Science Squabbling

Dismay as Alzheimer's drug fails in clinical trials

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/23/dismay-as-alzheimers-drug-solanezumab-fails-in-clinical-trials?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

This is a real pity. A few companies have some promising drugs in development tho.

The good news though:

Dementia Rates Falling Among U.S. Seniors

Quite sharply, in fact.

There is data to suggest that this is in part due to the removal of tetraethyllead from petrol.

Dementia Rates Falling Among U.S. Seniors

Misread that at first pass as Dementia Rates Falling Among U.S. Senators, which could only be a good thing after two decades of idiotically drifting towards presidential dictatorship.

Falling Among U.S. Senators

Did exactly the same.

Does anyone know of any good books about/which explain any ofthe theory/maths behind concrete curvey objects (domes, saddles and arches...)?

Engineering books obvs.

Concrete in particular or arches/domes etc in general?

The latter. Dunno why I said concrete really.
Concrete arches really get me going, especially when bridges.
Interested really in why the curved shapes are so good and how their properties of the curves affect their strengths and thrusts etc.

Preferably explained without the general waffle of most engineeringy books I've read.

Dunno where you'll find a textbook without waffle, the bibliography of Wikipedia is a good place to start, maybe a particularly technical page. This seems like another good starting place (at a glance), follow the reference trail!

I vaguely remember covering lines of force in arches & catenaries in AS / A level maths

This looks like it might help:

http://engineeringwiki.org/wiki/Arch_Structures

Lucky, sounds like fun. Even in our higher mechanics course (M4 OCR) we don't cover anything like that I think.
Closest we've come was some extension showing how the cosh curve (reversed catenary) was in lowest energy state (as if hung).
And that was way off piste.

Thanks for the link guys.

Thinking about it, it was probably further maths or step maths - we looked at hyperbolic towers too.

YOUR a hyperbolic tower... #etc

Yeh, wouldn't be in single maths. Haven't come across it in the STEP I've done and it doesn't appear to be on the further maths course I'm taking.
Sad times.

Have you seen the book Structures: Or why things don't fall down by JE Gordon? It's meant to be a clear/basic/classic overview of structural engineering. I think it's got some maths in it but perhaps only when needed and just for the sake of it. It's not only about arches etc, but it has a couple of chapters in that direction.

^ Thanks for that link.

EVERYTHING's political, except dinosaurs:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/03/conservatives-and-liberals-united-only-by-interest-in-dinosaurs-study-shows

I bet people from different sides of the political spectrum even disagree on which dinosaurs they like best, though. Thatcherites (pace Steve Bell) probably love T-Rexes and lefties love peaceful herbivores. :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00k3wvk

Hi nerds. Very last minute but if anyone fancies coming with me to a recording of radio 4's pop Sci panel show Museum of Curiosity tonight at 19:15 please let me know.
I have been offered two free tickets. It looks interesting but I have no one to go with. It's at Broadcasting House W1A

Let me know on thread/by PM/text if you have my number.

Cheers

Bollocks, totally would have gone to that.

The origin of a big science squabble.

1 Attachment

I found this an interesting article:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jul/18/we-are-all-mutants-now-the-trouble-with-genetic-testing

You need to add a controversial opinion, so we can have a squabble...

Oh no, I don't.

What you did there, I see it.
Looks interesting, always worth bearing in mind how little we know about biology and how much there is still to know.

Am I right in thinking that in general anticlastic shell structures are stronger and stiffer than synclastic shells?
I remember reading something along those lines, but can't find much to back it up?