And this is how Physics is tamed!!!

Brian Greene has boldly done what no man has ever done before. Through the agency of his book 'The Elegant Universe', he has made the dizzying world of modern physics seem approachable.

As an engineer, who has learnt about human understanding of the microscopic and the macroscopic world within the confines of an undergraduate class only to be dazed and confused, this book is definitely a breath of fresh air. I would even go ahead and say that this book lays a template as to what teaching physics should be like.

Without losing sight of the importance of the material at hand, Greene adopts a systematic approach to introduce the readers the language of the Gods- physics.

Making use of vibrant imagery, Greene guides his reader into a dimensionless space, where he is all but a neutral bystander- watching the metaphors that Brian has so painstakingly woven, unfold to reveal the subtleties of our universe.

And it is in the subtlety of the metaphors that he constructs, where Greene accomplishes the onerous task of keeping the reader engrossed without overwhelming them. Whether it is the use of an elastic band to explain how gravity is the curvature in space-time fabric, or the how long lost passengers George and Gracie, floating away through the emptiness of space can have disparate experiences of the world they both dwell in due to the differences in their frames of references, each making correct but incongruent observations.

Like an onion, with each page, a different layer is peeled of his well thought out metaphors to give the readers an understanding of yet another layer of complexity in the organization of the world in and around us.

The end result is a logical flow of principles of physics where we move from Newtonian physics to Einstein’s theory of relativity and the world of quantum mechanics to the realization of their incompatibility at the smallest and the biggest scales of nature. All of this leads to the grand unifying theory of everything, the string theory.

While admitting the incompleteness in our scientific understanding of the subtle implications of string theory, Greene lays down a framework for a layman to perform thought experiments wherein the pop-culture references including time travel or existence in alternate dimensions do not seem alien.

I cannot end without saying that I do not completely understand string theory. Like a work of art, the longer I think about it, the more details I can conceive, but also the more confused I get.

Yet, this is definitely worth a read.

Chemistry to the rescue!!!

Last Wednesday I decided to catch some Southern California sun during lunch time. Sitting on the concrete perimeter of the reflection pool outside Leavey Library at USC, I was enjoying my chicken pesto sandwich when I was approached by a petite Korean girl. She was in her early twenties wearing a denim mini skirt with a pink tank top.

As she sat next to me, we started talking. It was nice to have company as I was working my way through the sandwich. Imagine my surprise when she asked me if I had found Jesus in my life, after a mere five minutes of meaningless banter!

As a practicing Hindu, it was fun to discuss our religious beliefs, morals and values and our understanding of human life itself. But what struck me the most was the conviction with which she believed that our planet was about 6000 years old; even more, the fact that evolution is a conspiracy designed to undermine Christianity.

Our discussion soon turned into my fierce defense of science as I tackled the question of our planet’s age. I laid out geological measurement of time from thickness of the ice cores in the Antarctic, the slow movement of tectonic plates that have shaped the planet and then moved onto the chemistry used to determine our planet’s age.

I explained that everything is composed of unique materials called elements, the identity of the which is determined by the number of positively charged particles called protons within the nucleus, or center, of the atom, around which the same number of negatively particles called electrons revolve, just like the planets around the sun. Also residing within the nucleus are neutral particles called neutrons.

I continued explaining that each element can exist in multiple forms called isotopes. Some isotopes are stable, others are not. The unstable ones break down to give stable elements at a constant rate in a process called radioactive decay. Using this constant decay rate, the age of rocks, fossils and the earth itself can be predicted. Using the uranium-lead radioactive dating, earth’s age is calculated to be about 4.5 billion years, I concluded.

Having established to my satisfaction, but not necessarily hers, that earth is very old, I moved on perhaps the more controversial topic of evolution. Being a biologist, this was home turf for me. I took her from a prehistoric earth where life first evolved as microbes to the present day, interspersing mass extinctions, identification of missing links and finally our development as a species.

Just as Uranium-lead radioactive decay was used for measure the age of the planet, age of fossils is determined by carbon-dating. Elemental carbon exists in three major forms- C12 with 6 protons and 6 neutrons, C13 with has one extra neutron and C14 with two extra neutrons. While the first two isotopes are stable, C14 is not. It constantly decays such that its quantity is halved every 5780 years.

