Jesus' Ossuary a Fake?

Bob Simon of CBS News reported on Dec. 19th on the Ossuary Box that turned up a couple of years ago, inscribed with the words "James. . . Son of Joseph. . . Brother of Jesus" in Aramaic. Simon says "The discovery of this ossuary created more excitement among Christian scholars than anything since the Shroud of Turin. And like the Shroud, no sooner was it unveiled than it came alive, with questions. ..." The report focuses on Oded Golan, "an Israeli entrepreneur, amateur pianist and one of the world's biggest collectors of biblical antiquities." Golan claims to have had the ossuary for decades, without knowing its significance. Simon reports "the Israel Antiquities Authority demanded that it be brought back to Israel so they could have a look. They appointed two committees to decide whether that inscription was cut 2,000 years ago, or much more recently. 'The letter is freshly cut from the varnish into the rock,' says Professor Yuval Goren, director of Tel Aviv University's archaeology department, and one of the committee members. ..."

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/17/60minutes/main661815.shtml

APOD's "Meteor" Photograph ... Resolved?

As reported recently, a curious photograph showing what some thought to be a meteor striking a lamp has been displayed on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day site, inviting readers to help find a consensus as to what the image really shows.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041207.html

APOD has announced that the consensus of the discussion is that the "Australian strange streak is plausibly just a flying insect."

See: http://www.cloudbait.com/science/darwin.html for the details.

APOD mentions Contrails - Carnicom accuses NASA of "Orwellian indoctrination"...

Speaking of Astronomy Picture of the Day, The APOD site for October 13, 2004 shows a striking picture of contrails over the southeastern United States. The site is full of incredibly inflammatory statements, such as "The exhaust of an airplane engine can create a contrail by saturating the surrounding air with extra moisture." (Actually, the comments are seen as inflanmmatory only by believers in "chemtrails," supposed government spraying of biotoxins and death via seemingly innocent "contrails.")

Source: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041013.html

The APOD page links to general NASA sites on contrails, such as this one:
http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/GLOBE/contrails/

Our local "chemtrails" enthusiast, Cliff Carnicom of Santa Fe, has announced on his website that "NASA has recently adopted a public strategy of abusing its position of national and public service by attempting to indoctrinate the citizens, including children, that the aerosol operations are a "normal" and expected consequence of daily life and aircraft. Nothing can be further from the truth, as is also apparent from an honest and thorough examination of the issue. ..."

Source: http://carnicom.com/nasa1.htm

NMSR's Chemtrails Page: http://www.nmsr.org/chemtrls.htm

New Study claims Cell Phones Harm DNA...

Reuters reports on Dec. 20th that "Radio waves from mobile phones harm body cells and damage DNA in laboratory conditions, according to a new study majority-funded by the European Union, researchers said on Monday. The so-called Reflex study, conducted by 12 research groups in seven European countries, did not prove that mobile phones are a risk to health but concluded that more research is needed to see if effects can also be found outside a lab. ..."

Source: http://www.reuters.co.uk/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7141560

Recent Vulcanism on the Red Planet?

Matt Crenson of APnews.Myway.com reported on Dec. 22nd that "Images from the European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter indicate geologically recent volcanic activity in the summit craters of five Martian volcanoes, with some areas showing activity as recently as 4 million years ago. Though long in human terms, 4 million years amounts to the most recent 1 percent of Martian history - a strong suggestion that the planet retains a capacity for volcanic activity. ..."

Source: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041222/D874T6802.html

Posted December 17th 2004

Electrical brainstorms nixed as cause of "ghosts"...

Nature reports on Dec. 9th that "Studies showing that magnetic stimulation of the brain induces spiritual experiences are being queried by researchers who cannot reproduce key results. If the traditional theory is wrong, scientists will be left struggling to explain how such thoughts and sensations are generated. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041206/full/041206-10.html

ID target of Federal Lawsuit in Dover, PA...

Nick Matzke at the Panda's Thumb notes on Dec. 15th that "Today, eleven parents from Dover, Pennsylvania, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU of Pennsylvania), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and attorneys from Pepper Hamilton LLP filed suit in federal court to overturn the 'intelligent design' policy of the Dover Area School Board. The National Center for Science Education is consulting on the case (for free) on the science and science education aspects of the case. Read the press releases explaining the suit online at ACLU, AU, and Pepper Law. The case is entitled Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District. ..."

Source: http://www.pandasthumb.org/pt-archives/000675.html

Matzke observes that the pro-Intelligent Design group called the Discovery Institute opposes Dover's anti-evolution stand, calling it "misguided." Matzke notes that "...considering that according to the schedule in the Wedge Strategy, we should be well into Phase III by now, which included integrating ID into public school curricula, and defending these actions in court ..." But the Institute's fellows are saying instead that "'When we first read about the Dover policy, we publicly criticized it because according to published reports the intent was to mandate the teaching of intelligent design,' explained West. 'Although we think discussion of intelligent design should not be prohibited, we don't think intelligent design should be required in public schools. What should be required is full disclosure of the scientific evidence for and against Darwin's theory,' added West, 'which is the approach supported by the overwhelming majority of the public.' ..."

Translation: "The Dover Board should have carefully censored every mention of God, Jesus, or traditional creationism regarding the new science guidelines, as the Discovery Institute has been doing for years. Because they didn't, 'Intelligent Design' may soon become legally linked to creationism. The Future of ID is now in Jeopardy. Egads!"

