- dollar bearing in the gearcasing failed, at a point where parnelli had almost a lap in hand on his nearest rival, aj foyt – and that was after spinning earlier in the race and having to claw his way back through the field. the last - gasp loss didn ' t help easing up usac ' s stance. horrified by silent sam ' s domination it changed the 1968 rules to further strangle the turbine ' s inlet area to 15, 399 sq in, bringing down its output to around 450 hp. this is testimony to the complete package of his cars, granatelli said in 2000, when asked about this tumultuous era of indy racing : " contrary to popular belief, the turbine car did not have a lot of power. it only had 480 horsepower while the other cars had 750 horsepower. but what the car did have was the ability to go along the corner anywhere on the track you wanted to put it. under the groove, in the groove, under the white line, out in the gray stuff, it made no difference. the car could go wherever you pointed it. " the howmet tx sports car the howmet tx continental sports car was conceived concurrently with the stp - paxton indy car, but made its debut one year later, as it was campaigned extensively in 1968. the original car, chassis 01, was built up from a mckee can - am car, with cars 02 and 03 specifically built for the turbine engines. the continental ts325 - 1 helicopter engine, its calculated equivalent of 2958cc producing an approximate 330 hp, drew from a center - mounted fuel tank carrying 32 gallons of jet a fuel. it was designed for the fia group 6 3 - litre prototype class through the sponsorship of the howmet corporation of america, a metal company working as a large subcontractor to the aircraft turbine industry. the man with the vision was sportscar racer - cum - engineer ray heppenstall, who convinced his racing pal tom fleming, a board member at howmet, to start a publicity - gaining racing programme. as such the howmet - continental tx was entered for the world sportscar championship in the days it was still covering such glamorous events as the daytona 24 hrs, the sebring 12 hrs, the 6 hr events at brands and the glen, the targa florio, the 1000 km events at the ‘ ring, monza and spa, and the austrian sportscar grand prix. the lotus 56 : indy, again the


12 hrs, the 6 hr events at brands and the glen, the targa florio, the 1000 km events at the ‘ ring, monza and spa, and the austrian sportscar grand prix. the lotus 56 : indy, again the new - for - 1968 air inlet rules called for a lighter car than the heavy stp - paxton, and granatelli found an ally in colin chapman, who had been watching the turbine development with great interest. in a meeting of two of the most innovative minds in world motor racing, the pair matched an uprated pratt & whitney st6b - 70 engine to the lightweight wedge - shaped lotus 56, with sponsoring coming from stp. here it is seen at its presentation at hethel, with graham hill rolling out the car under chapman ' s watchful eye. the engine placement in the 56 was also offset – this time to the right, in order to make space for the 4wd drivetrain on the left – but this was covered up by the car ' s broad appearance. front and rear suspension used inboard spings and dampers, while the cockpit had a very finished and modern look. through a morse chain the turbine ' s output shaft connected to a ferguson centre diff behind the driver ' s left shoulder. this was a development coming over from ferguson ' s road - car technology. the chain replaced the paxton transfer gears, which had been the stp - paxton ' s achilles heel. but before the race was on, the team was struck by double tragedy. first, jim clark died at hockenheim. and then mike spence, the brm number two lured over by chapman to drive the 56 at indy, was killed in a practice crash. it didn ' t stop the team ' s eventual driver trio from occupying the first two places and ninth on the grid, with joe leonard and graham hill upfront and art pollard on the fourth row. although hill spun into the wall on lap 111, the turbines looked all set for a reprieve of 1967, only to come in for more heartbreak right at the end. having been through one caution period to many, the leading leonard car broke a fuel pump shaft on lap 192, with pollard ' s machine doing likewise only seconds later. what had happened? the drivers had been running at reduced power under yellow, and when they floored the throttle when the green was waved, the sudden load caused the extension shaft in the fuel pumps of both cars to snap. this was the result of pratt & whitney insisting on the heat


been running at reduced power under yellow, and when they floored the throttle when the green was waved, the sudden load caused the extension shaft in the fuel pumps of both cars to snap. this was the result of pratt & whitney insisting on the heat - sensitive shafts carried over from their passenger aircraft engine technology. these would fail - safe under overheating and this proved their undoing during the yellow - flag periods. before the race, this had been the subject of, let ' s say, intense discussion between lotus and p & w, with the eventual compromise that hill ' s car would run with a solid shaft and the two americans ' cars with the original ones. if only hill had been running to the end … so, another narrow miss, and yet the usac rules committee stepped in again. they ' d seen enough, the turbines had to go. in hot - blooded italian fashion granatelli started off a trial of lawsuits, which took the warring parties to the high courts, with the sporting authority coming out unharmed for the plain reason that it chose not to follow the rules committee ' s lead of banning turbines outright. instead usac cunningly slammed another restriction on the turbines. short from actually banning them this rendered them useless for any further attempts at winning indy. at the end of 1969, the death knell was further tightened by usac ' s ban on four - wheel drive, as this technology wasn ' t held to be " within the mainstream of automotive development ". oh, what poor vision … this meant an effective ban on turbines, too. this was precisely granatelli ' s accusation of usac – that they had banned 4wd as a front to get rid of the turbines. he was probably right. lotus 56b : grand - prix swan song it was probably the form the 56s showed during the rest of the 1968 season – on usac road courses! – that convinced colin chapman to give the 56 a try in the grand prix environment. here, four - wheel drive was still alive, probably due to its lack of success in 1969. and so, after having emotionally dealt with the losses of clark and rindt, chapman sprung a major surprise in 1971 by launching the lotus - pratt & whitney 56b. indeed, this was the turbine indycar adapted to f1 regulations, with a 500 - hp p & w stn76 engine. it is said that the bulky 56b was only intended as a testbed for a sleeker turbine challenger to come in 1972, but the fact remains that chapman


to f1 regulations, with a 500 - hp p & w stn76 engine. it is said that the bulky 56b was only intended as a testbed for a sleeker turbine challenger to come in 1972, but the fact remains that chapman ' s driver diplomacy went awry in the same fashion as in 1969, when his beloved jochen rindt had publicly decried the lotus 63 4wd car. this time, it was fittipaldi and wisell who took every opportunity not to drive it. and why would they when they had a totally sorted 72, now at its peak, waiting for them? this resulted in young aussie dave walker taking the role that john miles was forced into with the 63 – a junior driver being thrown into the deep end of developing and debuting an unloved car based on a revolutionary concept. granted, the team ' s lead driver drove the 56b on its true debut, but this was a non - championship event that could be used for development without any harm. moreover, emerson left brands hatch seriously underwhelmed by the car ' s potential in the dry. this was borne out by wisell ' s poor performance at silverstone and by fittipaldi at monza, taking a black - and - gold liveried " world wide racing " 56b ( the italian investigation into jochen rindt ' s death still in full swing ) to the only finish ( 8th ) in its short career. in chapman ' s mind it was an opportunity wasted. he blamed the weight and complexity of the car and wanted to pursue a rear - wheel drive version. in other people ' s minds the wet - weather performances had all come because of the four - wheel drive, no thanks to the turbine. we will probably never know. in 1972 lotus had a serious stab at the world championship and all efforts were directed to helping emerson win his first title. and so, monza ' 71 was not just the last we ' d seen of four - wheel drive in f1, it was also the turbine ' s grand - prix swan song. 8w, part of forix. autosport. com, is a motorsport history portal. the site covers the " drivers, cars, circuits, eras and technology that shaped the face, sounds and smells of motor racing. " this story originally appeared on 8w in slightly longer form on may 19, 2003. want to see your work here? email us with the subject line " submissions "!


we tend to think of the differences between men and women in broad, comprehensive terms. women are more nurturing, men are more aggressive, and on and on. of course we rationally understand that these traits are influenced by our sex hormones, but on a deeper level we seem to regard the differences in our behavior as somehow fixed. but now new research is showing that, in fact, there are very specific genes that regulate male or female behaviors, and they can be turned on and off at will — which could drastically alter the way we think about what drives us to be who we are. the connection between sex hormones and behavior has long been understood, but the relationship between hormone levels and gene expression in our brains was less clear. to better understand it, the research, which was conducted by scientists at the university of california, san francisco, aimed to locate a number of genes that are influenced by testosterone and estrogen and in turn dictate specific sets of male and female behaviors in mice. to do this, lead researcher dr. nirao shah and his team analyzed sex differences in gene expression in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that is involved with sensing hormones. they managed to locate 16 genes that were expressed differently in males and in females, and showed that the different expressions were regulated by the sex hormones. but what they also found is that they could isolate parts of classic male and female behaviors and pinpoint them as being governed by their own particular genes. it ' s fascinating to think of all of our sex - specific quirks as connecting back to specific genes that can be turned on and off. eurekalert offers a useful analogy for understanding the relationship between the hormones and genes. if you think of your brain as a house that ' s wired into the power grid, then, a sex hormone is similar to the main breaker that connects the house to the utility pole and regulates electricity to the entire house. individual genes influenced by sex hormones are like the light switches in each room, making it possible to turn the lights on in the kitchen while leaving the bedroom dark. shah explains how this plays out in the mice : it ' s as if you can deconstruct a social behavior into genetic components. each gene regulates a few components of a behavior without affecting other aspects of male and female behavior. in other words, by flipping the switch, you could turn off a mouse ' s sex drive, willingness to spend time with their young, and even their desire to pick fights — while leaving every other behavioral element unaffected


aspects of male and female behavior. in other words, by flipping the switch, you could turn off a mouse ' s sex drive, willingness to spend time with their young, and even their desire to pick fights — while leaving every other behavioral element unaffected. imagine how crazy it would be if we could do that in humans. don ' t like it that your boyfriend gets into fights at the bar? just flip the switch. for now, shah says that understanding the genes that drive male and female behavior can guide researchers to find the genetic basis for other complex social behaviors. and along the same lines, it could prove very useful in locating which genes are involved in diseases where a gender difference exist, such as autism, which affects four times as many males as it does females. as good as all that sounds, there is something a bit unnerving about contemplating your genes as a collection of switches that govern your behaviors. on some level it would be a dream to be able to turn behaviors off and on at will — it would revolutionize the way we interact, but, on the more terrifying side of things, it would also totally change our conception of what makes us who we are. fortunately, manipulating them is a complicated process. so it looks like we have a while until we ' re all going to need to start popping pills to fine tune ourselves. that ' s a relief, because for most of us managing the hormones we already have is a big enough job. male and female behavior deconstructed [ eurekalert! ] image via vladgrin / shutterstock.