Measuring the relative abundance of this isotope underlies the radiocarbon dating we use to estimate the age of most fossils upto about 60,000 years back.

She respectfully listened to me. But still believed that our measurements were incorrect. I know she was not convinced, but I was hopeful that our discussion would make her give science a second chance.

As I left for my class, I remembered something from an undergrad biology lecture. Most biological molecules do not survive even a few million years. How did we ever know that life existed 2 billion years ago? I couldn’t believe I had never given a moment’s thought to this.

Seeking an answer, I spoke with Dr. Kenneth Nealson, Wrigley Chair in Environmental Studies and Professor of Earth Sciences and Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California. “We have geology to sink our claws into”, he explained.

“If you had a twelve-pound ball and a thirteen-pound ball to throw over the fence. You started to get tired and pretty soon the twelve-pound ball would be dominant”, he explained.

Similarly as carbon is processed, enzymes prefer to use the lighter C12 to the heavier C13, such that over long periods of time all or most of the carbon in these biological molecules is composed of lower atomic weight carbon. Life prefers low carbon since it requires lesser effort to process it.

If carbon were to be incorporated into molecules by random chance, then the isotopes would be in the ratio of their natural occurrence.

Thus, by comparing the ratio of isotopes in a molecule to its relative abundance, the source of the molecule can be deduced. The same holds true for other molecules significant for biological processes including oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur.

So robust and accepted is this science that this underlies NASA strategy for searching life on Mars. The Mars Science Laboratory onboard the Mars Rover Curiosity, due to the launched on 26^th November 2011 by NASA, has an atmospheric sensor called a tunable laser spectrometer, a device designed to analyze the relative abundance of elemental isotopes in the Martian atmosphere.

If the methane on Mars were an outcome of biological processes, then the results would show skewed abundance of C12 methane, thus pointing to the existence of at least microbial life at some point in history.

There is always more to learn, I told myself as I left Dr. Nealson. I am glad to have been open to talking to a complete stranger.


NOTE: This blog has been submitted to the Nescent Evolution themed Blog Post Contest 2011 for consideration for a travel award to Science Online 2012 conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. More information at http://blogcontest.nescent.org/2011/10/12/win-a-travel-award-for-best-evolution-themed-blog-post/

I am, therefore I think

Antonio Damasio takes exception to Descates’ observation, “I think, therefore I am” in his 1994 book ‘Descartes’ Error’. The overarching theme of the book is exploration of the concept of self, and identifying the physiological processes that underlie decision making of individuals.

Rather than a simple exploration of an idea, Damasio methodically takes his readers through the scientific process involved in addressing any problem. We start the book with identification of the issue at hand, introduction of the various players, development of a hypothesis, designing of experiments to test it and finally interpret the results to inform the greater community of the inferences.

The first third of the book concentrates on case studies. We are introduced to various patients and the brain lesions that have impaired their emotional and decision making capabilities.

Without lowering the level of discourse or easing up on the use of scientific jargon, Damasio provides a platform for teaching his audience about the overall anatomy of the brain, the difference between the cortical and sub-cortical structures. He then dwells into the structure, function and connectivity of the neurons, their biochemistry about the neurons, their parts, roles and finally the neurochemistry of the brain.

As we go from one patient to another, we learn about different brain structures and how lesions or injury to these parts are associated with different symptoms.

Damasio spends a decent amount of time explaining the molecular basis of behavior. Not only do we learn about the influence of the brain on the body and that of the body to the brain. Additionally, he explains how human control over our instincts as being a possible outcome the brain circuits that have evolved to learn acquired social rules.

Where Damasio shines the best in his book is the distinction that he draws between emotion and feeling. While emotion is the body state, representing the electrical and chemical make up of the body at a given time, feeling refers to the cognitive juxtaposition of the body images with context.

With these ideas in mind, we are next introduced to the concepts that underlie Somatic Marker Hypothesis, the theory of mind that analyzes the decision-making processes of our brain. Briefly, when presented with a stimulus, a thought or a future scenario, images are created in our brains, which result in somatic (body) changes manifested as something as simple as rising of the blood pressure. Presentation of any stimulus or a real life situation with social consequences thus leads to a possible physical change that can show our emotions.