Source: http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?%20command=view&id=2341

More Theists Weigh In For Evolution Over Creationism...

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorialized on Dec. 16th "That a federal lawsuit had to be filed in Harrisburg this week to prevent "intelligent design" from being offered as an alternative to the theory of evolution in a York County school district is a sad commentary on a certain sort of blind faith -- the fearful sort of faith that is blind to reason, blind to observable natural phenomenon, blind even to God's unfolding creation. ... Those who resist evolution do not understand that a theory in science is not just a figure of speech denoting conjecture. More importantly, they do not understand that theirs is a minority position even among other Christians who believe that science and faith can co-exist without contradiction. For example, the Roman Catholic Church, more than a billion strong, does not have much of a problem with evolution, a view that Pope John Paul II reasserted with a formal statement in 1996. Many mainline Protestants also see no contradiction. A wise man once observed: 'God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform.' It's a shame that a federal case is needed to make that point anew when the subject is evolution, which can be more sensibly and more reverently viewed as the Creator's way of proceeding. ..."

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04352/428067.stm

And Kevin Harter, writing in the Dec. 17th Pioneer Press, declares that "Nearly 200 Wisconsin clergy want school officials in Grantsburg, Wis., to ensure evolution remains at the center of scientific teaching in the schools. The district drew criticism for approving a policy earlier this year calling for scientific theories and evidence other than evolution to be taught. It changed the policy earlier this month, explicitly ruling out teaching creationism and 'intelligent design,' a theory that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power. But the revised policy contained an expectation that students be able to explain 'the scientific strengths and weaknesses of evolutionary theory.' Such language is 'a standard creationist tactic,' according to a news release accompanying a letter signed by 188 pastors from Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist and other churches. The pastors want evolution... "

Source: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/10435565.htm (free registration)

Michael Crichton's 'State of Fear'...

The BBC reports that "The best-selling author Michael Crichton has explained to the BBC why he has argued global warming is a nonsense in his new book, State Of Fear. The novel - a thriller - is controversial because it challenges scientific consensus that rapid climate change is being driven by a build-up of human-produced carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. ..."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4105327.stm

The climate change science blog, RealClimate.Org, says on Dec. 13th "Like the recent movie 'The Day After Tomorrow,' the novel addresses real scientific issues and controversies, but is similarly selective (and occasionally mistaken) about the basic science. ... At the end of the book, Crichton gives us an author’s message. In it, he re-iterates the main points of his thesis, that there are some who go too far to drum up support (and I have some sympathy with this), and that because we don’t know everything, we actually know nothing (here, I beg to differ). He also gives us his estimate, ~0.8 C for the global warming that will occur over the next century and claims that, since models differ by 400% in their estimates, his guess is as good as theirs. This is not true. The current batch of models have a mean climate sensitivity of about 3 C to doubled CO2 (and range between 2.5 and 4.0 degrees) (Paris meeting of IPCC, July 2004) , i.e an uncertainty of about 30%. .."

Source: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=74

Did Solar Glitch Trigger Major Climate Event 5200 Years Ago?

Speaking of global climate change, Ohio State University announced on Dec. 15th that "Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson worries that he may have found clues that show history repeating itself, and if he is right, the result could have important implications to modern society. ... A professor of geological sciences at Ohio State and a researcher with the Byrd Polar Research Center, Thompson points to markers in numerous records suggesting that the climate was altered suddenly some 5,200 years ago with severe impacts. ... Thompson believes that the 5,200-year old event may have been caused by a dramatic fluctuation in solar energy reaching the earth. Scientists know that a historic global cooling called the Little Ice Age, from 1450 to 1850 A.D., coincided with two periods of decreased solar activity. ..."

Source: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/5200event.htm

Mt. St. Helens Lava Dome just keeps Growing and Growing...

LiveScience.com reports on Dec. that "An unusually smooth and swiftly growing lava dome within the crater of Washington state's Mount St. Helens volcano is an extraordinary and perplexing event with an unknown outcome, geologists said Tuesday. The dome has been building at a steady clip for about two months now as molten rock boils up from deep below. While no major eruptions are expected in the near term, the dome's construction can be likened to a runaway freight train in terms of the steady forces involved, scientists said. 'There's a truckload of hot rock coming out of the mountain every second,' said Dan Dzurisin of the U.S. Geological Survey. 'We're scratching our heads about it.' Dzurisin and others presented the latest data on the volcano here at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union this week. ..."

Source: http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/041215_msh_update.html

Was John Lennon's UFO "Egg" made by Piet Hein?

Last week, we mentioned Uri Geller's claim regarding aliens who left a " weird egg-shaped object behind" for the late Beatle John Lennon. In his Dec. 17th Commentary, James Randi notes that "Those bugs must have stopped off to visit the MIT gift shop during the time the shop was offering the 3-cm-long brass 'Supereggs' for sale. This is technically a 'superellipsoid,' and the story I did on the object back in May of 2002 can be seen at www.randi.org/jr/051002.html. Someone gave me one of these objects — a regular US citizen, not a Martian — some years ago, and miraculously it appears to be identical to the one that came from the UFO! Though Geller is totally mystified and confounded about the source of these 'eggs,' I think I have it solved. And I'm not even psychic! ..."

Source: http://www.randi.org/jr/121704no.html#6

Posted December 10th 2004

BIG Week in the Creationism/Evolution Wars......

