Why Are We Not Allowed to Question Climate Science?

Have you ever noticed that when you are skeptical of climate change debating points that you are immediately called into check, called ignorant or uneducated? Why is that? Why are we told to question authority and learn to think for ourselves but forced to have climate science shoved down our throats? You see, personally, I question everything, isn't that what we are supposed to do, and when someone gives an answer which doesn't seem to jive we should ask more questions, not merely go to Google Search to read NEWS Articles, or hope to find what we are looking for. After all, often the reality is somewhere buried under a load of debris.

Okay so, perhaps like you, I know when something smells rotten, and human science has been hijacked, distorted and I wonder if we can ever trust it again. Adding fuel to the fire doesn't do any good, or CO2 from wildfires, caused by lightning and now we are told the lightning will increase therefore we can count the CO2 from wildfires as also caused by human activity, it never ends and seems there is an abundance of BS out there. Most recently, we even have people now telling us that "Inequality" is caused and will increase due to Global Warming -- which used to be defined as mankind's CO2 causing climate to warm -- but they've conveniently changed definitions, arguments or whatever to keep it going, keep the funding, and keep climate soldiers out here online shouting down any reality check which comes forth. Now it's not called Global Warming any longer - they call it climate change which no one can legitimately deny because the climate is always changing.

One thing that concerns me about "The Data" used to prove this theory correct is that the distribution of temperature sensors is skewed with too many sensors near urban heat islands. I think this is well-known and they are trying to correct the problem. Satellites can do it best. One important satellite to do this was lost on launch a couple years ago, it was to give us more accurate readings, since then NASA has put up another satellite, in conjunction with NOAA.

We are told that the temperatures have risen so far.8 degrees in 150-years, but you see there were not sensors everywhere back then, and yes we are correcting a problem that was considered to make the data questionable within the last 15-years. Then we will have data moving forward to see if the Earth is really warming up everywhere or if it is happening regionally, or changing the weather distribution. We should also be able to tell if it is from humankind's pollution distribution based on where the trade-winds and normal weather flows put that pollution. Think on this, Sincerely, Lance

26 November 2014 | Latest NewsScientists observe 'force field' protecting Earth from electron damage: 26 November 2014 | Latest NewsHelp researchers hunt ...

Depyrogenation of Equipment in Sterile Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Depyrogenation means the removal of pyrogens from pharmaceutical equipments. Pyrogens are substances that cause fever. Both exotoxins and endotoxins may be pyrogens, but the most common pyrogens are typically endogenous to their hosts, hence, they are mainly endotoxins. Endotoxins are principally lipopolysaccharide (LPS) molecules that form part of the bacterial cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria, and which are usually released following bacterial cell lysis. After they are released, the endotoxins become pyrogenic when they access the bloodstream or tissues where they are not typically found.

Depyrogenation of equipment in sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing helps to reduce the risk of contaminating pharmaceutical preparations with pathogens, and improves the safety of medicinal products.

Maximum Acceptable Endotoxin Level:

For endotoxins to cause fever, they must reach a certain critical number inside the bloodstream or tissue. Therefore, when sterilizing pharmaceutical equipments to remove pyrogens, the degree of sterility is measured in terms of the endotoxin levels. Nonetheless, the molecular weight of endotoxins usually varies a huge deal (from 10,000 to 1,000,000 Da) and so the acceptable level is measured in terms of endotoxin units (EU). A single endotoxin unit (EU) is approximately equivalent to 100 picograms (pg) of E. coli lipopolysaccharide. However, humans can experience fever when they are exposed to as low as 5 EU/kg of body weight, and the symptoms may also include increased heart rate, low blood pressure and low urine output. In fact, even very minimal quantities of endotoxins in the bloodstream can be fatal.

Depyrogenation of equipment in sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing should help to minimize the amounts of pyrogens that can access injectable drugs through equipments. The maximum permissible levels of endotoxins in drugs should be 0.25-0.5 EU/ml for sterile water (depending on intended use), 5 EU/kg body weight for non-intrathecal drugs, and 0.2 EU/kg body weight for intrathecal drugs. Before removing the pyrogens, detection methods such as rabbit test and Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) test are used to ascertain the presence of pyrogens.

Depyrogenation Methods for Pharmaceutical Equipments:

Depyrogenation of equipment in sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing is a critical part and assured by the quality control department. All the instruments that are used in the analysis of endotoxins should be depyrogenated in order to boost the accuracy of results. For instance, test tubes and other supplies (accessories) are usually depyrogenated using Dry Heat Sterilizer (DHS) at 300ºC. Vials should also be depyrogenated using depyrogenating tunnel at a dry heat level of 300ºC. Glass vials for pharmaceutical processes should be depyrogenated using a combination of the temperature of chamber and belt-speed. Pharmaceutical equipment change parts, bung and other accessories should be washed using water for injection (WFI) before being sterilized in the autoclave. Then, the rinse water for the change parts and bungs should be analyzed for endotoxins in order to confirm the removal of pyrogens. Due to the size of endotoxins, ultra-filtration is often used to perform size-based depyrogenation.

However, because of the difficulty in selecting the most appropriate membrane, the method is preferred only when the pyrogens have a weight of 300,000 Da and larger. Depyrogenation through distillation benefits from the heat stability and large molecular weight of the endotoxins. Equipments are purified using low molecular-weight solvents, which are boiled to vaporize before the condensed vapor is collected in an endotoxin-free vessel. Depyrogenation is also accomplished through acid-base hydrolysis, oxidation, sodium hydroxide, and anion and cation exchange chromatography.

Hydraulic Fluid: Why It Matters

The aerospace industry has revolutionized the way we travel, transport goods and explore the outer limits of Earth. With that being said, the many vital components for functionality in any kind of aircraft are extremely important because of obvious reasons. Just like any other type of machinery, hydraulic fluid is a key aspect in the proper function of various components like aircraft flight control systems. With that being said, not all fluids are the same. For an example, a car and a truck are completely different vehicles which means a certain type of hydraulic fluid can be completely different than another.

