Notes for April 19th

• I have a lot going on right now, so posts may be sporadic.
• Sometimes I link to the big picture articles, articles that discuss the fundamental nature of the universe.  Other times, we just want to know why the damn dog is constantly pushing its food bowl around.
• The spill-over effect in conservation means that areas around a conserved area may also benefit (essentially).  I don't buy this for tourist driven terrestrial systems (unless they are also extremely isolated), but marine systems?  Apparently there's some evidence this is legit.
• Genetically modifying rice to increase the amount of iron.  The problem, as I see it, is that iron is strictly regulated by humans to reduce the risk of bacterial infections (i.e., bacteria in the human body are often iron limited).  So...I'm not sure how much of a problem iron deficiency is, I guess.
• Tasers are not good things.  There are a handful of case studies documenting the negative effects of tasering people.  For obvious reasons, the manufacturers of tasers have consistently denied that their products cause any lasting harm.  Color me skeptical.  Here's an interesting discussion of the whole issue and a recent paper that concluded minimal effects (despite the evidence), probably because they were being paid by:  Taser manufacturers!