August 28, 2009
Eudy Simelane was a brilliant soccer star, captain of South Africa's national women's team.
She was also an out lesbian and an activist for LGBT rights.
In April 2008, a group of men attacked her with a sickening brutality. She was gang-raped, beaten, and stabbed more than 25 times. The assault was…
August 28, 2009
Atomic bonds are too small to see, right? Well, what do you suppose THIS is a picture of!?!?!?
That B&W structure is an actual image of a molecule and its atomic bonds. The first of its kind, in fact, and a breakthrough for the crazy IBM scientists in Zurich who spent 20 straight hours…
August 28, 2009
Trials are staring on a new cancer vaccine.
The melanoma trial is being conducted at New York University Medical Center, while the ovarian cancer vaccine trial is at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y. The trials are assessing the safety and the anti-tumor immune response of the so…
August 28, 2009
This is another falsehood, but a tricky one. Remember the point of falsehoods: They are statements that are typically associated with meanings or implications that are misleading or incorrect, and in some cases downright damaging. "Humans evolved from apes" is an excellent example of a falsehood…
August 27, 2009
I could just point you to Bloggingheads for this, but it might not be there. In any event, much more fun than Michael Behe on Bloggingheads or anywhere else is THIS POST by ERV telling us about how she is not pregnant.
Confused? Just go look at the post and stop complaining.
August 27, 2009
Well, not really, but if on line CBT takes off, how will we know when they make the switch?
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) seems to be effective when delivered online in real time by a therapist, with benefits maintained over 8 months. This method of delivery could broaden access to CBT in…
August 27, 2009
BirdLife International is launching a global bid to try to confirm the continued existence of 47 species of bird that have not been seen for up to 184 years.
The list of potentially lost birds is a tantalising mix of species ranging from some inhabiting the least visited places on earth - such as…
August 27, 2009
A rough guide to your Western Heritage.
I like "We've all got a birth certificate from Kenya"
Hat Tip: Pharyngula
August 27, 2009
There is a lot of evidence that nature is in balance. An invasive species throws off the balance of nature in a given region by out-competing some similar indigenous form. When something destructive happens there is a return to status quo, eventually. A few cold years are followed by a few warm…
August 27, 2009
Danny is probably not going to become a hurricane, but it may cause some wet weather along the East Coast. But, I did want to draw your attention to a fun bit of animated video. Watch the baby ghost hurricane pop out of the left side of the storm:
CLICK HERE
If you don't look at this some dime…
August 27, 2009
Zuska is writing quite a bit about the Health Care industry, from both a personal and analiticopolitical perspective. You should check out her last few posts on this topic. These are must read posts.
August 27, 2009
This petition is being fairly widely circulated. If you are blogger, please pass it on. If you are a normal person, please sign it.
THE PETITION
August 27, 2009
According to the constitutions of the United States and the State of Kentucky, church and state must remain separate. But then the Kentucky Legislature passed a homeland security related bill that stated that the security of the Commonwealth (State) depends on Almighty God.
That wording was thrown…
August 26, 2009
Hardware hackers have done all sorts of interesting things to cool down their PC's so they can be wildly over clocked. Roughly speaking, two otherwise identical processor chips rated at different speed are not necessarily designed differently. They are just capable of running at different speeds…
August 26, 2009
Fellow Blogger Pat on Fairer Science has a tribute.
And, for some reason, so does MIT, the school.
August 26, 2009
... The original blog carnival ... is out, and it is here.
August 26, 2009
An analysis by Eric Ostermeier says ...
In only one instance since the DFL merger has a political party both taken back control of the Governor's mansion and lost a U.S. House seat....
... so it depends. It does make sense that a strong race for governor is going to have coat tails.
Ostermeier's…
August 26, 2009
A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today.
Those classified as overweight have 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appear to have aged…
August 26, 2009
Golden Eagle
I hope I won't disappoint you ... this is not about John Ashcroft. It is about golden eagles (actually, maybe its about one golden eagle in particular).
A repost from wayback.
The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) has been in decline for a very long time, so you may not know…
August 26, 2009
It has been said that everyone who grew up or lived in Kennedy country has at least one Kennedy story. This is true, of course, though mine are not especially impressive. But since this is a wake, you have to hear them anyway. Grab yourself a beer and a plate of steamed clams while I regale you…
August 26, 2009
...within weeks, the English-language Wikipedia will begin imposing a layer of editorial review on articles about living people.
The new feature, called "flagged revisions," will require that an experienced volunteer editor for Wikipedia sign off on any change made by the public before it can go…
August 26, 2009
If you are a teacher or a parent you may find some of these books especially useful to: a) prepare yourself; b) give to your child's teacher or a colleague; or c) give to a school administrator. Seriously.
Each link is to a review of the book to help you decide if you are interested.
The…
August 26, 2009
The following may serve well in a home study environment, or for the parent to keep up with what the school kid is doing or for the overachieving youngster to get ahead of the teacher!
Natural history for the kiddies:
Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machine
Two dinosaur books
Math and science…
August 26, 2009
I just saw the news. I will have some remarks later.
August 26, 2009
The Democratic Party represents true diversity and has elements in it that are as conservative as any Republican on some issues, as well as libertarians and even quasi-anarchists who are willing to bite the bullet and "show up" to have some kind of influence. The Republican Party, in contrast,…
August 26, 2009
Let me remind you of what we mean by "falsehood." A falsehood is not merely a statement that is factually untrue or logically flawed. Rather, it is a statement that when uttered in certain company rings true; It is a statement that sounds right to people; It is a statement that may be made…
August 25, 2009
Parasitic infections and other diseases usually associated with the developing world are cropping up with alarming frequency among U.S. poor, especially in states along the U.S.-Mexico border, the rural South and in Appalachia, according to researchers.
Government and private researchers are just…
August 25, 2009
In Ubuntu. Here.
August 25, 2009
The nation's largest business group is asking U.S. EPA to hold a public debate on climate change science -- or face litigation -- as the agency prepares to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
...
"They don't have the science to support the endangerment finding," Bill Kovacs,…
August 25, 2009
There many ways of dividing up and categorizing Natural Selection. For example, there are the trichotomies of Natural Selection, Sexual Selection and Artificial Selection, and Modes of Selection (Stabilizing, Directional, and Disruptive) trichotomy.
We sense that these are good because they…