Many fluids are formulated in different ways, therefore they work differently and have properties that are not the same. For instance, some fluids are made to be biodegradable so it does not harm the environment and others have special properties that make them fire resistant. Fire resistance is one of the most important properties in these types of fluids because they work with mechanical components that heat up and cause friction. Fire resistant hydraulic fluid is typically the number one liquid used by aerospace manufactures because it lessens the chance of harm.

However, it can also be designed to work with water reciprocating piston pumps to provide effective protection against corrosion, rust and microorganism growth. There are many uses for hydraulic fluid like in lifts, power steering systems, hydraulic brakes and even garbage trucks. How do you think that mechanical arm picks up dumpsters and crushes garbage? The fluid is vital for proper function and it helps components that work under high pressure operate properly.

For years, chemical manufactures have been improving hydraulic fluid for increased safety, effectiveness and eco-sustainability. Only a few manufactures produce such high quality fluids and if you are in need of some, you should conduct research on the manufacturer to make sure you get the best product on the market. Finding the balance between price and performance is key and when you combine the two, you will end up with the best solution for your needs.

Learning about the 'behind the scenes' components may shed light on to other things you may not have thought about. The proper use of hydraulic fluid may be just as important as the design of the aircraft. Think about it: without it, how could it properly operate and function? Those small and overlooked components serve a huge purpose.

My Search For The Truth - Part 6 - Does The Soul Exist?

I'll begin my analysis by making the premise that the soul and the brain are two separate entities. And to be clear, the current scientific establishment does not see it that way. Of course their contention is based upon evolution and has nothing to do with God. If you do not believe in God, then the soul - or mind - must have just evolved and is fully integrated with the brain. After all, if we can't see the soul, then it must not exist. It's just that simple. But is it?

If you look at the brain as being a complex biological computer, containing over 30 billion cells, then certain aspects of human or animal instincts and functioning can be included in the programming. On the other hand the human aspects of awareness, original thoughts and emotion, are much different. How can a computer be aware of itself, or have the emotions of achievement, appreciation for music and beauty, being in-love, grief for a loved one, or hope? The high speed calculating capabilities of a computer have little meaning if not guided by an inquisitor. For all intents and purposes the brain is a just a physical housing for interconnected neurons, that perform according the way they are programmed. As the computer/brain matures and alters its behavior because of encounters with the physical world, it is in effect adjusting to its environment and memories of past events - a form of artificial intelligence or self learning. It is not beginning a process of developing the feelings of achievement, love, and hope.It is my opinion that no self learning computer, regardless of how sophisticated, can ever attain this capability. Although computer based memories of encounters with the physical world, and learned subjects, are the data base for thinking and reasoning, they don't formulate the questions.

Consider this, if the mind is reduced to being a computer -- the physical brain -- feelings become chemical reactions, beautiful objects become light waves, and beautiful music is nothing more than vibrating molecules. How can a computer feel what it is analyzing? Is being in-love just a chemical reaction or is it something else? Is it the soul that is causing this emotion? What about decisions that you make? Are your decisions predetermined by a computer program, or do you have a free will to make a choice? If you have a free will to make a choice, then you can override the computer's decision. If your decisions are controlled by computer analyzed physical events, then you do not have a free will at all. What is the process that allows you to override the computer? Is it a soul?

Let's look at the soul and brain another way. I believe that the soul is unique to humans, and that animals do not have a soul. If animals don't have a soul, then how do their brains function? To begin let's assume that animals have instincts and bodily control functions programmed into their brains. In some cases animal instincts are so amazing that they are beyond human comprehension. Fish returning to their spawning location and birds flying south for the winter are mysterious examples of what I mean. Beyond instincts, is the ability to learn and react. Pavlov's dog is experimental proof that some animals can learn to perform in a certain way based upon stimuli. If a dog does something that the owner wants it to do, the dog gets rewarded with food and caring. With enough trials, the dog will repeat the desired action. The dog also connects its owner with food and caring. When the owner goes away the dog appears to grieve. When the owner returns the dog appears to be happy. Does this mean that the dog loves its owner, or is the dog just reacting to stimuli? To put this in human terms, how many times have you seen a male dog fall in-love with a female dog? Does the dog appreciate beautiful music? Does it prefer one color over another? Has it ever created anything? Does it show its owner that it can do new and better tricks than it had been taught? Does it worry about other dogs in its family? Does it exchange ideas with other dogs? Does it teach other dogs what it has learned? Does it have a desire to win a ball game, or does it just like to play ball? Have you ever seen a dog that was embarrassed? Have you ever seen a dog that was jealous? I don't know if this makes my point, but I think you will agree, that humans obviously have something that animals don't have. Is it a soul, or is it something that dogs will acquire if given enough time to evolve? If it is not a soul, then why didn't the evolutionary process favor dogs over humans? If this reverse case had happened, then dogs may have kept humans as pets. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs as pets, but if you believe that dogs are humans that just can't speak, it would be prudent to consider that your love for the animal may be clouding your judgment.

Y Chromosome and DNA Testing

Let's discuss a fundamental piece of basic science; the chromosome, but in particular the function of the why's and wherefore's of the Y. This chromosome is inherited from your father's side, and allows the unravelling of male history. This powerful tool will allow an individual access into their own personal family inheritance, background and where we came from.

Often the term 'I don't know who I am, or where I belong' is partnered with the identity crisis of a person trying to identify their origins. Our DNA is unique to us and individuals, but it also becomes part of a bigger picture of self-identity from who our family are.

DNA is organised into 46 chromosomes, 23 inherited from their mother and 23 inherited from their father. Y-chromosome testing involves the analysis of 17 genetic markers (called STRs) on the Y chromosome to produce a YSTR profile.

In humans, the Y chromosome spans about 58 million base pairs (the building blocks of DNA) and represents approximately 2% of the total DNA in a male cell. The human Y chromosome contains over 200 genes, at least 72 of which code for proteins. Traits that are inherited via the Y chromosome are called holandric traits (although biologists will usually just say 'Y-linked'). It gets complicated, but bear with us.

