The Curie Curse

Today is the 144th birthday of Marie Curie. It’s true. There is even a Google Doodle.

Marie Curie Google Doodle

And tonight on the news, no mention of it and certainly no mention of the International Year of Chemistry, a tribute to the achievements of Madame Marie Curie. Okay, so there was online coverage around the place.

That was it.

Come on, this is Madame Marie Curie, the first woman who won a Nobel Prize and the only person who has won two Nobel Prizes in two areas of science. Winning one Nobel Prize is a feat in itself but two? I was remonstrated for my lack of enthusiasm when told,

“eh, its a woman in science on a front page of major search engine…better than a kick in the arse.”

and when I noted that Robert Bunsen got an animated bunsen burner doodle I was told,

“it’s easier to animate a bunsen burner than something radioactive….”

The Google Doodle generated mentions on Twitter but don’t they always? My measure of a Google Doodle success is seeing my entire Facebook feed, (anyone remember that?), is filled with people’s statuses of “Go to Google and…”. In all seriousness I saw more excitement over the ability of being able to tell Google to do a barrel roll.

The conversation around the place centred on Curie’s life and achievements with a few fun facts thrown in like her lab notes and the tools she used  are too radioactive to handle. Visitors to France’s Bibliotheque National need to wear protective clothing and to sign a waiver to open the lead lined boxes containing Curie’s manuscripts.

I didn’t see any examples of interviews with chemists today discussing the impact of Curie on not just in physics and chemistry but the world today. Nada. Just a few comments on how the Curies died of radiation poisoning and mention of applications of radioactive materials in smoke detectors and carbon dating.

At the beginning of the year, there was much reflection and introspection on the state of science with regards to the participation from women. The general statement was that women in science should be highlighted and that they should be seen more. I would have liked to have seen some mention of female chemists and their thoughts on Marie Curie. At least it wouldn’t be yet another exercise in parading Madame Curie as the only woman who ever did anything in science.

Related articles

• Google Doodle Honors Marie Curie’s 144th Birthday (newsfeed.time.com)
• Marie Curie’s birthday celebrated in Google Doodle (telegraph.co.uk)
• Google Doodle Marie Curie: a fun fact (slashgear.com)

Peas are Good for You

Peas in pods, Source: Wikipedia

I grew up hearing about how peas are wonderfully delicious and that they are good for my health. I definitely disagree with the former. I have never found them to be tasty. They’re green balls grassy flavoured floury mush. Just yuk. I will just avoid them where ever possible but after a year of boarding school and lessons in formal dinners I will eat them if served and without complaint.

But are they any good for me? I’ve heard that peas are high in fibre, protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The pack of frozen peas doesn’t provide much information beyond fibre and carbohydrate content. I had to search around the internet and found an entire website devoted to all things peas at http://www.peas.org/.

According to this site:

Half a cup of frozen peas has only 5% of the daily value for sodium. Foods low in sodium are good for your heart. An 85 gram serving of peas, cooked, provides 50 calories, 4 grams of protein, 8 grams of carbohydrate (of which 3.5 grams are sugars), 3.8 grams of fibre, 17mg of vitamin C (28% of the recommended daily allowance) and 0.2mg Thiamine (B1) (15% of the recommended daily allowance).

When it comes to whether peas are good for you or not. They are. The chemical analysis shows it to be and it’s difficult to argue against. This doesn’t make them taste any better though. Feel free to suggest recipes for me to try if you have something for me to try to change my mind about these little round balls of green doom.

Note: The recommended daily allowance is only relevant to the UK and this may be different to the recommended daily allowance in the country that you live in and it is best to check what applies for you.

And before I go, Happy 189th Birthday Gregor Mendel, the founder of the field of genetics whose work came from observing the characteristics of pea pods.

Gregor Mendor Google Doodle

The Flood

I don’t know why I am writing this. I felt that I had to. It seems that everyone else in Australia has written something on the floods. There is round the clock coverage with updates and information. The footage of the devastation is being beamed through to televisions in high definition. There is no refuge from the situation. Even tuning into a commercial radio station during a nightly count of the top 40 songs in the country has people calling in for information or providing updates. It is all encompassing.

In Western Australia, there was flooding in the town of Carnarvon just before Christmas. Farmers have not only lost crops but some have also lost precious topsoil. In the short term this may mean a rise in food prices but the long term consequences are far more worrisome. There is assistance from the Department of Agriculture and Food available. Just before Christmas The West Australian and local news coverage were filled with images of roads washed away, floodwaters reaching the roofs of houses and lost crops. An appeal was set up.

I am going to be honest with you. I have since lost track of the timeline of flooding across Australia, (yes, the entire country, not just Queensland). The entire situation is overwhelming and even as I type, 75% of Queensland, the second largest state of the country, is underwater. The death toll from Queensland stands officially at 15 and all Australians are warned that there will be much more devastating news to come. And if you look at the Bureau of Meteorology’s warning page now, there is not one state or territory in Australia that doesn’t have a flood warning or flood watch in place.

There are scientists specialised in microbiology, disease, hydrology, meteorology and many other areas working around the clock. The people at Google, (yes, Google that big search engine that churns out maps and with doodles reminding us of the year’s progress), have put together a real time map of events for people in Queensland.

If you want to help there are appeals in place for flood victims.

Queensland Premier’s Flood Appeal

Lord Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund for Carnarvon

If someone approaches you about donating to a charity, make sure you ask that person for identification because unfortunately there scumbags out there who will seek to profit out of these disasters. More details at ScamWatch. And if you are donating, donate something worthy and of use to other people. Andrew Heslop explains how cash donations are more effective in a crisis situation than goods.

I apologise for my haphazard post but this is how my thoughts are roughly collected on the flooding. I do not have the time to sort them out and present them elegantly. I am also grateful that I do not need to. I felt I had to recognise the disaster in some way and to let everyone know that I am not ignoring this by not posting anything, because no one in Australia can avoid it. Everyone is talking about it.