The Haversian Canal

Animal Planet is hosting a live feed of the National Zoo's pandas, particularly the baby panda. So cute.

A link to Ernesto Illy's Scientific American articleThe Complexity of Coffee

The users of Aaron Swartz's reddit.com started advocating for a science 'subreddit' a couple of days ago. Aaron launched science.reddit.com yesterday. Luckily I was home today and got to enjoy some of the first finds, like Richard Feynman on the pleasure of finding things out, and Burt Rutan on space flight.

It's not new to consider getting aspirin directly from the bark of the white willow (salix alba), though the dosing is not exactly precise. This article seems especially intriguing:

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of salicin and its major metabolites in humans after oral administration of a chemically standardised willow bark extract. METHODS: Willow bark extract corresponding to 240 mg salicin (1,360 mg, 838 micromol) was ingested by ten healthy volunteers in two equal doses at times 0 h and 3 h. Over a period of 24 h, urine and serum levels of salicylic acid and its metabolites, i.e. gentisic acid and salicyluric acid, were determined using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Renal excretion rate, elimination half-life and total bioavailability of salicylates were calculated. RESULTS: Salicylic acid was the major metabolite of salicin detected in the serum (86% of total salicylates), besides salicyluric acid (10%) and gentisic acid (4%). Peak levels were reached within less than 2 h after oral administration. Renal elimination occurred predominantly in the form of salicyluric acid. Peak serum levels of salicylic acid were on average 1.2 mg/l, and the observed area under the serum concentration time curve (AUC) of salicylic acid was equivalent to that expected from an intake of 87 mg acetylsalicylic acid. CONCLUSION: Willow bark extract in the current therapeutic dose leads to much lower serum salicylate levels than observed after analgesic doses of synthetic salicylates. The formation of salicylic acid alone is therefore unlikely to explain analgesic or anti-rheumatic effects of willow bark.——Schmid B, Kotter I, Heide L. Pharmacokinetics of salicin after oral administration of a standardised willow bark extract. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2001 Aug;57(5):387-91.

But I what I really wonder is if the chewing action might relieve people's desire to snack, thereby lowering the rate of obesity?

Councilman Vince Cox runs the Gretna City Park Observatory. The observatory is open on Mondays and Wednesdays, from dusk until everyone leaves. Saturn and Jupiter are in view late in the evening, a good time to take the kids. Come often and tell your friends.

The observatory is behind Gretna Middle School at the dead end of Huey P Long Avenue.