Merry Christmas All!

 

Merry Christmas 2019 version

Do people act like their cars?

I've heard a lot about people looking like their pets.  Apparently there has even been some studies on it.  (It's pseudoscience, but science is still in there somewhere.)  But do people act like their cars?

I've had my car for seventeen years now.  Every time I start to think about replacing it, I get nostalgic ... and start to think about how nice it as been not to have a car payment.  However, in its old age, it is starting to show its true colors.

It is no secret that I don't like the cold.  I spent the majority of my childhood in the western desert, quite a bit of that in St. George, Utah.  If the temperature dips below seventy degrees Fahrenheit (that's 21.1 Celsius for those across the pond and 294.3 K for the physicists out there) I will start to shiver. 

Why does this matter, you may ask?  Well, my car has started to protest being used in the cold weather by lighting the "brake" light.

Okay, maybe this is less of people acting like their cars, and more cars acting like their people.

Happy Chemistry Week!

In honor of national Chemistry week, here is the next installment of Ellis news!

I hope everyone has a fun filled week, and don't forget the science!  And, I promise, we will get back to a Christmas release at some point!  (Spoiler alert .... it probably won't be this year.)

And here is how it starts

The internet is renaming animals, all because of a poll to name a research boat.  Check it out here for what the "Boaty McBoatface" inspired taxonomists have come up with.

Obscure holidays

So, apparently today (April 7th) is a world wide "No housework day" holiday. 

Did you know this?

If I were you, I think that I would stay away from hotels tomorrow.  Maybe even give the cheaper hotels a five mile radius, just to be on the safe side.

There's a day for everything!

Happy Pi day (a little late)

Did that seriously just happen?!

My oldest turns three in May.  She is beautiful, smart, resourceful, funny, and stubborn.  That last quality has had her on and off the potty training wagon for almost a year and half.  These past few months, however, it has really been clicking.  So, this week we took the daytime diapers away.  When she is awake, she has to wear underwear.

This hasn't been too much of a big deal to her, until tonight ... when she had to poop.  She asked for a diaper. ... "Only babies wear diapers during the day." ... You could see the response in her eyes "that's ok.  I'll just hold it until I get a diaper." ... Only she couldn't.

After a rocky start, she had success!  She repeatedly apologized for not pooping in her diaper.  It took three tries, but I finally got her to understand that the potty chair is supposed to hold poop and potty.  Once she understood that, she was very proud of her success.  She needed to show it to dad.  "Daaaad!  M has something that she wants to shoooow yooooou!!"

A victory dance later, we were in the bathroom, ready to flush her poop.  She wanted to wave goodbye to it ... and blew it a kiss.  She wanted to give it a snuggle ... but changed her mind when she learned that it would leave poop on her dress.  We eventually flushed it, so it could go on the "slide" to the sewer.  (I really don't hope that comes back to bite me.)

Once everything was cleaned up, we celebrated with some pop rocks.  The smile on her face when she figured out that chewing them makes them pop louder was absolutely priceless!

Has SIDS been demystified?

I found this article and thought it was pretty cool.  If you would like to read it for yourself, you can find it here.

A study was conducted by the Rhode Island department of health that connected SIDS to a particular type of inner ear damage.  What that study concluded was that babies with this type of inner ear damage have a hard time waking up when they experience a build up of carbon dioxide in the body.  Since they don't wake, they don't shift positions or cry and the carbon dioxide continues to build until they suffocate. 

Side note:  A build up of carbon dioxide will occur anytime you are not breathing normally.  This includes any time you have a cold, are too hot (so your body pants to cool down), or your nose and mouth are partially blocked (head under covers, arm in front of face, etc).  Normally it is not a big deal.  You will either take a deep breath or move and the problem is solved.

A pediatric anesthesiologist took that study and went a little further.  He damaged the inner ear of some mice in a similar manner to what the study found.  He then lightly put them to sleep using anesthesia.  The mice which had their inner ear damaged were more difficult to wake up than mice without the damage.

He is currently seeking funding for the next step.  He has test he hopes will detect this inner ear damage, and identify babies that have a greater risk for SIDS.  He would like to use it as part of the newborn hearing test that is routinely done to see if the test is able to identify the babies that have a larger than normal SIDS risk factor.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

I'm not crazy; the beets were tested.

