February 1, 2008
You've heard of the movie Flock of Dodo's. ... But have you seen the out takes?
Me neither. But I do have this for you (warning: Includes PZ Myers Footage)...
(Do wait for the end. The best bit is at the end. Don't miss it!!!!!)
February 1, 2008
NASA will no longer be making photographs from its latest Mercury probe available on the internet. Recent evidence from the nearest planet to the sun (that we know about) clearly indicates that the planet has been copyrighted. Legal experts are working on the case now, but feel that a resolution…
February 1, 2008
[hat tip: Salad is Slaughter]
February 1, 2008
You can fly, without leaving the comfort of your own computer, to Saturn and its moon Titan. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and CIT have a bit of software and data that lets you climb on board the Cassini Huygens mission.
The first time you click on the button below it will automatically…
February 1, 2008
[Hat Tip: Ancora Imparo]
February 1, 2008
Grapes of gnash: Pomace, the residue of red winemaking, may help prevent tooth decay
Red wine has long been known to contain a substance, resveratrol, that is heart-healthy. Now research shows that both red wine grapes and winemaking residue, known as pomace, contain substances that may help…
February 1, 2008
Sir Ian Wilmut earned his knighthood for his major role in cloning a sheep (Dolly). (In the old days, you had to duel kill infidels and stuff to earn a knighthood, but whatever...). There is now a move, possibly quite justified, asking Queen Elizabeth II to take away the honor.
The petition…
February 1, 2008
... and some goggles.
But I don't want to be a rocket man if I have to do this:
(oh, the trans-vestism thing does not bother me. It's the paint and flour and stuff that I would find terribly annoying. Oh, and I don't really like to wear lipstick either.)
February 1, 2008
Below the fold is the press release (somewhat shortened). The numbers fell out at about 70-30.
In a resounding vote today, MoveOn.org Political Action's members nationwide voted to endorse Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President. The group, with 3.2 million members…
February 1, 2008
Linux Installed Base will Double This Year
The success of consumer IT products like the ASUS Eee PC will help provide the leverage needed to get hardware vendors on board with open source, according to Dirk Hohndel, Intel's chief technologist for open source.
He believes the install base of Linux-…
February 1, 2008
A paper just out in Genomics presents a very thorough study of cat genetics. Cat as is in kitty cat. The findings are expected, yet surprising in a few areas. The conclusion the authors draw about cat origins is very weak, in my view, but the information this study provides about cat breed…
February 1, 2008
Science ruins being a human, according to the Pope.
Speaking of cells, the Pope said:
When human beings in the weakest and most defenseless state of their existence are selected, abandoned, killed or used as pure 'biological material,' how can one deny that they are being treated not as 'someone…
February 1, 2008
An increasingly large number of K through 12 students (in the tens of thousands or more) are getting some or all of their education on line. Typically, the on line resources are provided by private corporate vendors contracting to individuals or in some cases school districts, and the target…
February 1, 2008
"My bones are almost 200 years old." Charles Darwin's bones will be 199 years old on February 12th. There will be celebrations, shipbuilding, and blogging. I'll try very hard to do something every day, including later today. Beginning tomorrow, this blog will join Charles Darwin on board the…
January 31, 2008
In 1998, 13 year old Mitchell Johnson and his 11 year old buddy Andrew Golden gunned down four students aged 11 and 12 and English Teacher Shannon Wright, and wounded 10 other people, at Jonesboro Westside Middle School. They had pulled the fire alarm to bring their victims into this trap.…
January 31, 2008
Tatiana was the tiger that leaped from its enclosure in the San Francisco Zoo, killing one and wounding others.
Details of the investigation have been released, and apparently, the tiger was taunted.
One of the three victims of a San Francisco Zoo tiger attack was intoxicated and admitted to…
January 31, 2008
I wish we had more details of this story, but this is what we know so far:
The Lafayette County School Board unanimously adopted a resolution in protest of a proposed Florida Department of Education revision of the science portion of the Sunshine State Standards at a special meeting on Jan. 25.…
January 31, 2008
Proposals to give the latter part of the present geological period (the Holocene) a new name ... the Anthropocene ... are misguided, scientifically invalid, and obnoxious. However, there is a use for a term that is closely related to "Anthropocene" and I propose that we adopt that term instead…
January 30, 2008
Can you hear me wee beastie? Can you hear me?
January 30, 2008
This is a very interesting guest post at Remote Central:
All species vary through time and space. You don't necessarily look the same as any one of your ancestors. Therefore "like begets like" but each individual can be a bit different. It is impossible for a sperm whale to evolve from a bowl of…
January 30, 2008
I'm talking about herdin' cats, bro
[Hat Tip: ET]
January 30, 2008
Paola Antonelli, design curator at New York's MOMA, wants to spread an appreciation of design, in all shapes and forms -- and to remove any stigma of it being considered mere decoration. She takes the TED2007 audience on a whistlestop tour of some design exhibitions she has organized, including "…
January 30, 2008
Color is funny. Anthropologists have long known that different cultures have different relationships, linguistically and in day to day practice, to the color spectrum. For example, the Efe Pygmy Hunter-Gatherers of the Ituri Forest describe things as white, black, or red, and that's it. They…
January 30, 2008
... according to news reports flying around the airwaves.
It will be interesting to see what happens to those currently supporting him. It is likely that if Edwards does not endorse anyone, his supporters would drift to Clinton, since it is believed that Edwards has been collecting the whiter…
January 29, 2008
A Biology News Browser; Green Porno; Naked Mole-Rats and Chili Pepper; 3D from 2D; New View of Middle Earth Stuff
From Science Buzz:
A great biology teaching resource can be found at biologybrowser.org. Both the Biology Browser home page and their search engine are subdivided into:
- organism (…
January 29, 2008
"Dover may be the first of many battles to follow..."