it ' s an oscilloscope, but it ' s also a lot of other things. the jones o ' tool is a single and dual trace oscilloscope, a levels meter, a vu meter, a peak meter, a spectrum analyzer, an x - y graph display, a frequency meter, a tuner, and a voltmeter. there are three oscilloscope modes, with single trace, dual trace layered ( input 1 is red, input 2 is green, on top of each other ), and dual trace stacked ( above and below each other ). the timebase is adjustable from 100 microseconds to 5 seconds per division. the voltage scale can be set to + / - 10v dc, + / - 5v dc, + / - 10v ac, 0 - 10v dc, or 0 - 5v dc. it can trigger on input 1, input 2, or on an external trigger. and there are two trigger levels for the external trigger. or it can be set to have no trigger, so both waveforms free - run. the levels mode is a visual indicator of the scale and bias of the signals going in. it is good for seeing changes in a signal at a glance without the full detail of the scope trace, but much easier to spot with a quick glance. the vu and peak meters follow industry standard specs for scale and response. the 0dbvu level can be selected between + 4dbu ( audio line level ), + / - 2. 5v or + / - 5v. there is a thin line drawn across between the meters to help see the 0dbvu level at a glance. the spectrum analyzer has two forms. in the linear mode there are thin lines representing the frequencies, linearly spaced, and with a linear vertical scale. in the log mode the frequencies are grouped into 6 wide bands representing octaves, and the vertical scale is in db. the x - y display mode uses the two inputs to draw points or lines on the screen. it has adjustable sampling times. in the shorter ( faster ) sampling speeds the inputs are sampled for a period of time and then drawn on the screen at once. in the longer ( slower ) sampling times the points are drawn on the screen as they happen and the oldest point is erased at the same time. this creates a sort of a snake - like drawing on the screen that can show very long periods of time ( up to 200 seconds ). very useful for comparing slow lfo


screen as they happen and the oldest point is erased at the same time. this creates a sort of a snake - like drawing on the screen that can show very long periods of time ( up to 200 seconds ). very useful for comparing slow lfos or related voltages created by some modules. the frequency meter has two parts. a numerical readout of the frequency, and a guitar tuner style of tuner. the tuner shows the note, the number of cents the note is off, and a sliding bar with a dot representing + 50 to - 50 cents. it can be used to monitor input 1, input 2, or both inputs. when used for both, the two sliding bars are above and below each other making it easier to align two frequencies. the tuner can be set for 440 or 432 scales. the voltmeter mode is a simple dc voltmeter that monitors both inputs. it can be used to adjust two dc ( constant ) voltages to match or be a specific amount apart. suggested retail price : $ 250 depth : 40mm ( 1. 57 inches ) power : 130ma of + 12, 10ma of - 12 display : 45mm diagonal ( 1. 77 inches ) color tft lcd with anti - static protective window please note that while the o ' tool is a very useful module for monitoring signals within a modular system, it does not have all the features of the full sized devices that it emulates. it does not have the large display, all the trigger options, or individual voltage controls of a full sized oscilloscope. due to limitations in the processor the log spectrum mode can only display 6 bars, instead of the 15 or 20 typical of a full graphic eq. and the frequency meter, tuner and voltmeter were all added ( based on potential user feedback ) after the hardware had already been built. so those modes do not have the accuracy or temperature stability that other devices like them would have ( or that this would have had if those modes had been designed in when the hardware was designed ). those modes do not have the absolute accuracy of external dedicated devices, but they are accurate relative to the two inputs. so they are fine for tuning two oscillators to each other, or two voltages to each other. they just might be off a bit compared to an external tuner or voltmeter. the o ' tool has two jacks for each of the three inputs. the pairs of jacks are like two - jack passive multiples.


each other. they just might be off a bit compared to an external tuner or voltmeter. the o ' tool has two jacks for each of the three inputs. the pairs of jacks are like two - jack passive multiples. you can feed a signal into either of the jacks, and can use the second jack to send that same signal to another module. that way you don ' t have to use up your multiples modules to send signals to the o ' tool while still using those signals elsewhere. for example, say you have an oscillator connected to a filter. you could unplug that cable at the filter and plug it into either of the jacks for input 1 of the o ' tool. then take another cable and go from the second jack on input 1 back to the filter you had connected before. the inputs on the o ' tool each have 100k input impedance, so it is possible in very touchy patches that you might need to use a buffered multiple rather than use the passive multiples built into the o ' tool. it is not a good idea to plug the outputs of two modules into the pair of jacks for a single o ' tool input, which effectively shorts those two modules together. ( it won ' t hurt the o ' tool, but might hurt your modules ) the pair of jacks for each input are simply connected to each other behind the panel, just as any passive multiple would be. there are four buttons under the screen of the o ' tool. the button on the left cycles through the 9 different oscilloscope and meter modes. the other three buttons set options within each mode. the currently selected option for each button is displayed at the bottom of the screen. pushing those three buttons change the options and the new settings are displayed. if the screen is blank above a button, that button is not used in that specific mode. the instruction sheet included with each o ' tool can be downloaded here.


periodontal is a word meaning “ around the tooth. ” periodontal disease is a condition in which the tissue ( gums, deeper supporting tissue, and bone ) around a tooth or teeth become infected and inflamed. periodontal disease includes both gingivitis and periodontitis. periodontal disease is caused by an overgrowth of the bacteria that live naturally in the mouth. these bacteria are responsible for the sticky white substance that develops on teeth called plaque. when plaque stays on a tooth long enough, it hardens into a solid material called calculus or tartar. this material is much more difficult to remove from teeth than plaque. over time, the presence of calculus causes gum inflammation or gingivitis. gingivitis is a more mild form of periodontal disease, affecting the gums. it is almost always reversible with appropriate treatment. if gingivitis is not halted through careful treatment, then the inflammation may spread below the gum line, affecting the deeper tissues and bone that surround and support the teeth. this condition is known as periodontitis. untreated periodontitis can destroy the bone and other supporting tissues resulting in eventual tooth loss. many cases of periodontitis begin with gingivitis. however, it is possible for the deeper infection of periodontitis to begin without the more superficial gingivitis having been noticed. periodontal disease is a serious condition that needs to be thoroughly and carefully treated by your dentist. a variety of studies suggest the possibility of an association between periodontal disease and : - an increased risk of heart disease - an increased risk of stroke - problems controlling diabetes - increased lung infections and bronchitis, especially in susceptible people - premature or early delivery of pregnant women with periodontal disease - low - birth weight babies of women with periodontal disease the chance of developing periodontitis increases with age. approximately 8. 5 % of people aged 20 - 64 have periodontal disease, and 5 % of adults aged 20 - 64 have moderate to severe periodontal disease. seventeen percent of people aged 65 and older have the condition. unfortunately, studies suggest that only a fraction of people with periodontitis are aware that they have the condition and are receiving treatment. what are the risk factors for periodontal disease? what are the symptoms of periodontal disease? how is periodontal disease diagnosed? what are the treatments for periodontal disease? are there screening tests for periodontal disease? how


music is a natural part of life for toddlers. they might sing to their stuffed animals, tap their feet to the rhythm of nursery rhymes, and enjoy the sound of their parents singing to them — even if mom and dad can ' t quite carry a tune. but this early introduction to music does more than entertain. it can kickstart learning, serve as an important cue in a child ' s routine, and offer lifelong benefits. music contributes to what experts call " a rich sensory environment. " this simply means exposing kids to a wide variety of tastes, smells, textures, colors, and sounds — experiences that can forge more pathways between the cells in their brains. these neural connections will help kids in almost every area of school, including reading and math. just listening to music can make these connections, but the biggest impact on comes if kids actively participate in musical activities. of course there ' s another reason to introduce music into your toddler ' s world : it ' s enjoyable for both of you. that will come as no surprise to parents who sing songs with their child, sway and twirl together to favorite cds, or listen to lullabies as they rock their child to sleep. i got music, i got rhythm between the ages of 1 and 3, kids respond best to music when they actively experience it. passive listening ( like in the car ) is fine, but look for opportunities to get your child rocking, marching, rolling, tapping, clapping, and moving to the beat. share songs that go along with simple hand motions or dance moves, like the " itsy bitsy spider, " " the wheels on the bus, " " two little blackbirds, " or the " hokey pokey. " for younger kids, a parent ' s lap is a great place to put music and movement together. have your child face you and be sure to smile as you bounce your knees to chants like " trot, trot to boston " or " to market, to market. " if you don ' t know a lot of kids ' songs and rhymes, you can borrow books, cds, and dvds from the local library. but also feel free to make it up as you go along. create your own silly songs and hand motions. try to use your child ' s name in the song or rhyme. or just turn on some music and dance together. show your toddler how to move with the music by twirling quickly to a fast song and swooping slowly to a song with a longer, slower


