An asteroid heading for Mars is going to miss the angry red planet. Too bad, that would have been cool. But there is a very cool graphic that results from the science surrounding this non event. This is a moving GIF showing the evolution over time of the uncertainty region for the collision. You can see where mars was initially in the uncertainty region, and over time, as the uncertainty region became smaller and smaller, the planet moved first to the edge then entirely out of the region. Much like Barack Obama and the New Hampshire Primary. Oh well, maybe next time. Mars and Barack.…

Sure, the Taylor County school board was apparently the first to pass a resolution complaining about evolution, but they're not the only one. Two more counties passed resolutions, too: Baker County and Holmes County. Florida Citizens for Science and Dispatches from the Culture Wars are covering this.

Everyone these days knows about the "island effect" where certain animals evolve to a diminutive size because they live on islands. You know this because of the Flores hominid. Now, it has been shown to have operated in a dinosaur. Thecodontosaurus Thecodontosaurus is also known as the Bristol Dinosaur. It is one of the first named dinosaurs, having been found in 1834, even before dinosaurs were recognized as a phenomenon. It is a diminutive dinosaur that was originally thought to have lived in an arid area of the mainland. Research just published in Geological Magazine shows that…

In a very important ruling, a Federal district court in Missouri has ruled that allowing the Gideons to come into elementary schools and distribute Bibles to students is a violation of the establishment clause .... This is a key ruling that could be replicated nationwide, where many schools still allow the Gideons to go into schools and do this. The ruling was by summary judgment. Ed Brayton has the story and the details here.

They were possessed by the devil. She claims the demons did the killing but authorities may not be buying it. Banita Jacks, 33, is charged with three counts of felony murder and one count of first-degree murder while armed. The victims, who range in age from 5 to 17 years, are thought to be her daughters. ... Jacks told police that her daughters were possessed by demons and that each died in her sleep during a seven- to 10-day period, court documents said. Aja died first, she told police, then N'kiah, Tatianna and Brittany. "She said that as the first three younger children died, she…

Here's a novel idea for creationists: Be honest! As you know, the Institute for Creation Research is trying to get an online Masters Degree in "science education" approved in Texas. A faux committee comprised of nincompoops and creationists has approved the degree at the first stage, and it is now being considered by the Texas higher education commission. (Details here) A recent report indicates that the Texas Commissioner of Higher Education has chimed in on the suggestion that this degree simply be called a "degree in creation studies." Interesting solution. Apparently, one of the…

... will be featured on Science Friday with Ira Flatow, today (Friday), January 11th. Details are here. Thanks Sheril for the info.

I'm going to make a prediction. Just remember, you heard it here first.... First, let's lay out a few truths that need to be understood in order to embrace this bold prediction. You may have noticed the latest news on the shenanigans the Iranians are playing with the US navy. They've been driving boats at US warships, throwing boxes (possible mines) into the water in front of the ships, etc. What you may not realize is that this sort of thing is actually happening all the time. Military and paramilitary (read "terrorists" in some cases) units at borders in hot zones are always spoofing…

Sir Edmund Hillary Died of Heart Failure at the Auckland City Hospital at the age of 88. Hillary is most famous for being the first european, with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, to reach the top of Mount Everest and return alive (and possibly the first to reach the summit). Today, there are streams of climbers going up and down the slopes of this mountain, which is much easier to climb because of modern technology and having the routes already figured out. Nonetheless, a large percentage of these mountaineering yuppies do not survive the trek. Hat tip: Science Buzz. More info here

Accepting his 2006 TED Prize, Dr. Larry Brilliant talks about how smallpox was finally eradicated from the planet. In a conversational style that belies the deadly seriousness of his subject, he describes the dangers of pandemic disease, and offers a solution in his dramatic TED Prize wish, a plan to use the Internet to help prevent the next pandemic. (Contains strong images.)

Author Robert Wright explains "non-zero-sumness," a game-theory term describing how players with linked fortunes tend to cooperate for mutual benefit. This dynamic has guided our biological and cultural evolution, he says -- but our unwillingness to understand one another, as in the clash between the Muslim world and the West, will lead to all of us losing the "game." Once we recognize that life is a non-zero-sum game, in which we all must cooperate to succeed, it will force us to see that moral progress -- a move toward empathy -- is our only hope.

Why is there no Birth Control Pill for men? This latest "Ask a ScienceBlogger" question will certainly engender a wide range of responses from the Scienceblogs.com team. Answers may address physiology, endocrinology, pharmacology, economics, and other areas of scientific thinking and practice. The answer I'd like to propose can be summed up in two closely linked words pilfered from the question itself: Men. Control. Myriad aspects of life can be understood by recognizing a single critical fact, and the layered, sometimes complex, deeply biological effects of that fact. Males, by…

... Brings a tear to my eye...

Accepting his 2006 TED Prize, Cameron Sinclair demonstrates how passionate designers and architects can respond to world housing crises. The motto of his group, Architecture for Humanity, is "Design like you give a damn." Using a litany of striking examples, he shows how AFH has helped find creative solutions to humanitarian crises all over the globe. Sinclair then outlines his TED Prize wish: to create a global open-source network that will let architects and communities share and build designs to house the world.

Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin outlines her ambitious vision to found the first commodities market in Ethiopia. Her plan would create wealth, minimize risk for farmers and turn the world's largest recipient of food aid into a regional food basket. "There is no place in the world and no time in history that small farmers have had to bear the burden of risk that African farmers bear today," Gabre-Madhin says. "But I'm not here to lament or wring my hands. I'm here to tell you that change is in the air."

A glow in the dark pig has given birth to more glow in the dark pigs. Fluorescent Chinese pig passes on trait to offspring from PhysOrg.com A pig genetically modified in China to make it glow has given birth to fluorescent piglets, proving such changes can be inherited, state media said Wednesday. [...] The pigs were originally modified (to glow) using somatic cell nuclear transfer.It is not entirely clear to me how the gene got into the gametes. It also appears that the distribution of the gene in the offspring is not exactly the same as in the parent, suggesting something interesting…

Totally ripped off rom Quantum Pontiff When you think about it, this guy had/has more power than even Robert Altman...

[Hat Tip: Tangled Up in Blue Guy] We are going to have the coolest Senator!

University of California, Irvine infectious disease researchers have shown the effectiveness of a potential alternative to the existing smallpox vaccine that can replace the current biodefense stockpile for this lethal virus. Philip Felgner and Huw Davies with the Department of Medicine found that the modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) produced the same antiviral response in human and animal studies as the current smallpox vaccine, Dryvax. The study is part of a national effort to develop a replacement for the Dryvax vaccine, which causes serious complications in some people. The results…