L.E. Carmichael's Blog, page 29
February 19, 2018
Intent to Kill and the Forensics of Hang Fire
There has been a ton of debate online in the wake of the latest shootings in the States. One thing no one argues about is whether or not the shooters intended to commit murder, because of course they did. Canadians, on the other hand, have been debating the question of intent – in the Gerald Stanley/Colten Boushie case. Did Stanley shoot to kill, or did his gun experience a rare malfunction? Called hang fire, it apparently happens when there is a delay between the trigger pull and the movement of the bullet. My academic expertise is in the forensic science […]
The post Intent to Kill and the Forensics of Hang Fire appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
February 17, 2018
Who’s Your Favourite Fantasy Author?
Confession: I’ve been hoarding Terry Pratchett novels ever since he first announced he had Alzheimer’s disease. I’ve been doling them out to myself as rare and hard-to-earn rewards because I knew there would come a day that he wouldn’t be able to write any more. And on that day, I would lose forever the joy of reading one of his works for the very first time. I read Snuff as my treat for finishing the first draft of my new Kids Can Press book (eek!) and it was just as brilliant and incisive and wonderful as I could have hoped, […]
The post Who’s Your Favourite Fantasy Author? appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
February 15, 2018
Why Tech Support is Cranky
Tech Support is cranky. When we decided to move to Ontario, our primary concerns were: Being close enough to Toronto to get there if we wanted, but far enough away that the hordes of people wouldn’t make me too ragey Being close enough to Toronto to get there when we needed, while still being able to afford a house. When we researched the town we now live in, we thought we’d lucked out. Everyone we talked to told us how nice the climate is in this part of Ontario – mild winters, very little snow. After weeks of temperatures […]
The post Why Tech Support is Cranky appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
February 12, 2018
Great Big Book News!
*emerges from hiding* *checks to see whether anyone is still here* *pulls out bullhorn and confetti cannon* I’M WRITING A BOOK FOR KIDS CAN PRESS. KIDS CAN PRESS, PEOPLE. Unless you’re in the biz, you may not know that Kids Can Press was named Best Children’s Publisher in North America for 2017. You might not know that Kids Can Press publishes beautiful, wonderful, ground-breaking books by some seriously awesome Canadian authors and illustrators, including two of my favourite science writing peeps, Helaine Becker and Claire Eamer. You might not know that Kids Can Press books routinely appear on bestseller […]
The post Great Big Book News! appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
November 6, 2017
Gene Therapy: Embryonic Engineering and the Future of Human Evolution
Welcome to Part 3 of my series on gene therapy and genetic engineering. If you haven’t already, I’d suggest reading Parts 1 and 2 before you continue: Introduction to Gene Therapy: It Sounds Simple, But It’s Sure Not Easy Gene Therapy: Vectors, Viruses, and Why CRISPR Will Change Everything Today, we’re talking about the second major challenge with gene therapy – getting replacement DNA into EVERY affected cell in a patient’s body – and why that problem leads to the central ethical debate in this field. Who Are the Patients? Gene therapy is designed for patients with genetic diseases. The […]
The post Gene Therapy: Embryonic Engineering and the Future of Human Evolution appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
October 30, 2017
Gene Therapy: Vectors, Viruses, and Why CRISPR Will Change Everything
Welcome to Part 2 of my series on gene therapy! If you haven’t already, I recommend that you read Part 1, Introduction to Gene Therapy: It Sounds Simple, But It’s Sure Not Easy, before continuing with this post. Ready? Here we go. Viruses: FedEx For Genes Gene therapy involves repairing or replacing a faulty gene that has led to disease. In order to do that, one major hurdle must be overcome: getting new DNA into the patient’s cells. Cells, however, are designed to keep things out. That’s why they have wrappers, called cell membranes. Scientists needed vectors: gene delivery systems […]
The post Gene Therapy: Vectors, Viruses, and Why CRISPR Will Change Everything appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
October 28, 2017
Thoughts on Finishing Season 12 of Supernatural on Netflix
NOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOW CAN YOU KILL THAT MANY KEY CHARACTERS IN A SINGLE EPISODE ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS THERE HAD BETTER BE SOME SERIOUS RESURRECTIONS COMING IN THE PREMIER OF SEASON 13 OR THERE WILL BE RAAAAAAAAGE!!! Am I overreacting here?
The post Thoughts on Finishing Season 12 of Supernatural on Netflix appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
October 23, 2017
Introduction to Gene Therapy: It Sounds Simple, But It’s Sure Not Easy
Muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), cancer… they all have one thing in common. They are genetic diseases, ultimately caused by missing or malfunctioning genes in the patient’s DNA. Until recently, we could treat the symptoms of many genetic diseases, but not the causes. There was no way to reach inside a person’s genes and repair the faulty code that started the whole problem. Research into gene therapy aims to change that. What is gene therapy? Genes are blueprints for proteins. A complete set of working proteins makes a working human. In contrast, missing or malfunctioning proteins sometimes lead […]
The post Introduction to Gene Therapy: It Sounds Simple, But It’s Sure Not Easy appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
October 19, 2017
New Province, New Adventures
So I live in Ontario now. It’s not a whole lot different yet, probably because I spend 90% of my time in the house and when I leave, it’s for Home Depot or groceries. Because new houses need curtain rods and shelving, and, well, there is only so long a person with food allergies can survive on even the most well-researched take out. Last weekend, though, Tech Support and I decided it was time to broaden our horizons a bit and go explore our new home. Mostly, we were sick of opening boxes and having no idea where to put […]
The post New Province, New Adventures appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
September 22, 2017
Finding a New Normal
*looks around* *blows cyber dust off the blog* *tries to remember how to write a post* It’s been a year. In some ways a wonderful year, in some ways a really rough one. Most of all, a very full year, both schedule-wise and emotionally. A lot of things I would otherwise love to do didn’t happen, because I had to lighten my schedule or lose my mind. Other things I would otherwise love to do didn’t happen because they just seemed too overwhelming. Blogging has fallen into both of those categories. When so much is happening, it’s hard to know […]
The post Finding a New Normal appeared first on L. E. Carmichael.
