We sometimes throw around the word “addiction” a little loosely. “I’m addicted to Harlequin Romances” someone might say, or, “I’m addicted to CBC Radio.” True addiction, however, isn’t just doing something frequently because you enjoy it, or even a habit that’s hard to break: it’s a complex condition that involves the brain’s biochemistry, genetic factors, social factors, …
Category: Blog
The smell of babies
“Babies smell good.” I’ve heard more than one person say that over the years, usually a woman, and I’ve always thought that person was, perhaps, just a little strange. The babies I’ve known–always from a distance–didn’t smell like much of anything, and when they did, it was a signal to change their diapers. But since …
Vitalogy
“In this age of education and progress, the Science of Health is no longer the exclusive possession of a profession, but is made an open book for those who have the wisdom to learn.” That’s a very modern-sounding statement, isn’t it? But it’s not referring to the Web. In fact, it’s from the preface to …
Smart fabric
A new technology developed by the Canadian Space Agency to help control the new robot arm on the International Space Station may soon be finding its way into your car, your couch, and even your clothes. It’s called smart fabric, because it turns fabric into a sensitive computer interface. The underlying technology, called Kinotex, was …
Fauna Secreta
The current exhibit at the Dunlop Art Gallery in the main branch of the Regina Public Library may confuse you at first glance. It doesn’t look like it belongs in an art gallery; it looks like it belongs in a museum. There are stuffed animals; artifacts in glass boxes; yellowing photographs and excerpts from scientific …
The science of flirting
There may be, as Paul Simon wrote, 50 ways to leave your lover, recent research has discovered there are even more ways to attract one–52, to be exact. That’s according to Dr. Monica Moore, an associate professor at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, who recently undertook the first serious study of the science of …
Teflon
The first time I saw a Teflon-covered pan, when I was four or five, I thought it was magic. Now that I cook, I’m even more impressed by non-stick surfaces. Teflon was discovered by accident by Roy J. Plunkett, 27, a DuPont scientist who was trying to develop a new chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) for use as …
IQ
Are kids today smarter than kids 30 or 40 years ago? (In other words, their parents?) The kids would say so, but then, every generation thinks it’s smarter (not to mention way cooler) than its parents. However, today’s kids just might have a leg to stand on: there’s been a steady increase in scores on …
The science of swing
With Ken Burns’s epic documentary Jazz airing on PBS, millions of people who never really gave much thought to this musical form before are suddenly learning all about its fascinating history—and more than once, they’ve heard that for music to be jazz, it’s got to swing. Or, as Duke Ellington put it, “It don’t mean …
It’s 2001! Where’s our space odyssey?
Ever since 2001: A Space Odyssey appeared in 1968, 2001 has been one of those years, like 1984, that somehow represented “the future.” Well, guess what? 1984 came and went, and now 2001 has arrived–and with it, a spate of news stories comparing the “predictions” in the film with the reality. I think that’s a …
Calendars (2000)
It’s almost 2001, which means it’s time to take down your old Star Trek: Voyager calendar and put up your new one. Okay, so maybe you have a Teddy Bears calendar instead, or an Everybody Loves Raymond calendar. The point is, for us, a calendar is a much an aesthetic and/or advertising medium as it is a way to see what …
Christmas chemistry
The Physics of Christmas is a very good book by Roger Highland. But there’s more science to Christmas than just physics; there’s chemistry, too. Consider those popular Christmas spices, ginger and cinnamon. Ginger has been used for thousands of years. Greek bakers were making gingerbread more than four thousand years ago (though probably not in the …
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