He finally concludes the second portion of his book explaining how the somatic markers lead to inherent biases within the brain, which explains the different behaviors and risks that people are ready to undertake.

The third and final part of the book deals with experimentation to test the somatic marker hypothesis that was developed in the previous chapter. We learn of experiments designed to simulate real world complex decision making process. The results from these show how brain injury can lead to an impediment to sound decisions. This is used as a proxy for the bad social and economical decisions that patients of brain damage have shown in their lives.

All of this sets the stage for Damasio to explain his choice of the title. Descartes’s observation was based on his belief that the idea of self originates from the existence of a working brain and that it is the brain that distinguishes us from other animals. However, Damasio through his somatic marker hypothesis lays shows the opposite, thus correcting Descartes’ to “I am, therefore I think”. We learn of the constant feedback loop between the body and the brain that underlies our perception of self and that of others. Any breakdown within this loop leads to an altered, incomplete view of what it means to be a human being.

Sitting at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience and philosophy, I find this book highly enjoyable and recommend it book to anyone who wishes to explore what it means to be a human and if we can ascribe certain aspects of humanity to other species.

How can we save the Earth?

Millions of years of geological changes and biological evolution have endowed our planet with diverse ecological systems throughout the world. Not only do these ecosystems provide a shelter for its diverse plant and animal inhabitants, they are also responsible for providing us with the resources that enrich our lives.

However, at a time when the population of the world has reached a staggering 7 billion, not only is a greater need for space to accommodate us, but also an ever-increasing demand for food, water and other resources. 

The dilemma this poses to the citizens of the world and our governments is profound. How do we meet the requirements of the entire population without exhausting our resources for the generations to come?

While some of these resources are measurable, like the agricultural productivity of the land or the minerals extracted from the earth, others, like the carbon dioxide recycling by the trees or the protection marshes and mangroves provide against tsunamis cannot be easily assigned a monetary value.

When making projections about the number of jobs a project will create and the number of dollars it will pump into the local economy, what is usually not considered are the un-measurable services provided by our ecosystems.

What is the dollar value of the aesthetics of an ecosystem? Should we run out of space in San Francisco bay area, is extensive development of the spectacular California coastline near Big Sur warranted? Should apartment complexes prop up along the Grand Canyon or dense equatorial forests give way to the land for agriculture?

Not to forget other species we share the planet with. Is it worth the while to not encroach the Panda habitats in China? Or are the highways through the Serengti hurting the Cheetahs? 

The present laws of our governments are fragmented. Some regulate air quality, while others are concerned with water and then are the ones that deal with natural gas and endangered species. We lack is a comprehensive law that deals with the inter-relations of these.

Worse still, we do not account for the invaluable services that the ecosystems perform for us silently.

The cost-benefit analysis of any operation that we undertake needs to go beyond the immediate consequences. Rather, the long term future of our world needs to take center stage.

It is time for our generation to decide on the legacy we plan to leave for our posterity. 

I finally understand some Geology....Book Review

In his 1993 book, Assembling California, John McPhee accomplishes the onerous task of explaining the fluidity of our planet using the diverse topology of California as a backdrop. With a definite command over the understanding of the geological world, he introduces the unsuspecting reader to the prehistoric world, where Kazakhstan was adjacent to England and India to Africa. While familiarizing the reader to the basic principles of plate tectonics, he also introduces them to geological jargon as he guides them to the world as we know it.

Not only does McPhee take the readers through the rollercoaster of processes that have shaped the present world, he also gives the readers a glimpse of the initial upheaval that the theory of plate tectonics brought to the field of geology, how mounting evidence helped get this theory the traction that it enjoys right now.

I particularly enjoyed him orienting the reader into the scientific techniques used for measurement of the slow changes in the topography of the land that seem stationary to human perception. Using the paddy fields to identify the contours of the Great Central Valley in California, or placing guides in a straight line to track the curvature of the San Andreas fault, examples so real, their implications so real, that it aids trusting this science and its validity.

McPhee takes his readers to the ocean floor. It is living and it is breathing. There are the expanding centers, the ocean floor disappearing in trenches. New crust is forming, old crust is disappearing. At times, rubbing of ocean plates with continental plates leads to the ocean crust, ophiolite making its way to the land. The net results, mountain ranges like Sierra Nevada, islands like Cyprus.

