a concept, you really have to have a name for it before you can communicate it effectively. Even if it means making a word up out of whole cloth.
IBM develops Deep Thunder, a computer able to weather forecast to a one kilometer radius from your current position . (As an aside, are all IBM projects named “Deep X” or something? You’d think the informer for Watergate was an IBM creation, too.) Hyper-personalized weather for those that really, really need it. Like those of us deciding whether we need an umbrella or not. In other science, moving significantly down the scale size - silicon chips, tiny molecule strands, and nanomagnets may be used to detect cancers and other molecular toxins. So you give up a few drops of blood and have everything tested, yo. Or something like that.
Putting two and three together and coming out with about seven, here’s what appears to be a children’s toy called the Avenging Narwhal. I suspect we’ve found another source of why today’s children all seem to be more violent than before. Next, obviously taking that idea and going somewhere with it, we have the Avenging Unicorn. Probably still meant as a kid’s toy, albeit for a child with a significantly more wicked sense of humor. Or parents with that kind of humor. Or something. Honestly, I can’t make horns or tails out of the whole matter.
The last link for tonight is accurately termed “low-hanging fruit” for those who would like someone to safely ridicule, WTF, or generally have a laugh at someone else’s expense. (Unless you believe it, and then, well, tough noogies.) Namely, a conclusion drawn that soy is responsible for homosexuality. Apparently, babies being fed soy milk are getting so much estrogen that they’ll turn out to be homosexuals. The boys will have small penises and develop late, while the girls will hit puberty really quickly. There will be infertility for the boys, too. And then it’s also apparently going to cause an increase in cancer, So now I expect to see Fred Phelps boycotting soy products, because they obviously produce homosexuals. You may laugh your arses off at any point.
And with that stunning finale, off to bed.
There’s a new tax credit available - if you've been paying long distance federal excise taxes in the last three years, you may be able to claim a tax credit. Apparently, this was instituted a while ago as a luxury tax, before phones became ubiquitous. With the way the money’s being spent out of the coffers, maybe they should keep the tax for a little while longer.
Regarding the war, P! reminds us of the way things were supposed to go, according to the Republican script, and the way things are going to go, according to the Democratic one. Neither of which reads like a stunning example of democracy and good government in action.
jokermage peeks inside the psychology of memes. I’m sure there’s more than can be discovered than what’s there, so give it your best thoughts.For those who practice the art of magic, Key23 has a few thoughts to share about the nature of the art. Magic, perhaps like any other art, just is? (For those who don’t have any reason to believe or practice magic, perhaps you can find a suitable substitute word that will give the piece meaning to you.)
In terms of the VEWPRF, please be reminded that many Christmas symbols have ancestry that predates the Christians. (Actually, the piece is really about how you should be able to bury war dead with their preferred religious symbol, which a pentacle is still apparently lacking from.) Also, Pinko Feminist Hellcat gives a better send-up of the Falwell gaffe (pagan backpack mail) I mentioned a few days earlier. In something that’s purely about the VEWPRF, however, from what we know of science, the jolly old fat man's skills might be possible. He just has to have some serious tech and advanced knowledge up at the North Pole.
Kofi Annan pulls no punches on what he thinks the U.S. should do in the Middle East in his farewell speech today. After 10 years, Mr. Annan steps down from the post of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Once can only hope that his successor will continue to have faith in the organization, while having the might and foresight to change and update it to reflect the modern world.
As yesterday’s comments proved, there are always at least two sides to any issue, if not more. The Vorlon in me says that it’s unlikely either side has made it to the truth yet, mostly because you can only predict. Thus, you can have the debunker’s guide on one end, and a simulation that says Arctic ice may be gone by 2040, researched by scientists at the University of Washington, McGill University of Canada and the United States National Center for Atmospheric Research. In these cases, I suppose, it’s as much a matter of who(m?) you want to believe. I would hope, though, that all persons involved agree that moving toward a more environmentally conscious policy, replete with less polluting, more efficient, fully renewable technology and resources is a smart idea. If they truly believe so, though, I would expect to see more money being poured into research and a heavier emphasis on developing those kinds of technologies as replacements for the current breed. (Also, quite possibly, a push for mandatory and university programs to train more people in the ways of science (SCIENCE!), but one thing at a time.) If the DOE’s study that says off-peak power generation could recharge nearly every car in the country if it were a plug-in hybrid is true, then there might be a big push toward electric vehicles. Gas tanks and engines might still be needed, in the short term, for longer-distance trips than the daily commute, but even then, if you can recharge your car overnight for cheaper than the gas you use to make the commute... emissions down, savings up, possibly more money to make better power plants faster? These sorts of options should probably be looked into. (And if we had things like fully-electric Smart cars for our commute to complement our gasoline vehicles... we could do a lot for the environment, potentially.)
