Now on ScienceBlogs: The future of human evolution
An irregular exploration of the struggle between the power of rational discourse and the scientific method on one hand, and the forces of superstition and dogma on the other. Mostly regarding climate change, though.
James Hrynyshyn is a freelance science journalist based in western North Carolina, where he tries to put degrees in marine biology and journalism to good use.
The Demon-Haunted World:
Science as a Candle
in the Dark,
by Carl Sagan
(A
review)
The Doubter's Companion:
by John Ralston Saul (Excerpts)
Skeptic Magazine: www.skeptic.com
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal: www.csicop.org
A poem by Yehuda Amichai:
The
Place
Where We Are Right
The Meaning of the
Island of Doubt
By doubting we come to inquiry; and through inquiry we perceive truth.
--- Peter Abelard
Undisguised clarity is easily mistaken for arrogance.
-- Richard Dawkins
As for evolution, it happened. Deal with it.
-- Michael Shermer.
"There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things
which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand.
Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving, and
tiny blasts of tinny trumpets, we have met the enemy, and not only may
he be ours, he may be us."
--Walt Kelly
Category: biology
I must confess to being pleasantly surprised by the amount of attention Charles Darwin is drawing on this, the 200th anniversary of his birth. And although anything I contribute is almost certain to be redundant, I feel obliged to chime...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:58 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
From the "everything you thought you knew about X is wrong" files: an exposé on exercise. Seems there really is no evidence that working out or running hard will help you lose weight. Instead, it all comes down to diet....
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:47 AM • 15 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
This is not good. A report from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme says toxic pollutants, presumably estrogen mimics and other organochlorines, are skewing the sex ratio in Greenland....
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 1:50 PM • 18 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
If this isn't a sign of the apocalypse, I don't know what is. Seven legs, double-gendered and bowel-challenged, according to the Herald-Sun. What a way to start your weekend. (Click for full size image.)...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:35 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
While there may be no really good reason to clone, is a compelling reason to ban the technique?
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:14 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
A study just published in the British Journal of Urology finds that what boys lose in the process turns out to be the most sensitive part of the penis.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 4:03 PM • 43 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
The new Encyclopedia of Life may be the best new thing since sliced bread, but not necessarily just because a catalog of every living species is a pre-requisite to understanding our planet. By making it clear just how little we...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 5:59 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
No one should ever be granted a degree in science without being able to finishing this little gem of an aphorism: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble......
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 2:22 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
Get ready for a big fracas among oncologists: "In June, U.S. researchers will announce the first direct link between cancer prevention and the sunshine vitamin. Their results are nothing short of astounding." (Globe and Mail, April 28). A lot of...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:10 AM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: biology
Not that we understand everything about been neurophysiology, behavior and navigation. It's theoretically possible that cell phones are the problem, but it doesn't seem to me like there's enough science there to justify elevating it to a working theory.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:03 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
