Science Update & Collapse Intro

After what was definitely the worst travel experience yet, I've settled on some science topic choices and new books to read. I definitely want to keep up with pancreatic cancer research as the more clinically relevant topic. Other than constantly follow that area of research, I really don't think I should restrict myself to particular fields over the long term. I don't think research moves fast enough for me to keep tabs on a specific topic week after week. So for now I've decided to due some background reading on stem cells. Specifically, I want to research the validity of the stem cell theory of cancer and the utility of inducible pluripotent cells (iPCs). I'll move on to other topics when I feel like I've learned enough from these topics. I'm also considering blog posts devoted to information I need to know for specific organs or physiological phenomena that I should probably know about.

On to the books that will take me into the new year. I've thought a lot about the books I've read in 2008 and definitely the one that affected me the most was Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Everything from the organization to the evidence all went towards a concrete thesis that still sticks with me. With that said, I'd like to start the new year with the my personal favorite author of last year and read Diamond's Collapse. I've also picked up Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Apparently Sagan is very popular in the skeptical community but I've only recently heard of him. His ridiciously cheap "masterpiece" ($8!) should be a nice introduction to his work.

I was only able to get through the introduction of Collapse on the train...and barely at that. In a nutshell, there are five main themes the will constantly popup in Diamond's case studies that lead to each one's collapse or success: human impact on the environment, climate change, a society's relations with neighboring friendly societies, exposure to hostile societies and most importantly, a society's response to its problems. First up is modern day Montana, which will serve to explemify these themes which will later to be applied to ancient civilizations.