2010-08-31

Review of "Bad Universe"

Bad Universe promotional postcardImage by thebadastronomer via Flickr
We recently watched "Bad Universe" on the Discovery Channel, hosted by Phil Plait.  The first show was about asteroids and how they might threaten Earth, and what could be done about them.  Phil Plait was quite interesting, even though he kept wanting to press the "fire" button on the gadgets.  :)

Although the show did dramatize asteroid collisions, it did not focus on that aspect too much, like many other science shows do.  Instead, it analyzed different types of asteroids, and how their makeup affects efforts to redirect their path.  It also analysed the effects of impact at different distance, using a scale model explosion.  I was not aware of the Hiroshima measuring scale!

I will watch this show again.  I'd even watch this particular episode again. It was quite entertaining, brilliant, and informative.

2010-08-05

Antivaxxers take note: vaccines stop polio outbreak in Tajikistan | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

From the Discover: Bad Astronomy blog
See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity

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This is wildly good news! Through Vaccine Central I learned that a major polio outbreak in Tajikistan has been stopped!

How? Through vaccination.

Yup. The first reports of polio were confirmed in April — 413 of them. However, that ended in late June, when no new cases were reported. That is credited to the thousands of doctors and nurses who not only vaccinated at least 97% of the children in each region of the mountainous country, but also flooded the area with multi-lingual informational leaflets, posters, and banners.

And they succeeded! With no new reports, it appears this outbreak was stopped cold.

And with the AVN in Australia getting hammered repeatedly in the press, I can now have some hope that the movement here in the United States, spearheaded by Jenny McCarthy, will die off as well. Vaccinations work, and they save a lot of lives.

Antivaxxers take note: vaccines stop polio outbreak in Tajikistan | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine