Western Science Blogs

Uncertainty can be described as a state of being in doubt.  Arising out of a need to survive,  the feeling of uncertainty provided early humans with cautionary measures that ensured their survival in a dangerous world.  It is uncomfortable to feel uncertain about all the unknowns in life.  However, it is within uncertainty that we usually find the push to grow and change.  Surrendering to uncertainty is what gives us the freedom to unlimited possibilities. Causality is the relationship between cause and effect.  When we explore the Hindu belief in karma, we see a similar concept that refers to a spiritual principle of cause and effect in which the actions of an individual influence the future of that individual.  The law of universal causation can be translated into a spiritual belief that has served as one of the most important core principles of Buddhism and Hinduism. "Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, t...

The carbon footprint is an issue that has raised a lot of attention over the past decade.  The increasing amount of waste and pollution being created by humans is a threat to the health and wellbeing of our planet. One of the articles we read focused on eating our way to a smaller carbon footprint.  The top two practices that actually reduced the carbon footprint the most are eliminating waste by eating what you buy (25%) and going vegan (25%).  A collective awareness of our actions is an important factor in making conscious choices that will help reduce the damage inflicted on the environment. As I explore my own daily habits, I have found that I am contributing to an undesirable carbon footprint with online shopping.  The convenience of ordering things I need at my fingertips is adding to my waste through the packaging being expended with each delivery and fuel exhaustion as well.  In terms of groceries, however, I am doing well with shopping at local...

EVO-DEVO: Evo-devo stands for the evolution of development.  It is considered the third revolution in evolution, revealing the theory that development and evolution were closely connected.  The article we read on eve-devo suggested that all animal species developed according to the control exerted by an unexpectedly small number of genes.  Therefore, scientists deduced that the whole spectrum of animal diversity had been fed by the same set of genes.  Evolution works with the same set of genes and uses it in different combinations to create new diversity. This idea is mind blowing considering that we have assumed that the diversity of life was formed from scratch over and over again.  Humans and animals are not so different after all.  It makes me think of the great Tao and how all physical forms arose out of this vast sea of non-being.  Although humans and animals have different physical attributes, we were created from the same fundamental ...

“You going be late for da potluck at Kailua beach!” “No worries brah, I stay on Hawaiian time.” The concept of time varies from culture to culture.  Having grown up in Hawaii, I was used to the expression of doing things in "Hawaiian time," which describes a relaxed attitude to scheduling.  In order to understand where this came from, we have to look at ancient Hawaiian history. The Hawaiians lived in close association with the rhythm of nature by following the cycles of the moon and the ocean.  Their concept of time was defined by nature and therefore contained boundaries that were flexible compared to our modern definition of time. As we look further into how various cultures perceive time, we discover that many share similar views to the ancient Hawaiians, such as the Hopi tribe of Arizona whose language lacks any description of a linear perspective of time.  It seems that the the farther away humans disassociate from the cycles of nature, the more rigid...

I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and have been living in the Bay Area with my family since 2004.  I've worked an esthetician for the past decade by helping clients achieve their skin care goals.  I am now dedicated to being a student in Chinese medicine school and fulfilling an interest that was sparked long ago as a young child in my grandmother's kitchen.  She brought her knowledge of village medicine from China to the United States and used it in our household to treat various illnesses and ailments.  I am hopeful that my current journey will be a bridge for the knowledge of the inner and outer landscapes of the human body.

I really liked the clever periodic table done by John Pratt.  The artistic icons make it easy to learn and memorize the elements.  The periodic table game on the Funbrain website was also an engaging way to learn the abbreviations of the elements.  Both links used visual and interactive ways to engage their audience in the process of learning the periodic chart.  It makes the tedious action of memorization much more meaningful and enjoyable.

Our group had discussed the tetrachromatic phenomena of "super vision" in women today.  It is estimated that only 2 percent of women have the genetic mutation that results in the extra retina cone that allows them to see 100 million colors!  Most humans are "trichromats" meaning their eyes contain three kinds of cone cells which provides access to roughly one million colors.  I find it interesting that the tetrachromacy mutation appears in women with sons or fathers who are colorblind.  This could be categorized as a superhuman trait! I was also fascinated by another group's topic of how sea mammals communicate with each other.  Clearly, we are still trying to figure out their communication using sound for orientation and group organization.  This is the first time I've heard that their sophisticated system of sound may actually project images to each other during communication.  

I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and have been living in the Bay Area with my family since 2004.  I've worked an esthetician for the past decade by helping clients achieve their skin care goals.  I am now dedicated to being a student in Chinese medicine school and fulfilling an interest that was sparked long ago as a young child in my grandmother's kitchen.  She brought her knowledge of village medicine from China to the United States and used it in our household to treat various illnesses and ailments.  I am hopeful that my current journey will be a bridge for the knowledge of the inner and outer landscapes of the human body.

1. Classify the following as either a chemical or physical change.  Burning wood -chemical change Crushing a rock -physical change Dissolving sugar in water -physical change The rusting of iron -chemical change 2. Classify the following as to whether or not they are pure substances or mixtures.  milk -mixture table salt -pure substance sugar -mixture steel -mixture 3. A cup of black coffee is considered to be __?__ and a/an __?__ substance.  (d) non-homogeneous�impure   4. The boiling of water is considered to be a __?__ change and the temperature at which water boils is considered to be a __?__ property.  (d) physical�..physical

I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and have been living in the Bay Area with my family since 2004.  I've worked an esthetician for the past decade by helping clients achieve their skin care goals.  I am now dedicated to being a student in Chinese medicine school and fulfilling an interest that was sparked long ago as a young child in my grandmother's kitchen.  She brought her knowledge of village medicine from China to the United States and used it in our household to treat various illnesses and ailments.  I am hopeful that my current journey will be a bridge for the knowledge of the inner and outer landscapes of the human body.