Nearly half of all Americans believe that humans and dinosaurs co-existed. Or rather, that “cavemen had to protect themselves from marauding dinosaurs”. So, it caught my eye when I read new research showing that raptors may have preyed on early man. Unfortunately for about 45% of Americans, this means raptors, the birds, and not the dinosaurs. I know, America, Jurassic Park was really convincing. And the new King Kong. I mean, it didn’t even make sense to have dinosaurs on that island, and yet, there they were, plain and realistic as day. But if we did co-exist at the same time as dinosaurs, do you really think we could have made it this far? I mean, the raptors in Jurassic Park could open electric doors and communicate by raptor-style Morse code. All we can do is make the same movie over and over again (e.g. the new King Kong, Jurassic Park II, III and IV…), and that’s after an extra 65 million years of evolution.

Let’s all show our solidarity for pluto by shaving our heads, thus turning them into little planetoid-esque balls. If you can’t do that, raise a fist to show solidarity for our dissed little “dwarf” planet. It might help to actually write “Pluto” on your hand to remind everyone.

Burning incense is bad your your health, whether you’re a Catholic or a college kid. Burning incense and candles were shown to increase concentrations of dangerous particulates in the air of a Catholic Church on Christmas Eve. Levels of the worst class of particulates, which can cause problems with the heart, lungs and arteries, were found at levels up to nine times above background particulate levels. So there’s some ammo for next time you want to skip out on church to get some sleep, play some GTA, or eat some shrimp grits. Just don’t tell me about the shrimp grits.

Even babies can do math. So get over yourself, mathophobes. No really, 6 to 9 month olds were shown to be able to detect errors in simple arithmetic. Not quite , but pretty impressive for kids that aren’t old enough to think twice before crapping themselves.

We’re one step closer to Gleemonex. Scientists have created a breed of mice that are permanently “cheerful”. The first thing that I wondered was, how did they know the mice’s disposition? Apparently, after a series of electrophysiological and biochemical tests to gauge depression, the happy breed tested as if they’d been treated with antidepressants for three weeks. Unfortunately, the word “electrophysiological” doesn’t exactly have that “cheerful” ring to it. Next time, I’d like to see the mice dancing to “Funkytown“.

Here’s some good news for couch potato kids: watching TV has now been shown to act as a painkiller. A new study shows that children who watched cartoons while having blood taken reported less pain than those who were actively distracted by being soothed by their parents. How far do these narcotic effects of TV watching extend? Parents may soon be sitting their kids in front of the tube for every cut and scrape. Couch potato kids will throw themselves to the pavement for the sweet reward of more Sponge Bob.

And if that’s not enough to get you scared for the kiddies, it appears that some video games might actually improve social skills. A study argues that MMOs (massively multilayer online video games) helped to build bridges between players with different world views. The researchers admit that, while the games may not create close emotional bonds between players, the benefits of exposure to different kinds of people enhance their sociability. So, if you have a kid that’s addicted to Second Life, or some other MMO crack, you need not only worry about internet porn, but recruitment to random cults, scientology, and Al Qaeda. So keep this in mind in case DHS is suddenly banging down your door.

I won’t be able to post much (if any) science news this week because I’ll be on the Olympic Coast of Washington State. While on the road, I plan to be updating my random photo and observational blog, Bad Nanobot, so check it out.

A few science stories from the road:
The US lags way behind on acceptance of evolution. Only Turkey ranks lower. But when it comes to acceptance of the evils of flag burning, we’re #1 baby.

Toxic dust storms on Mars may poison any forms of life as we know it. If Bush wants a manned mission to Mars, I’m all for it… If we all get to vote on who goes. (But no votes for Florida or Ohio unless they shape up.)

Bendable cat and dog toys issued by a library to student readers were recalled after they were found to contain lead. Perhaps the children were reading a bit too well? “Good reading, Timmy, now play with this kitty and it’ll all be better soon…”

If you wake up with the sensation of little bugs crawling all over you, turn on the lights. If there are tiny bugs crawling all over you, you’re not the only one. It turns out that bedbugs are on the rise in the U.S. Yes, bedbugs actually exist. And they’re nasty. (Shiver.)

