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Rosie Washington, our (erstwhile?) Talking Science intern, asked: “What kinds of setbacks should I be aware of and prepare for now?” Great question, Rosie! Ask a dozen people and you will get hundreds, maybe thousands of answers. Hey, Dana, you are in the middle of it, so maybe you will comment from your deeply involved, finger-on-the-pulse point of view. Here are the top 7 most difficult setbacks that I (or one of my friends) weren’t prepared for but wish we were. Some are external, some are internal. Recognize and react to lessen the negative.

Today, humanity is facing a problem of life or death. This problem has been written about, filmed, and taught in science classrooms throughout the country. That problem is climate change. Because of our ever growing population and our vast over-consumption of natural resources, many scientists have warned that our planet may be in peril. I am sure most of you have heard about this planetary issue. I’m sure most of you have thought, “I hope we can save our planet.” I would like to say right now, …

The underdeveloped world, at a glance, appears hampered by its lack of modern technology and infrastructure. However, that is only at a glance. In the poorest crevasses of Africa or the most isolated quarters of the Far East, some people have been spinning a web of new ideas and innovations. Just remember what young inventor Hugo Van Vuuren says: “If it works in Africa, it works everywhere.” I found out how right Van Vuuren is when I went to the 2010 World Science Festival’s Modern MacGyvers: Innovations for a Developing World, held at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Modern MacGyvers showcased a series of inventions that not only makes a substantial

We all know that feeling- from running too far, too fast. Or from pedaling a bike up a hill really hard. (If you don’t, you might want to get out more….) That nauseating feeling in your muscles that makes you stop and lingers for a short while is due to the build-up of lactic acid, which is simply a byproduct of the muscular metabolic process.
Muscle contraction begins with a signal from your brain, which propagates through your nervous system and causes the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at the neuromuscular …

Greetings Dear Reader,
Today is Earth Day, one of the few holidays I actually take seriously. Yet at the same time, it is also a holiday that I find is ridiculous that we need have in the first place. Everything comes from the Earth. Everyday we pillage for its resources, not just for our survival, but mainly to support our lifestyle, a lifestyle of excess and consumption. A lifestyle that is nothing more than a perversion of the American Dream and by consequence inhibits the survival of others and sucks the …

Greetings Dear Readers,

I understand that this is a funny headline for a science blog. But unfortunately we live in very politically volatile times. Although ideally science should be kept far, far, far away from the soap opera with a trillion dollar budget that is American politics, the reality is that politics and science are very much intertwined. Without the votes of our elected officials, there would be no funding for important and revolutionary projects like RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, …

Greetings Dear Readers,
If you live anywhere within continental United States, you are no doubt informed of the rippling snowstorm spreading across the country. Some citizens even experiencing snow for the first time, like many Texas residents who had the pleasure of receiving a whole foot of the stuff dumped on to their unsuspecting roads and houses. In Washington, DC, where I live the majority of the year, we experienced the worst snowstorm in 200 years. A storm powerful enough to shut down the roads, metro, schools and even the United …

No one likes taking tests. Unless you are really well prepared and know the answers to all of the questions. And then it can be fun as an affirmation of your hard work, perseverance, and mastery of the material.
My first big, important, life-changing test occurred in the 8th grade. The DATs—tests to help you figure out what career you might be good at. Don’t remember what the “D” stood for. On this 6 part test, I scored in the 99th percentile in spatial relationships, mechanical thinking, …

This blog, Like Mother, Like Doctor, was created in response to questions asked by Talking Science’s 2009 summer intern, Rosie Washington. Her project: to search for answers to her dreams. She contacted me after reading my blog and with help from executive producer, Ann Marie Cunningham, and the essential input of my daughter Dana Greenfield, this blog was born!
So while Dana is off with younger sister Becca exploring the beauty of Big Sur, CA, during their winter break, I will tackle the first of the many great questions …

The first series of posts contained one argument for the existence of dark matter. The response from my mother among others was tentatively positive, although most comments seemed to agree that I was perhaps going a bit too fast with the math and trying to pack too much in (my beloved sister has weighed in with a somewhat more negative opinion for which I thank her with all the fraternal feeling I can muster). I take the point that this blog may need more romance and less dry insistence, and …