Tinkle Trope

After watching several hours worth of medical shows like House, M.D., Scrubs, and Doc Martin I have come to observe a diagnostic trope: If a urine sample is left out or misplaced, it will turn purple and the patient will be diagnosed with a porphyria*.

Considering most hospital labs are not likely to have the necessary tests for porphyria, exposing the urine to UV light to see the color change is not a bad idea per se. Most medical shows; however, have the urine change as a result of dumb luck rather than testing for the disease.  In fact, the title of the Scrubs episode featuring porphyria is called “My Dumb Luck”.  In the US, 1 in 25,000 people have porphyria, so it’s a rare disease and it’s being diagnosed by happenstance on TV.

I was going to link to the clips of various episodes of doctors diagnosing porphyria but I was unable to find the appropriate clips.  Instead, here are Penn & Teller performing a trick on Jimmy Fallon.

*Saying you have porphyria is akin to saying you have cancer.  Like cancer, there are many variations of porphyria (acute intermittent porphyria, congenital erythropoetic porphyria, variegate porphyria, etc) but saying porphyria is generally easier and gets the point across.

Three Cheers For Science

Science Cheerleader breaks the stereotypes of scientists and cheerleaders by demonstrating a scientist can be a sexy, smart cheerleader or a cheerleader can be a smart, sexy scientist.  The spotlight has finally been removed, albeit momentarily, from cheerleaders who don’t know their perineum from their philtrum.  Like the rest of the population it neglects scientists which are geniuses but grotesque.

I’m a fan of the message, but Science Cheerleader just makes me feel even more inadequate.  I have neither cheered for the 76er’s nor earned a prestigious award in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.  Time to make my pom-poms sparkle with nanotechnology.

Got some space junk in your payload bay

The thousands of satellites and other low Earth orbiting objects are cause for concern i.e. they could interfere with other space flights.  To counteract this problem, the Global Aerospace Corporation struck GOLD, or the Gossamer Orbit Lowering Device.

GOLD is a balloon which is affixed to a satellite and then inflated.  It thereby causes the orbit to decay and the satellite to burn in the Earth’s atmosphere.  I am not sure how big of a problem space junk is, or if this is a viable solution, but on the plus side there is finally a use for the leftover Rovers now that Number 6 drove off the island.

Big Bang – Stop making that noise!

A scientist, let’s call him Smalbert Smeinstein, put forth the hypothesis that the universe is not expanding from the Big Bang, but rather space and time convert back and forth in an endless cycle.  Also proposed is that mass and length can be converted back and forth.  The conversion factors, in case you are wondering, are the speed of light and the gravitational constant.

As dictated by the scientific method, there is more to test and there are a variety of issues with hypothesis (e.g. the speed of light not being constant), none the less, it is an interesting notion.  On an unrelated note, $20 says Creationists will use this to suggest there is no Big Bang which created the universe.  On a semi-related note, the Big Bang theme song by the Bare Naked Ladies.

Chemical Love

This song works on many levels.  The levels I appreciate the most are the catchy-yet-scientifically sound lyrics and the ukulele.  Why isn’t there ukulele hero?

Parkinson’s Disease is related to insufficient amount of, and lack of action from, dopamine.

Norepinephrine works with epinephrine (adrenaline) during the fight or flight response.

Species Circular

Who wants to do me a favor?  I would love to get my hands on a copy of Ray Comfort’s edition of On The Origin Of Species.  I know groups of creationists are freely handing out Darwin’s work with a foreword from Ray Comfort on college campuses.  If any one comes across one and is willing to part with it let me know and I shall reward you handsomely.  You do find me handsome right?  Oh, well, in that case I guess I will have to reward you homely.