There was so much creationism news this week, that we're only noting a few highlights.

The York Dispatch , Dec. 7th: "Another Dover [PA] school board member quits; She says she was misled on intelligent design; now fears lawsuit."
Source: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/Stories/0,1413,138~10023~2581903,00.html

The York Dispatch , Dec. 6th: "School boards shouldn't compete in creationists' self-serving game," editorial by Barbara Forrest & Paul Gross.
Source: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/Stories/0,1413,138~10027~2579796,00.html

Duluth News Tribune, Dec. 8th, re Grantsburg, Wisconsin: "A new policy of teaching about the evolution of species has been changed to clarify that it won't include classroom lessons in public schools on religious explanations, such as creationism. As approved by the school board on a 6-1 vote Monday evening, the policy should ease concerns that the schools would be teaching creationism or the theory of intelligent design as alternatives to evolution, Superintendent Joni Burgin said. ..."
Source: http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/10363621.htm

The Phi Delta Kappa International (Professional Association in Education) has an excellent article by Mark Terry , "One Nation, Under the Designer."  The grabber says "Mr. Terry alerts readers to a new, more insidious anti-evolutionist strategy. And the redefinition of science is only the first step. ..."
Source: http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v86/k0412ter.htm

The Christian Science Monitor , Dec. 7th, Randy Dotinga on "A who's who of players in the battle of biology class." (Comments on Eugenie Scott of NCSE and Bruce Chapman of the Discovery Institute).
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1207/p11s01-legn.html

R. Robin McDonald and Greg Bluestein, writing for Law.com, in the Fulton County Daily Report for November 12, 2004: "The Discovery Institute is one of the major proponents of intelligent design, the idea that a divine being orchestrated the evolutionary process. ..."
Source: http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1100137000893
And, the Discovery Institute doesn't disagree...
Source: http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=2305&program=CSC%20-%20Views%20and%20News

TOONS:

New Creationism/Darwinism compromise proposed, "Bad Reporter", in the December 3 SF Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/03/DDASMUSSENBR.DTL

Alternative disclaimer stickers in the December 5 New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2004/12/05/opinion/06purr.html

Tom Toles: The well-equipped 2004 Science Lab:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/tolestom/?name=Toles&date=20041204 (registration)

Steve Benson December 07, 2004 The Carnival's Back in Town (EXCELLENT!)
http://www.unitedmedia.com/editoons/benson/archive/benson-20041207.html

Tony Auth: The Democratization of Iraq Textbook Disclaimer:
http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/ta/

Uri Geller on John Lennon's UFO "Gift" ...

The Telegraph (UK) reports on Dec. 7th that "They came in the darkness and had bug-like faces. Stranger still, they left a weird egg-shaped object behind. Uri Geller recalls his friend John Lennon’s encounter with the unknown ..."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/12/08/ftgeller08.xml

No More "Hobbit" Heists...

The Australian reports on Dec. 10th that "Although their 'hobbit' fossils were snatched by a powerful critic, Indonesian and Australian scientists will continue their quest for humanity's Southeast Asian roots next year, with new safeguards to prevent further filching. According to Tony Djubiantono, director of the Indonesian Centre for Archaeology in Jakarta, from now on not a single fossil will leave the centre. ..."

Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11644843%255E2702,00.html

Chicken Genome sheds light on Evolution..

PhysOrg.com/Nature report on Dec. 9th that "...The analysis showed that chickens and humans share about 60 percent of their genes, as opposed to the approximately 88 percent shared by humans and rodents. 'The chicken is really in an evolutionary sweet spot,' said Wilson. 'It's at just the right evolutionary distance from all the other genomes we already have to provide us with a great deal of fresh insight into the human genome.' ..."

Source: http://www.physorg.com/news2313.html

Some Junk, Some Good: Scientists Uncover Clues To The Mystery Of 'Gene Deserts'...

Science Daily reports on Dec. 9th that "Gene deserts are long stretches of DNA between genes that were once thought to have no biological function, and were dismissed as 'junk DNA.' As scientists probe deeper into the DNA's double helix, however, they are discovering that many of these 'non-coding' segments actually play an important role in regulating gene activity. ..."

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041208231423.htm  

Sleuths to the Ramparts - An APOD Mystery...

We reported a few weeks back on a meteorite that had been photographed at the moment of impact. However, NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for Dec. 7th notes "Meteor experts don't think it's a meteor. Atmospheric scientists don't think it's lightning. The photographer insists that the streak and flash on the above image has not been created digitally. So what is it? Nobody is sure. APOD's editors do not claim to know - one purpose of posting this image is to mine the eclectic brain trust of APOD's readers to help see if some unusual phenomenon was caught serendipitously. ..."

Source: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041207.html

Posted December 3rd 2004

Pleins on Creationism - a Disservice to both Faith and Facts...

