The Power Of Genetic Engineering

A must see...talking about the production of biofuels as well as antibiotics:

A Homophobic Military

Find out how a homophobic military may be partly to blame for 9/11, and more:

The Chemistry of a Kiss

Yesterday I informed you all about the possible anti-depressive properties of semen; today I will enlighten you regarding the chemistry of your saliva, or to put it more poetically, the science of a kiss.

If you think about it, kissing is a gross behavior - essentially spitting in each others mouth. Because of this, and because we are not the only species to engage in such vile behavior, it is reasonable to believe that there is a reason this behavior has been conserved. So, if you've ever liked someone...that is until you kissed them, there may be more to it than technique (or lack thereof). And furthermore, there may be a reason men are generally considered bad kissers.

The reason may have to do with the fact that, similar to sperm, saliva contains hormones, as explained by Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist who is a Research Professor and member of the Center for Human Evolution Studies in the Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University and Chief Scientific Advisor to the internet dating site, Chemistry.com:

"There's evidence that saliva has testosterone in it, and there's also evidence that men like sloppier kisses with more open mouth," Fisher said. "That suggests to me that they are unconsciously trying to transfer testosterone to trigger the sex drive in women."
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And there may be more to this chemical assessment than just kissing, Fisher said. "I think kissing is the tip of the ice berg. I think we'll find that all kinds of other chemical systems are in play that we don't know about."

Fisher says she has found from other scientists' research and from her own analysis of statistics on 40,000 people on the dating Web site Chemistry.com that there are four dimensions of temperaments, or biologically based traits, and each is associated with different chemical systems in the brain: Dopamine is associated with traits like novelty seeking, risk taking, curiosity and creativity; serotonin was linked to calm, caution, cooperation, loyalty, and tradition; testosterone with decisiveness and emotional containment; and estrogen lumped together with oxytocin was linked to nurturing, patience and social skills.

"It now appears that we are drawn to people with particular biological profiles," she said. And the kiss may be how we assess someone's profile."
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Neuroscientist Wendy Hill thinks it also plays a role in pair bonding. Now doesn't that sound more romantic?

Maybe, but she studied this idea by asking college-aged couples to do the decidedly unromantic act of making out for 15 minutes in a lab room at the campus infirmary. By comparing blood and saliva samples from before and after the kissing sessions, she discovered that cortisol, a hormone involved in stress, went down in both men and women. Interestingly, kissing boosted the mens' level of oxytocin, which has been linked to pair bonding, but the level dropped slightly in women.

Hill suspects that despite the flowers and music she provided, this could be because the college health center is where the students go when they feel sick, not sexy, which may affect women more than men.

I'm not so sure I agree with her assessment of why men like sloppier kisses (and not even sure I agree that we do), but for more, check out the full article at Wired Science. And check out this interview from the Colbert Report with Helen Fisher, talking about the science behind chemistry.com:

The Invention of Air

If you have any interest in American history or biology and evolution this interview is a must see (there's even something for you theologians!). Extremely interesting, and Colbert actually lets the guy talk.

Mark Bittman on the Colbert Report

We discussed his blog in class the other day, and the interview (about his book, Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating) is actually less about food and more about conservationism - e.i. the effect of what you eat:

And he only talks about half of the story - it also takes a lot more energy to feed a family of four meat than it does to feed that same family with agricultural crops.

"That's not good"

2/3 of Americans can't name the 3 branches of the gov't, but 3/4 can name at least one American Idol judge! What a sad fact. Find out more from Sandra Day O'Connor in this interview with John Stewart:

Isn't she just awesome? She reminds me of my Grandmother.

Here is the rest of the interview in case you're interested:

The Politics of Science

Here is a great interview from The Daily Show yesterday with Harold Varmus, nobel prize winner, former director of the NIH, and a co-chair on the Council of Advisers on Science and Technology for Obama. Varmus explains the political side of science, very interesting and informative - including an explanation of how Bush set back progress in science, and how the financial meltdown will affect the future of science.

Hunter and Conan Do Art

Check out this hilarious, one-of-a-kind interview with Hunter Thompson in his natural element.

Steven Pinker On The Colbert Report

Below find two interviews with the author of The Stuff Of Thought and an essay, "My Genome, My Self," that I blogged about recently (Click HERE or picture above to link to post). You should definitely check them out, both hilarious and informative.