Archives for December 5, 2007
Make your own biodiesel!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 Go Green! Homemade Diesel – video powered by Metacafe [hat tip: Curiosity]
Sage Advice
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 Totally Stolen from Spewing Truth
Blood from Stones
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 Certain ceremonial objects from the Dogon and other cultures of West Africa are known for their dark patina. There is plenty of ethnological evidence that the thick coating on these wood sculptures, which are often in human or animal shapes, contains blood from animals sacrificed as part of the ceremonies. But the presence of blood…
Woman Wakes During Surgury, Gets 11 Large
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 A court on Wednesday awarded $11,000 to a woman who said she woke up during major abdominal surgery but was unable to tell doctors she was in terrible pain. … The 62-year-old retiree in the southern Austrian province of Carinthia had demanded more than $57,000 in compensation for mental and physical suffering during the October…
Science News Tidbits
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 Hearing Resumes in HIV Misdiagnosis Suit from PhysOrg.com (AP) — Audrey Serrano received HIV treatments for almost nine years before receiving a stunning diagnosis: She never actually had the virus that causes AIDS. [...] Hearing Resumes in HIV Misdiagnosis Suit from PhysOrg.com (AP) — Audrey Serrano received HIV treatments for almost nine years before receiving…
Philippe Starck: Why design?
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 Legendary designer Philippe Starck — with no pretty slides behind him — spends 18 minutes reaching for the very roots of the question “Why design?” Along the way he drops brilliant insights into the human condition; listen carefully for one perfectly crystallized mantra for all of us, genius or not. Yet all this deep thought,…
Technology Tidbits
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 A sea change may be underway. Start to learn Finnish! High-tech Japan shocked as children snub science from PhysOrg.com A new survey shows Japanese children sinking in academic scores and coming last internationally in the percentage seeking science careers, shocking a nation long proud of its technological prowess. [...] Study: Finns Are Best Science Students…
Interesting Commentary on Eugenics
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 Eugenics in History and the Bible I’m getting sick of the constant shrill coming out of the Discovery Institute trying to link “Darwinism” with eugenics. The creationists love to claim that such an idea could never have existed before Darwin came up with the idea of natural selection, but that is patently false. All animals…
The African Buffalo
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 The African Buffalo is NOT a bison, and it is NOT a “water buffalo” (it is not even the same genus as water buffalo). But like these other beasts, it is a kind of cattle. The scientific name of the African Buffalo, or Cape Buffalo, is Syncerus caffir. Only the most cynical taxonomists would support…
Research on The Origins of Maize (Corn)
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 Corn (maize) was domesticated in the earlier part of the Holocene in Mexico from a wild plant called teosinte. Subsequent to the discovery of this area of origin by MacNeish, a great deal of research has gone on to track the spread of maize across the New World, its diversification, its effects on Native American…
Utterly Stupid Quote of the Day
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 The flagellum is said to possess “irreducible complexity,” meaning it could not have been produced by evolution. This argues for an outside intelligent designer operating beyond the laws of nature.
Species Comings and Goings
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 From Blogfish: Blue Crabs are Disappearing from Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay’s famous blue crabs — feisty crustaceans that are both a regional symbol and a multimillion-dollar catch — are hovering at historically low population levels, scientists say, as pollution, climate change and overfishing threaten the bay’s ultimate survivor. This fall, a committee of federal…
Milwaukee Area Teacher/Blogger Busted for Blog Post
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 Bloggers and free speech advocates are calling on prosecutors not to file charges against a teacher arrested for allegedly posting an anonymous comment online praising the Columbine shooters.
New NGS Dino Project
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 National Geographic has a new project called Dino Death Trap. This is a movie due to be released on December 9th, straring the Junggar Basin of western China known as “The Pit of Death” is found. Don’t miss it. In the mean time, you can go here and there is a live web cam in…
New Journal on Evolution and Outreach
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 An intelligent new way to support the teaching of evolution New journal Evolution: Education and Outreach debuts on 28 November The world-renowned evolutionary scientist Niles Eldredge and his son Greg Eldredge, a high school science teacher, believe it’s time to help science educators fight back against the strong pressure creationists exert on public education. So…
IsIsn’t this that band from Sesame Street?
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 [hat tip, Pharyngula]
Somebody emailed be about a a great way to make money with almost no work.
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2007 I just have to send my banking details. Hey, this is from Japan. We trust these guys, right? I can do this, don’t you think?
, which is now available for the 