In the Nov. 26th San Jose Mercury News, David Pleins, professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University, writes "Creation science is neither good science nor good religion. The current court battle in Georgia over conservative Christian attempts to stick warning labels on high school biology texts, proclaiming that evolution is a theory, not a fact, hardly advances the cause of religion and serves only to weaken our country's science education. Science is one-size-fits-all. There is not one science for fundamentalist Christians and another for the rest of us. No amount of special pleading for the Bible will change this reality. ... Conservative Christians need a history lesson. They have not always rejected modern science. In the 19th century, before fundamentalism was a badge of honor, many conservative Christians were on the forefront of scientific advance, unpacking geological strata to reveal long-lost fossil worlds. Many acknowledged Darwin's genius and sought to merge theism with evolution. ... Hit the books rather than put stickers on them. Use good science as the starting point for your theological reflection. Don't be satisfied with creationist counterfeits. The latest craze called 'intelligent design' trumpets ideas that were long ago discarded, and for good reason. Learn why. Let's not put faith-based straitjackets around our science teachers. Let's sort out the God question in our diverse houses of faith. Let's not turn back the clock on our understanding of nature or of nature's God. Incredibly, the Gallup News Service now reports that 45 percent of Americans think humans were created 10,000 years ago. There's work to be done. Let's take science education seriously. God does not need warning labels. ..."

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/10275540.htm (free registration required)

Can Brain Scans Detect Lies?

Maggie Fox (Reuters) reports on Nov. 29th that "Brain scans show that the brains of people who are lying look very different from those of people who are telling the truth, U.S. researchers said on Monday. The study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, not only sheds light on what goes on when people lie but may also provide new technology for lie-detecting, the researchers said. 'There may be unique areas in the brain involved in deception that can be measured with fMRI,' said Dr. Scott Faro, director of the Functional Brain Imaging Center at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. ..."

Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20041129/sc_nm/science_lying_dc

Can a Nasal Spray Stop the Spread of Flu, TB, SARS?

Maggie Fox (Reuters) reports on Nov. 29th that "Simply inhaling a saltwater spray could help prevent the spread of diseases including flu and tuberculosis, U.S. and German researchers reported on Monday. They found a saline spray, administered using a device called a jet nebulizer, reduced the number of germ-spreading droplets by as much as 70 percent for six hours. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could provide a way to help control epidemics such as the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome that spread globally and killed many health care workers trying to help patients. The findings might also help control any global influenza pandemic, which almost all health experts believe is coming and which could kill millions. ..."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&u=/nm/20041129/hl_nm/health_contagion_dc_1&printer=1

Dennis Lee promises July 4, 2005 for "Free Electricity" Demo...

It's Deja Vu all over again! James Randi comments on Dec. 3rd that "DENNIS LEE'S BACK — WITH A RELIGIOUS PYRAMID CLUB SCAM. Remember the nut case who has been promising a Free Electricity Generator (FEG) for several years now, who we described at several places like www.randi.org/jr/nov092001.html and www.randi.org/jr/102601.html? We long ago decided that for sheer nerve and ignorance, Lee was at the top of the "chutzpah" list, and that's a very competitive category, folks! An anonymous reader tells us: 'Here is an update on what Dennis Lee is up to. He now has a new Christian ministry that he claims you can donate money to and it will be multiplied because he will be making those FEGs and selling electricity. But he can't demonstrate it until 1,600,000 "witnesses" are ready to see 100 simultaneous demonstrations across the USA at stadiums. ... The latest date Dennis predicts the witnesses will be ready is for shows on July 4, 2005. ..."

Source: http://www.randi.org/jr/120304youve.html#4

Dennis Lee's Past New Mexico Tours: http://www.nmsr.org/denislee.htm

Is there a Martian Threat?

The Times (UK) reports on Dec. 3rd that "EARTH must take precautions to avoid contamination from lifeforms that must now be presumed to exist on Mars, leading scientists gave warning yesterday. Potentially deadly microorganisms could be returned to Earth on a probe which is being planned to collect samples from the Martian surface. The warning comes after a detailed scientific analysis of data sent back by the roving vehicle Opportunity which landed on Mars on January 25. Jeffrey Kargel of the US Geological Survey said that protection of our own planet from alien forms of life requires the assumption that Martian life exists. 'Before proceeding with sample returns or human missions to Mars, we must review measures for planetary biological protection.' His warning appears in Science magazine in an article accompanying the first formal publication of the mass of data from Opportunity, which continues to operate on the Martian surface. ..."

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1385572,00.html

Move Over, Alabama - here comes Dover Pi...

The Bentinel reports that "The Dover [Pennsylvania] school board has raised eyebrows and ire across Pennsylvania and the country after requiring math teachers to offer 3 as an acceptable value of Pi. Pi is the name given to the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, commonly accepted to be 3.141592, though the actual number is believed to go on endlessly, without repeating. 'That's all well and good,' said Maureen Callister, Dover school board member, 'But what about God? Doesn't he have a say?' Callister cited the Bible, First Kings chapter 7, verse 23, where it says, 'He [King Solomon] proceeded to make the molten sea ten cubits from its brim to its other brim, [...] and it took a line of thirty cubits to circle all around it.' 'If 3 is a good enough 'pi' for the Almighty, then it ought to be good enough for us,' stated Callister. ..."

Source: http://www.thebentinel.com/041201-alternative-value-for-pi.html

Been there, Done that: http://www.nmsr.org/alabama.htm

Posted November 24th 2004

A Swift Blastoff...

The Register (UK) reported on Nov. 22nd that "Swift, a satellite space lab that will hunt and study the most violent explosions ever seen in the universe, has finally launched from Cape Canaveral. It was originally schedule to launch on 8 November, but various set-backs meant that it wasn't until 12:16 (EST) on 20 November, that Swift finally got off the ground. ... 'It's a thrill that Swift is in orbit. We expect to detect and analyse more than 100 gamma-ray bursts a year. These are the most powerful explosions in the universe, and I can't wait to learn more about them,' said Swift principal investigator Dr. Neil Gehrels. ..."

