| Divining Violent gods as Natural Cosmic Creators Thu, 11 Mar 2010 |
| | Ancient stargazers imagined the violent actions of gods in the heavens giving rise to the stars, earth and man. Today's secular astronomers engage in a similar kind of lore. While not naming their gods after mythical heroes, they describe >>more>> |
| This Tree of Life Is Real Tue, 09 Mar 2010 |
| | Imagine a tree that can provide both nutritious food and clean water. Moringa oleifera is such a tree. It grows in Africa and Asia and is being looked at as a life-giving plant that can reduce bacterial contamination of water by 90 to 99.99% >>more>> |
| What Good Is Natural Selection without Progress? Mon, 08 Mar 2010 |
| | Two papers recently claim to have seen natural selection. Neither paper, however, identified a functional advantage that would have tied the differences to benefits that could improve a species. >>more>> |
| Life Crams Stuff on the Long Road Sun, 07 Mar 2010 |
| | This quote from UC Berkeley wins Stupid Evolution Quote of the Week:
In the long evolutionary road from bacteria to humans, a major milestone occurred some 1.5 billion years ago when microbes started building closets for all their stuff, >>more>> |
| Natural Wonders Can Be Useful Sat, 06 Mar 2010 |
| | To find great ideas, look to nature. Many plants and animals are useful, not just ornamental. They can show the way to solve problems of great interest to humans. (6 amazing stories) >>more>> |
| Dinosaur Evolution Is Relative Fri, 05 Mar 2010 |
| | The science news media are all reporting that the 'oldest known dinosaur relative' has been found. The artist reconstructions of Asilisaurus kongwe, found in middle Triassic layers in Tanzania, make the creature look quite dinosaurian; at least >>more>> |
| Atheism in a Test Tube Fri, 05 Mar 2010 |
| | Conflicting views on atheism by scientists show that deducing the intellectual status of atheism is not an exact science. Are such questions even approachable by the scientific method? What conclusions could be drawn?
National Geographic >>more>> |
| Cold Castles: Bad Climate for Imperial Science Thu, 04 Mar 2010 |
| | To some people, the world would be a better place if ruled by scientists. They could be like a benevolent oligarchy, employing the knowledge gained by the scientific method for the good of the people. A recent editorial might shake that belief. >>more>> |
| Ida Not a Human Ancestor Wed, 03 Mar 2010 |
| | If Ida known then what I know now: the media-frenzied presentation of Ida (Darwinius masillae) as a distant relative of human beings last year has been debunked. 'Many lines of evidence indicate that Darwinius has nothing at all to do with >>more>> |
| Flight Design: Flies and Birds Get it Wright Wed, 03 Mar 2010 |
| | Parse the following sentence for logical consistency: 'Just as the Wright brothers implemented controls to achieve stable airplane flight, flying insects have evolved behavioral strategies that ensure recovery from flight disturbances.' That >>more>> |
| Life: Claiming Something for Almost Nothing Tue, 02 Mar 2010 |
| | Getting life to emerge from nonliving chemicals is either a cinch or the most impossible thing in the universe, depending on who you ask. Let's look at a couple of recent papers that suggest the origin of life was no big deal.
A press release >>more>> |
| Swinging at Saturn's Moons: Keep Your Eye on the Ball Mon, 01 Mar 2010 |
| | Cassini will be swooping by Saturn's moon Rhea tomorrow (March 2) at just 100 km. Dr. Paul Schenk, one of the planetary scientists, said on his blog Stereo Moons, 'it should be axiomatic by now that the closer you look at a planetary object >>more>> |
| Depressed? Believe in a Caring God Sat, 27 Feb 2010 |
| | 'Belief in a Caring God Improves Response to Medical Treatment for Depression, Study Finds.' That's what Science Daily said. The statement assumes, of course, that psychiatry knows what depression is. Another story on Science Daily worried >>more>> |
| How to Call Your Opponent Stupid Using Evolution Sat, 27 Feb 2010 |
| | It may be that Professor Kanazawa was intending to be compassionate by couching his assessment in the language of evolutionary theory, but he essentially made a categorical judgment that conservatives and Christians are stupid, and atheists >>more>> |
| Life Leads the Way to Invention Sat, 27 Feb 2010 |
| | Here's a factoid for the party: a cell is 10,000 times more energy-efficient than a transistor. PhysOrg tells us that ' In one second, a cell performs about 10 million energy-consuming chemical reactions, which altogether require about one >>more>> |
| Making Evolution Simple Fri, 26 Feb 2010 |
| | Getting the vast diversity of highly complex creatures seems an impossible task for evolutionary theory, but some recent stories claim it's not so hard. (3 examples of oversimplifying evolution, and one that re-complexifies it.) >>more>> |
| Spider Hair: The Perfect Water Repellant Surface Wed, 24 Feb 2010 |
| | To keep dry, make like a spider. 'Engineering researchers have crafted a flat surface that refuses to get wet,' began a press release from University of Florida. 'Water droplets skitter across it like ball bearings tossed on ice. The inspiration? >>more>> |
| Hopeful Monsters and Other Tales: Evolutionists Challenge Darwin Wed, 24 Feb 2010 |
| | Two recent articles show that Darwin is not invincible. On one side he is being attacked by hopeful monsters. On the other, he is being attacked by an atheist truth-seeker. Neither of these attacks are coming from creationists. >>more>> |
| Evolutionary Inferences: Are They Incontrovertible? Wed, 24 Feb 2010 |
| | No matter what is found in plants or animals, it finds its way into an evolutionary explanation eventually. Are these explanations driven by the data, or forced into a belief system? Are other explanations possible? Four recent reports might >>more>> |
| Solomonic Wall in Jerusalem Announced Mon, 22 Feb 2010 |
| | A large wall dating from the time of Solomon is being announced by the news media (see PhysOrg, Live Science and Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Archaeologist Eilat Mazar linked the structure, near the southeast end of the Temple Mount, >>more>> |
| Multiverse Explanations Are Fashionable, If Not Justifiable Mon, 22 Feb 2010 |
| | How can scientists get away with speculating about unobservable universes, when science is supposed to concern itself with observation? 'In the end, there is no way to know for sure what other universes are out there, or what life they may >>more>> |
| Molecular Highway Motor Comes into Focus Sat, 20 Feb 2010 |
| | A beautiful new image of kinesin, a molecular machine that carries cargo on cellular highways, has been produced in greater detail than ever by a team at Berkeley and Brandeis Universities. Science Daily published a picture and description >>more>> |
| Media Uncritical of Science, Journalist Says Fri, 19 Feb 2010 |
| | Reporters need to stop regurgitating the self-promotion of scientists and start criticizing them, a veteran science reporter wrote in Nature News. Colin Macilwain had a lot to say about what's wrong with science's relationship with the mass >>more>> |
| Primitive Human Ancestors Were Sailors Thu, 18 Feb 2010 |
| | Could the headline be any more shocking if it read, 'iPod found in King Tut's tomb'? Heather Pringle began a report in National Geographic News with, 'It wasn't supposed to happen like this.' Stone tools alleged to be up to 130,000 years old >>more>> |
| Who Should Be Listening to Scientists? Wed, 17 Feb 2010 |
| | 'Stop Listening to Scientists?' is an unusual title for a letter to Science.1 In a commentary last week prompted by the recent scandals regarding climate change, Kevin Robert Gurney (Purdue) made a shocking exclamation: don't listen to scientists. >>more>> |
