Posts

June 18, 2013

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4:20 PM | Do the creationist shuffle and twist!

Don’t you hate it when you get up in the morning and the first thing you read on the internet is that the news that your entire career has been a waste of time, your whole field of study has collapsed, and you’re going to have to rethink your entire future? Happens to me all…

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4:00 PM | Kurz notiert: Licht aus! Luciferin an!

Zellen kommunizieren unentwegt und auf die verschiedensten Arten miteinander und sehr viele biologische Prozesse kann man nur verstehen, wenn man begreift, wie eine Zelle einer anderen etwas mitteilt. Das Problem ist, daß die Erkenntnisse aus der Zellkulturschale (in vitro) nicht immer auf die echten Organismen, also auf die Situation „in vivo“ übertragbar sind.Sellmyer et al.…

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7:02 AM | What Kind of Asian Are You? Part II

Closer Blog: In the video, What Kind of Asian are you? Scott plays a friendly jogger who is very interested in guessing the heritage of Stella, an Asian American woman. Here is part II.Read more: What Kind of Asian Are You? Part II

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1:45 AM | Mary’s Monday Metazoan: It’s a jelly day

(via Larry Linton)

June 17, 2013

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9:22 PM | People reminded of religion become intolerant of ambiguity

Around the world, religion is often linked to conservative attitudes. In fact, religion is famous for being socially ossified - the last bastion of the social and sexual mores of the generation-before-last. And if there's one thing that conservatives also hate, it's ambiguity Generally speaking, conservatives see the world in terms of black and white, with clear demarcations between good and evil. They like to be certain in their judgements. Similar, in fact, to many religious world […]

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2:10 AM | Esta semana en ciencia – 16 de Junio 2013

Seis noticias científicas cortas que ocurrieron esta semana...

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1:57 AM | Getting a grip on the science behind claims about fluoridation

Here’s an interesting graphic on fluoridation and the scientific evidence for it. It is from Ethan Seigel’s blog Starts with a Bang (see Weekend Diversion: Fluoridated Water: Science, Scams and Society). The article itself is a good description of the issues … Continue reading →

June 16, 2013

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1:01 PM | The KEY to understanding Genesis!

Daniel Friedmann has found it! It’s the scaling factor that lets you convert the ‘days’ of God in the book of Genesis into human years. This is reported with total credulity in the Toronto Star. Let’s take the word “day.” In terms of the first six days, they’re “creation days,” which are different from just…

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12:00 AM | Is fluoride an essential dietary mineral?

Source: Dietary Minerals, Wikipedia Anti-fluoridation activists often assure us that fluorine (F) is not an essential element. But what does that mean? Literally I guess it means that there are no identified biological pathways essential to human life involving F. … Continue reading →

June 14, 2013

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1:18 PM | Friday Cephalopod: Chillin’, cephalopod style

(via Debbie Merschen Harding)

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1:00 AM | The Supreme Court decision on patentable genomes

I’m shocked. Just totally surprised. And it was unanimous — the Supreme Court determined that human genes cannot be patented. This is excellent news. Why is it a good decision? Because medical DNA analysis was turning into a patchwork of competing landgrabs. Sequencing technology is coming along so nicely that more and more diagnostic tools…

June 13, 2013

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4:07 AM | Will Hamiltonians finally get a voice on fluoridation?

Well, I am not surprised this has happened but am surprised it’s happened so quickly. Disaffection with the Hamilton City Council decision to stop fluoridation has resulted in an attempt by at least one councillor to get the decision reversed … Continue reading →

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2:04 AM | Scientists, political activism and the scientific ethos

The recent decision of the Hamilton City Council to stop fluoridating its water supply caused a bit of discussion among New Zealand scientists. Discussion of the ethical and practical questions related to scientist involvement in political activism. The Hamilton City … Continue reading →

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1:40 AM | Botanical Wednesday: Da herb, mon

(via Cannabis Culture)

June 12, 2013

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11:31 PM | Tú eres el universo

Tú eres el universo expresándose a sí mismo como humano por un momento. -Eckhart Tolle -¿Cómo?! ¿DrGEN citando a un “maestro espiritual“? Recuerden que hasta un reloj roto marca la hora correcta dos veces al día Y además, estoy bastante seguro que el sentido en que Eckhart dijo eso no es el mismo a cómo [...]