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/swift_finally_launches/

California recognizes alternative medicine...

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on Oct. 25th that "...Here in Washington, naturopathic doctors (or N.D.s) are licensed to practice and carry out medical duties. N.D.s, on the whole, offer the unique quality of knowing more about plant medicine for patients than any set of health practitioners. Oregon has a similar N.D. law, but California has been a notable West Coast exception. Passing the bill in California, which became law this year, doubles the number of Americans with access to naturopathic physicians. Fourteen states now license N.D.s, while another 14 have some legislative activity in process. An important point here: Naturopathic physicians are distinguished from 'naturopaths' in these state laws. Naturopath is shorthand among patients for N.D.s, but naturopathic physicians themselves are quick to define the difference. ..."

Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/196417_condor25.html

CBS Poll: Red vs. Blue, Creationism vs. Evolution ...

A CBS News poll announced on Nov. 22nd concluded that "Americans do not believe that humans evolved, and the vast majority says that even if they evolved, God guided the process. Just 13 percent say that God was not involved. But most would not substitute the teaching of creationism for the teaching of evolution in public schools. Support for evolution is more heavily concentrated among those with more education and among those who attend religious services rarely or not at all. There are also differences between voters who supported Kerry and those who supported Bush: 47 percent of John Kerry’s voters think God created humans as they are now, compared with 67 percent of Bush voters. ..."

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/22/opinion/polls/main657083.shtml

Here's a Mother Lode of polls on origins over the years:
http://www.pollingreport.com/science.htm#Origin%20of%20Human%20Life

Nature Science Highlights...

John Covan has been sending along some excellent summaries from Nature. These are free to non-subscribers. Here are this week's gems:

Ancient ape gives clue to family origins : http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-12.html

Simple wire picks up terahertz waves : http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-11.html

Distance running 'shaped human evolution' : http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-9.html

World's strongest acid created : http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-5.html

Antibiotics get new lease of life : http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-6.html

Sensory Substitution Gaining Ground...

Sandra Blakeslee of the NY Times reports on Nov. 23rd that "Cheryl Schiltz vividly recalls the morning she became a wobbler. Seven years ago, recovering from an infection after surgery with the aid of a common antibiotic, she climbed out of bed feeling pretty good. 'Then I literally fell to the floor,' she said recently. 'The whole world started wobbling...' The antibiotic, Ms. Schiltz learned, had damaged her vestibular system, the part of the brain that provides visual and gravitational stability. She was forced to quit her job and stay home, clinging to the walls to keep from toppling over. But three years ago, Ms. Schiltz volunteered for an experimental treatment - a fat strip of tape, placed on her tongue, with an array of 144 microelectrodes about the size of a postage stamp. The strip was wired to a kind of carpenter's level, which was mounted on a hard hat that she placed on her head. The level determined her spatial coordinates and sent the information as tiny pulses to her tongue. The apparatus, called a BrainPort, worked beautifully. By 'buzzing' her tongue once a day for 20 minutes, keeping the pulses centered, she regained normal vestibular function and was able to balance. Ms. Schiltz and other patients like her are the beneficiaries of an astonishing new technology that allows one set of sensory information to substitute for another in the brain. Using novel electronic aids, vision can be represented on the skin, tongue or through the ears. ..."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/science/23sens.html?ex=1102215564&ei=1&en=f63c40a1c17ef427

Pope gets Science Degree from Copernicus University...

ABC News reported on Nov. 23rd that "Pope John Paul II received an honorary degree Tuesday from Nicholas Copernicus University in his native Poland, calling it a 'sign of dialogue' between science and faith. The pope received the rector and faculty members from the university in Torun, Poland, the astronomer's birthplace, which John Paul visited in 1999. That visit came nearly four centuries after the Vatican condemned Copernicus' discovery that the Earth revolved around the sun. The pope said then that science and religion were still grappling to find common ground in the 'service of truth' and stressed again Tuesday that men of culture had 'the responsibility of truth, to strive toward it, to defend it and to live according to it.' ..."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=276384

Meteorite Caught in the (Imp)Act...

News.com (Australia) reports on Nov. 24th that "Northern Territory scientists were last night studying what could be the first photograph of a meteorite hitting Earth. The chances of an impact being captured on film are millions to one. 'If this is true, it's one of the most remarkable pictures ever taken,' astronomy tutor Geoff Carr said yesterday. The photograph was taken by keen amateur photographer Wayne Pryde as he stood near the Darwin Cenotaph on The Esplanade and looked down to Fort Hill Wharf on Monday evening. The meteorite, which could have been as small as a grain of sand, would have been travelling about 30,000km/h. Mr Pryde believes a tiny piece of space rock hit the top of a 20m lamp post on the wharf. ..."

Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11483286%255E13762,00.html

Let Us Give Thanks ... to Plankton!

In Nov. 23rd commentary in UNM's Daily Lobo, Dane Roberts writes that "With Thanksgiving two days away, it's time to take a break from politics and write a column of gratitude. I'm grateful for family, of course, and freedom and all the other standbys, but I want to single out something I think is especially underappreciated: plankton. Yes, I'm talking about those microscopic organisms that drift by the billions through earth's ocean waters. In particular, I'm grateful for the plankton of millions of years ago. It's not that our modern plankton don't do a fine job supporting the oceanic ecosystem - they certainly do. But the older plankton deserve special recognition. ... It's unlikely they would have guessed their rotted carcasses would become the building block for the astounding achievement that is modern industrial society. It's unlikely they would have realized their remains would become what we know as petroleum and the other fossil fuels, coal and natural gas, which power almost everything modern humans do. ..."

