tqa | July 19, 2008
Yesterday afternoon, Judge Donald Molloy of the Federal District court for Montana issued a preliminary injunction reinstating Endangered Species Act protections for grey wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. This is very good news for the wolves. Although a preliminary injunction will only protect the wolves until the lawsuit is resolved, a judge will only issue one if it appears likely that the party requesting the lawsuit is going to win at trial.
A friend of mine emailed me a copy of the decision. It's forty pages long, and very little of it is kind to the Fish and Wildlife service.…
tqa | July 16, 2008
A Blog Around The Clock : The Giant's Shoulders #1
Bora brings us the inaugural edition of a new blog carnival devoted to posts that discuss classic scientific papers. If you're interested in history, there's a lot there to enjoy.
Virtual humans: a quest - University of Oxford
Folks at Oxford hope to eventually build a complete computer model of human physiology. They're starting with the heart. Remaining hurdles include the need to fully understand the heart, and to build a powerful enough computer. I'm not holding my breath.
Warmer Temps, More Kidney Stones - TIME
Three words, people…
tqa | July 16, 2008
Apparently, Chad's dog has at least some of the issues surrounding the PZ Myers/Eucharist desecration issue figured out. I'm not sure, but I think she understands them much better than some of the folks who have been commenting here. And she expresses things with so much more grace and panache than I usually manage.
tqa | July 15, 2008
Beavers, wolves & boar, oh my - University of Oxford
Interesting article on the issues that come up when previously lost species are reintroduced to an area.
Daily Kos: GOP, the Know-Nothing Party
The Republicans continue to demonstrate that they're against pretty much everything. (In this case, it's learning any language besides English.
tqa | July 14, 2008
The Greenbelt: Man Sues Church After Prayer Is Granted
This needs to be read to get the full effect. If you lack patience, here's the short version: Man prays for a powerful religious experience. Man receives powerful religious experience. Man sues church over injuries sustained when struck by religious exper
Greg Laden's Blog : Verily, "Homosexuality is the Downfall of Society"
Once again, we have a Republican winner in the "Do what I say, not what I do" category.
tqa | July 12, 2008
I really had no plans on posting more about the whole PZ and the eucharist thing. I got my own views off my chest last night, and there haven't been any new developments in the case itself. The initial reactions to Paul's post are in, and the commenters have sorted themselves into three groups ("Rock on!", "Dude. Not cool.", and "Where's the firewood?"). It's unlikely that there's going to be a lot of movement from one group to another. Under the circumstances, writing another post on this issue has all the appeal of sticking my finger in a pencil sharpener.
But then there was the side…
tqa | July 11, 2008
Over the last couple of days, I've considered posting something on the controversy that's been sparked by PZ Myers' comments about the eucharist, and the reaction of Bill Donohue and the Catholic League to those comments. I've been putting it off because it's not an easy post for me to write. The entire incident has suffered from a lack of heroes. Instead, it's been a case where someone has behaved badly, but someone else has behaved worse.
I've interacted with Paul Myers on various internet forums for at least a decade now. In that time, he's done many things that I respect, and a few…
tqa | July 11, 2008
Gene Expression: Americans are scientific geniuses (relatively)
No, Razib, we're not geniuses. We're apparently just slightly less stupid than others.
An Original Confession - Olivia Judson - Evolution - Opinion - New York Times Blog
Good article on Darwin as a writer. Personally, I find Darwin readable, but I prefer Wallace.
Fineman on Gramm's 'Whiners' Gaffe | Newsweek Voices - Howard Fineman | Newsweek.com
Just in case you were in a coma yesterday and managed to miss Gramm's slip up. (If you did and want the short version, let's just say that good ol' Phill's gonna be pooping…
tqa | July 10, 2008
I don't know what it is, but there's clearly something about the G8 conference that interferes with George Bush's ability to restrain his inner frat brat. At the G8 two years ago, you might recall, the Commander-in-Chief grabbed international headlines when he gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel an impromptu (and uninvited and unwelcome) neck rub during a meeting. Apparently, disgracing his office and nation once at the G8 wasn't enough of a legacy for the man.
Various news sources in the United Kingdom are reporting that the President decided to unleash his inner frat brat on the global…
tqa | July 10, 2008
Weldon Firm's Made Defective Tank Deal With Iraq | Danger Room from Wired.com
What's the fun of invading someone if you can't rip them off when you're done?
tqa | July 9, 2008
Sandwalk: The Three Fatal Flaws in the Theory of Evolution
Yesterday, the anti-evolutionists brought the dumb. Today, they bring the dumber.
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Manchester | Funding secured for observatory
At least one project has been spared from the UK's science funding cuts.
tqa | July 8, 2008
Backreaction: Research and Teaching
It's always awkward trying to find the bright side in an international educational crisis, but there is one here: at least this one's not just an American problem.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Nasa reveals final shuttle dates
NASA has released the (tentative) schedule for the remaining shuttle flights. The last mission is slated to launch a bit less than two years from now.
Evolution News & Views: Billions of Missing Links: Barnacles and Mussels
I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the IDiots lately. It's good to see that they still know how…
tqa | July 7, 2008
Nothing shocks me, I'm a scientist: US Pentagon short of cash?
The costs of war appear to include our compliance with totally unrelated international treaties. Nice.
Hurricane BERTHA Forecast Discussion
The season's second tropical storm has become the first hurricane. Fortunately, it's still a long way from land.
The Intersection: Do We Need Leatherback Turtles?
I think so, but it depends on what you mean by "need".
Google Reader
Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, the pro-ID astronomer who was rejected for tenure in Iowa after failing to bring in grants, or establish a successful lab, has…
tqa | July 6, 2008
I took this one last winter, while I was on vacation out in the French countryside.
City Hall, Chaussenac, France. (Population 246)
tqa | July 5, 2008
Timo Hannay just responded, over at one of Nature's blogs, to the hordes of bloggers who were somewhat displeased with the tone and content of Declan Butler's recent Nature article. Now that someone from Nature has returned fire, and other bloggers have fired back, it's likely that this whole thing is going to turn into one of those multi-day, multi-article kerfuffles that do so much to maintain blogging's reputation as the WWE of the scientific world. Which is cool, as far as I'm concerned. It's been a while since I've grabbed a folding chair and climbed into the Cage of Death. I'm ready to…
tqa | July 4, 2008
Mike the Mad Biologist : Porn, Stimuli, and the Lawn of Unintended Consequences
At least there's one sector of the economy that's been stimulated by the stimulus checks.
tqa | July 3, 2008
The Associated Press: AP IMPACT: Race profiling eyed for terror probes
We have met the enemy, and he is us.
Tropical Depression TWO Forecast Discussion
There's a system that's being watched, and may become a tropical storm or hurricane over the next few days.
Stop the Presses: Kids Like Cool Animals | Wired Science from Wired.com
Time permitting, I may have more on this potential future Ig Nobel winning piece of research.
Laelaps : Geese from barnacles
A nice history of science piece from Brian ad Laelaps.
tqa | July 3, 2008
As you may or may not know, there's been some conflict in the scientific publishing industry over the last few years. Traditional business models have been challenged by an "open-access" model, where the papers are freely available to the general public. In the traditional model, the money comes through subscription charges, and the readers pay for the privilege of access to the research. In open access publishing, the papers are freely available. The costs are covered through a variety of means, including fees paid by the authors.
Many of the traditional publishers have clearly felt…
tqa | July 2, 2008
Evolving Thoughts: Commander in Chief
Just because it's an Australian talking about our politics doesn't mean it's wrong.