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2:41 PM | Estado laico

Por Martín Bonfil Olivera Dirección General de Divulgación de la Ciencia, UNAM Publicado en Milenio Diario, 12 de junio de 2013 La Constitución mexicana, en su artículo 3º, establece que la educación pública deberá ser laica y “ajena a cualquier doctrina religiosa”. Al mismo tiempo, exige que esté basada en “los resultados del progreso científico”, y luche contra “los fanatismos y prejuicios”. En su artículo 40 extiende el laicismo a todo el Estado: “es […]

June 11, 2013

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10:00 PM | Heute abend: Skeptics in the Pub in Köln

Wer aus Köln oder Umgebung heute abend noch nichts vor- und Lust auf “Wissenschaft bei Gerstensaft” hat, kann sich gerne ab 19.30 Uhr zu uns gesellen: wie angekündigt, treffen sich heute die Kölner Skeptiker im Jameson’s Pub in der Friesenstrasse und ich schwinge ‘ne Rede Und wie immer gilt:

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4:00 PM | Ohne Mathe geht es nicht!

Mein Lieblings-Mathematikerwitz: An seinem Lebensabend in Rückschau auf eine große Karriere wird ein Schriftsteller, der sich auch als Maler, Bildhauer, Regisseur und Philosoph betätigt hatte, gefragt, ob er nicht auch Mathematiker hätte werden können. „Nein“, antwortet er, „dafür fehlt mir die Phantasie.“ * Ich erinnere mich noch ans erste Semester Biologie. Bei der Begrüßung der…

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1:44 PM | Jonah Lehrer: he’s baaaaack

Lehrer has landed a new book deal. This has sparked justifiable disgust: Maria Konnikova explains why. Lehrer is not the writer who simply made up a few Bob Dylan quotes and self-plagiarized (the way he’s portrayed in recent accounts of his latest book deal). He is the writer who got the science wrong, repeatedly, who…

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7:01 AM | Breaking the Silence – Female Israeli Soldiers Testify

Closer Blog: These testimonies of female Israeli soldiers seek to tell the Israeli public and international community what it means to be a woman serving in the territories. It is part of the project Breaking the Silence by IDF veterans.Read more: Breaking the Silence – Female Israeli Soldiers Testify

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1:49 AM | Mauritia: Another Ancient Microcontinent

Claims of new "lost microcontinents" - often associated in the media with Atlantis - seem to be everywhere lately. For instance we have the recent Brazilian discovery of potentially continental rocks in the Atlantic ocean. Today ICR geologist Timothy L. Clarey has a beef with "Mauritia," an Indian Ocean microcontinent under what is now Mauritius whose existence was proposed back in Febuary - he writes "Outlandish Claims for Missing 'Continent'."

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1:34 AM | Mary’s Monday Metazoan: GIANT CARNIVOROUS RIBBON WORMS

These are awesome. I want a swarm for a pet. Upwards of 3 feet long and in some cases-as thick as a garden hose and have the texture of jello. There’s mucus. These things are crazy. Key words: EAT EVERYTHING. ALIVE or DEAD. These have been fed almost everything-and they eat what’s given them: fecal…

June 10, 2013

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10:51 PM | Mente superior domina mente inferior

Paramecio - Protozoo ciliado El título del post me hizo acordar un chiste tan malo que los voy a dejar con la duda. En fin, acabo de cruzarme con un curioso proyecto en el que mediante una interfaz se logra controlar a un parásito con la mente! Suena loco, y lo es! Su autor utiliza [...]

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10:00 PM | Fluoridation – are we dumping toxic metals into our water supplies?

Opponents of fluoridation usually use a raft of arguments – this sometimes make discussions difficult because it leads to Gish Galloping which prevents proper discussion of any one issue. So in this blog post I want to restrict myself to … Continue reading →

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9:45 PM | As race day approaches, Oxford rowers increasingly turn to their faith in science

Regular readers will be familiar with the idea that people put into stressful situations often respond by ramping up their superstitious or religious beliefs. Now Miguel Farias, at Oxford University, and colleagues have shown that you can find a similar effect with belief in science. Their first study was simple. They recruited 100 rowers (presumably from the Oxford University Rowing Clubs) - half of them on the actual day of an important race, and the other half just at a regular training […]

June 09, 2013

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10:15 PM | When science is under attack

Another image picked up on social media A cartoon from the Union of Concerned Scientists. This must be what it’s like for some climate scientists at the moment. Similar articles

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1:37 PM | Geweldsmarketing – Het risico van de politiek van islamofobie

Closer Blog: Ik bespreek hier het boek van Jan Jaap de Ruiter: The Speck in Your Brother’s Eye, een reactie op Wilders’ islamofobe boek over islam: Marked for Death.Read more: Geweldsmarketing – Het risico van de politiek van islamofobie

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10:01 AM | Not So Giant

David Slays GoliathAs I said, there's a new That's a Fact video out: "Biblical Giants." For the June Acts & Facts edition, Randy Guliuzza wrote an article called "Did Giants Ever Exist?" and this video examines the same issue.

June 08, 2013

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10:22 PM | Esta semana en ciencia – 8 de Junio 2013