Source: http://www.dailylobo.com/news/814320.html

Posted November 19th 2004

Knight & Scallen case against UNM denied by Federal Appeals Court...

The Albuquerque Tribune reported on Nov. 11th, 2004 that "The most expensive, most contentious and longest court battle involving the University of New Mexico and its scientists is over. A federal appeals court this week upheld a 2001 trial court decision giving UNM ownership of a potential cancer cure discovered two decades ago in a campus laboratory. 'We do consider this the end of the litigation,' said Charles N. 'Nick' Estes Jr., university counsel emeritus. The university spent approximately $541,000 on the case. Of that amount, $85,000 was spent on appeals. 'Undoubtedly, it was the most expensive case and the longest,' Estes said. 'It was in a class by itself.' The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed UNM's rights to the patents on the discoveries and ordered two former UNM scientists to pay $63,887.33 in court costs for the four-year legal battle. ..."

Source: http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/111104_news_payfees.shtml

There is more information on the resolution of this case in the proceedings of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Here is a key finding of the court:

With respect to Knight’s royalties claim in particular, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the University dismissing the claim due to Knight’s lack of evidence. Regents of the Univ. of N.M. v. Knight, No. CIV 99-577 (D.N.M. Jan. 8, 2004) (Mem. Op. & Order). In granting summary judgment, the district court noted that the University argued that it did not owe Knight royalties until the patents produced a net income, which the University asserted had not yet occurred. Id. The district court held that Knight had not raised a material issue of fact challenging these assertions, stating, 'Instead, Knight’s Response contains multiple amorphous and illogical arguments that do not pertain to the issue of royalties.' Id., slip op. at 6. Knight has not directed this court to any evidence that a material issue of fact existed precluding summary judgment or that the district court incorrectly applied the law in reaching its decision. ... CONCLUSION For the above reasons, Scallen and Knight’s arguments presented on appeal are without merit. Thus, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of Scallen and Knight’s counterclaims and award of costs.

Source: http://fedcir.gov/opinions/04-1281.pdf .

Galen Knight spoke to NMSR on April 10, 2002. Read More: http://www.nmsr.org/controvy.htm

A Quantum Leap in Bat Evolution...

New Scientist reports on Nov. 4th that "A change to a single gene allowed bats to grow wings and take to the air, a development that may explain why bats appeared so suddenly in the fossil record some 50 million years ago. ..."

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996647

Read MORE about this on the Panda's Thumb: http://www.pandasthumb.org/pt-archives/000621.html

Biblical Plague of Locusts Returns...

Yahoo's photo from Nov. 17th tells the story: "Swarms of locusts obscure the Giza pyramids near Cairo, November 17, 2004. The pink locusts that swept through Cairo recalled the plague of biblical Egypt, flying high above tall towers and scaring pedestrians who stamped on them or ran for cover. Photo by Aladin Abdel Naby/Reuters ..."

Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/041117/photos_wl/mdf758675

Were Humans in the Americas 50,000 Years Ago?

CNN reported on Nov. 18th that "Archaeologists say a site in South Carolina may rewrite the history of how the Americas were settled by pushing back the date of human settlement thousands of years. But their interpretation is already igniting controversy among scientists. An archaeologist from the University of South Carolina on Wednesday announced radiocarbon tests that dated the first human settlement in North America to 50,000 years ago -- at least 25,000 years before other known human sites on the continent. ... But not all scientists are convinced that what Goodyear found is a human settlement. 'He has a very old geologic formation, but I can't agree with his interpretation of those stones being man-made,' said Michael Collins of the Texas Archeological Research Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ..."

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/11/17/carolina.dig/index.html  

Is Running what makes us Human?

Forbes/Healthday reports on Nov. 18th that "Millions of years before headphone-wearing joggers clotted the streets of America, the development of the ability to run played a crucial role in the evolution of early humans, according to new research. Without running, our bodies might have turned out looking like those of apes, said Harvard University anthropology professor Daniel Lieberman, co-author of a new study in the Nov. 18 issue of Nature. 'This ability of ours to run incredibly long distances rather efficiently is incredibly rare. It's unique,' he said. 'No other primates like to run, or are even good at it.' ..."

Source: http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2004/11/18/hscout522420.html

And for the Nitty-Gritty Details, see PZ Myers's article "Marathon Man" on Pharyngula: http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/marathon_man/

Is it the Common Ancestor of the Great Apes and Humans?

PZ Myers has included some great photographs of a stunning new fossil find in his Pharyngula piece from Nov. 18th, titled "Pierolapithecus catalaunicus." Myers says "Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, a Miocene hominoid from Spain described in this week’s issue of Science. What’s special about it is that it appears to be the closest thing to a last common ancestor of all of the great apes. ..."

Source: http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/pierolapithecus_catalaunicus/

More: http://abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_1247021.htm

Posted November 12th 2004

Fish-to-Amphibian Transitional Nostril Fossils!