Even worse: You wake up with the sensation of little bugs crawling all over you, you turn on the light, and there are no bugs. But you’re covered in sores, and red and blue fibers are erupting from your flesh. You probably have Morgellon’s condition. And no one knows what causes it, or if it’s actually a disease. Some doctors think it’s a “delusional parasitosis” caused by patients who think that they are infected by parasites and have imagined effects. But strangely, when the little red and blue fibers were analyzed, they can’t figure out what they are. (Weird. Shiver. Urgh.)

And if that’s not enough to make you stop reading this post, Turkey is currently battling an outbreak of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, which is similar to Ebola. There have bee 242 reported cases of the disease, including 20 deaths, and more cases are expected. If you don’t know what hemorrhagic fever looks like, watch the 1995 film Outbreak. Or don’t. (Blood. Shiver. Urgh. Bleh.)

Another scary outbreak: Sexually transmitted cancer in dogs. Canine transmittable venereal tumor (CTVT) has been shown to be transmitted during sex. The disease has also been linked to a single source, according to a recent study. Amazingly, since the tumor cells are actually transferred from dog to dog during sex and grown in the host, they are genetically different from host dog’s cells. By analyzing the tumor cells, the cancer was traced back to a dog that was likely similar to a Husky or a Shih Tzu that lived 250 to 1,000 years ago. So keep your poor little puppies at home and make sure they know the dangers of CTVT. No one wants them catching this 500 year old itch at the doggie park. (Less bleh. More Urgh. And an, Oh! Poor little doggies!)

Public health experts want you to eat more fish. They are that worried repeated reports of toxics in seafood are preventing people from enjoying the health benefits. Omega-3 fats, found in fish and fish oil, are good for your heart, brain and joints. However, toxics such as mercury and PCBs are also found in seafood. Mercury can cause learning and hearing defects in infants and children, but experts have questioned the risks of the types and levels of mercury contained in seafood. The researchers also say that PCBs, while potentially carcinogenic, are probably not present in the body at levels that consumers should be concerned about. When comparing these health benefits to the risks, the experts recommend eating seafood a few times a week as part of a healthy diet. (As a skeptic, I’d still take this with a grain of salt. Or a drop of saltwater?)

When thinking about seafood, my main concern is usually not whether it contains toxic chemicals, but A) whether it was harvested in a sustainable manner, and B) whether it will make me hurl. As far as A is concerned, you can check sustainable seafood solutions here. On the B note, I have only once been able to eat raw oysters. And I didn’t hurl. Maybe if you drink enough alcohol with your seafood, you’ll kill off whatever bacteria are living on your seafood. As a scientist, that sounds highly unlikely. But as an Irishwoman … meh, pass the Jameson.

Undersea robots work together to collect ocean data without human control. Rather than the usual rant, I have composed this haiku:

Robots teach robots
in the deep sea no man’s land.
Sea-bot takeover?  

Happy weekend!

Have some free time? Searching for stardust ain’t just for dreamers and astronomers anymore. NASA’s Stardust project has launched the Stardust @ Home Project (be patient - the site may fail due to heavy traffic). At this site, volunteers can search the electron microscope images of comet dust captured in a foamy matrix called aerogel by the January 2004 mission. The challenge? The researchers estimate that there are about 45 dust particles in nearly a million images. And they’re not even sure what they’ll look like. The reward? If the thrill of scientific discovery isn’t enough for you, the lucky dust particle discoverers will be published as co-author on the resulting scientific paper. And maybe you’ll get to go on The Today Show … Or The Colbert Report … Or The Tyra Banks Show … Okay, I was just kidding about that last one.

Here’s a study that Phillip Morris didn’t pay for: Smoking while drinking can make you feel less drunk. What does this mean for you? For one thing, it makes smoking even more expensive. Not only has the price of cigarettes gone from about $2 to (what is it now? (pdf)) around $5 a pack since I’ve been legal to smoke, but you’ll have to buy a few extra mojitos to be sloshed enough to really humiliate yourself. With the extra cash, you can buy some trendy footwear. And, if you’re the sort of person that gets people drunk to take advantage of them, don’t pick a smoker. They taste bad and take longer to get drunk.

But be warned: Nicotine lowers blood alcohol content by delaying the delivery of alcohol from the stomach to the intestines (where most alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream), so it will only delay the effect of alcohol, not prevent it all together. So please don’t start smoking to sober up. Have some tea. Or coffee. Or really, anything that won’t give you cancer.