The Y chromosome is the single largest piece of inherited DNA. Most typically women have two X chromosomes and men have an X and Y. For a female to discover the genetics of a Y chromosome (the line from her Father) she would need to investigate through her brother, as long as he had the same natural parents. The next best line would then be to investigate her father and then any subsequent paternal uncles.

So what is the female counterpart? Mitochondrial DNA. The scientific structures of who we are help define where we belong. And in discovering this, we also discovery our medical histories. Armed with more knowledge than ever before, we can begin to look at how disease began to sneak into our genomes and by looking into our ancestry, scientists such as Vanesa Hayes can use ancient genomes to provide a baseline in helping us understand modern diseases.

Our DNA not only unlocks who we are now, it unlocks who we were in the past and who we could be in the future. Science is a wonder and things can only get better.

My Search For The Truth - Part 7 - Does The Soul Exist? - Continued

Although I used the dog -- in my previous article -- as an example of how the function of animal brains differ from human brains, the evolutionists use primates to make their case. Primates, whether they are apes or chimpanzees, have DNA that is very close to human DNA (Chimpanzees have 55 different DNA sequences out of 986 DNA sequences for humans), and they have similar physical attributes. In my opinion the close DNA only indicates a common designer, and DNA has nothing to do with human emotions, thoughts and reason. On the other hand, an argument can be made for an animal with hands and arms.

Let's assume that a mutation occurred millions of years ago where a primate was born without bodily hair to keep it warm. Because of the instinct for self preservation, having arms and hands would be useful in separating animal skin from a dead carcass and using the skin as a blanket or a form of clothing. Perhaps other animals have had similar hairless or furless mutations, but because of not having hands and arms they were not able to survive, and thus became extinct. Now let's assume that a second similar mutation occurred in the same timeframe and location as the first but was a different gender. The two mutations then mated with each other and produced a new form of hairless primate family. Although this new form of primate had adapted to use animal skins for blankets and clothing, it's still an animal that lived in the same environment and ate the same foods as its predecessors. But, let's be generous and say that these animals evolved differently than their predecessors. For some reason, in order to keep warm, they discovered fire. Perhaps the initial use of fire came when lightning caused a forest fire and the primates had enough intelligence to maintain a continuous flame. Then as time went by they discovered that they could make their own fires. To protect themselves from rain and predatory animals they eventually began to live in caves. When their fire accidentally burned an animal, they discovered cooked meat. Because the primates had hands and arms, they learned that they could defend themselves by wielding a club. Eventually spears, replaced clubs and so on. If all of this is true, then what could have happened in this process that would cause their original animal brains to become human brains with human emotions? Could the driving force be the need to keep warm? After all, their original primate species continued as they were and did not develop human brains over the same millions of years timeframe. Also, their ancestors didn't use their hands and arms to develop and use clubs and spears, or even find a way to initiate and use fire.

Did the above mentioned hairless primate eventually become the Neanderthal who eventually became the predecessor for modern day humans? The probable answers to these questions are beyond the scope of this article. However, the above sequence of events for hairless primates would indicate that they did not become the Neanderthals - at least from an evolutionary standpoint. The Neanderthals, on the other hand, were most likely something very different, since some evidence suggests that Neanderthals had human-like vocal cords, lived in caves, created paintings and sculptures, made tools, played musical instruments, and ritualistically buried their dead. If they had these attributes then Neanderthals are probably not just predecessors to today's humans, they are probably the ancestors of today's humans who lived in caves.

The big question is, how and when did the Neanderthals come into being? Was it a slow process of evolution, like the above mentioned primates, or was it something else? Since radiocarbon dating is known to be accurate for only the past 3,500 years, were the Neanderthals humans and/or hybrid humans who lived in a time period before the flood? While you may think that I am just brushing off a serious scientific discussion, that favors human evolution, consider this. Yes, I am biased toward proving that humans are a special creation of God; but, do you believe that paleontologists, who make the study of human origins their life's work, are less biased in their quest to prove the premise of evolution without God? If not, check out the Piltdown man hoax that was contained in textbooks for more than forty years. Then check out Ramapithecus, Nebraska man, Java man, Peking man, Homo Habilis, and Australopithecines, that were eventually proven to be incorrect data interpretations. The point that I am trying to make is that everything that has been concluded about Neanderthals is surmised based upon the investigators premise and a desire to prove human evolution without God. Other interpretations and conclusions have been discarded by the currently ruling scientific community because of religious implications. Radiocarbon dating of bones, and mitochondrial extraction and interpretation of fossil DNA does not prove the existence of human emotions or the human soul. Cave paintings, stone tools, and musical instruments, while characteristically human, require proof that they were created in the same dated time period as the discovered bones, and ritualistic burials can only be an assumed human attribute. The assumption that a cave dwelling remained untouched for fifty thousand years, is a bit of a stretch. In any event, there are many ways to interpret fragmented data; and since we were not there, we can only surmise.

My Search For The Truth - Part 8 - Does The Soul Exist? - Continued

Rather than use animals or Neanderthals to make my point about the separateness of the soul and the brain, let's examine Star Trek's android - Data. As you may know from watching Star Trek's - The Next Generation - the android, named Data, has superhuman strength and intelligence, but lacks the human attribute of emotion. Data is an advanced computer that can interact with humans and perform extraordinary tasks, but is constantly confused by human emotions such as fear, love, anger, jealousy, and grief.

From a technical standpoint Data would have the senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching, The sense of taste would be closely linked to smell, in that he might have the equivalent of a mass spectrometer that can define elements and through computer interpretation discern the nature of a substance. The capability of seeing might include three dimensional video camera observations of his surroundings that are interpreted as graphically rendered objects. Seeing could also be enhanced to include x-ray vision. With further refinement, the material nature of objects could be identified. Hearing would be in the form of vibrating air molecules, and with further refinement the directionality of sounds could be discerned. Data's body could also include miniature mechanical nano-sensors that would provide the sensation of touch.