' s name in the song or rhyme. or just turn on some music and dance together. show your toddler how to move with the music by twirling quickly to a fast song and swooping slowly to a song with a longer, slower beat. introduce props like scarves, balloons, or stuffed animals to dance with. at this age, kids can sporadically keep time — you ' ll notice this if you give a toddler a pot and a wooden spoon and sing a song or play some music that has a steady tempo. you can encourage this by grabbing your own spoon, inviting your toddler to bang out a rhythm, and then imitating what he or she does. extend the game by tapping a slightly more complicated rhythm and inviting your child to follow or by asking your child to tap on different surfaces — the floor, your back, a pillow — and seeing what sound these different taps make. songs are a lot more fun than flashcards and can teach toddlers important facts and skills. for instance, singing the abc song can help a child learn the alphabet, " this old man " teaches counting, and " there was an old woman who swallowed a fly " helps with rhyming and memory. and you can encourage creativity by singing new words to familiar tunes like " drive, drive, drive your car " for " row, row, row your boat " or by inserting your child ' s name in " did you ever see a lassie? " you ' re likely to find your child favoring a few songs and rhymes and wanting to hear them again and again. while this may become dull for you, your child is on to something. repetition helps kids learn. it ' s important to note that toddlers won ' t learn to read or understand music at this point. they won ' t pick up individual notes, for instance, but will experiment with different pitches. you may notice your toddler singing made - up songs that slide from high to low and back again. usually these songs will not have a regular rhythm. kids this age also are learning about keeping a steady beat and making coordinated movements — skills that are critical to math and reading later on. encourage this development by tapping the beat with your foot while you sing and by chanting simple nursery rhymes. if you ' d like to introduce an instrument, keep it simple. very young toddlers will enjoy instruments they can shake — bells, rattles, shakers, tambourines, or rain sticks. as your child gets older and a little more coordinated


you ' d like to introduce an instrument, keep it simple. very young toddlers will enjoy instruments they can shake — bells, rattles, shakers, tambourines, or rain sticks. as your child gets older and a little more coordinated, try rhythm instruments that can be banged, like drums, cymbals, or xylophones. some 2 - to 3 - year - olds can use simple wind instruments, like a recorder, a pipe whistle, or a kazoo. many companies now make musical instruments that are appropriately sized and shaped for little hands and that are safe for toddlers — check the label when you buy them. kids usually don ' t start formal instruction to learn an instrument until they ' re older, but you might have heard of the suzuki method. it ' s geared to kids as young as 2 or 3 for the violin, but parents must be present for the lessons and involved in both the instruction and the learning process. if your child does begin formal instruction, make sure it is with a certified instructor at a reputable school and that the instrument used is adapted for a young child. and, of course, you ' ll want to have reasonable expectations of how much a child can master at this young age. once your toddler is familiar with music, it can be a source of comfort and soothing. don ' t be surprised if you hear your child singing in bed or while playing, or serenading dolls or stuffed animals, especially if you have made a habit of singing to him or her yourself. when music is part of the everyday routine, these songs can help your child know what to expect and feel more secure. for instance, if you always sing a lullaby at bedtime or naptime, your child will come to see this as a cue for " go to sleep. " here are some other ways music can help your child make transitions through the day : picking up toys ( " toys away, toys away, it ' s time to put the toys away " ) brushing teeth ( " brushing, brushing, brushing teeth, " sung to the tune of " london bridge is falling down " ) taking a bath ( " now it ' s bath time, now it ' s bath time, yes, it is " sung to the tune of " are you sleeping " ) in addition, you can use music to alter your child ' s mood — and your own. while soft, gentle music seems just right for bedtime, louder, bouncier music could be just the boost you both need when


you sleeping " ) in addition, you can use music to alter your child ' s mood — and your own. while soft, gentle music seems just right for bedtime, louder, bouncier music could be just the boost you both need when it ' s time to clean up the toys. music all around kids ' music cds are great, but don ' t forget to share your own favorite music with your kids. a toddler who loves beethoven or bruce springsteen? why not? folk music and music from other cultures also can be good choices for kids. when you try new music, ask if your child likes it and discuss your opinion as well. though toddlers aren ' t likely to be ready for a night at the opera, you might be able to find live performances suitable for kids. museums, libraries, and bookstores often host child - friendly events. outdoor concerts where kids can run around without disturbing anyone are also a good bet. you might also enroll your child in a music class. if you do, be sure the class is developmentally appropriate — for kids this age, that means it shouldn ' t last more than 45 minutes and it should be something you and your child do together. classes are a fun way to enjoy music together ; they ' re also good sources for music and activities to enjoy at home. check the music department at your local university if you need help finding a music class. even if you do take a class with your child, remember that you are your child ' s first and most important teacher when it comes to music — and so much more. to help your child really benefit from a music class, be sure to bring the music and games you learn there into your home.


medical exams, whether they ' re for school, a sport, or camp, are usually pretty straightforward. many parts of the exam make sense to most guys : the scale is used to weigh you, the stethoscope is used to listen to your heartbeat. but why does the doctor need to touch and feel your testicles? isn ' t there a better, less embarrassing way to check things out? when you are healthy and going for a physical exam, the doctor is interested in finding out specific things about your body and your health. he or she will check your height and weight, take your temperature, and take your blood pressure. the doctor will listen to your heart and lungs and will probably examine your eyes, ears, nose, and throat, and may also test your reflexes by tapping your knees and ankles. for all these parts of the exam, the doctor relies on tools and equipment to get the information that ' s needed. however, for other parts of your body, the doctor ' s sense of touch and training are the key to knowing how things should feel. during the physical, the doctor will touch your belly to feel for any problems with your liver or spleen. he or she may also feel the lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, and groin to detect if there is any swelling, which can indicate an infection or other problem. and your doctor will also need to feel your testicles and the area around them to be sure they ' re developing properly and there are no problems. two possible problems that can affect teen guys are hernias and — rarely — testicular cancer. a hernia can occur when a part of the intestine pushes out from the abdomen and into the groin or scrotum ( the sac of skin that the testicles hang in ). some people believe that this can only happen when a person lifts something heavy, but usually this isn ' t the case. most hernias occur because of a weakness in the abdominal wall that the person was born with. if a piece of intestine becomes trapped in the scrotum, it can cut off the blood supply to the intestine and cause serious problems if the situation isn ' t quickly corrected. a doctor is able to feel for a hernia by using his or her fingers to examine the area around the groin and testicles. the doctor may ask you to cough while pressing on or feeling the area. sometimes, the hernia causes a bulge that the doctor can detect ; if this happens, surgery


using his or her fingers to examine the area around the groin and testicles. the doctor may ask you to cough while pressing on or feeling the area. sometimes, the hernia causes a bulge that the doctor can detect ; if this happens, surgery almost always repairs the hernia completely. although testicular cancer is unusual in teen guys ( it occurs in 3 out of 100, 000 guys between the ages of 15 and 19 in the united states ), it is the second most common cancer seen during the teen years. it is the most common cancer in guys 20 to 34 years of age. it ' s very important for your doctor to examine your testicles at least once a year. when doing so, your doctor will grasp one testicle at a time, rolling it gently between his or her thumb and first finger to feel for lumps and also checking whether the testicle is hardened or enlarged. the doctor also will explain how to do testicular self - exams. learning how to examine yourself at least once a month for any lumps or bumps on your testicles is very important. a tumor ( growth or bump ) on the testicles could be cancer. knowing how your testicles feel when they ' re healthy will help you know when something feels different and possibly abnormal down there. noticing any new testicular lumps or bumps as soon as possible gives the best chances for survival and total cure if it turns out to be cancer. finally, keep in mind that even though it might feel weird to have a doctor checking out your testicles, it ' s no big deal to him or her. sometimes when a doctor is examining that area, you might get an erection — this is something you can ' t control. it ' s a normal reaction that happens frequently during genital exams on guys. if it happens, it won ' t upset or bother the doctor, so there ' s no need to feel embarrassed.


only about 10 % of the general population has pet allergies, but at least 30 % of people with asthma are allergic to animals. so if your child has asthma, consider whether your pet could be producing allergens that are triggering asthma symptoms. contrary to popular belief, your animal ' s fur probably isn ' t the culprit. allergies are caused by the body ' s reaction to a protein found in the animal ' s dander ( dead skin flakes ), saliva, urine, and feathers. though pet hair itself isn ' t the problem, this protein can cling to the fur when an animal licks itself. also, an animal ' s fur can collect dust mites, pollen, mold, and other allergens. and any animal that lives in a cage ( from birds to gerbils ) will produce droppings that can attract mold and dust mites. you may hear people say that certain breeds of dogs or cats, particularly those that don ' t shed, won ' t trigger asthma, but all warm - blooded animals shed allergy - causing proteins and are capable of causing an allergic reaction. if you ' re wondering whether your child is allergic to a pet, consider having him or her tested for allergies. if your child turns out to be allergic to your pet, you ' ll have to decide whether to keep it or find it a new home. the best course is to remove the pet from your home, though this isn ' t usually the easiest or happiest solution. your child, other kids in the family, and even adults in the family may have a tough time with this decision. in some cases, your doctor may say that it ' s ok to keep a pet if your child receives medicine or allergy shots. if you go this route, you ' ll still want to limit your child ' s exposure to the animal, such as by keeping the pet out of your child ' s bedroom and play areas. hard as this is to enforce, try to teach your child not to hug or kiss the animal. vacuum and dust regularly and avoid rugs and wall - to - wall carpeting, especially in your child ' s room. unfortunately, such measures may not be enough — because animal allergens are airborne, heating and ventilation systems will spread allergens throughout the house, even if the pet is confined to one room. keeping the pet in the yard may not be a total solution either because some allergens will eventually be carried in on clothing.


