Archives for November, 2008
The Last Recount
Posted by Greg Laden on November 30, 2008 An enjoyable overview of the Coleman Franken Recount process all it attends to … “What do we want?” Franken shouts. “PATIENCE!” the volunteers respond. “When do we want it?” Franken asks. “NOW!” the crowd demands. Here Hat tip: Ana
A particular elephant
Posted by Greg Laden on November 30, 2008 This particular elephant was one of the nicest elephants I’ve ever met. click for a larger picture I was leading a tour group in the vicinity of the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The local guide suggested that we could take a walk along a particular trail, as long as vehicles stayed near by…
Linux hits the iPhone!
Posted by Greg Laden on November 30, 2008 Linux has been ported to the iPhone and iPod touch. Details here. Hat tip: Joe. I gotta get working on this, obviously.
This photograph needs a caption
Posted by Greg Laden on November 30, 2008 Cyberchondria
Posted by Greg Laden on November 30, 2008 If that headache plaguing you this morning led you first to a Web search and then to the conclusion that you must have a brain tumor, you may instead be suffering from cyberchondria. This is about a Microsoft publication (in the ‘journal’ Microsoft Research), here, and written up in the New York Times.
The Scientific, Political, Social, and Pedagogical Context for the claim that “Race does not exist.”
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 These days, many people say that race is largely a social construct; while it may have a place in describing the population genetics of some species, is not particularly applicable to humans. I’m one of those people. The race concept is generally inapplicable or at best misleading when used as it often is with our…
Star Wars vs. Star Trek
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 Hat Tip James
Cyber Mionday
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 Do you know what Cyber Monday is? If not, find out here. But don’t wait ’till Tuesday.
Blorging the Blorologs
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 New Rule: students who can’t calculate their own grades should fail the course. Slavery ain’t so bad. “I am always annoyed by the fact that everyone has an opinion on evolution. Regardless of whether they can explain the first thing about how it works, they know whether they “believe in it” or disbelieve.” Israeli Software…
Single Molecule Measurements of Protelomerase TelK-DNA Complexes
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 Markita Landry, a half-Bolivian, half-French Canadian physics Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, … used a tango to convey her thesis, “Single Molecule Measurements of Protelomerase TelK-DNA Complexes.” She is trying to understand how a protein called TelK bends DNA into hairpin loops. The mechanism makes for beautiful dance, with Landry bending like…
“Resolving Pathways of Functional Coupling in Human Hemoglobin Using Quantitative Low Temperature Isoelectric Focusing of Asymmetric Mutant Hybrids
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 Vince LiCata, a biochemist at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, won this category with the help of his graduate students. The foursome danced a slow and graceful double pas de deux, representing the interaction of pairs of hemoglobin molecules from his 1990 Johns Hopkins University Ph.D. thesis, “Resolving Pathways of Functional Coupling in Human Hemoglobin…
Cerebral activation patterns induced by inflection of regular and irregular verbs with positron emission tomography: A comparison between single subject and group analysis
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 The raw material for Miriam Sach’s solo contemporary dance was her 2004 Ph.D. thesis at the University of Düsseldorf, Germany, titled “Cerebral activation patterns induced by inflection of regular and irregular verbs with positron emission tomography: A comparison between single subject and group analysis.” The question behind her research was whether different types of verbs…
The role of vitamin D in beta-cell function
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 Sue Lynn Lau chose classical ballet and highly kinetic party dancing as the way to interpret her Ph.D. thesis, “The role of vitamin D in beta-cell function.” As The Nutcracker Suite lilts in the background, Lau, a graduate student from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, appears as the Sugarplum Fairy, delivering…
Robert Price on Talk Radio
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 Minnesota Atheists’ “Atheists Talk” radio show. Sunday, November 30, 2008, 9-10 a.m. Central Time Robert M. Price: “Inerrant the Wind” What has been the modern history of viewing the Bible as “inerrant” – that is, literally true in all its details? Prolific author Robert M. Price joins us to discuss his new book “Inerrant the…
Artist: Kelly Connole
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 I understand my surroundings and express my engagement with the world through imagery. Combining the tactile nature of clay with abstract images of memories, emotions, and research has fueled my passion to create for nearly twenty years. I am deeply connected to the earth beneath my feet and to that held in my hands as…
Hey! Mike is getting harassed by Adnan Oktar!!!
Posted by Greg Laden on November 29, 2008 Mike, a.k.a. Tangled Up in Blue Guy, has received a letter from Adnan Oktar’s lawyer telling him, essentially, to shut down his site. Like this: With a view not to cause you any grievances by blocking access to a whole website, without prior notification, due to some statements in the site content of which your…
The Political Gender Gap
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 A new study published by Chiao et al. in the journal PLoS ONE explores the gendered nature of American voting behavior. Subjects were asked to rank politicians — based only on photographs of each politician’s face — along different quality scales, and also to choose among these photographs who should be President. The study concludes…
Darwin Limerick Contest Winners Announced
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 Poets they tried hard to win on Dispersal of ol man Darwin. Some limericks they wrote And truly they smote But winning was all ’bout affection Here.
Burundi Likely to Criminalize Homosexuality
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 The lower house in the central African nation of Burundi has passed legislation making homosexuality a federal crime. The legislation, which must first be approved by Burundi’s senate, is part of a sweeping reform of the country’s legal system that for the first time abolishes the death penalty and creates laws on genocide. The new…
Blorging the Luge
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 I had no idea there even was a Mole Day, and I’m really pissed that I missed it. (And that’s “mole” as in the animal, not mole as in the Mexican chocolate sauce you put in chicken.) Speaking of chickens, read about A Thanksgiving tale of an encounter with a chicken activist. And, speaking of…
How to introduce your atheist partner to your evangelical parents
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 Totally stolen from the Friendly Atheist.
Enceladus Jets — Are They Wet or Just Wild?
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 NASA Press Release: Scientists continue to search for the cause of the geysers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The geysers are visible as a large plume of water vapor and ice particles escaping the moon. Inside the plume are jets of dust and gas. What causes and controls the jets is a mystery. The Cassini spacecraft…
New Squid Video Discovered!
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 Not a new squid, but a very rarely filmed one. The video was taken late last year and is only now coming to light. Apparently it (the video, not the squid) has been floating around the internet as an email attachment for quite some time. Two thousand five hundred monometers down, which is pretty deep…
Friday Cephalopod
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 I know, I know, I don’t usually do a Friday Cephalopod. But I happen to have this one laying around extra:
Million Comment Winnter Announced
Posted by Greg Laden on November 28, 2008 In case you have not heard, the Millionth Comment Contest Winner was Peggy Kolm, an actual blogger with Two Blogs. Just so you know, this blog (this one, right here, where you’re reading) is soon to hit its twenty thousandths comment. And, the twenty thousandth commenter will be rewarded, you can be sure!
Carnivalia
Posted by Greg Laden on November 27, 2008 I and the Bird #89 Grand Rounds 5:10 New and Exciting in PLoS ONE Carnival of Homeschooling Carnival of Space #80: Thanksgiving Edition Encephalon #59
Gay-Curing British Cop Sacked
Posted by Greg Laden on November 27, 2008 I’m not sure if it is more or less comforting to know that these yahoos are not strictly American: A British police officer who sent emails to other officers condemning homosexuality and calling for gays to seek the help of a controversial American Christian group that claims to “cure” gays has been fired for misconduct.…
Enemies of Reason Episode 2
Posted by Greg Laden on November 27, 2008 
, which is now available for the 