Occasionally Data plays poker with some of the crew members. At one point Data throws his cards in when one of the crew members bluffs Data into thinking that the crew member had a winning hand. This confuses Data since the bluff appears to be irrational. When the bluff is explained to Data, he is able to incorporate the play into future poker games. I find this interesting since I have been fascinated by playing scrabble on my computer. The computer not only has access to the entire dictionary, but it also has the capability of employing strategy. While playing the game, I have the feeling that I am playing with another human. However, because the computer has a distinct advantage, I need to select a level of play that suits my competence level. In other words the computer scales back its capabilities to allow me to compete. My question is not whether the computer can beat me at the game, but rather is the computer capable of inventing a game that humans would enjoy? Furthermore, why would it invent a game in the first place? I can't imagine that Data derives enjoyment from playing poker, since he is incapable of the feeling of enjoyment. And, without understanding the feeling of enjoyment, how could it design a game with human enjoyment as the objective.

So while watching Data in his role on Star Trek, consider that he is an extraordinary machine, and not a human. There is no amount of computer programming that will produce original thoughts or human emotions. Could it be that original thought and human emotions come from the soul?

In one Star trek episode Data discovers that his inventor had made another android named Lar, but Lar has an emotion chip. Having human emotions, superhuman strength, and a superhuman brain, Lar decides to eliminate the inferior human species and create others like himself. This is a problem that some people fear today as android invention evolves. However, this fear is ill founded, since it's inconceivable that any inventor could ever produce an emotion microchip. And, without human emotions, that contain evil thoughts, androids would not have a desire to overthrow humans.

The android could be programmed to act based upon a decision tree that endlessly mimics human behavior, but it would not be acting based upon human type emotional feelings. This is an important concept and one worth remembering; and here's why. If you think that androids can be developed with an ability to have emotions and a free will, you would need to mathematically define esoteric terms like love, hate, ambition, self awareness, jealousy, greed, grief, happiness, joy, sadness, curiosity, embarrassment, desire, appreciation, compassion, altruism, fear, enjoyment, intuition, and the emotions of crying, blushing, sulking, and laughter. You would also need to define the process of original thought and reasoned logic. Because these attributes cannot be defined mathematically, they cannot be programmed. If they cannot be programmed, then what are they? Where do they come from? How can they evolve? If human type emotions are merely a form of programmed neuron connections, why can't humans develop the same programming in today's androids?

There's more -- stay tuned.

My Search For The Truth - Part 9 - Does The Soul Exist? - Continued

If all living species developed over a similar evolutionary timeframe, then why are humans unique? Did the emotion of love develop before the emotion of hate, or did all of the human emotions develop simultaneously? How can a brain acquire new characteristics - like emotions, thinking, and reasoning -- if scientifically provable harmful DNA mutations are causing brain degeneration with time (acquiring new characteristics should not be confused with improved brain functioning that may result from environmental influences)!

As previously mentioned, an evolutionist would say that it's just a matter of time when the dog will acquire the missing link in its brain. Really! If so, then we are not just talking about dogs; we are also talking about insects. Will insects become humanlike in time? I don't think so, but this is what you are being told by scientists who believe in evolution of the brain without the influence of God.

My contention is that the brain is nothing more than a biological computer with programming that allows it to have instincts and the ability to learn and adapt. Except for instincts and the existence of life itself, we can fabricate a computer today that learns and adapts, but instinct and biological life remain a mystery. You can be sure of one thing though, and that is that a computer will not have the desire or ability to have an original thought and will not have feelings and humanlike emotions. I concede that a computer can have new thoughts based upon a learned database, but not an original thought. And, what do I mean by an original thought? How about Albert Einstein's theory of relativity? If you think that the theory of relativity could have been derived from computer programming and learning, then the programming and learning would need to include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, image manipulation, and an active imagination. It would need to compile relationships between totally different ideas and derive a new and cogent understanding. And, what would inspire it to have an original thought in the first place? If you believe that this is possible, then you are placing a faith in science that rivals the faith that some people have in their religion.

Then what about reasoned logic? Although one could argue that a computer symbolizes the logic process, it cannot indulge in reasoned logic. If a computer were to be used as a judge in criminal trials, it would most likely look up the law regarding a penalty for a crime and impose the penalty without regard for circumstantial and extenuating circumstances. Since circumstantial and extenuating circumstances require an understanding of motivation, compassion, and other human attributes, the computer would be inadequate for this purpose. My form of reasoned logic is to compile a reasonable number of related facts from which I can form a conclusion. Although my conclusions may be wrong, they are - to the extent possible -- based upon a somewhat unbiased evaluation of both sides of an issue. While some issues can be represented scientifically, mathematically, and historically, many are not. In fact most significant issues - like the theory of macroevolution -- are clouded by misrepresentations and biases on both sides. They are connected to human feelings and beliefs that cannot be deciphered by a computer. Although reasoned logic is an inexact human process it is a human attribute that is not suited to computers. Is it a process derived from a soul?

Scientists are currently examining animal and human brains to determine what makes them tick. They see living cross sectional color renditions of human brain activity, and correlate this activity with emotions and bodily functions. They dissect deceased brains in an attempt to ascertain why some brains behave differently than others. They run tests to evaluate how brains respond to various stimuli. It is almost like they are trying to examine a computer microchip to determine the nature of the program that it is running. While we may be learning more about how a biological computer works, we are probably not ever going to understand the emotional function. While we know empirically that the emotion aspect is there, I don't think we will ever find it.

Probably the most telling of scientific experiments has been to measure weight differences before and after human death. In one instance six patients in a nursing home were wheeled onto a scale just before their death. The scale measured to within one gram, and the results were startling. In each case the weight before death and after death was reduced by an average of 29 grams (454 grams equals one pound). Similar tests have been conducted worldwide with similar results. If you are a scientist, you would have to conclude that something is leaving the body at the time of death. Could this be the soul? Could this be the undetectable invisible ingredient that creates human emotions? To me this test -- although rather bizarre -- is somewhat disappointing since I don't envision the soul as being comprised of matter that has weight. My reasoning is that the soul should not be bound by physical constraints.