Nature reports on Nov. 3rd that "Some experts suggested that choanae [nasal passages in land vertebrates] evolved [from fish] through the gradual repositioning of external nostrils. But sceptics countered that this would involve the nostrils migrating through the line of the teeth, a feature not seen in any fossil. Until now, that is. Kenichthys's [a newly discovered 395-million-year-old fish] cleft lip catches evolution in the act of moving the nostrils back through the teeth and palate, say Zhu and Ahlberg, effectively ending a debate that has persisted for around a century. The fossil, found in Yunnan in China, represents a crucial intermediate step between external nostrils and choanae. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041101/full/041101-9.html

And Earthly Fossils of an Ancient Supernova are found...

Nature reports on Nov. 2nd that "Cosmic fallout from an exploding star dusted the Earth about 2.8 million years ago, and may have triggered a change in climate that affected the course of human evolution. The evidence comes from an unusual form of iron that was blasted through space by a supernova before eventually settling into the rocky crust beneath the Pacific Ocean. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041101/full/041101-5.html

Spider webs untangle evolution...

Nature reports on Nov. 2nd that "A study of the similarities between the webs of different spider species in Hawaii provides fresh evidence that behavioural tendencies can actually evolve rather predictably, even in widely separated places. ... the scientists found that in several cases, separate species of Tetragnatha spiders on different islands constructed extremely similar orb webs, right down to the number of spokes, and the lengths and densities of the sticky spiral that captures bugs. Was this an example of similar environments producing the same complex behaviour, or did the spiders with corresponding webs share a common ancestor? ...They constructed a hypothetical tree in which each type of web evolved only once, so all the spiders weaving that web type were related. Then they compared it with the evolutionary tree suggested by the spiders' DNA. The tree that linked spiders through their web-constructing behaviour proved 'highly improbable', the researchers found. ... The researchers conclude that the web types must have evolved independently, driven by matching environmental conditions on the different islands. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041101/full/041101-4.html

Wisconsin City Goes Gaga For Teaching Creationism ...

RedNova.com reported on Nov. 7th that "The city's school board has revised its science curriculum to allow the teaching of creationism, prompting an outcry from more than 300 educators who urged that the decision be reversed. ... Last month, when the board examined its science curriculum, language was added calling for "various models/theories" of origin to be incorporated. The decision provoked more than 300 biology and religious studies faculty members to write a letter last week urging the Grantsburg board to reverse the policy. It follows a letter sent previously by 43 deans at Wisconsin public universities. 'Insisting that teachers teach alternative theories of origin in biology classes takes time away from real learning, confuses some students and is a misuse of limited class time and public funds,' said Don Waller, a botanist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ..."

Source: http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=100869

And Cobb County Disclaimer Suit Heats Up...

Kristen Wyatt of the AP reported on Nov. 11th that "First, Georgia's education chief tried to take the word 'evolution' out of the state's science curriculum. Now a suburban Atlanta county is in federal court over textbook stickers that call evolution 'a theory, not a fact.' Some here worry that Georgia is making itself look like a bunch of rubes or, worse, discrediting its own students. 'People want to project the image that Georgia is a modern state, that we're in the 21st century. Then something like this happens,' said Emory University molecular biologist Carlos Moreno....Earlier this year, science teachers howled when state Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox proposed a new science curriculum that dropped the word 'evolution' in favor of 'changes over time.' That plan was quickly dropped, but comic Jimmy Fallon still cracked wise on 'Saturday Night Live': 'As a compromise, dinosaurs are now called 'Jesus Horses.' ... "

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20041111-1220-evolutionembarrassment.html

Make no mistake about it: the neo-creationists at the Discovery Institute are fuming! On Nov. 11th, Discovery Institute staff declared "'Either this attorney threw the case on purpose,' says legal analyst Seth Cooper, an expert on the legal aspects of teaching evolution, 'or he simply doesn’t know what he was doing. This was a textbook case. Literally. And he blew it.' ..."

Source: http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=2300&

Can technique for 'turning off' dangerous genes be used to cut cholesterol?

The Independent (UK) reports on Nov. 11th that "Scientists have found a way of treating potentially fatal diseases by switching off harmful genes. In what is described as one of the most important breakthroughs in decades, researchers have shown that RNA interference can cut cholesterol levels in laboratory mice with a method that could be applied to humans at risk of heart attacks. They say RNA interference (RNAi) could be used to treat a wide range of disorders, from HIV and Aids to genetic diseases and cancer. RNAi can switch off harmful genes that cause disease but leave other essential genes untouched. ..."

Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=581597

At Long Last, the Orgasmatron is Invented...

ABC News reports on Nov. 9th that "While Dr. Stuart Meloy was working on a new device to treat chronic pain, he was surprised to discover it could also bring pleasure to his female patients. While Meloy, an anesthesiologist and pain specialist in Winston-Salem, was putting an electrode into the spine of a female patient with chronic back pain, the woman reported a decrease in her pain and a delightful, but very unexpected, side effect. 'When we turned on the power in this case, she let out a moan and began hyperventilating,' Meloy said on ABC News' Good Morning America. 'Of course we cut the power and I looked around the drapes and asked her what was going on. Once she caught her breath, she said 'you're gonna have to teach my husband how to do that!' '..."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/print?id=235788

Posted November 5th 2004

On Hobbits and Creationists...

