gregladen | May 21, 2010When I was first in the Ituri Forest, I Noticed there were many kinds of plantains grown in the gardens there They varied by size and shape. One version seemed to have numerous black spots on the outside. When asking what it was called, I found its name was the same as the variety without the black spots. Eventually, someone realized that I was asking the wrong question, and gave me the explanation I was unknowingly looking for: "The ones with the black spots were the ones at a certain ripening stage during a storm in which rocks made of water in the form of what you call ice cream, sort…
gregladen | May 20, 2010Why are most stars in binary systems? New Spitzer results may help explain.
Stars form from cosmic dust accumulating in sufficient quantities to generate sufficient gravity to mush the atoms with sufficient compression to cause nuclear fusion. The dust initially gathers in a large formation long thought to be more or less spherical. By the time the process is over, the star-stuff in the middle of this 'envelope' of dust, nuclear fusion and all, is likely to be two stars in many cases.
Most of the stars in the galaxy are binary, or twin, stars. At least some (if not most, perhaps almost…
gregladen | May 20, 2010Philosophy professor and author Dr. Massimo Pigliucci joins us to discuss his new book "Nonsense On Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk." We'll discuss why people embrace pseudoscientific beliefs, and how it affects our culture.
Details
(Reminds me of this: Massimo Pigliucci: "Politics, Philosophy and Atheism." Atheists Talk #0074, Sunday June 14, 2009 )
gregladen | May 20, 2010The Saba Bank is a major coral reef in the Caribbean which sports a high level of biodiversity but also attracts oil tankers, and is thus an important natural area under threat. The tankers anchor here to avoid paying fees in various ports, but the anchors themselves drag along the reef and cause havoc.
There is now an effort to have the Saba Bank designated as an internationally recognized sensitive area, but one thing standing it the way of this effort is a lack of scientific knowledge of the region.
Open Access Publishing to the rescue!
Anchor chain damaging a giant barrel sponge,…
gregladen | May 20, 2010"In today's lecture, I will be casting false pearls before real swine"
... I won't tell you who said that, but when he did say it, he was in front of a classroom of several hundred Harvard freshmen, and he was referring to the idea of telling little white lies to the unwashed masses in order to achieve the dissemination of greater truth. No one in the room but the wizened teaching assistants, clustered off to the side furtively consuming their lunch in the "no food allowed" lecture hall, got the Biblical reference. There were spit takes.
But the problem with false pearls is that they don't…
gregladen | May 20, 2010buk buk buk
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gregladen | May 20, 2010 Scientists are reporting that they have made a living cell from DNA that was originally synthesized in a lab. This isn't quite a synthetic organism. But the result is an important, and some would say troubling step on the road to creating life in the lab.
Craig Venter is the scientist behind the effort. Many scientists have strong opinions about Venter, but even his detractors will admit he's a man who thinks big.
details here
gregladen | May 20, 2010One of the fascinating side stories in Dragnet is the quirky relationship between Bill Gannon and Joe Friday, and in particular, Bill's reporting of his occasional schemes and Joe's incredulous reaction to them. ...
Read on (qm)
gregladen | May 20, 2010A timely repost:
It's out! Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction Second Edition is now available on line and in bookstores (or at least it is being shipped out as we speak).
This is the newly revamped edition of Genie Scott's essential reference supporting the Evolutionist Perspective in the so called "debate" over creationism vs. evolution. The original version of this book was excellent, but this updated version is essential. There is quite a bit of new information in this volume reflecting the fact that quite a few things have happened since the publication of the prior edition…
gregladen | May 20, 2010Missouri's latest contribution to ruining science education has died a merciful death before even reaching committee. This did not happen by itself. This happened because we are keeping an eye on them.
We are watching you, Robert Wayne Cooper. And the rest of you. We are watching you too.
Read the happy details at the NCSE web site.
gregladen | May 20, 2010This just in from NASA:
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project will pass a historic Martian longevity record on Thursday, May 20. The Opportunity rover will surpass the duration record set by NASA's Viking 1 Lander of six years and 116 days operating on the surface of Mars. The effects of favorable weather on the red planet could also help the rovers generate more power.
Opportunity's twin rover, Spirit, began working on Mars three weeks before Opportunity. However, Spirit has been out of communication since March 22. If it awakens from hibernation and resumes…
gregladen | May 19, 2010I don't believe this is real. Do you? Have you seen one of these things?
Hat tip: Joe.
gregladen | May 19, 2010How to Be a Cute Chick and Make People Do What You Want Them to Do With Your Sex Appeal
gregladen | May 19, 2010Accuracy when making criticisms is important. See this discussion, which is an extension of this.
gregladen | May 19, 2010SciCurious has written a review of an interesting paper suggesting a correlation between obesity and city vs. non-city life. As usual, the review by Sci is excellent, but I have a comment or two to add.
Having read the review and then the paper, I had to ask if it might be possible to conclude based on the data presentation that "race" (and thus "genetics") underlies the observed effect. This is because of this graph:
The results as depicted here divides the population into black vs white, making it appear that skin color is a major factor. The paper does not make that specific argument…