Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Why did Vermont exempt cheese from GMO-labeling law: Money? Science? Uncertainty?
Vermont's GMO-labeling law, which kicked in July 1, is probably going to be overridden by a less stringent federal law, although that's not certain yet. But as UnDark magazine notes in this fine piece (which, as is semi-obligatory these days, contains several...
Why is Manchester airport (like many, many others) struggling? It’s complicated
This is more business-y than geeky, but on the assumption that we all like to understand hidden complicated mechanisms that make everyday events occur (a working of definition of what makes a geek), may I suggest you read this article from Bloomberg about why regional...
Prices for sunscreen vary by 3,000% (plus, they wash off more than they say they do)
More than one-third of sunscreens commonly purchased on Amazon don’t meet guidelines from the American Academy of Dermatology, researchers have found. (Here's the paper) The most common failings was lack of water or sweat resistance, meaning they wash off more quickly...
GraniteGeek On The Air: The extremist-video-spotting edition
Want to hear me talk about this week's GraniteGeek column with NHPR's Peter Biello? Then this is the place to click. (Poor Peter had to stop and help me pronounce Hany Farid's name correctly. Spelling I can do - pronunciation, not so much.)
Collecting bat guano with tweezers
The photo above shows my wife, Shelley, collecting bat poop, one pellet at a time, with tweezers. She's in a neighbor's barn, and we're collecting it as part of a UNH research project that analyzes poop from these insect eaters to spot invasive insects. I had thought...
The complications of daylight saving time: Egypt cancels it at the last minute
Daylight saving time - advancing clocks an hour during summer so evening daylight lasts an hour longer - is one of those geeky-ish ideas that has been adopted by society, to much consternation. Every year (twice a year, actually) there is debate in the U.S. about...
Who needs Star Trek? Nashua bus system has developed its own Universal Translator
The Nashua bus system is using Google Translate on a tablet computer to help drivers deal with non-English-speaking riders. Brilliant idea. NHPR has the story. Speaking as somebody who has tried and failed to learn a second language most of my life - I can't even do...
Dartmouth professor’s “robust hashing” can spot terrorism videos automatically
An algorithm based on "robust hashing" of video images, developed by digital-image-forensics expert Hany Farid at Dartmouth, is being touted as a new way to limit the spread of violent recruitment videos online. Basically, once a video is identified by a human as a...
We need good news, so: Canada/US/Mexico cooperation is saving the Monarch butterfly
Goodness knows we need some upbeat news these days, so how about this, from Quartz: In 2014, scientists and activists alike panicked after Monarch population numbers reached record lows the year prior. Since then, North American leaders have been cooperating to save...
For reasons that aren’t clear, the nasal spray flu vaccine was a real dud
New Hampshire kids will have to get a shot in the arm this year to vaccinate against the flu - the state isn't buying the nasal-spray version after the CDC said that in the past two years it basically hasn't provided any protection. The nasal spay (FluMist is the...
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