The Basic Facts About X-Rays

An X-ray is an electromagnetic wave that is of a very high energy, and a very short wavelength. It can pass through most materials and objects, many of which are opaque to and impenetrable by light. The X-ray consists of photons which are hundreds, or even thousands of times more energetic that the photons of ordinary light. This is why X-rays can go through what light cannot. And by extending that thought a little further, we find that X-rays can penetrate through the flesh, blood and muscles of the human body.

The beginning: How the X-ray was discovered -

Interestingly, the X-ray was discovered by accident. German physicist Röntgen, while experimenting with electrical currents and cathode X-ray tubes, found that a compound of barium glowed even though it was encased in thick cardboard. He did further tests on the X-ray that caused the glow, and since it was not fully understood, it was dubbed as the X-ray, just like how any unknown quantity in mathematics is denoted by an 'X.'

His tests continued, until finally, he managed to discover that the X-ray could pass through human flesh undeterred, and thereby render an imprint of the bone structure. You see, the X-ray could not pass through the bones.

What are X-rays used for?

We are all familiar with the medical uses of the X-ray. Fractures, broken craniums, spinal injuries - you name it, it can be 'seen' with the help of an X-ray. But apart from this, here are some lesser known uses of the X-ray -

• X-ray methodology, known as radiology, can be used for examining paintings to determine their age, brushstrokes, and the techniques used in the painting. This helps in identifying the artist.

• Radiology is used in airport security, to scan through the luggage of passengers arriving and departing.

• X-rays are used in the industrial field as well, to inspect parts such as welds. This concept is called industrial radiography.

• X-rays can also be used for security purposes; to scan through any baggage that is likely to contain suspicious products.

• Radiography can be used not only to study damaged and broken bones, but also to study the movement of bones in a patient. This involves the placement of certain identification marks, and then using the X-ray to study the change in position of the bones over a period of time, with respect to those marks. This kind of radiography is especially helpful for conditions like scoliosis, where the bone is known to change position.

Nothrotheriops in the Rain: A Science Story About Ancient Life in the Grand Canyon

The details of the life of Nothrotheriops in this story are based on knowledge gained from study of the Shasta ground sloth's skeleton, preserved fur, and dung (showing what he ate). It is also possible to extrapolate his basic habits and physiology by comparison with his nearest living relatives, the tree sloths of South America.

Twelve thousand years ago, an ice age was ending. It was late summer, rain streaming down. The southwest monsoon had returned after almost 100,000 years. Nothrotheriops shastensis, the ground sloth, stood in the entrance of a cave that opened onto the Tonto Platform from the base of a limestone cliff. A puddle was filling from a steady drip in the ceiling. The sloth looked out disinterestedly at the overcast day, cool after a hot summer. The sun had peeked out between thunderheads. Swirling sheets of rain in the dark distance became individual falling diamonds in the sunny foreground, and all the rocks and cliffs were wet and glistening. The cave was a shelter, and its entrance room a gigantic brood chamber for the local sloth population. Mountain goats sometimes shared the shelter, which felt warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and always dim and comforting. The floor was soft with thousands of years of pungent dung-balls.

This Nothrotheriops was old for a ground sloth, slower-moving even than most of his slow tribe. He was about eight feet long with his sturdy tail, and he weighed 400 pounds. He was an herbivore. Right now his long tongue was sliding in and out as he tasted his mouthful of bitter joint-fir. He was always chewing, or waddling to his browse, or sleeping. Being a sloth, with a naturally slow metabolism, he was unruffled by the joint fir's heart-stimulating chemistry. Nothrotheriops was a primitive beast related to anteaters and armadillos, members of the Order Xenarthra, which have a reduced number of teeth.

Nothrotheriops was quite safe, the largest animal within Grand Canyon-contemporaneous mammoths and giant sloths were not designed for the steep terrain. The mammoth's chief predator, the saber-toothed cat, was absent as well. While a desperate mountain lion might attack the old sloth, few predators would eat flesh of such a strong odor. Also, Nothrotheriops had formidable claws on its front feet whose slashes could send any cat running, or dying.

The rain poured down, bouncing from the stones and creating a rising mist. Across the Tonto Platform, pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) and juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) trees were winter-pruned to the exact height of Nothrotheriops on his back feet with his long neck stretched out. The underbrush, which he also browsed, was joint fir, yucca, cacti, grasses, and numerous flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants.

He felt hungry, as he usually did while awake. His primitive digestive system was relatively ineffective, requiring him to eat proportionally more forage than the advanced mammals of his world. This took time, and he didn't have much of that, since he required many hours of sleep each day and night. So, walking on his front knuckles and the outside edges of his hind feet, he ambled down the slope to eat. Rivulets of rainwater were soon running down his reddish-brown fur. Between tree trunks, he could see the dark shapes of seven more sloths, four of them pregnant females. Modern female tree sloths, and so perhaps Nothrotheriops, give birth annually, and so they are pregnant for most of the year, often with a young sloth clinging to their fur. The female will abandon these in a few months, when they are big enough to fend for themselves.

Nothrotheriops stopped at a barberry bush (Berberis fremontii) that still had its dark blue berries. He ate the berries and all the youngest foliage he could find. The leaves were prickly and a little too tough for his few worn teeth. Perezia (Acourtia wrightii) and verbena (Verbena macdougalii) grew nearby. Using his prehensile lips, he plucked some of these up before his attention turned to a nice joint-fir (Ephedra viridis), one of his favorites. He didn't mind the rain as long as his body temperature was right. Sloths do not have an efficient temperature regulation system. Was his inability to regulate his internal temperature the cause of his extinction, and all his kind, as the climate warmed and then froze again? Or was it the Clovis people, 12,000 years ago, with their long spears, their fire, and their advanced hunting technology.