Written in some parts as a travel book of sorts, McPhee paints such vivid images that takes the reader from the old mines of Cyprus to the foot of the Acropolis in Macedonia. Rather than a drab series of events, McPhee weaves the geological process with the historical relevance. Maybe Cyprus was the source of the copper for the brass armor mentioned in Illiad.

Using the Great California Gold Rush as an example, McPhee not only presents the scientific theory and the processes that explain gold deposits in the Sierra Nevada, but also the historical sequence of formation of the range itself as an island-arc collided into the North American Placte.

Speaking of the lives of men who came form far for the California Gold, he brings us face to face with the doings of men. Hydraulic drilling of valleys, sediment erosion form the mountains hundreds of miles down in the Bay area, flooding of Scaramento; all of these examples lay the foundation for the most powerful line in the book. “Man is a geologic agent”.

McPhee’s presentation of our knowledge of the past and the future of San Andreas Fault is chilling. Yes. At one point in history, Los Angeles was floating towards the North American Plate, and at some future point, it will be adjacent to San Francisco, yet again separated from the continental United States of America.

I think in Moore, McPhee finds a subject so fascinated with the physical world, that it lends a certain passion obvious in the narrative. The reader gets to know Moore as a child helping his had mine out ore, as an adolescent swearing off rocks and mines, as an adult realizing his passion for the mountains, his excitement when he figures out the origin of the Sierra Nevada and ultimately his prediction of an Appalchain like range being formed in the Central Valley in California as we speak.

McPhee’s treatment of earthquake spread so is pretty that one almost doesn’t even realize that they are learning so much. Laden with real experiences of the people who experienced it, McPhee takes the readers from the epicenter to hundreds of miles away, at each place, people experiencing different levels of destruction. All of this eventually leads to our understanding why cities built on landfills are so prone to destruction then the land nearby.

With a very clear narrative, as McPhee takes the reader on a whirlwind journey through time, the jumping back and forth between different times is disorienting. While I appreciate his providing a historical perspective of human dealing with the nature, whether it is the California Gold Rush, or the colonization of Cyprus for its copper, I find my trip across the globe to be very random.

It almost seems as if the individual chapters were written independent of each other, and then just rearranged together for this book.

For a book on Geology, I found the lack of pictures and maps rather surprising. Having read enough about these rocks, I think I would not be able to make a wild guess next time I am in Death Valley. I think illustrations of the movements of plates, the maps of the world of the past, of Protopangea, of Pangea would have made the changes easier to follow. McPhee relies heavily on the imagination of the reader, which I think might be doing injustice to some.

McPhee’s references to history at times seems just out of place. The mythical utopia of California, east of West Indies, discovered in 1508 has nothing to do with California. Was the brass in the mythological Illiad from Cyprus. It is as good as anyone’s guess. I mean, I can see how he is trying to keep the reader interested by throwing in random facts or suppositions, but I find it distracting and irrelevant.

My biggest grievance with the book lies with the odd distribution of its pace. The first hundred pages introduce the reader to so many new concepts and the second half just builds on them. I would have preferred for McPhee to throw in breathers, or reiterate the same concepts multiple times, so that the reader does not feel overwhelmed or disoriented as he is driven from one time frame to another, from one part of the world to another.

As I finish the book, one last thought. I am glad these events occur over millions of years. Forget the destruction by caused earthquakes or changing sea levels, worse still, would be the governments of the world fighting with one another for land.

In conclusion, I laud the author for this book. As I put the book down, I have a greater appreciation for the complexity of inanimate earth, not just the biological world. I would recommend this book to most readers with a warning though. This is not a light read for the beach, rather, have Wikipedia at hand to get the most of this book.

I love Boobies

Rains are thrashing New York City once again. A brunette in red finally enters the boardroom, drenched, and late on the very first day of her new job. She can feel the piercing stab of a hundred eyes. 

Men are checking her out. So are the women. She takes a seat next to a young man with big glasses who shies from even making an eye contact with her. 

They fall in love. 

Ten years later, sitting by her side, as she awaits the sweet kiss of death, he wonders, ”Why didn't I? How could I?” What could he have done to help her evade this terrible fate meted by Breast Cancer.

We all think about sex, some to a degree that might actually be disturbing! Still, we all do. I can speak for men at least.

