Nerdy Science Blog

The picture above (right) is a fly’s eyes scanned under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).  SEM is a powerful tool that use high-energy beam of electrons in a raster scan pattern to study the surface and characteristic of the sample.  ASPEX Corporation is a leading producer of SEM and Microanalysis software.

SEM is an expensive machine to be purchased by common households, and not every scientist have access to it.  ASPEX offers the readers of this blog a free SEM scan of any sample.  You could send ASPEX a penny, some dirt, your lipstick mark on your husband’s collar, a piece of broccoli, mosquito’s eye etc.  You can simply send anything you wish to see under a powerful microscope to amaze yourself with the beautiful world that you can never see with your naked eyes.

How can you get a free SEM scan and report?  Just following the following instructions:

1. Download and print this form from the ASPEX website.

2. Fill out the form and mail it along with the sample you want to scan to:

ASPEX Corporation
Free Sample Submissions
175 Sheffield Dr.
Delmont, PA 15626

3. The images and report of your scanned sample will published on ASPEX result page.

Note: It takes about two weeks for the results to be post to the ASPEX website.  The submitters will be notified via email when the result is posted.  The samples scanned for free will not be returned.

If you wish to own a SEM to do your own SEM scan, ASPEX produces affordable desktop SEM.

David M. Buss, evolutionary psychology professor, and Cindy M. Meston, clinical psychology professor will publish a book titled “Why Women Have Sex: Understanding Sexual Motivations from Adventure to Revenge (and Everything in Between)” on 29th Sept.  The book overturned the view of stereotype that women only have sex in the name of love or commitment.

The two professors collected information from more than 1,000 women on their reasons for having sex.  These women are consisted of diverse educational, ethnic and religious backgrounds.  The result showed there is a diversity of sexual motivations, not only for having a baby, love or physical pleasure.  It is interesting to find that women have sex to cure headache, to feel closer to God, to get their sexual partners to take out the trash, or it is simply a sense of duty for some wives.

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Do you really think that sharing a bed can boost your relationship with your love one?

One study found that couples who shared a bed suffered 50% more sleep disturbances.  Dr Neil Stanley, a sleep specialist at the University of Surrey, told the British Science Festival that people should make marital bed a place for sexual congress instead of sleeping, just like what ancient Rome did.  This prevents couples from getting poor sleep that was to depression, heart disease, strokes, lung disorders, traffic and industrial accidents, and divorce.

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“The Science and Technology System of Malaysia” is a good overview of Malaysia’s science and technology system written by V.V. Krishna.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) is the lead ministry that formulates policies in the area of science, technology and innovation. MOSTI also implements many programmes related to the promotion of S&T and national R&D activities. The National Council for Scientific Research and Development (NCSRD) is an advisory body comprising high-level representatives from the public and private sectors as shown in Figure 1. The main function of the NSCRD is to provide advice and directions on S&T policies and S&T priorities. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation acts as the secretariat to the National Council of Scientific Research and Development (NSCRD). The Council is chaired by the Chief Secretary to the government. Representations include the universities and public research institute and key central government agencies, and the private sectors. This council meets three to four times a year to deliberate on matters related to research and scientific advancement.

The paper helps the reader to understand the governance system of science and technology, fundings, policies, schemes, programmes, commercialization opportunities, history and development of science and technology in Malaysia.

There are some updates since the publication of that paper, but it is a nice paper to understand the science and technology system of Malaysia.