Archives for December 3, 2007
Sperm Power
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 This is brilliant. Using sperm power to run tiny little robots.
No, cricket, don’t do it, don’t jump, it’s not worth it…
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Well, not worth it to you, but possibly to the Gordian Worm growing out of your head!
Three Cool Stories from the NYT
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Where the White-Tail Roam There certainly are plenty of deer. Wildlife experts estimate 32 million white-tails — by far the country’s dominant species of deer — roam America’s woods, fields and backyards. Last year, hunters killed 6.6 million of them.
Anthropological Angst
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 In the latest round of conflict over anthropologists’ cooperation with the U.S. military, members of the American Anthropological Association voted on Friday to ban certain kinds of secrecy in ethnographic work. In a motion passed by a voice vote during the organization’s annual business meeting here, members decreed that “no reports should be provided to…
Talking about Racism
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 I came across this interesting post by PortlyDyke: Trying to Get White People to Talk About Racism is Like . . . . . . . . . well, like trying to get white people to talk about Racism. … I mention this because I read a wide variety of blogs, and I notice that…
Happy Birthday the Transistor!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 [hat tip: Science Buzz]
Fox News will not run pro-Constitution ad
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 According to Think Progress The Center for Constitutional Rights recently produced an ad called “Rescue the Constitution” that criticizes the Bush administration for “destroying the Constitution” through the use of tactics like renditions and torture. Fox News is refusing to air the ad,
How to Blog
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 A lot of people ask me: “Greg, how do you blog?” I don’t actually like to talk about it very much, but I figured you might want to see a picture of my computer set up.
Blogospherics
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 First, check out the Ask a Science Blogger entries for the question: What’s the deal with “virgin birth”??? Did she or didn’t she? Genetic testing and virgin birth What’s the deal with “virgin birth” (parthenogenesis)? The Bible as Ethnography ~ 05 ~ The Virgin Birth Are Men Necessary? “Ask a Science Blogger” Wants To Know!…
Fight! Fight!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 There is a fight going on regarding the Internet Infidels Discussion Board. Details can be found here, at A Load of Bright. I’m not privy to any details, and I don’t think I want to be. Those folks just need to learn to get along. From Daylight Atheism: Here’s my conclusion, and if you read…
Science News Tidbits
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Europe to launch a brain research project from PhysOrg.com The European Science Foundation said it will propose a comprehensive mental health research effort of a size similar to that of the Human Genome Project. [...] Puzzling results from HIV vaccine trial from PhysOrg.com A potential HIV vaccine that recently failed a clinical trial in the…
Airplane Flight Pattern Graphic
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 [hattip: Ancora Imparo]
Holiday Shopping Tip #2
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 From Shelley Batts Blog:
Special Google Search Engines from MnCSE
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 The Minnesota Citizens for Science Education has special search engines that might be helpful for people doing research on Evolution and related issues. There are two good reasons to use one of our special search engines. First, they’re based on the standard Google search engine, so they’re fast and efficient. Second, they can deliver search…
This is your brain. This is your brain on video games…
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Sex differences in certain abilities, which have persisted for decades in various psychological tests, are now widely believed to be the result of conditioning that is in turn shaped by cultural factors. This applies to math abilities, spatial skills, and a range of other activities. Neural plasticity is key, and widely misunderstood or ignored. (Indeed,…
Kill! Kill! Kill! (A Linux tip)
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Now and then a program (a “process”) will need to be killed. It got annoyingly slow, or got stuck somehow. In Windows, the final solution for killing a process is “alt-ctrl-delete” which may or may not give you the capacity to shut down a process, and if that works, it requires a lot of struggling…
Quidditch
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 From Grrll Scientist:
I had no idea red wine had a “Key Ingredient”
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 … You’d think it would have been mentioned by now, by some wine taster or another … “Ah, yes, a rather wooden palette, and a stuffy nose, but a remarkably close finish… Oh, and a distinct overtone of the key ingredient, resveratrol…”
The Algorithm March is Back
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 This would not work in Attica. No way, man.
An Anti-Creationist Strategy
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Mike the Mad Biologist suggests this: One way pro-science citizens can influence what local and state governments do is through federal funding. The next time any educational legislation is proposed, a key component should be the release of federal support for educational programs contingent upon the adoption of educational standards that do not accept intelligent…
The Bible as Ethnography ~ 05 ~ The Virgin Birth
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 I have a cousin in law who tells this story: Her youngest child found out about sex. Then he made the connection that if he existed, his parents must have had sex. So he confronted the parents with this, and mom was forced to admit, yes, of course, this is how babies get “made” and…
Supergroup Cell: A Sims simulation teaching cell biology
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Why am I doing this… You may have wondered why I am always putting cell biology videos up on my site. I’m doing it for a few reasons. One is to provide a resource for teachers. Some day in the not too distant future one will be able to enter “cell biology” in the search…
Utterly Stupid Quote of the Day
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Although secularists maintain that the cacti have evolved over the last two million years, there is very little biological or genetic research on cacti because such research, if published, would reveal the deep irreducible complexity displayed by these plants.
Happy Birthday Daryl Hannah
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 Rare banned bush speech
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2007 This video Georg Bush is fun (because of its politics) but the main thing that makes it interesting is that it keeps getting yanked. By someone. Don’t ask who, don’t ask dangerous questions.
, which is now available for the 