, heating and ventilation systems will spread allergens throughout the house, even if the pet is confined to one room. keeping the pet in the yard may not be a total solution either because some allergens will eventually be carried in on clothing. if you decide to keep your pet, you might want to : buy an air cleaner. hepa air cleaners can really help, especially for cat allergies. vacuums are available with hepa filters as well. keep your child away from the cat ' s litter box, and place the box away from air vents. have someone other than your child wash and brush your pet every week ( this is advisable for cats as well as dogs ). encourage everyone in the family to wash their hands after playing with your pet. keep your pet out of the child ' s bedroom and away from rugs and upholstered furniture. you may need to shut the doors to certain rooms or use baby safety gates to keep cats and dogs out. if you have a bird, gerbil, or other small caged animal, keep the cage in a room other than your child ' s bedroom. make sure the pet stays in its cage at all times, and clean the cage daily — without your child ' s assistance. you ' ll also want to let teachers know about your child ' s allergies if there ' s a caged pet in the classroom. if you do decide to find another home for your pet, be sure to discuss this with your child. assure your child it ' s not his or her " fault " — and make sure siblings don ' t blame the child. losing a pet, even if just to another home, can be difficult for everyone in the family. remember, too, that even if you remove the pet from your home, you may not see improvements in asthma symptoms for a while. it can take up to 6 months to reduce the allergen levels to those of a home without pets. even if the pet is removed, your child might still need the asthma or allergy medications used previously. when going to a house with a pet, your child should first take any prescribed allergy medicine and ( as always ) bring along his or her asthma rescue medication.


have you ever been afraid? everyone gets scared sometimes. maybe thunder and lightning make your heart beat faster. or maybe your mouth goes dry when your teacher announces a pop quiz, or your palms sweat when it ' s your turn to give your report in front of the class. perhaps you get butterflies in your stomach when you see the bully who picks on you. we all have fears from time to time. that ' s true no matter how big we are or brave we can be. fear can even be good for you sometimes and even help you stay healthy. fear of getting too close to a campfire may save you from a bad burn. and fear of getting a bad grade on a test might make you study more. being a bit on edge also can sharpen your senses and help you perform better in a recital or during a track meet. some people even enjoy being a little scared. that ' s why they like to watch scary movies or go on roller - coaster rides. what happens when you ' re scared? have you ever wondered why being scared makes your heart beat faster and makes you breathe quicker? the body ' s reaction to fear is called the " fight or flight " response. and people have had it since the beginning of time. here ' s how it works. imagine you ' re a caveman or cavewoman living 100, 000 years ago — and you come face to face with a hungry saber - toothed tiger. you have two choices : 1 ) run for it ( that ' s flight ), or 2 ) pick up your club and battle the tiger ( that ' s fight ). a final choice ( be eaten ) doesn ' t seem like such a good one! today, you can apply fight or flight to that bully who confronts you and won ' t listen to reason. you have two choices : 1 ) turn and walk away ( flight ), or 2 ) fight, even though you know fighting won ' t solve the problem. to prepare for fight or flight, you body does a number of things automatically so it ' s ready for quick action or a quick escape. your heart rate increases to pump more blood to your muscles and brain. your lungs take in air faster to supply your body with oxygen. the pupils in your eyes get larger to see better. and your digestive and urinary systems slow down for the moment so you can concentrate on more important things. usually, our bodies go into fight or flight only when there is something to fear. however, sometimes this occurs when there doesn ' t


and your digestive and urinary systems slow down for the moment so you can concentrate on more important things. usually, our bodies go into fight or flight only when there is something to fear. however, sometimes this occurs when there doesn ' t seem to be anything to be frightened about. when you feel scared but there doesn ' t seem to be a clear reason, that ' s called anxiety ( say : ang - zye - uh - tee ). other feelings might come along with anxiety — like a feeling of tightness in your chest, a bellyache, dizziness, or a sense that something horrible is going to happen. these feelings can be very frightening. sometimes anxiety can interfere with things you need to do, like learning and sleeping. for some kids, feelings of anxiety or worry can happen anytime. for others, they might occur only at certain times, like when they ' re leaving their home or family to go somewhere. in some people, this feeling of anxiety occurs almost all the time and gets in the way of doing what they want to do. some kids may have a phobia ( say : foe - bee - uh ), which is an intense fear of something specific, such as being up high, getting dirty, the number 13, or spiders. why do people have anxiety? anxiety can run in families. or a person might develop anxiety after something terrible happens, like a car crash. sometimes certain medical illnesses can cause feelings of anxiety. so can abusing alcohol or other drugs, like cocaine. another part of the explanation has to do with the different chemicals in the nerve cells of the brain. how the chemicals in our brain ' s nerve cells are balanced can affect how we feel and act. one of these chemicals is serotonin ( say : sir - uh - toe - nun ). serotonin is one of the brain chemicals that helps send information from one brain nerve cell to another. but for some people with anxiety, this brain chemical system doesn ' t always seem to work the way it should. also, some scientists think that a special area in the brain controls the fight or flight response. with anxiety, it ' s like having the fight or flight response stuck in the on position — even when there is no real danger. that makes it hard to focus on everyday things. dealing with anxiety anxiety can be treated successfully. tell your mom or dad if find yourself more scared than you feel you should be or if your anxiety becomes strong and is getting in the way of what you want or need


what other kids are reading hey! a chigger bit me! what ' s a chigger? chiggers are tiny ( most can only be seen with a magnifying glass ) and red, and they are a type of mite. mites aren ' t insects — they are arachnids and part of the same family as spiders, scorpions, and ticks. chiggers are found all over the place, including in grassy fields, along lakes and streams, and in forests. there are adult chiggers and baby chiggers ( called larvae ), but only the baby chiggers bother people and animals. chiggers have tiny claws that allow them to attach tightly onto people and animals. once attached, they are able to pierce the skin and inject their saliva, which contains digestive juices that dissolve skin cells. the chigger then slurps up the dissolved skin cells. to the chigger, this is a tasty meal! having a chigger do this is very irritating to your skin. after a few days, the chigger will be done feeding and fall off a person ' s skin, leaving behind a red welt where it had once been. what a bite looks and feels like if a person gets bitten by a chigger, the bite will be very itchy. a chigger bite will cause a tiny red bump, which will get bigger and itchier as time goes on. the itchy bump can last for days or even a couple of weeks. what you should do if you think you ' ve been bitten by a chigger, wash the bite with soap and water. put on some calamine lotion or cool compresses to help with the itching, or an adult can find an anti - itch cream or medicine at the drugstore for you. try not to scratch the bites too much, because this can make the bites become infected. what a doctor will do because chigger bites are so itchy, many people do get an infection from scratching the bites. if this happens, the doctor will prescribe a medication to help with the itching and a medicine to clear up the infection. how to avoid getting bitten the best way to avoid getting bitten by a chigger is to wear an insect repellent. ask your parents to apply one that contains 10 % to 30 % deet. when it ' s possible, wear long - sleeved shirts and long pants outside, especially if you ' ll be hiking or playing in fields


what other parents are reading a lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is a part of the body ' s immune system and helps filter out bacteria, viruses, and other unwanted substances. most of the time, we ' re not aware of the inner workings of our lymphatic systems unless the lymph nodes, or glands, become swollen. this often happens during illness — a sign that the lymphatic system is working hard to filter harmful substances out of the body. about non - hodgkin lymphoma non - hodgkin lymphoma is a disease in which cancer cells form in the lymphatic system and start to grow uncontrollably. there are several different types of lymphomas. some involve lymphoid cells ( called reed - sternberg cells ) and are grouped under the heading of hodgkin lymphoma. all other forms of lymphoma fall into the non - hodgkin grouping. the different forms of non - hodgkin lymphoma are characterized by the malignant growth of white blood cells that live in the lymph nodes, called lymphocytes. the exact cause of non - hodgkin lymphoma is unclear, but doctors have identified some risk factors, such as : - having conditions that weaken the immune system, like aids ( acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ) - taking immune - suppressing medications after organ transplants - exposure to certain viruses, such as epstein - barr virus ( the virus that usually causes mono ) - having a sibling with the disease although no lifestyle factors have been definitively linked to childhood lymphomas, kids who have received either radiation treatments or chemotherapy for other types of cancer seem to have a higher risk of developing lymphoma later in life. in most cases of patients with non - hodgkin lymphoma, doctors are never able to determine a specific cause for the disorder. not knowing the cause, however, doesn ’ t change the fact that experts are getting better and better at treating the problem. regular pediatric checkups may spot early symptoms of lymphoma in cases where this cancer is linked to the treatments or conditions mentioned above. signs and symptoms symptoms of non - hodgkin lymphoma vary depending on the type of lymphoma and where a tumor is located. some kids might have stomach pain, constipati