Another area that probably needs an overhaul in thinking is the War on (Some) Drugs, a war that we're no closer to winning that the War on Terror. But if Mr. Bush takes the same attitude towards this war that he has toward the war in Iraq, which appears to be if it's not going well, I don't want to hear about it, then it still could be a long time before any progress is made.
33 names of things you never knew had names. Proving that once you have a concept, you really have to have a name for it before you can communicate it effectively. Even if it means making a word up out of whole cloth.
IBM develops Deep Thunder, a computer able to weather forecast to a one kilometer radius from your current position . (As an aside, are all IBM projects named “Deep X” or something? You’d think the informer for Watergate was an IBM creation, too.) Hyper-personalized weather for those that really, really need it. Like those of us deciding whether we need an umbrella or not. In other science, moving significantly down the scale size - silicon chips, tiny molecule strands, and nanomagnets may be used to detect cancers and other molecular toxins. So you give up a few drops of blood and have everything tested, yo. Or something like that.
Putting two and three together and coming out with about seven, here’s what appears to be a children’s toy called the Avenging Narwhal. I suspect we’ve found another source of why today’s children all seem to be more violent than before. Next, obviously taking that idea and going somewhere with it, we have the Avenging Unicorn. Probably still meant as a kid’s toy, albeit for a child with a significantly more wicked sense of humor. Or parents with that kind of humor. Or something. Honestly, I can’t make horns or tails out of the whole matter.
The last link for tonight is accurately termed “low-hanging fruit” for those who would like someone to safely ridicule, WTF, or generally have a laugh at someone else’s expense. (Unless you believe it, and then, well, tough noogies.) Namely, a conclusion drawn that soy is responsible for homosexuality. Apparently, babies being fed soy milk are getting so much estrogen that they’ll turn out to be homosexuals. The boys will have small penises and develop late, while the girls will hit puberty really quickly. There will be infertility for the boys, too. And then it’s also apparently going to cause an increase in cancer, So now I expect to see Fred Phelps boycotting soy products, because they obviously produce homosexuals. You may laugh your arses off at any point.
And with that stunning finale, off to bed.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 06:48 pm (UTC)As far as I can tell, soy contains something called phytoestrogen (one of the soy isoflavins) which is a plant hormone that is similar to human estrogen. I think that it's shown that phytoestrogens do stimulate the human estrogen receptor, however I haven't found the paper that says that oral normal-dose phytoestrogens are significantly bioavailable and drown out endogenous estrogen production, even in boys. There is major interest in this debate not because of the whole girly-men thing but because HER is a breast cancer proliferation marker so higher than normal estrogen levels or mistimed (i.e. during menopause or before puberty) estrogen levels may influence breast cancer progression. Most biologists are smart enough to realize that it's way too complicated to associate gender or even sexual orientation with a single factor and focus on more direct correlations. Journalists, and especially bigoted, biased and sensationalist journalists, have no such sensibilities.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 08:06 pm (UTC)1) I somewhat misspoke in my earlier statement: isoflavins/isoflavones are a subclass of phytoestrogens, not the other way around. Soy is particularly high in them, as is flaxseed.
2) A study of monkeys on lab diet (soy based), a special soy based diet with very carefully controlled isoflavone content and a soy-free diet showed that the soy-based diet and the controlled isoflavone diet led to significantly higher serum concentrations of isoflavones. So, yes, dietary isoflavones are bioavailable.
3) Setchell KD,et al., Exposure of infants to phyto-oestrogens from soy-based infant formula. Lancet. 1997 350:815-6. concludes: Circulating concentrations of isoflavones in the seven infants fed soy-based formula were 13000-22000 times higher than plasma oestradiol concentrations in early life, and may be sufficient to exert biological effects, whereas the contribution of isoflavones from breast-milk and cow-milk is negligible.