Perhaps both climate and humans can share the blame for Nothrotheriops' extinction in another thousand years, but Nothrotheriops didn't know about such things. His feet hurt from his advancing arthritis in the rainy weather, and anyway he felt sleepy, so he returned to his cave for a nap. He paused on the way for a long drink from a stream where fresh rainwater splashed over a rock into a pool. He entered the cave and settled down in the dung blanket. Paleontologists would awaken him in Rampart Cave, in western Grand Canyon, in twelve thousand years.

My Search For The Truth - Part 10 - Does The Soul Exist? - Continued

Here is another scientific investigation related to whether or not the souls exists, and it involves studies of people who have had near death experiences. Oncologist Dr. Jeffrey Long has done just that, and has written a book entitled "Evidence of the Afterlife." For over a decade, Dr. Long cataloged stories from over 1,600 people who have had the near death experience, and concludes that an afterlife must be real. Patients whose heartbeat and breathing had stopped and their brain had ceased to function, tell remarkably consistent stories that are generally lucid and highly organized. Dr. Long states that, "if these people had no brain function, like you have in a cardiac arrest, I think that it is the best model we're going to have to study whether or not conscious experience can occur apart from the physical brain. The research shows that the overwhelming answer is yes."

I find Dr. Long's statement about the brain not functioning to be quite fascinating. I find it fascinating because the skeptics of life after death always attribute the dying conscious or subconscious thoughts to a residual functioning of the brain. But, if there is no brain function, how can this be? My problem with the "out of body experience" is not that the soul leaves the body at death, but it's the claim that the out of body entity is able to see and hear what is going on. Perhaps the soul has a form of sight and hearing that doesn't require eyes and ears as we know them. In any event, Dr. Long's study does support what I have been saying to this point, that the soul is a separate and distinct entity.

Although I am reluctant to include extra-sensory perception testing and evaluation in my discussion to help prove the soul's existence, I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention it. My reluctance comes from my own skepticism, since the physical means by which thoughts are transmitted is not measurable by any known scientific means. But, like trying to find the soul, just because it can't be measured, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. In fact, despite many shortcomings in scientific rigor related to currently available paranormal data, there remains an element of uncertainty that cannot be dismissed at this point in time. I find it interesting that even though the vast majority of scientists do not believe in the paranormal phenomena, because they believe that the data is biased toward the investigators premise, they themselves are guilty of the same bias when it comes to their own premises.

Generally speaking the categories of extra-sensory perception testing are:

1. Precognition - knowledge a person may have of another person's future thoughts or of future events. 

2. Psychokinesis - a person's ability to influence a physical object or event, by merely thinking about it. 

3. Telepathy - a person's awareness of another's thoughts, without any communication through normal sensory channels. 

4. Clairvoyance - knowledge acquired of an object or an event without using the senses.

My opinion is that precognition is not possible because it assumes that future events have already occurred and that the free will of people living in current time cannot influence it. Well known psychic Edgar Cayce claimed that some of his predictions did not happen because people's free will prevented them from happening. I find it difficult to accept this argument since it assumes that all that will happen, has already happened. If this were so, then the our existence and the existence of the universe is like a game that has already been played, but the results keep changing based upon variations of the free wills of the players on the game board. Not only is this line of thinking confusing, it doesn't make sense when viewed from the perspective of purpose. I don't believe that God's purpose is to play a continual never ending game, and that the purpose of human free will is just a form of amusement.

I also don't believe in Psychokinesis, since measurable forces would be required to move objects. On the other hand if subatomic matter had intelligence that could be influenced by the use of access codes, we are into a whole new ballgame.

Telepathy and clairvoyance are not so difficult to dismiss. My own personal experience involved a magician who asked me to think of a playing card. When I thought of the five of diamonds, the magician picked that card out of the deck. I was astonished by this magic trick. How could the magician know what I was thinking? Perhaps there is a good explanation, if I knew how to do the trick, but it's not like picking a card from the deck and the magician guessing the card. This somehow involved my mind. Perhaps subliminal audio messaging or an imperceptive flashed hologram could have influenced my selection of the five of diamonds, but if so, it would be a great form of advertising or group brainwashing!

My thinking on the subject of telepathy and clairvoyance is that current researchers are probably "boxed in" by their effort to find a means of thought transmission. They assume that thought transmission is like radio waves that are transmitted by a sending and receiving source, but what if everything in the universe is somehow interconnected and thoughts are intertwined in a universal web of knowledge. Before you say that this is impossible, consider how radio waves and submicroscopic particles are currently being transmitted through the air and through your body. If this were not so then your radio, television, and cell phone would not work.

My Search For The Truth - Part 11 - Does The Soul Exist? - Continued

In my continuing search for evidence that a soul entity exists, I once watched a television documentary about a "savant" named Daniel Tammet. Daniel had the ability to solve mathematical problems as fast as a calculator. For example, he could solve Pi to an infinite number of decimal places - in one instance 22,514 decimal places. When he was asked how he did it, his answer was that he saw everything as an interconnected web. He claimed to see numbers and words as a landscape of shapes, sounds, colors, and movement. He also implied that everything in the universe is interconnected. Daniel's brain capabilities take the conscious and subconscious mind to a whole new level. Is Daniel Temmet's extraordinary abilities a result of an external link to the soul, or is it just an unusual brain or soul function?

But, let's not leave it there, let's discuss intelligence as it relates to the human soul. While a dog, primate, or android may seem intelligent, it doesn't mean that they have human emotion and intelligence as we know that it is.

To discuss intelligence as it relates to the existence of a soul I'll begin with these very famous words from The United States Constitution, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal." While it is clear that some mortal humans have different mental and physical abilities than others, it's my contention that God made all souls equal in capability, but unique in character. In fact, as mentioned in earlier commentary, I believe that the biblical implication of humans being made in the image of God means the image of the soul rather than the human body. However, mortal humans have brain differences that impose physical and mental limitations that an equally capable and intelligent soul probably cannot overcome - at least until it is released from the body during a physical death. It is also my contention that the soul is capable of developing unique types of intelligences with each unique physical brain --- including people with physical brain damage.