For years I've told people that beets taste like dirt, no matter how carefully they are scrubbed before cooking.  I finally gave up when I got tired of being told that it was all in my imagination.  Well ... it turns out that science has finally backed me up!  (I knew I liked science.)

If you want to visit the home of this lovely poster, click here.  There, you will find this quote:

"Geosmin is also present in beetroot, and responsible for its earth flavour. Additionally, the presence of geosmin in water can cause an unpleasant, muddy taste."

So, thank you science!  I am officially a little less crazy now!

Periodic Table Song

Hey! There is a new and improved periodic table song!! Check it out and make your inner geek happy.

Goodbye 2013

I've decided to try something new this year.  Instead of making up crazy New Year's resolutions, I am going to share some of my favorite memories of 2013.  So, in no particular order, here are a few of my favorite memories from the past year that stand out tall.

1. The first night we took down M's crib, she slept all night long without waking us up.  When I did wake up, I found my self face-to-face with her, as she stood at the side our bed.

2. One weekend morning, I was trying to squeeze a little more sleep out of the day by hiding under the blankets.  (Nick had gotten up with M and was getting her breakfast.)  M comes into our room and sees me hiding in bed ... promptly yells "RAWRRRR!" and runs out of the room.

3. The first time I put bubbles in M's bath, she absolutely refused to get in it.  She insisted that the tub be completely drained (and rinsed out) before being filled again.  It took me three days ... and getting in with her ... to get her to take a bubble bath.  Then, for the next three weeks, she refused to take a bath unless it had bubbles in it.

4.  These first steps at home:  (Sorry for the video quality, cell phones don't take the best video.)

5. At the Ellis family reunion, Nick and I left M with the grandparents and various cousins, aunts and uncles and went on a date.  We saw Star Trek and bought new shorts.  Nick chose kaki and I got camouflage.  That night at dinner (I was wearing my new shorts) I heard a girl in line behind me say "She's wearing camouflage, and she's a girl." .... I really am sorry for whoever's point I ruined, but it was all I could do at the time not to start laughing.

Merry Christmas!!

I know you all have been eagerly awaiting this year's Christmas letter.  Now the wait is over!!

 Here it is, for your reading pleasure ... and hopefully it doesn't make anyone wish that they owned a canary!!

As last year, clicking on the letter will open it up large enough to read.

The mixing of molten metal and ants

I have always loved Chemistry.  It makes so much sense to me; I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else.

However, this video is enough to make me think twice about Entomology.  Enjoy!

A Novel Approach to Science

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when it comes to video/computer games or gamers? I was curious so I did a poll at work.  The answers were, in no particular order: Dungeons & Dragons, Teenagers, Atari, and Mario Brothers. 

Hua?  Doesn't it seem odd to you that Molecular Biochemical research didn't come up? 

Apparently a research group at the University of Washington was having some trouble coming up with the 3D structure for an enzyme that they were studying (for the full article, click on this link).  They decided to turn it into a video game on the web and let the gamers at it.  It took them less than ten days to find the lowest energy (aka the optimal) structure.

I guess mom isn't always right.  Clearly video/computer games were not a waste of time for these guys.

Happy Hamster Dance!!

Do Da Dee Da Do Da Dee Do.  Do Da Dee Dee Do!

A few years ago, I picked up a book that looked mildly interesting.  After reading it, I knew that Nick would love it too.  So, we read it together. 

It was such an awesome book!  Nick found the author's blog, and we learned that a sequel was in progress.  That made me very happy, but the author said he was taking it slow.  Periodic checking revealed that the movie rights had been sold.  I was excited for a movie, but was sad for the inevitable slow down for the sequel.

Today, I checked the blog again.  And ... the sequel comes out THIS January!!!!  Another reason to look forward to Christmas!

For those of you who want to read the book, it's called Ms. Perigin's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs.  I highly recommend it.

Honesty in Science

This is awesome!  You should totally check it out.

http://runt-of-the-web.com/best-overly-honest-methods

Thinking Outside of the Box

Boy, those phisers are getting more creative all the time.  I found this little gem in my inbox this morning.  I almost hate to delete it ... almost.

Toxic belly bugs!!  I love it!