4) The following is excerpted from the abstract to Cassidy A. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2003 Mar;73(2):120-6. (I think our journalist tinged on the one sentence highlighted)
Phytoestrogens are strikingly similar in chemical structure to the mammalian oestrogen, oestradiol, and bind to oestrogen receptors (ER) with a preference for the more recently described ER beta. This suggests that these compounds may exert tissue specific effects. Numerous other biological effects independent of the ER (e.g. antioxidant capacity, antiproliferative and antiangiogenic effects) have been ascribed to these compounds. Whether phytoestrogens have any biological activity in humans, either hormonal or non hormonal is a contentious issue and there is currently a paucity of data on human exposure. Much of the available data on the absorption and metabolism of dietary phytoestrogens is of a qualitative nature; it is known that dietary phytoestrogens are metabolised by intestinal bacteria, absorbed, conjugated in the liver, circulated in plasma and excreted in urine. Recent studies have addressed quantitatively what happens to isoflavones following ingestion--with pure compound and stable isotope data to compliment recent pharmacokinetic data for soy foods. The limited studies conducted so far in humans clearly confirm that soya isoflavones can exert hormonal effects. These effects may be of benefit in the prevention of many of the common diseases observed in Western populations (such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis) where the diet is typically devoid of these biologically active naturally occurring compounds. However since biological effects are dependent on many factors including dose, duration of use, protein binding affinity, individual metabolism and intrinsic oestrogenic state, further clinical studies are necessary to determine the potential health effects of these compounds in specific population groups. However we currently know little about age related differences in exposure to these compounds and there are few guidelines on optimal dose for specific health outcomes.
"Hormonal effects" means that the isoflavones are at a serum concentration sufficent for receptor binding, it doesn't mean it's like taking hormone supplements.
5) Most studies seem to indicate that isoflavones have an anti-cancer effect or at least a generic protective effect, but the evidence isn't very strong. There is one paper that concludes that the studies thus far aren't conclusive. No one says that it's imperative that the diet be changed because of very significant health improvements due specifically to isoflavones (there are so many other components to a soy-heavy diet: high fiber, high protein, low carbohydrate, low fat, low meat etc).
6) Estrogen promotes breast cancer, but isoflavones are oncoprotective. The net effect of isoflavones on breast cancer is indeterminate.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 08:10 pm (UTC)So therefor, the line about "it's like feeding your baby five birth control pills" is wrong, and basically the journalist took the line you hilighted and ran with it without looking into anything else?
Thanks for looking that stuff up, C!
no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 08:58 pm (UTC)After digging through a lot more by way of papers (this time focusing on the link between homosexuality and estrogen levels in male infants), I've come to the following conclusion:
There is nothing that conclusively DISPROVES the guy's claims. He's taking specific papers that show a barely significant or hypothesized correlation and assuming that that is causation. Do this a few times in a row and you've got his conclusion.
1) Soy does increase blood estrogen-homologue levels. (Somewhat, and possibly not biologically significantly, but the levels do increase.)
1b) Plant Estrogen-homologues can activate some human estrogen receptors.
2) Estrogen receptor activation MAY affect brain development and masculinization (experiments in rats show some correlation in male perinatal rats between estrogen/testosterone levels and brain masculine center size)
3) Masculinization MAY correlate with sexual preference (as of yet unproved, definitely not in humans.) The best studies are in androgens and even then, it's a tenuous connection.
Turn all of the above "can" and "may" into "MASSIVELY CONCLUSIVELY AND RADICALLY AFFECTS" and you have the guy's conclusion as written.
Either way, there are a zillion other factors involved in determining homosexuality and gender identity. There's a nurture component to gender identity, there's a genetic component (since people naturally have different expression levels of the relevent genes), there's a hormonal component (not related to diet) and there's a huge prenatal component.
So, the conclusion that feeding your young infant son soy milk will OMG, TURN HIM INTO THE DEVIL CHILD is not exactly even close to being a strong one. There may be a minute effect but that effect is totally drowned out by all the other factors and is probably not statistically extractable. Furthermore, they can't even show that phytoestrogen has a statiscally significant effect on breast cancer cells in post menopausal women when those cells overexpress the receptor and the patient doesn't have ANY endogenous estrogen, so the effect on normal cells in normal males is probably going to be very hard to spot.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 09:16 pm (UTC)yeah, but don't feed your daughter soy or she'll become...well, me. :-P
but seriously, i find it rather silly to try to pinpoint a FOOD item to causing someone to be gay. There are a lot of other factors, like you pointed out, as well as many others that are contributors, but I don't thikn there's one specific "oh yes, this will make you gay" thing.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 06:56 pm (UTC)