I recently drove to Minneapolis to hear Kevin Smith, of Clerks fame, give a three-hour talk on whatever was on his mind. The topic of conversation drifted naturally — amazingly enough — from Hollywood feuds to sexual intercourse between a man and a horse before finally settling on Wayne Gretzky. Yes, Gretzky, the hero of [...]
The Manitoban
The Students' Newspaper of the University of Manitoba
Author Archive for Leif Larsen
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Events in science
Interested in getting more involved on and off campus? Want to see how professors spend their free time? Need something thrifty to do with your date on a Friday night? Come out to some of these events. All are free, all are interesting and most have free food and coffee. October 8-January 17 2010 Manitoba [...]
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Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles currently still require oil
Let’s face it; hydrogen fuel cells are really awesome. In goes some hydrogen — which just happens to be the most abundant element in the universe — and out comes a bunch of electricity. In one brush-stroke the troublesome range, battery lifespan and charging problems associated with today’s electric cars would be wiped out. The [...]
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Better know a prokaryote
The virus formerly known as “swine flu,” or the H1N1 strain of the common influenza virus, has gotten all the press lately, so I thought I would steal back some of the spotlight and feature a group of viruses this week which, it could be argued, are largely responsible for the diversity of life on [...]
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Carbon, we hardly know ye
You are mostly water and carbon. Oh, sure, there is some nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen, along with a host of other elements thrown in there, but you’re pretty much all carbon. You’re not alone either. From the biggest tree to the smallest virus, every living thing on this planet is carbon. In fact, carbon is [...]
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Communal living means always having to say: “you’re sorry”
An open letter to the people downstairs, who keep smoking pot and cigarettes in the house: Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Well, did you? The whole house smelled like weed and tobacco. It’s a duplex . . . that means that the two parts of our house are connected, in case you were too [...]
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Alan Turing
The allied invasion of occupied France was the beginning of the end.” “The Nazis spreading themselves over too many fronts lead to their own defeat.” “The entrance of the Americans into the conflict turned the tide.” Sound like familiar explanations for the allied victory in World War Two? How about this one: “The war was [...]
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What’s the big deal?
Go ahead, think of a number at random, any number, I’ll wait . . . what was your number? If you chose was 67 then that’s kind of eerie, mainly because that was my number, and you should get out of my head. But, regardless of which number you chose one question is paramount, are [...]
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Better know a prokaryote
This column, which will be switching off with Leanne Grieves’ “Zoological investigations,” will strive to pique your interest in the world of the microscopic, bringing you strange tales of wonder and amazing diversity, but first, a little explanation of the term “prokaryote”. The prokaryotes, which include bacteria, archaea and viruses, are possibly the most diverse [...]
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From brain to grain
Ah September, the leaves begin to change, light crisp air slowly starts to replace the heavy and humid conditions of August and students return to the campuses of this great country. And what will meet those students and their sponge-like brains? Well, certainly knowledge, camaraderie and experience to name a few, but there will also [...]