Archives
Where the germs are
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/06/Hotel-Room-Germs.mp3[/podcast] Ah, vacation time! Relaxing by the beach or in the mountains, retiring at night to a filthy hotel room, crawling with germs... Wait, what? Okay, that might be a slight overstatement of the hygienic challenges of hotel rooms, but the fact remains that hotel rooms are, ultimately, public spaces, inhabited by hundreds of different people over the course of a single year, each one bringing with them his or her own cute little collection of germs. Hotel rooms are, of course, cleaned daily (at least in the better hotels), but, alas, you can’t see germs, so just because a room looks clean doesn’t mean it is clean on a microbial level. Researchers ...The Black Death
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/09/The-Black-Death.mp3[/podcast]Belly-button biodiversity
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/07/Belly-Button-Biodiversity.mp3[/podcast] It’s summer, that time of year when belly buttons escape their natural habitat of swimming pools and beaches and wander free in the oddest places, from the library to the shopping mall (although unlike the grins of Cheshire cats, they rarely appear without their owners). But as you survey these navel maneuvers, don’t think of them merely as evidence that humans are viviparous. Instead, marvel at the fact that every belly button you see, as well as all those which, thankfully, you don’t, are unique habitats, rather like zoos in miniature. We know that thanks to the efforts of a group of biologists and science communicators from North Carolina State ...The end of tooth decay?
We’ve all had the importance of tooth-brushing drilled (sorry) into us from an early age, and it’s not hard to understand why: humans have been plagued by tooth decay for as long as we’ve been human, and had teeth.Cro-Magnon skulls 25,000 years old show evidence of tooth decay, for instance, and as long ago as 5,000 B.C. the Sumerians were wondering what caused toothaches (their theory, found on clay tablets: small gnawing worms within the affected tooth).The most common form of tooth disease is the “cavity,” more properly known as dental caries. Bacteria that live in the mouth react with carbohydrates to form acids that are strong enough to dissolve tooth enamel. Once acid has eaten ...If this were a science fiction thriller…
...this would be bad news:An 8-million-year-old bacterium that was extracted from the oldest known ice on Earth is now growing in a laboratory, claim researchers.If confirmed, this means ancient bacteria and viruses will come back to life as ice melts due to global warming. This is nothing to worry about, say experts, because the process has been going on for billions of years and the bugs are unlikely to cause human disease.In the real world, I'm sure they're right. But in an SF thriller world...head for the hills!Why am I confident the universe is teeming with life?
Because we keep finding it on Earth in even the most apparently inhospitable places...like the Rancho La Brea tar pits.Trained bacteria…
...the next frontier in medicine!Seriously, this is neat stuff. If you can make bacteria go where you want them to go, you can use them like little tiny pack animals to deliver drugs, clean up pollutants, and other Good Things.Universal blood
Blood is always in demand, and not just by vampires. Blood transfusions mean the difference between life and death when people suffer traumatic injuries, or undergo major surgery.But there’s always been a problem with transfusions: people don’t all have the same blood type, and giving someone the wrong blood type is worse than giving them no blood at all.That may be about to change, though: scientists have developed a method of converting the different types of human blood into a neutral type that can be given to anyone.First, a reminder of what exactly blood is, aside from the reason Dracula doesn’t drink...wine.The main constituent of blood is plasma, a yellowish fluid that’s ...You’ll never walk alone
Scientists have identified 182 species of bacteria that regularly live on our skin, and estimate the total number of species of bacteria on our skin numbers around 250.No need to go "yuck," though:"Without good bacteria, the body could not survive," added Dr. Zhan Gao, a scientist in Blaser's lab involved in the study.The researchers noted that microbes in the body actually outnumber human cells 10-to-1."Our microbes are actually, in essence, a part of our body," Blaser said."We think that many of the normal organisms are protecting the skin. So that's why I don't think it's a great idea to keep washing all the time because we're basically washing off ...If I were Michael Crichton…
...this story of germs from the era of the dinosaurs found trapped in amber would be the beginning of a medical/biological/technological horror-thriller.
Edward Willett is a Advertisement
Donate
Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
Facebook
Flickr
GoodReads
RSS
Twitter
Email
