That's a lot of science...

December 28, 2005 1:12 PM

The Science Corner, a collection of newspaper columns covering assorted scientific topics, authored by two scientists at the University of Guelph in the 80s.
posted by Heywood Mogroot (8 comments total)

There are some good things here for us laypeople...I especially liked "Why Don't Giraffes Have Dropsy?".

The format of the list kind of makes my eyes bleed, though.
posted by feathermeat at 1:32 PM on December 28, 2005

This article on oil recovery states that up to 98% of oil may be left in the ground. DOE seems to agree that a large amount of oil is trapped . No commentary, just interesting.
posted by geoff. at 1:54 PM on December 28, 2005

Holy crap, the "Mexican Radiation Story" is amazing.
posted by mathowie at 2:00 PM on December 28, 2005

Oh wow, some googling reveals how that ended up:

Although the use and transfer of nuclear devices are strictly regulated in the U.S., international sales weren't monitored. In the case of the sale of the Picker 3000 radiotherapy machine, no U.S. laws had been skirted. Brokers were under no obligation to notify Mexico's nuclear authorities or to check into the competence or licensing of the purchaser. The Centro Médico may have violated Mexican regulations when it failed to notify that country's National Commission on Nuclear Safety and Safeguards that it had imported the machine, but no action was ever taken against the Juarez clinic.

In the years since, one worker at the junkyard has died from a rare bone cancer. Others have suffered sterility, skin discoloration, and other disorders. Hundreds of Juarez residents have been tested for radiation poisoning, and at least a dozen have shown chromosome damage.

The hapless Sotelo--who, remarkably, seems to have escaped serious contamination--was arrested in 1990 on theft charges. In the prison where he still awaits sentencing, the guards call him El Cobalto--the Cobalt Man.

posted by geoff. at 2:08 PM on December 28, 2005

At first I was thinking that the layout was going to make it hard to read, but turns out it ain't. Good post.
posted by Citizen Premier at 5:13 PM on December 28, 2005

*obligatory quivering and cheering at a metafilter reference to my hometown*

GUELPH ROCKS!
posted by Hildegarde at 9:25 PM on December 28, 2005

I love snacking on science nuggets.

Just two little bones in the mix: Articles #25 and #166 are marked as "Removed" without further explanation. Some of the articles have several misplaced closing parentheses in them.

Otherwise a yummy post.
posted by GeorgeHernandez at 8:35 AM on December 29, 2005

Nice find!
These bit-sized pieces will make good fodder for the dot-matrix printer I found on the side of the road :-)
posted by flagellum at 8:27 PM on December 29, 2005