Too many times we judge people based upon their intelligence test scores, however, these tests tend to only measure a certain type of intelligence. It has been my observation that people with high intelligence test scores tend to be lacking in other areas of human intelligence - especially common sense. It is rare to find someone who, "has it all," but many have varying degrees of it all. So for an equally intelligent soul having to interact with brain differences, posses some challenges. In other words, the soul must deal with the hand that it is dealt. In some instances a person with a severely damaged or unusual brain type, may have remarkable capabilities. These people are sometimes referred to a savants - like Daniel Tammet. However, in most cases the ancestral history of a person determines their brain differences. As a result it appears that God has accommodated physical brain differences in a way that tends to level the playing field for mortal humans. In the process of leveling the playing field, intelligence can be broken down into more than one type.

Psychologist Dr. Howard Gardner claims that there are nine types of intelligence, but I believe that there are more. I believe that there are more because the words talent, common sense, intuition, and inclination should also be substituted for the word intelligence. Talent, common sense, intuition and inclination can range from compassion to generosity, and everything in between. But, for specificity I will quote from Gardner's summary of intelligence types:

Naturalistic Intelligence ("nature smart")

The human ability to discriminate among living things (plants and animals) as well as a sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). Typical professions include being a botanist or chef.

Musical Intelligence ("music smart")

The ability to discern pitch, rhythm, timber, and tone. This intelligence enables people to recognize, create, reproduce, and reflect on music. People with this intelligence may become a composer, conductor, musician, and/or vocalist.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")

The ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complete mathematical operations. It enables us to perceive relationships and connections and to use abstract, symbolic thought; sequential reasoning skills; and inductive and deductive thinking patterns. This intelligence is generally associated with mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and detectives.

My Search For The Truth - Part 12 - Does The Soul Exist? - Continued

For most of my life, I have been awed by these words from our constitution, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal." To me, these words imply all humans are created with an equal soul, but the soul needs to deal with different types of physical brains. My rationalization is that our God given soul appears to be capable of accommodating various brain types, in an effort to level the playing field for all humans. To accomplish this, our brains appear to develop different types of intelligences.

In my last article I described three of nine types of intelligences proposed by Dr. Howard Gardner. Here are the remaining six.

Existential Intelligence ("deep reasoning smart")

The sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here. Philosophers generally have this capability.

Interpersonal Intelligence ("people smart")

The ability to understand and interact effectively with others. It involves effective verbal and nonverbal communication, the ability to note distinctions among others, sensitivity to moods and temperaments, and the ability to entertain multiple perspectives. This intelligence is generally associated with salespeople, teachers, social workers, actors, and politicians.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence ("body smart")

The capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. It involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind-body union. Obviously this intelligence is associated with athletes, but could include surgeons, and craftspeople.

Linguistic Intelligence ("word smart")

The ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. It allows us to understand the order and meaning of words and to apply meta-linguistic skills to reflect on our use of language. This intelligence is evident in poets, journalists, novelists, and public speakers.

Intra-personal Intelligence ("self smart")

The capacity to understand one's thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directing one's life. It involves not only an appreciation of the self, but also of the human condition. This is evident in psychologists, and spiritual leaders.

Spatial Intelligence ("picture smart")

The ability to think in three dimensions. Core capacities include mental imagery, special reasoning, image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination - the previously mentioned aspects of original thought. We see this intelligence in sculptors, painters, inventors, and architects.

The reason why I have included the above list of intelligences in this commentary about the soul is to provide further evidence of the uniqueness of humans and the existence of the soul. And, as previously mentioned, it helps illustrate how God may have arranged for souls to level the playing field for mortal humans. However, I believe that intelligence and talent are closely linked. Furthermore I believe that talent, common sense, intuition and inclination are closely linked. A person is usually inclined to do what he or she is good at doing. Thank God for the people who have the talent and inclination to work for Hospice.

Before leaving the subject of intelligence, as it relates to the soul, I want to briefly discuss self image and how the soul can act to change lives. It's called the power of positive thinking or psycho-cybernetics. I consider this to be an important aspect of the soul that is often neglected in making the case for how the soul is separate and distinct from the brain. Stay tuned and I'll explain in my next article.

Some Thoughts About Quantum Entanglement

If I understand the concept of entanglement correctly, it basically means that if you know the state of one thing (via an observation or a measurement) then you automatically know the state (without an observation or measurement) of some other thing. The two things therefore are entangled. For example, if you know for certain that the top card in a standard deck of cards is the six-of-diamonds; then you also know for certain that the bottom card in the deck is not the six-of-diamonds. The cards in a deck of cards are entangled. But that doesn't mean of necessity that there is any kind of communication between the entangled things, or in this case between the top and bottom card in the standard deck.

Many however suggest that until an observation is made, every position in any deck of cards is in a superposition-of-state such that each position in the deck, like top card and bottom card, are simultaneously and equally a mixture of all fifty-two possible card values. When an observation is actually made, the superposition-of-state collapses (or the wave-function of whatever that superposition-of-state represents collapses) and the deck position so observed resolves itself from a mixture of fifty-two to a reality of one (which then tells you what the other deck positions are not so there is an entanglement).

Einstein railed against entanglement on the grounds that the two (or more) entangled things must of communicated with each other because both things were in a superposition-of-state and only an observation or a measurement of one or the other thing would collapse their wave-function and negate their superposition-of-state and since that happen instantaneously, it violated Einstein's speed of light restriction. Einstein was not amused calling that "spooky action at a distance". However, IMHO, Einstein's big error may have to blindly accept that there even was such a thing as superposition-of-state. If there is no such thing as superposition-of-state then there is no such thing as collapse of the wave-function and thus there is no such thing as spooky action at a distance.

Let's look at a few examples.

1) Some Thoughts About Jane.

Say you are Jane's husband and you know that she eats the following for dinner, and only the following for dinner, on these days and only on these days.