Men, or rather, heterosexual men, obsess over the breasts; their shape, size, symmetry, feel, aesthetics and so on.  We love to play with them, fall asleep on them or simple stare at them.

Yet, only about a quarter of the breast cancer cases are ever brought to notice by a man. Jennifer Aniston movies have made me realize that men don't pay attention, but this is breasts we are talking about! 

Am I to believe that the same men who at times talk to women's breasts and not their faces, don't notice a full bosom?  Or are they simply unequipped to detect lumps?

If at all they do. Has our societal treatment of body image taken us to a point where, the thought of broaching the topic with their significant other is downright mortifying? 

"Hey Honey, I know society tells that women's bodies have to be perfect! But, I think there is something wrong with your breasts." I can only imagine how pleasant that experience would be.

The sexual education training in most of our schools deals with either abstinence or when actually talking about sex, about avoiding STDs. Does it not make sense to introduce men to women biology.

I know we will lose a lot of the PMS jokes, but can it serve to aid our communication with the fairer sex?

What are we to lose, if there are more people educated and ready to raise the red flag that can save lives.

As a guy I know, never to comment on a woman's body, unless I am complimenting. But is it time to tear down the communication wall and be honest?

For us to conquer breast cancer, not only is it essential to alter our lifestyles to prevent it, but also to ensure that we detect these at early enough stages to reduce mortality to being with.

By the way...Men can get breast cancer too!!! 

Why does the right not trust the right?

Aa the curtains fall on yet another Republican Presidential Primary debate in the 2012 race, it seems the nation's fascination with the supposed link between autism and vaccination still remains a talking point among people.

While scientists, doctors and their professional associations huddle in defense of vaccination and tout the advantages vaccinating provides, a large chunk of the general population and the media are swarming to the other side.

Living in a place where Polio and Tuberculosis are a rarity (at least in some countries), I wonder how do people reckon we have reached here?

A parent's Cocaine addiction would send all the bells ringing at the Child Protective Services, yet, a parent has the right to reject vaccination on some ill-conceived notion, unsupported by science or logic?

For those who fight the government over the right of an unborn fetus, how does the right of a living breathing child to an healthy future not raise a red flag?

At what point does it become the responsibility of the policy makers to protect the population from its own stupidity?

Kudos to Rick Perry of 2008!

Recommended reading:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-carrey/the-judgment-on-vaccines_b_189777.html
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1888718,00.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-and-david-kirby/vaccine-court-autism-deba_b_169673.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/05/vaccine-autism-study-report_n_805036.html

Beauty and the Yeti????

Worlds of abundance, magic and splendor where honesty and humility trump ambition, good defeats evil, and everyone lives happily ever after... Yes, I am talking about the world of Fairy Tales we wished to visit as we were once being tucked into our beds.

As scientists set out on yet another expedition to discover the elusive Yeti in Siberia, I wonder have we not outgrown our childhood fantasies.

Thousands of new species are discovered each year, yet it is the lone Yeti, also known as Sasquatch / BigFoot to others, that has captured our collective imagination like no other. Why have we as a society become obsessed with this seemingly reclusive creature?

Why does the name evoke a strong imagery of a hairy creature treading lonely stretches of Himalayas or Siberia? Of a benevolent friend who has helped a lost hiker in need? Or even of a vengeful animal waiting to unleash its fury at first human contact?

We ascribe these creatures with qualities of hate, compassion, revenge and anger that we erstwhile reserved specifically for humans. As we humanize these creatures of the wilderness, are we assuming that they are capable of sophisticated goal-directed behavior needed to avoid detection.

Do I have to worry about an axe wielding Yeti on my ski-trip?

If these bipeds have developed the intelligence and means to survive in the wild, do they represent our brothers and sisters, like Neanderthals, that we have long lost?

As we thank our ancestors for their inter-species mating with the Neanderthal's that underlies our highly functioning immune system, I wonder if and when we discover Yeti, will the village people let Beauty to choose the Beast?

Reading:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/10/11/scientists-95-sure-bigfoot-lives-in-russian-tundra/

P.S. Since the blog was written, the claim to find Yeti has been taken back
http://www.ghosttheory.com/2011/10/26/the-russian-connection-scientists-not-95-certain-on-the-yeti