The Official Cricketweb Science Thread!

[Quaggas]

An interesting retrospective on the SSC in SciAm

[benchmark00]

A question for all those scientists:

How does the little fresh sachet that comes in the packet of soft shell tacos/burritos work?? Blows my mind that it actually keeps them fresh, but when you remove it they go as stale as Jay Leno's stand up act.

[Daemon]

Absorbs moisture I think. Silica Gel?

[Top_Cat]

Study Linking Genetically Modified Corn to Rat Tumors Is Retracted: Scientific American

Hilarious to note that a co-author on this and a previous study published in a no-name journal with no IF linking pig stomach sizes to Monsanto feed is a Flinders Uni native. Absolute nut bar and both studies have obviously been heavily criticised.

Interesting that the person concerned links her name to the 'Institute of Health and Environmental Research' in the first study, a place which resides under the banner of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation which just happens to be government-funded (believe this occurs via the CSIRO). Wonder how much they know about her links to the anti-GMO wing-nuttery and associated poor quality sciencing? Hey CSIRO, when you're looking to cut back on research spots, look here first next time, ****s.

[silentstriker]

We all criticized it at the time. It was such a terrible study.

[Top_Cat]

Would go so far as to not even call it a study. The way they went about it, it's no longer science but propaganda. Even with good intentions, science can't function that way so work like this, I'd hope, would never be accepted by any mildly credible journal.

[silentstriker]

I don't get how it passed any peer review process.

[Quaggas]

Italian company to sell portable cold fusion plant deliverable next year

Hmmm. Short energy immediately.

Edit: The new NBC Dracula show starts out like this

Apparently, you just plug it in for the immersion heater and attach a Zepplin. Boom, 1MW

[Top_Cat]

I don't get how it passed any peer review process.

Have had several emails from Chinese and Indian journals asking for submissions for 'special editions'. Usually they're called the International Journal of Toxicological Oncology or something like that. They obviously don't say it directly but the strong inference is that whatever paper we submit will get a guernsey minus any peer-review, especially if we pay a fee of some sort.

[Top_Cat]

Italian company to sell portable cold fusion plant deliverable next year

Hmmm. Short energy immediately.

Edit: The new NBC Dracula show starts out like this

Apparently, you just plug it in for the immersion heater and attach a Zepplin. Boom, 1MW

So many of these snake oil sorts have a pic with some luminary to prove their cred but no actual quotes from said luminary backing them. It's so transparent.

Andrea Rossi E-Cat history

[Top_Cat]

From the comments in the initial article:

Andrea Rossi Energy Catalyzer (E-Cat) Hoax - Scam

[Quaggas]

Yeah, gotta love the section on the "Rossi Effect" on the cos website, eg
"The reaction going on inside the ECAT core is today not fully explained and only known in depth by the inventor Andrea Rossi himself,"
"The biggest challenge they face is to explain the three miracles of Cold Fusion reactions..."

[Top_Cat]

New Energy Times - Issue #37: Report #3 -- Scientific Analysis of Rossi, Focardi and Levi Claims

Massive critique of the system. Get comfortable.

[silentstriker]

Yeah, gotta love the section on the "Rossi Effect" on the cos website, eg
"The reaction going on inside the ECAT core is today not fully explained and only known in depth by the inventor Andrea Rossi himself,"
"The biggest challenge they face is to explain the three miracles of Cold Fusion reactions..."

How delightful.

[Lostman]

Have had several emails from Chinese and Indian journals asking for submissions for 'special editions'. Usually they're called the International Journal of Toxicological Oncology or something like that. They obviously don't say it directly but the strong inference is that whatever paper we submit will get a guernsey minus any peer-review, especially if we pay a fee of some sort.

Same here in my field. Generally, they say it is peer reviewed but you have to pay a few hundred $ to get it published.
"researchers" that scam the system publish a few articles in these journals citing there own work to get more citations and a higher h-index, then use these numbers on grants.