The Nobel Peace Prize
 |
Congratulations to Al Gore and the entire Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for wining the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.” This makes Gore one of the most influential people on the planet, and draws much needed attention to the IPCC’s work, which is largely ignored by the public for being boring scientifically-dense reading.
Mega props to Gore for turning right around and giving the cool $750,000 to the Alliance for Climate Protection, which Gore chairs. Giga props to the IPCC for observing the scientific method all these years:
Each time the IPCC sits down to consider the solidity of hundreds of pieces of research its conclusions are subjected to both scientific and political scrutiny before they can be published.
Many scientists find this a frustrating process and several briefly walked out this year when political delegates objected to some of what they wanted to say.
But in many ways it is this process of scrutiny that has allowed the IPCC’s pronouncements to have such an impact. Every piece of evidence it presents publicly, every statement it makes has been assessed rigorously.
If it errs at all, it errs on the side of caution and by being able so convincingly to shrug off accusations of exaggeration that it has won credibility for itself and its findings.
McCain took the high road, congratulating Gore and issuing a challenge to him to support nuclear power. Bush took the meh road, acknowledging the prize, but not making any changes to his plan to tackle Global Warming by doing nothing… well, he might show up to some more free dinners.
And yes, I am reveling in the incoherent rage now spewing from the lunatic fringe, with their silliness about the sun causing Global Warming (without any scientific evidence whatsoever), a National Review blogger exaggerated Gore’s Inconvenient Truth exaggerations by reporting a British judge found 11 inaccuracies in the film (but there were only nine and the Judge considered the film was accurate overall), Telegraph readers evoked socialist conspiracies and ad hominem attacks, while a round up of blog posts reveals a world of pundits still trapped in the politics of 1999 (“Clinton’s only legacy will be a stained dress!” (Bite me NeoCon sissies)).
This award further reinforces the fact that truth perseveres. The wingnuts won’t be convinced, but their voices grow weaker with each passing year, muffled under a mountain of scientific evidence that now streams in on a daily basis. I appreciate the political fringe minority speaking out so loudly, it let’s the rest of us know who you are so we can keep a careful eye on you.
As I argued in my previous post, Al Gore doesn’t need this award with so many accomplishments all ready under his belt; however, the Environmental Movement does need it, and in awarding both Al Gore and the IPCC, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is bringing attention to a cause that should unite the world, because we are one world first, and individual countries second. Lots of people can’t understand why people working tirelessly on an issue that effects everyone on planet Earth merit a “Peace Prize,” but these are the same people who think the solution is to “invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.”
Compare such negative and destructive ideas with chairperson of the IPCC, Dr. R.K. Pachauri’s hopeful and noble comments on receiving the award.
Video of Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech (via Treehugger).Time’s Global Warming Survival Guide
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry
|
Oh this is way past cool. Congratulations to Gerhard Ertl for winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007, which recognizes his lifetime of work establishing an experimental school of thought for the entire discipline of modern surface chemistry.
Using many different methods of measuring reactions, including playing reactions in reverse order, Ertl was able to decrypt the chain of atomic processes that produce artificial fertilizer and the oxidation of carbon monoxide on platinum, used by catalytic converters for exhaust-cleaning in cars. His research methods have opened an entire realm of scientific research.
An entry-level explanation of the research here (PDF).
A more technical explanation here (PDF).
Nobel Prize in Physics
 Toshiba Hard Drive4GB Data Storage |
Congratulations to Albert Fert and Peter Grunberg for each winning 1/2 of the Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance.” Regarded as one of the first major applications of nanotechnology, and was a crucial discovery in the development of smaller and smaller data-storage:
…the ongoing IT-revolution depends on an intricate interplay between fundamental scientific progress and technical fine tuning. This is just what the Nobel Prize in Physics for the year 2007 is about.
An entry-level explanation of the discoveries here (PDF).
A more technical explanation here (PDF).
The fact that nobel prizes seem to be going more and more to several people working on the same research is a symptom of how complex progress has become. Fading away are the days of lone inventors and scientists revolutionizing a field single-handedly. The Great Man Theory was always an overly-simplistic view of human history, and one that has given people distorted views of their place in society. I have seen the future, and it is wiki-style collaborations. One day the Nobel prize in Physics will be split sixteen ways.
>Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
 Chimeric Mouse Embryo Developed at the University of Texas at Austin |
Congratulations to Mario Capecchi, Sir Martin Evans, and Oliver Smithies for each winning 1/3rd of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007 “for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells,” meaning this research allows for the production of genetically-modified mice, and gene-targeting, which has opened the door to understanding what specific genes in the mouse genome do by “knocking out” the genes. 10,000 mouse genes have been knocked out so far. This research, which has been going on for nearly 30 years now, sets the foundation for identifying the genes behind human diseases, targeting them, and one day straining them out of our genome.
Breakdown of this important research here.
Also, from the Scientist who made the above mouse, Shan Maika, when I requested permission to use this photo:
this mouse embryo was the result of crossing a transgenic mouse I made here at my facility (S100-rtTA) with a Tet-On/Lac Z mouse and then administering doxycycline (in the drinking water) to the mother during gestation. Below is what the student sent me when he gave me the picture to use on the website.
The LacZ transgene expressed in Schwann cells and visualized via histochemnistry for beta-galactosidase. We used the S100B-promoter (a glial selective promoter) to drive the expression of the reverse transcription Trans-activator (rtTA). Because this system is base on the Tet-On conditional gene expression system (Fruth et al., 1996….I think)all I have to do is feed these animals tetracycline or one of its derivatives (ie Doxycycline) to activate transcription of LacZ in the Schwann cells.
– Shan Miaka, Mouse Genetic Engineering Facility
The Nobel Prize in Literature
Congratulations Doris Lessing, “that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism[sic], fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation[sic] to scrutiny,” for winning the The Nobel Prize in Literature 2007! The award recognizes her lifetime of works, which encompass feminist, communist, psychological, and Sufist themes.
I am not personally familiar with her work, but one title that jumped out at me was Canopus in Argos, a five-book science fiction series that deals with “forced evolution” as wikipedia describes it, and “studies the post-atomic war development of the human species” as Doris Lessing’s Bio and Bibliography describes it. All but the first book is currently out of print. You can bet these books will all be back at the presses post haste.
 |
Her name also has a nice assonance (or is it alliteration?) with the name of another great mind, Lawrence Lessig, but this quote endears her to my heart:
“…in science fiction is some of the best social fiction of our time. I also admire the classic sort of science fiction, like Blood Music, by Greg Bear. He’s a great writer.”
Blood Music is one of my all-time favorite science fiction novels. You rock Lessing!
Economic Sciences
 Cournot Game with Three Competitors |
Congratulations Eric Maskin, Roger Myerson, and Leonid Hurwicz (who at 90 is the oldest person to recieve a Nobel), for each winning 1/3rd of the The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences 2007, “for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory.”
Only Republicans and Democrats describe our economies in black and white socialist and capitalist terms, dishonestly circumventing the reality that all markets are mixtures of strategies. Socialist roads are preferable to capitalist ones, market competition promotes more innovation and progress than monopolization, and Health Insurance’s third party payment systems just sucks ass all around.
Determining when regulation, taxation, privatization, voluntary charity, auctions, and other market architectures and solutions provide the best solutions to different market situations is the basis of Mechanism Design Theory, and the field appears to rely heavily on game theory for its research and insights.
Information for the public about this field here (PDF).
Scientific Background here (PDF).