to the treatments or conditions mentioned above. signs and symptoms symptoms of non - hodgkin lymphoma vary depending on the type of lymphoma and where a tumor is located. some kids might have stomach pain, constipation, and decreased appetite. others may have trouble breathing, difficulty swallowing, coughing, wheezing, or chest pain. other symptoms can include : - painless swollen lymph nodes - fever, chills, or night sweats - itchy skin - weight loss despite eating normally - bone or joint pain - recurring infections some kids ' first symptom is swollen lymph nodes — usually in the neck, armpits, and groin. of course, swollen lymph nodes do not usually mean cancer — they ' re most often a sign of a common illness, like an infection. in fact, all of the symptoms of non - hodgkin lymphoma also can be caused by other conditions, which is why only a doctor can determine what ' s really wrong. after performing a thorough evaluation, which includes a medical history and physical examination, a doctor who suspects non - hodgkin lymphoma will refer the child to an oncologist, or cancer doctor. the oncologist may perform a biopsy, or tissue sample, of lymph nodes. during a biopsy, a tiny bit of tissue is removed from the body and sent out to a laboratory for analysis. depending on the type of biopsy ordered, the patient may be given local anesthesia ( where only a part of the body is numbed ) or general anesthesia ( where the patient is asleep ) to ensure there ' s no pain. biopsies used to test for non - hodgkin lymphoma include : - excisional biopsy, in which the skin is opened to remove an entire lymph node - incisional biopsy, the removal of only a part of the lymph node - bone marrow biopsy, where a needle is used to take samples of the soft tissue found inside a bone - fine needle aspiration, in which a very thin needle is used to suction out a small amount of tissue from the lymph node other tests used to diagnose non - hodgkin lymphoma include : - blood tests - a chest x - ray, a simple procedure in which the person lies on a table while an x - ray machine takes an image of the chest - a computer


immunotherapy, doctors use substances that occur naturally in the body to build up someone ' s natural resistance to disease. although these substances occur naturally in the body, the ones used in this procedure are often manufactured in a laboratory. children treated with chemotherapy or radiation for non - hodgkin lymphoma usually experience side effects. most are temporary — although, as with all medical treatments, each child is unique and experiences side effects differently. the severity of side effects and how long they last depends on the individual and the medicines and treatments used. the most common short - term side effects of chemo are nausea ( although medications can treat this ), vomiting, a lowering of blood counts resulting in an increased risk for infection or bleeding, or a flu - like feeling. some kids feel weak or dizzy after their treatments, or run a fever. others get sores in their mouths or suddenly don ' t feel much like eating. it ' s also common for kids to lose some or all of their hair. the short - term side effects of radiation can be similar to those of chemotherapy, but usually are more localized, meaning they affect only the area that receives the radiation treatment. kids can continue to feel side effects for weeks after their treatment ends. most kids with non - hodgkin lymphoma are cured. some with severe disease, however, will have a relapse ( reoccurrence of the cancer ) that doesn ' t respond to conventional treatments. for them, bone marrow transplants and stem cell transplants may be performed. reviewed by : jonathan l. powell, md date reviewed : march 2012 - stem cell transplants - hodgkin lymphoma - radiation therapy - balancing academics and serious illness - cancer center - cancer : jen ' s story ( video ) - getting a cat scan ( video ) - getting an mri ( video ) - getting an x - ray ( video ) - hodgkin lymphoma - amanda ' s hodgkin ' s story - cancer center share this page using : note : all information on kidshealth® is for educational purposes only. for specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor. © 1995 - the nemours foundation. all rights reserved.


with all of the products that are available to help parents control children ’ s media consumption, deciding what to use can be confusing. parents may not even be aware of tools that are already available to them through their cable or satellite services, tvs, personal video recorders ( pvrs ), and other media center electronics. most parental control tools function to block or filter contents or a combination of the two. the following is a brief overview of the different types of parental control devices available. click on the heading links for more detailed information about the products available for each type of technology. as of january 1, 2000, the fcc has required all television sets with picture screens 33 centimeters ( 13 inches ) or larger to be equipped with features to block the display of television programming based upon its rating. this technology is known as the " v - chip. " the v - chip reads information encoded in the rated program and blocks programs from the set based upon the rating selected by the parent. the rating appears in the corner of your television screen during the first 15 seconds of a program and in tv programming guides. using the remote control, parents can program the v - chip to block certain shows based on their ratings. instructions for programming the v - chip can be found in the operating manual for your television. ( information provided by the fcc ) blocking technologies allow parents to lock children out of viewing media content in several different ways. for television programming, blocks can allow parents to lock certain channels, prohibit shows of specified ratings from playing, lock out viewing for specified time periods, or a combination of these methods. this technology is built in to many tv sets, and is offered by cable companies, satellite companies, and pvr systems. however, you will have to consult your tv or pvr operation manual and your cable or satellite provider to find out about the types of blocks available and how to program them. several different content blocking products can also be purchased for televisions. most dvd players and game consoles also allow parental control. parents can program the dvd player, or consoles like the xbox, to block movies with undesired ratings from playing. the player reads the dvd rating from the disc and will not play a movie if the rating is prohibited. filters ( more information ) filtering technology filters out offensive content from tv or movies, allowing children to watch an edited version of the program. some filters are available for the television which block out offensive language. most filters, however, are built into electronics such as dvd players. a number of companies used to offer edited dvds


earthquake off japan coast unleashes tsunami in tsunami ' s wake, a wash of destruction originally published on wed may 23, 2012 10 : 13 am the largest earthquake known to have hit japan has killed hundreds of people and caused widespread damage. the quake also created a large tsunami whose waves washed away boats, roads and buildings. the tsunami continued eastward across the pacific and has struck hawaii and now parts of the west coast of the u. s. as the tsunami rolled past hawaii friday morning, some places reported surges of 6 or 7 feet, according to experts at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. hours later, crescent city, calif., at the northern end of the state, got hit harder. rich young, harbor master at the fishing town, said he and everyone else had been evacuated early friday morning, as have residents of many western seaside communities. young says the harbor took a beating. " the entire inner boat basin is destroyed, " he says. " there are approximately 35 boats that are sunk. boats are jumbled on top of each other, and it ' s just a hell of a mess. " young, speaking from an emergency center near the town, says no injuries had been reported. the first wave measured at about 6 feet, and though it didn ' t push water up onto land, the huge amount of water did destroy docks and boats. a tide of that size is not abnormal — but it usually rises slowly over eight hours. " in a tsunami, it happens in 15 or 20 minutes, " young says. " you just get this enormously strong current. it ' s like niagara falls in a harbor. " as young was describing the damage, he got word of yet another wave — this one, 8. 1 feet high. rapid response from the warning systems those waves started on the other side of the pacific and took about 12 hours to cross the ocean. the amount of energy released was about 30 times that of the 1906 san francisco earthquake. japan ' s earthquake was a subduction zone quake, meaning a section of the seafloor suddenly thrusts up and down. that, explains geophysicist eric geist of the u. s. geological survey, lifts the water above the seabed all the way up to the surface. " you ' re lifting the whole water column up above where it ' s not supposed to be, and then the tsunami waves spread out from there, " geist says. japan has what scientists say is the most comprehensive tsunami warning system in the world. engineers have


re lifting the whole water column up above where it ' s not supposed to be, and then the tsunami waves spread out from there, " geist says. japan has what scientists say is the most comprehensive tsunami warning system in the world. engineers have stretched cables out from the land and attached instruments that measure water pressure and tides. noaa ' s pacific tsunami warning center also operates its own set of warning sensors — 32 of them in the pacific alone. " within nine minutes, our pacific tsunami warning center had a warning out for japan, russia, marquis island and the northern marianas, " says laura furgione, a noaa scientist. " and 12 minutes later, our west coast and alaska tsunami center had a message out. " uncertainty in predicting wave height but geist says that ' s not a lot of time for japanese coastal communities. the nearest city to the quake ' s epicenter was just about 80 miles away, and geist says there may have only been about 15 minutes ' warning. " even with a good system like that, there is just a limited amount of time you can get out of harm ' s way in terms of a tsunami, " geist says. " some people will always be caught up in that kind of short time frame. " as the waves traveled east toward hawaii and north america, the warning system ' s pressure sensors on the seafloor monitored the tsunami ' s speed and predicted when the wave might hit. once a tsunami reaches shallower water, the mass of water bunches up — there ' s nowhere for it to go but up, and the wave bounces off land masses, which creates a chaotic pattern of new waves. " it ' s very difficult to predict exactly how high the tsunami is going to be, so that uncertainty is something we ' re still having to live with, i think, " geist says. another uncertainty : how many more waves are still to come. scientists are warning coastal residents that waves could continue to arrive for hours after the first one.