Eggs on a Monday; 

Lamb on a Tuesday; 

Beef on a Wednesday; 

Ham on a Thursday; 

Fish on a Friday; 

Poultry on a Saturday; and 

Pasta on a Sunday:

But say you lose all track of time for one reason or another (drinking binge; coma; overseas trip, etc.). In your state of uncertainty, Jane's choice of dinner and what day of the week it is are both in a so-called superposition of state. An observation is necessary to collapse the wave function. If you observe your wife Jane eating fish, well you know it must be a Friday. If you happen to find out it's a Friday, then you know for certain what your wife Jane will have for dinner. Thus, there is an entanglement between your wife's choice of dinner and the day of the week, but there is no communication or spooky action at a distance between Jane or Jane's food and the day of the week. It would be like Jane or Jane's food trying to communicate with something immaterial since the days of the week are just human invention - an abstract mental construction or concept without substance or structure.

2) Some Thoughts About Twins.

Say you and your identical twin start out at some point X and walk in opposite directions. It's well known in the community that one of you always wears a green shirt and the other one of you (your twin) always wears a red shirt (in order to told apart by those you meet and greet). Prior to some third party meeting up with and greeting one or the other of you, were both of you wearing a superposition-of-shirts? Were both of your shirts both green AND red at the same time or were you (and your twin) just wearing either a red shirt OR a green shirt? Its nonsense to suggest that the third party meeting one or the other of you collapsed your superposition-of-shirt wave function and thus there was an instantaneous faster than light communication between your various shirts sorting out who was wearing what colour shirt.

3) Some Thoughts About Electrons

Now what's wrong with this scenario (apart from nothing I mean)? Two electrons in the same 'orbit' get ejected from their parent atom and one is tossed east and other is heaved west. Obviously they are in different quantum states and so one is spin-up and the other is spin-down and thus they are entangled. Light years later and apart, you measure the eastern one and find it is spin-up so you now instantaneously know the other western electron is spin-down, and indeed, the other electron, light years away, is indeed spin-down as verified nanoseconds later by someone else. But there was no communication between the two. There was no spooky action at a distance because it's not a case of the eastern electron being spin-up AND spin-down prior to your interference (observation or measurement) but from the beginning when it was tossed out it was going to be either spin-up OR spin-down (in this case spin-up) and ditto for the western electron - it was spin-down from the beginning quite independently of any observation or measurement.

One needs to ask the obvious question which is what actual observational evidence is there for a superposition-of-state? IMHO there can't be any since by definition apparently any actual observation or measurement destroys the very existence of a superposition-of-state: BOTH collapses into ONE. You only ever observe the ONE, not the BOTH. So, using the principle that's part and parcel of Occam's Razor, wouldn't it be just more straightforward to suggest that there is no such animal as a superposition-of-state and that the observer or the measurement is 100% irrelevant to any state of reality so occupied by two or more entangled things.

In conclusion, if you observe the state of X that might also tell you the state of Y but there doesn't have to be any communication between the two. And while there might be entanglement of sorts or to varying degrees, there is no spooky action at a distance. Those who argue to the contrary and adopt the standard model, well, IMHO never have so many waxed lyrical for so long about so little.

Science librarian; retired.

Reputed Open Access Journals

Open access journals are academic peer reviewed journals that can be accessed easily without any financial or technical restriction. Readers can read and use the information of open access journals without paying any extra fees. Some publishers are known to take fees on behalf of the author, and some are supported by their academic institutions like universities, hospitals, libraries, research center etc. There are many international journals who publish fully accessible high quality articles and journals.

Reputed Open Access Journals

This is a list of some reputed open access journals. Following DOAJ and other directory of journals my recommendation is writers should consider this list and decide where they want to submit their articles.

BioMed Central: BioMed Central is publisher having a good number of peer-reviewed journals related to science, medicine and technology. BioMed published articles are easily accessible on their directory.

Co-Action Publishing: Co-Action Publishing is a publication with having multinational stuff representatives to publish quality peer reviewed journals.

SPRINGER: Springer is one of the world's most renowned STM publishers with having more than 200 Nobel Prize winners between the authors of their journals and books. The company has published more than 2900 journals and 19000o books.

Taylor & Francis Group: Taylor & Francis Group is one of the reputed open access journals for its high quality reviewing facility. The company publishes articles under the Routledge and Taylor & Francis imprints. The new part of this group is Cogent OA.

Cogent OA: Cogent OA is a part of Taylor & Francis Group. The company is reputed for publishing fully accessible peer reviewed articles.

Copernicus.org: Copernicus.org is recognized for publishing high quality peer reviewed journals. They promote scientific works. Therefore, researchers, who are dedicated to this specific subject, can review this publication.

Frontiers: Frontiers is an academic publisher who publishes peer reviewed journals based on science. The publisher was launched in 2007 and has a vision of building an open science platform. "Frontiers" is popular for combining fully accessible publishing with research networking.

Hindawi Publishing Corporation: With having 436 journals, Hindawi is a renowned academic publisher covering great disciplines and academic value. It is a reputed publishing company of scientific, technical and medical related articles.

Karger Open Access: Karger Open Access is a part of Karger Publishers. The publisher is recognized for scientific journals with maintaining high qualities. Journals are peer reviewed and publish in a high editorial standard in Karger.

Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI.): MDPI is an open access platform for publishing peer reviewed scientific journals. MDPI publishes more than 120 journals such as Molecules, the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Marine Drugs, Viruses, Sensing, Toxins, Sensors Marine Drugs, Energies, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Nutrients etc.

Journal of Biometrics & Biostatistics: A leading academic journal with having quality reviewing facility, Journal of Biometrics and Biostatistics is a well known openly readable journal. 

International Network for Natural Science: INNSPUB is a peer reviewed open access journal. The company is focused on publishing scientific journals, research articles, short communications, review paper and books related to natural science, medicine, agriculture, biology and environment. It is recognized in more than 53 countries for fast reviewed publishing facility. INNSPUB is one of the leading reputed open access journals based on their services and activities.

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