shots - health news thu february 21, 2013 to keep deadly bird flu in the lab, feds set rules for scientists originally published on fri february 22, 2013 6 : 25 am government - funded scientists here in the u. s. are a step closer to being able to resume some controversial experiments with lab - altered bird flu viruses. researchers in the netherlands restarted their experiments a week ago, after scientists around the world declared an end in january to a year - long voluntary moratorium. but labs that depend on funding from the national institutes of health to do this work have had to wait for the agency to tell them what kind of studies can go proceed. now, in an article for the journal science, officials with the nih and the department of health and human services have unveiled a new policy for making those decisions. at the same time, the white house office of science and technology policy is releasing a draft oversight system that would require research institutions and scientists to screen other kinds of especially risky experiments involving dangerous pathogens and toxins from a long list. the process could help prevent a repeat of the kind of public furor that took place over the bird flu studies. the influenza experiments that caused such concern involve mutant forms of the bird flu virus h5n1. the wild virus circulates among poultry in parts of asia and the middle east and only rarely causes illness in people. but over half of those known to have gotten sick from it have died. to understand how this virus might mutate in a way that let it start spreading from person to person, scientists at the university of wisconsin - madison and erasmus medical center in the netherlands made genetically - altered forms of the h5n1 virus. they found that these lab - created viruses could spread through the coughs and sneezes of ferrets, which are used in flu studies as stand - ins for people. critics have argued that these experiments were dangerous, because these newly created viruses could potentially start spreading and cause a pandemic if they ever got out of the lab. the new decision - making policy on these types of h5n1 experiments aims at balancing the risks and benefits. it lays out a special review process and seven different criteria that proposed experiments would have to meet. for example, scientists could only create a new h5n1 virus with enhanced transmissibility in mammals if the mutations could be produced through a natural evolutionary process. the proposed research would have to address a scientific question with high significance to public health, and there would have to be no


a new h5n1 virus with enhanced transmissibility in mammals if the mutations could be produced through a natural evolutionary process. the proposed research would have to address a scientific question with high significance to public health, and there would have to be no feasible alternative methods to address that question. what ' s more, researchers would have to show they could mitigate the biosecurity and biosafety risks. amy patterson, director of the office of science policy at the nih, acknowledged that deciding whether or not a proposal meets these criteria will involve judgment calls. " i don ' t think that there ' s any way around that, " she said. " these are not going to be necessarily black - and - white decisions that can be made. " she says if this system had been in place before the two controversial bird flu studies took place, both would have passed muster — but the tricky issues they raised would have gotten a lot more upfront consideration. virologist ron fouchier of erasmus medical center, whose lab did one of these original experiments under a contract with the nih, says he ' s restarted his work using another source of money. but he has also already submitted paperwork to the nih to try to get approval under this new process to use that funding as well. " we think that this work should be done, and many other scientists with us, and now we just have to see how this review panel will judge, " says fouchier. " some criteria make more sense than others, i think, " says fouchier. " how do you provide evidence that something that you do in the lab might actually happen in nature? i think we have offered strong evidence that what we did in the lab actually might happen in nature. that ' s really the toughest criterion to fulfill. " stanford microbiologist david relman says that whether a mutation might arise naturally is " a matter of conjecture, " and he questions how relevant that question actually is to what researchers might propose to do in a lab. " there ' s a big difference between a mutant virus arising amidst a pool of other, different viruses deep in the lung of a siberian duck in the deepest part of siberia where it will have a very little chance of encountering a human and a very different scenario in which someone makes this virus in very high concentrations, by itself, in a laboratory, where it may have many opportunities for entering or being exposed to a human, " says relman. another open question is how the


human and a very different scenario in which someone makes this virus in very high concentrations, by itself, in a laboratory, where it may have many opportunities for entering or being exposed to a human, " says relman. another open question is how the requirement for lowering risk will be judged. " how far do you want to mitigate a risk? zero risks do not exist. they never exist, " says fouchier. some say that in order to justify the risks of making new bird flu viruses with pandemic potential, the public health benefits have to be immediate and clear - cut. the skeptics aren ' t convinced that researchers have made the case. " i have yet to hear a compelling rationale for why any of the proposed experiments is likely to be the best way to get a vaccine or a realistic way to improve surveillance, " says marc lipsitch with the harvard school of public health. he thinks it ' s helpful that researchers now have a way of proposing these types of experiments. but he worries that the new policy might allow experiments with lab - altered bird flu strains that are " scientifically interesting but unlikely to change the way we confront the next flu pandemic. and those kinds of experiments, to me, are not worth the small but real risk of infection by accident or deliberately that goes along with them. " besides the risk posed by these mutant h5n1 viruses themselves, some have worried that information about how to make them could potentially be misused in ways to deliberately cause harm. that ' s why, for months, scientists argued about whether the details of the experiments should be made public. the research was finally published in science journals last year, but the debate drew new attention to the so - called dual - use problem — the idea that legitimate biological research or technologies might have a dark side. last march, the federal government adopted a policy for how it would oversee proposals for dual - use research with a list of high - risk pathogens and toxins. now, officials have issued a draft plan that describes how federally - funded research institutions should identify and manage that kind of work as well. and next week, the world health organization is hosting a meeting in geneva to discuss the dual - use problem. about 200 invitees will discuss existing approaches and safeguards to managing this type of research, as well as consider critical gaps in oversight. steve inskeep, host : ok. the u. s. government could soon be back in the business of funding some controversial bird flu virus experiments. the


safeguards to managing this type of research, as well as consider critical gaps in oversight. steve inskeep, host : ok. the u. s. government could soon be back in the business of funding some controversial bird flu virus experiments. the research here is aimed at understanding how bird flu might mutate and lead to a pandemic in people. long - time listeners to this program have been following this story. the studies were put on hold for more than a year after critics said the work was too dangerous. now authorities have unveiled a new policy for deciding whether experiments like these should go forward. npr ' s nell greenfieldboyce reports. nell greenfieldboyce, byline : the two experiments that caused the uproar involved the bird flu virus h5n1. scientists had created mutant forms of this virus, and some biosecurity experts said the viruses could cause a pandemic in people if they ever got out of the lab. both studies were funded by the u. s. government. one was done in the netherlands and the other here in madison, wisconsin. rebecca morris : ok. so now we ' re inside the secure perimeter. greenfieldboyce : rebecca morris is with the university of wisconsin, and she ' s leading a rare tour of the lab that did this work. this place has specially sealed concrete walls at least a foot thick. to enter, morris pushes a button next to a huge metal door. we wait for a light to turn green as we listen to a whooshing sound. a system is making adjustments to ensure that no air and nothing in the air can escape. morris : so right now we ' re going from a room - there ' s high pressure in this room and there ' s less air in that room. so the air is going in there. greenfieldboyce : we go through this door, then another, into the room where workers wearing full - body protective suits would put on their air - purifying respirators. an employee switches one on to show how it adds to the noise. unidentified woman # 1 : ( unintelligible ) ventilation system and this respirator, this where ( unintelligible ). greenfieldboyce : we go through another sealed door and finally reach a suite of small labs. inside one is a locked freezer that contains vials of influenza virus, including some of the genetically altered bird flu viruses that have been making headlines. wild h5n1 bird flu, found in poultry in asia and the middle


of small labs. inside one is a locked freezer that contains vials of influenza virus, including some of the genetically altered bird flu viruses that have been making headlines. wild h5n1 bird flu, found in poultry in asia and the middle east, rarely infects people and doesn ' t spread from person to person. but the manmade viruses here in this lab can spread through coughs and sneezes between ferrets, the lab ' s stand - in for people. virologist yoshihiro kawaoka runs this lab. i ask if he ever takes these viruses out of his freezer. yoshihiro kawaoka : no. greenfieldboyce : so they ' ve just been sitting in that freezer for over a year? kawaoka : more than a year. yeah, right. because after we announced the moratorium, then we just stopped. greenfieldboyce : dozens of flu experts around the world agreed to hold off on this type of work to allow time for a public debate. last month, though, they declared that the voluntary pause was over. scientists in the netherlands have already restarted, using money from sources other than the u. s. government. but researchers like kawaoka, who rely on federal funding, have had to wait as officials finalize new policies for deciding what kind of studies can be done and under what conditions. kawaoka says the moratorium and this whole experience has meant lost time in terms of getting ready for the threat of a naturally occurring pandemic. kawaoka : the viruses are evolving in nature, and if you don ' t work, you just let the virus evolve. greenfieldboyce : yesterday, officials with the national institutes of health finally issued their new decision - making framework. from now on, this type of research has to go through a special review to see if it meets certain criteria. for example, does the experiment address a question of great importance to public health, and is there no other way to answer that question? some public health experts who ' ve been following this debate say it ' s good to have this new system but they still have concerns. marc lipsitch : i worry that the framework might allow experiments with those strains that are scientifically interesting but unlikely to change the way we confront the next flu pandemic. greenfieldboyce : marc lipsitch is an epidemiologist with the harvard school of public health, who says the work does have risks. lipsitch : i have yet to hear a compelling


welcome, this research guide was created to assist you in locating, evaluating, and using scholarly resources for hist 107, classical foundations. here you will find listed a variety of resources to help you as you conduct your research specifically for learning the basics of how to search will save you much time and frustration. these tips and techniques can be used for any research you may be doing, no matter what the topic might be. - finding and combining search terms : using or - finding and combining search terms : using and - excluding search terms : using not - searching for an exact phrase : using quotation marks - finding variations of search terms : using truncation - keyword searching - subject searching determining the correct search terminology is “ half the battle. ” to begin this process list possible search terms and include any synonyms, using or between each word. if you want more than one term to be included in your search use and between the terms. this is used to narrow a search. excluding search terms : using not there may be times when you need to exclude a term altogether in order to focus your search. library databases work similarly to google - - that is, when you want to search for an exact phrase rather than for separate keywords, you should enclose the phrase within quotation marks. another useful trick is to truncate the search term. - the usual symbol is an asterisk ( * ), but check the database help screen for to determine the symbol for that database. - although this is a useful tool, especially if you want to retrieve results with all possible word endings, it can also add unrelated items to your results. - some databases may not allow truncated words if the possible results are too large and if this happens add more of the root word. if you are unsure of the correct vocabulary for a particular database, begin with a keyword search, sometimes referred to as a default search. keyword searching looks for the search term ( s ) anywhere in the record for an article, which means that the keyword ( s ) could be located in the article ' s title, abstract, or body, or the keyword might be a subject term that the database uses. a keyword search usually retrieves numerous records, many of which may prove to be totally unrelated to your topic. but keyword searching is a perfectly acceptable way to begin a database search ; you can always narrow your search if you find that too many records are retrieved. subject terms ( also sometimes called descriptors ) are words that are chosen


to your topic. but keyword searching is a perfectly acceptable way to begin a database search ; you can always narrow your search if you find that too many records are retrieved. subject terms ( also sometimes called descriptors ) are words that are chosen from a set list and that are used by the editors of a database to describe all of the articles in the database that deal with a particular topic. lf you are unsure of the specific subject / descriptor term that a database uses for your topic, try first conducting a keyword search. then, when you find an article that looks useful for your topic, open up the record for that article ( by clicking on the article title ) and take a look at the subject terms that the database ' s editors assigned to the article. you can then re - run your search using those subject terms instead of or in addition to the terms that you originally used. this should retrieve articles that are more relevant to your research topic. some databases also include an online thesaurus in which you can enter a keyword and see the terms that the database uses for your keyword. consulting a database ' s thesaurus is especially useful as a way of finding related terms that you might not have considered. ask a librarian the im widget below works best in ie8, firefox, chrome & safari. im hours ( et ) : saturday & sunday : 1pm - 5pm


the ancient olympic games were held to celebrate the greek gods every four years between 776 bc. and 393 ad on the plains of olympia. the games, simple by today ' s standards, included such sports as running ( various distances ), long jump, shot put, javelin toss, discus, wrestling, boxing, martial arts and equestrian events. although women were not allowed to participate in the ancient olympic games, a separate event held every four years, the herean games, offered women an opportunity to compete with each other. the ancient olympic games gathered athletes and spectators from throughout the region, including many cities often at war with each other. even during times of warfare, truces were called during the duration of the games, and all athletes and their families were provided safe passage through disputed territories. in april, 1896, the first modern olympic games were held. the site was athens, greece, to pay tribute to the ancient origins of the games. athletes competed in 43 events in 9 sporting categories : aquatics, athletics ( track & field ), cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. one of the major highlights for these first modern games was the introduction of the 25 + mile marathon, which was created to honor the legend of pheidippides, who was said to have carried the news of the greek victory at the battle of marathon in 490 bc by running from marathon to athens ( and then dropping dead ). the greek hosts of the 1896 games were proud to have spyridon louis, a 24 - year - old greek shepherd, win this inaugural event. the first - ever medal won in the modern olympics went to american james connolly, who took gold in the triple jump on april 6, 1896. ultimately, 14 nations had 241 ( all - male ) athletes compete in 43 separate events that year. since 1896, the summer olympic games have been held every 4 years, with the exceptions of 1940 and 1944 during the waging of world war ii. the most recent summer games of athens 2004 were be the games of the 28th olympiad. in 1921, the international olympic committee voted to stage “ international sports week 1924 ” in chamonix, france, featuring winter sports. this event was a complete success and was retroactively named the first olympic winter games. the winter games ( with the same wwii exceptions ) have been held every four years since, through 1992. after only a two - year gap, they continued from 1994 onwards every four years. the 1924 winter olympics featured 258 athletes ( 11 women, 247


the winter games ( with the same wwii exceptions ) have been held every four years since, through 1992. after only a two - year gap, they continued from 1994 onwards every four years. the 1924 winter olympics featured 258 athletes ( 11 women, 247 men ), from 16 nations, competing in 16 sports. at the most recent winter games ( 2002 ) in salt lake city, 77 countries were represented by 2, 399 athletes ( 886 women, 1, 513 men ), who competed in 78 separate events. the 2006 events in torino, italy, will be the xxth olympic winter games! the lincoln city libraries has a large collection of materials about the olympics and the sports that are included in the olympic games. in addition to the examples shown below, we encourage you to visit our on - line catalog and use a " subject " search under " olympic games - - _ _ _ _ ", substituting a year for the _ _ _ _, to see specific items about many of the specific olympiads from 1924 to the present. additionally, we have numerous sports biographies of athletes whose crowning achievements were accomplished during the olympics. the links in this section of this list will take you directly into the items ' entries in the catalog of the lincoln city libraries, where you can check on the items ' availability throughout the library system. about the olympicsthe following are a sampling of books in the library ' s collection dealing with the history of the winter olympic games. click the first two links for larger lists under those respective subject headings. about olympic winter sportsthe library owns materials about most of the following sports, all of which are contested in the olympic winter games. the date in parentheses following the sport is the year in which that sport first appeared in winter olympic competition. if the name of a sport is hotlinked, clicking it will connect you to that subject heading in our on - line catalog. keep in mind that not all the materials on these varied subjects will be specifically about the olympic versions of these sports, especially for such popular winter sports as skiing, hockey, skating, etc. audio / videothe following are a sampling of videos featuring footage from past olympics, plus the soundtrack cd including music used during the olympics television coverage of the past 20 years. the following databases and / or webliographies on the lincoln city libraries site can be used to access numerous articles and / or links to additional resources on - line. [ if you have difficulty using these databases, please contact the reference department at 441 - 8530 for assistance


manual section... ( 3 ) - page : asn1 _ read _ value nameasn1 _ read _ value - returns the value of one element inside a structure - asn1 _ type root - pointer to a structure. - const char * name - the name of the element inside a structure that you want to read. - void * ivalue - vector that will contain the element ' s content, must be a pointer to memory cells already allocated. - int * len - number of bytes of * value : value.. value [ len - 1 ]. initialy holds the sizeof value. descriptionreturns the value of one element inside a structure. if an element is optional and the function " read _ value " returns asn1 _ element _ not _ found, it means that this element wasn ' t present in the der encoding that created the structure. the first element of a sequence _ of or set _ of is named "? 1 ". the second one "? 2 " and so on. integervalue will contain a two ' s complement form integer. enumeratedas integer ( but only with not negative numbers ). booleanvalue will be the null terminated string " true " or " false " and len = 5 or len = 6. object identifiervalue will be a null terminated string with each number separated by a dot ( i. e. " 126. 96. 36. 1993. 1 " ). utctimevalue will be a null terminated string in one of these formats : " yymmddhhmmss + hh ' mm ' " or " yymmddhhmmss - hh ' mm ' ". len = strlen ( value ) + 1. generalizedtimevalue will be a null terminated string in the same format used to set the value. octet stringvalue will contain the octet string and len will be the number of octets. generalstringvalue will contain the generalstring and len will be the number of octets. bit stringvalue will contain the bit string organized by bytes and len will be the number of bits. choiceif name indicates a choice type, value will specify the alternative selected. anyif name indicates an any type, value will indicate the der encoding of the structure actually used. asn1 _ successset value ok. asn1 _ element _ not _ foundname is not a valid element. asn1 _ value _ not _


i am constantly reading and getting angry about the following common writing mistakes i find all over the place — which are easy to correct — so let ’ s all take a minute at the beginning of 2008 to make an effort to avoid them : less versus fewer if you can count it, use fewer. if you can ’ t, use less. for example, you should not write : “ i have less candy bars than jane. ” it ’ s fewer. keep in mind that less can also be an adverb ( “ john is less intelligent than jane ” ), so it ’ s even more important to get this right. i. e. versus e. g. these are overused anyway, but if you ’ re going to do it, do it right. i. e. means “ that is, ” e. g. means “ for example. ” also, both always contain dots and should pretty much always be surrounded by commas, e. g., well, that was easy to show. yeah, you know the word people always pronounce “ ex - edra ”? well, it ’ s pronounced the way it looks when you spell it correctly. and it does have the space. next time you say it or use it, try it the right way. and sure, you can abbreviate it as etc. overuse of “ that ” i call this the “ that disease. ” most people have it. look through something you ’ ve written and notice how many times you ’ ve used “ that ” when it wasn ’ t necessary. example : john said that he ’ ll be home later and that you should just start on your project alone. how many times did “ that ” need to appear? none. after you write something, do a search for thats and nuke them unless they ’ re absolutely necessary. irregardless is not the right word the word you ’ re looking for is “ regardless. ” the other isn ’ t a real word and is only included in dictionaries so it can be noted as incorrect. don ’ t use it. please. we ’ re all begging you. perhaps you don ’ t realize how stupid it makes you sound, but we all do. stop. no double - space after periods ( this is not 1965 ) you don ’ t need to use a double - space after a period. we are no longer using fixed - width fonts on typewriters and nearly all writing and style guides ( mla, the chicago manual of


periods ( this is not 1965 ) you don ’ t need to use a double - space after a period. we are no longer using fixed - width fonts on typewriters and nearly all writing and style guides ( mla, the chicago manual of style, et cetera ) suggest using only one space. it has been argued double - space is more accessible, but if you ’ re writing in 11px verdana, double - space isn ’ t doing anything to help anyone and it makes you look like an old school teacher. effect versus affect simply put, “ affect ” means to influence or act on, “ effect ” means something brought on by a cause or agent. there are a few other subtleties, but if you stick to the idea of affect being a verb and effect usually being a noun, you should be fine. examples : “ john ’ s drinking has no effect on his behavior, ” and, “ smoking crack while pregnant can affect the baby. ” lose versus loose this is a simple one. lose your keys, pull a loose tooth. two os means not firmly in place or relaxed. one o and something is missing or you ’ re the worse football team. this is by no means a comprehensive list of common issues, but i notice these in particular on a daily basis so they ’ re a good place to start.


a new study from carnegie mellon university shows that analyzing data from twitter yields the same results as conducting a public opinion poll. we ' re willing to bet it probably costs less, takes less time and annoys fewer people, as well. a cmu team from the computer science department looked at sentiments expressed in a billion twitter messages between 2008 and 2009. the researchers then use simple text analysis methods to filter out updates about the economy and politics and determine if the overall sentiment of the update was positive or negative. the cmu team found that people ' s attitudes on consumer confidence and presidential job approval were similar to the results generated by well - reputed, telephone - conducted public opinion polls, such as those conducted by reuters, gallup and pollster. com. for at least some topics, cmu assistant professor noah smith thinks this kind of passive information gathering could work. “ with seven million or more messages being tweeted each day, this data stream potentially allows us to take the temperature of the population very quickly, ” smith said. “ the results are noisy, as are the results of polls. opinion pollsters have learned to compensate for these distortions, while we ’ re still trying to identify and understand the noise in our data. given that, i ' m excited that we get any signal at all from social media that correlates with the polls. ” the cmu researchers did notice that twitter sentiments had much more day - to - day variation compared to data gathered from traditional polling data. to compensate, the team averaged the twitter results over a number of days ; at that point, the results were generally quite similar to polling data. for example, on twitter as in life, consumer confidence slumped in 2008 and started to revive last spring. and twitter updates showed the same general decrease in presidential job performance approval through 2009 as was seen in traditional polls. there were a few discrepancies — enough that the cmu folks don ' t recommend using twitter to poll for election results just yet. still, researchers hope that better natural language processing ( nlp ) techniques will make twitter and other social media a valuable source of public opinion information in the future. the paper is available online ( use the left column to navigate to the " papers " section, and scroll down to " from tweets to polls : linking text sentiment to public opinion time series " ), for those who ' d like to dig deeper. what do you think : could twitter and other social media eventually replace public opinion polls? would you rather have a researcher mining your public


it was paul erdos ( “ you trivial beings! ” ) who said that “ a mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems. ” this may be something deeper than it at first seems to be. a mathematician is a human being, that is, an evolved meat bag, a snorting, grubbing, hungering, randy machine of self - propagation and gene transmission. humans and other animals, as a general rule, eat, excrete, breed, and die, all without any rhyme or reason to their brief lives. for most of all history of life, all species have impacted the world only in similarly blind and unintentional ways : catastrophes unplanned, revolutions unforeseen, mathematical laws of biology obeyed without comprehension or awareness. then came the first mathematician ; not the traditional thales of greek legend, but someone much earlier. and what was she or he, and what do mathematicians do? they take the dross and brutishness of life, and see there are patterns beneath and within : they draw triangles in the sand, and discover pythagoras ’ s theorem ; they delineate the fields of nile, and discover geometry. they distill the essential out of the crude whole, and abandoning that crudity to its own devices and gyrations build on their pure suppositions. biologians and physicists are concerned with what is ; philosophers and leaders often consider what should be ; artists, closest to the people of number, consider what they would like to be, the imaginations that most tickle their various fancies ; but mathematicians are intent on invading the land of imagination and seeking not their wishes or needs, but simply all that what must be. and what emerges from their work is a structure of pure intellect divorced from the distractions of corporeal existence, an unfallen babel - tower of axiom and result. their work is imagination, clouds piled on clouds, not anchored to anything solid, but it is consistent against itself. in that stark sculpture - glory it is something immeasurably different from all pursuits before, and most pursuits since. mathematicians are crude creatures, and live in the crude world of flesh and matter : but they are also gates and conduits into the high worlds of logic and suppositional truth. and being that, they are the most precious alchemists, for they transform the raw crudeness of their existence and sustenance into something universal, eternal,


date : jan 27, 2013 7 : 06 pm author : jerry p. becker subject : sayings xlii taken from many sources... some of them identified. " hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing. and a good thing never dies. " ( andy dufrene, from shaw shank redemption / movie ) " if a child can ' t learn the way we teach, then maybe we should teach the way they learn! " ( ignacio estrada ) [ peggy mckee ] " a man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. the larger the denominator, the smaller the fraction. " ( leo tolstoy ) [ from signature of michael de villiers ] " modern cynics and skeptics see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing. " ( president john f. kennedy ( 1917 - 1963 ) ) [ valerie strauss ] " true terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high - school class is running the country. " ( kurt vonnegut ) [ from mike contino ] " i asked god for a bike, but i know god doesn ' t work that way. so i stole a bike and asked for forgiveness. " ( unknown ) [ from sandy lemberg ] " the problem with a lot of educational reform activity is it ' s a lot of ' ready, fire, aim. " " life ' s greatest gift is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing. " " who dares to teach must never cease to learn. " ( john cotton dana ) [ from carol brown ] " enjoy life ' s journey, but leave no tracks. " ( native american commandment ) " i don ' t feel old. i don ' t feel anything until noon. then it ' s time for my nap. " " researchers usually find that students flourish where there is stability in the school, with an experienced staff, clear expectations, small classes, and a rich curriculum. " " do good but don ' t expect to be remembered or celebrated after you ( interpretation of last native american commandment above ) [ from a note from loh kok khuan ] " my mechanic told me, " i couldn ' t repair your brakes, so i made your " do not regret growing older. it is a privilege denied to many. " " if you are really


note from loh kok khuan ] " my mechanic told me, " i couldn ' t repair your brakes, so i made your " do not regret growing older. it is a privilege denied to many. " " if you are really thankful, what do you do? you share. " ( w. clement stone ) " statistical significance and educational significance are often two completely different things. one child out of a thousand who does something uniquely different from other children has no statistical significance, but it may have huge educational significance. we need only look at the history of mathematics and science to note the tremendous impact that some ' statistically insignificant ' individuals have had by thinking vastly differently, and daring to deviate from the norm of their times. " ( michael de villiers ) " you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. " ( head and shoulders tv commercial ) " middle age is when your classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald they don ' t recognize you. " " the frogs tend to forget that once they were tadpoles, too. " ( korean proverb ) [ from mathe 2000 selected papers book ] " real peace is liberty in place of tyranny, health instead of disease, hope instead of fear. it comes when people have the freedom to voice their views, choose their own leaders, feed their families, and raise healthy children. " ( jimmy carter, 39th president of the u. s. ) [ from literature from the carter center ] " it is important to remember, in all efforts at improving the teaching of mathematics, that we are teaching human beings, and that what we are teaching them is a human activity with uses and with beauty and with surprises. " ( e. j. mcshane, 1964 ) [ sent by ginger warfield, daughter ] " never wrestle with a pig. you ' ll just get dirty. and the pig loves it! " " hospitality : making your guests feel like they ' re at home, even if you wish they were. " ( unknown ) [ from sandy lemberg ] " my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. " ( hosea 4 : 6 ) [ from the chronicle of higher education, december 7, 2012 ] " a stone in its place is like a mountain...... but a mountain in the wrong place is just like a stone. " ( turkish proverb ) [ seen on eddra2 listserve, from sue ramlo ] " there is no smallest among the small, and no largest among


... but a mountain in the wrong place is just like a stone. " ( turkish proverb ) [ seen on eddra2 listserve, from sue ramlo ] " there is no smallest among the small, and no largest among the large, but always something still smaller and something still larger. " ( anaxagoras - ca. 500 bc - 428 bc ) [ spelling correction from ch candy to earlier posting ] " the mathematician ' s patterns, like the painter ' s or the poet ' s must be beautiful ; the ideas, like the colours or the words must fit together in a harmonious way. beauty is the first test : there is no permanent place in this world for ugly mathematics. " ( " a mathematician ' s apology " ( london 1941 ). [ from bill richardson ; also from steve sugden and melanie parker ] " pythagoras walks into an airport, the tsa asks, " hey buddy, got an identity? " ( from john nord ) " what sort of education will teach the young to hate war? " ( ( virginia woolf, three guineas ) [ from brian greer ] " teachers are the only professionals who have to respond to bells every forty - five minutes and come out fighting. " ( frank mccourt ( 1930 - 2009 ), teacher and author ) " teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition. " ( jacques martin barzun ( born 1907 ), historian ) [ from valerie strauss ] " i spend time on window ledges because i am scared of widths. " " helping people in need is a matter of fundamental principle, responsibility, righteousness and justice, not an act of charity. " ( source unknown ) [ from yvelyne germain - mccarthy ] " a little health tip for you : i heard a banana - a - day is a good thing to help keep your colon clean... it turns out you are supposed to ( dwight york ) [ from a friend on a greeting card ] " beauty is the first test : there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics. " ( from z - mnu universitat bayreuth calendar. the " beauty... " quote is from g. h. hardy ' s " a mathematician ' s apology. " hardy ' s " apology " is not an excuse or an " i am sorry " statement. in the ancient greek sense it is about defending a position on something. in this case, hardy was "


' s " a mathematician ' s apology. " hardy ' s " apology " is not an excuse or an " i am sorry " statement. in the ancient greek sense it is about defending a position on something. in this case, hardy was " defending " his life ' s devotion to research mathematics. every budding mathematician reads it. it is totally inspirational. that was my former life before i met and began to understand also, from matt wyneken : btw1 - i just noticed another one of hardy ' s quotes at this website : " no one has yet discovered any warlike purpose to be served by the theory of numbers or relativity, and it seems unlikely that anyone will do so for many years. " he wrote that in 1941. yet only a few decades later, however, rms encryption was invented and now rules everything secret in the world, military, economic, etc. btw2 - you also included neil armstong ' s everlasting statement among your quotes. armstrong and buzz aldrin landed on the moon in 1969, with michael collins in support above, only some 60 + years after the invention of human flight ( as noted from television ' s # 1 comedy, the big bang theory ). btw3 - by jpb... if you are ever tooling down interstate 65 south by huntsville, alabama, make time to visit the rocket and space