In a follow-up on the news of Homo floresiensis, the Observer (UK) notes on Oct. 31st that "An entirely new species of man, which radiocarbon and other dating methods suggest was alive just 18,000 years ago, has now been discovered. And immediately the story gave rise to two different discussions, both of which I love. The first is the debate about how things got to be the way they are: about evolution, essentially. And the second concerning human reactions to a discovery like this: reactions which indicate what we have developed into internally - in our heads, if you like. An illustration of the mixture of these thoughts came in the description by scientists and science editors of the new three-foot-tall hominids as having been 'hobbit-sized'. This is as scientific, of course, as saying that someone is elf-sized or that an animal is the same weight as, say, a small gryphon. But it tells us something about the way we use information. The hominids could equally, I suppose, have been the size of a small goblin, a dwarf or a large leprechaun. The hobbit was chosen, consciously or not, because we currently like hobbits, and the scientists who discovered floresiensis are in love with their find - though Professor Peter Brown, who led the discovery team, dislikes the H-word. ... some commentators were saying that the discovery of floresiensis would deal a huge blow to creationism. How could it stand up against evolution after this revelation that God created man and different man? Well, of course that should be true - but then everything that has happened in the past 2,000 years should have been a blow to creationism, and yet it's still there. ..."

Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1340149,00.html

European Molecular Biology Laboratory tackles Evolution of Eyes...

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory announced on Oct. 28th, in an article titled "Researchers provide concrete evidence about how the human eye evolved," that "Researchers in the laboratories of Detlev Arendt and Jochen Wittbrodt have discovered that the light-sensitive cells of our eyes, the rods and cones, are of unexpected evolutionary origin ¬ they come from an ancient population of light-sensitive cells that were initially located in the brain. ... The scientists discovered that two types of light-sensitive cells existed in our early animal ancestors: rhabdomeric and ciliary. In most animals, rhabdomeric cells became part of the eyes, and ciliary cells remained embedded in the brain. But the evolution of the human eye is peculiar ¬ it is the ciliary cells that were recruited for vision which eventually gave rise to the rods and cones of the retina. ..."

Source: http://www.embl.org/aboutus/news/press/2004/press28oct04.html

Hawking Protests Iraq War...

ABC News reported on Nov. 2nd that "Britain's most famous scientist, Stephen Hawking, condemned the U.S. led invasion of Iraq as a 'war crime' and said Tuesday it was based on lies. The physicist spoke at an anti-war demonstration in London's Trafalgar Square timed to coincide with the U.S. election. Protesters read out the names of thousands of Iraqis and coalition troops killed since the March 2003 invasion. 'The war was based on two lies,' said Hawking. 'The first was we were in danger of weapons of mass destruction and the second was that Iraq was somehow to blame for Sept. 11. It has been a tragedy for all the families that have lost members. As many as 100,000 people have died, half of them women and children. If that is not a war crime, what is?' ..."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=219369

Was the U.S. Election "Wm. Jennings Bryan's Revenge" ?...

Gary Wills of the New York Times wrote on Nov. 4th "This election confirms the brilliance of Karl Rove as a political strategist. He calculated that the religious conservatives, if they could be turned out, would be the deciding factor. The success of the plan was registered not only in the presidential results but also in all 11 of the state votes to ban same-sex marriage. Mr. Rove understands what surveys have shown, that many more Americans believe in the Virgin Birth than in Darwin's theory of evolution. This might be called Bryan's revenge for the Scopes trial of 1925, in which William Jennings Bryan's fundamentalist assault on the concept of evolution was discredited. Disillusionment with that decision led many evangelicals to withdraw from direct engagement in politics. But they came roaring back into the arena out of anger at other court decisions - on prayer in school, abortion, protection of the flag and, now, gay marriage. Mr. Rove felt that the appeal to this large bloc was worth getting President Bush to endorse a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage (though he had opposed it earlier). ..."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/opinion/04wills.html

Noticias...

NMSR Meeting Next Week (Weds. Nov 10th) - the Tides of the Bay of Fundy, with Walt Punke:
http://www.nmsr.org/meetings.htm#november

NMAS FREE SYMPOSIUM, "DNA at Mid-Century", Saturday Nov. 13th, 2 to 4 PM;
http://www.nmsr.org/meetings.htm#nmas

New Article on the Evolution of Irreducible Complexity:
http://www.nmsr.org/coral_ic.htm

"Evolution and Information: The Nylon Bug" - UPDATED!
http://www.nmsr.org/nylon.htm

Effects of the Great Socorro Hail Storm
http://www.nmsr.org/weirdpix.htm

NOVEMBER PUZZLE - DO THE MATH
http://www.nmsr.org/puzzles.htm

Posted October 29th 2004

UFO News...

Betty Hill, one of the original UFO "abductees," has died. The AP reported on Oct. 19th that "She said she believed people who said they saw a crashed spaceship with five dead aliens aboard in Roswell, N.M., in 1947. But she said the annual UFO festival in Roswell had become too much for her. 'In the beginning, people were looking for information,' she said. 'Now, it certainly has turned commercial.' She also said media had fueled UFO fiction. ..."

Source: http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041019/REPOSITORY/410190327/0/FRONTPAGE

And, several presidential candidates have gone on record saying they will release all UFO data if elected. Onlypunjab.com reported on Oct. 25th that "Michael Badnarik the U.S. Presidential Candidate of the Libertarian Party, Earl Dodge the U.S. Presidential Candidate of the Prohibition Party, Darren Karr the U.S. Presidential Candidate of Party-X, and Diane Templin U.S. Presidential Candidate for The American Party went on the record saying that they would release the information on UFOs and extraterrestrials to the public if elected. This historical broadcast was heralded by the UFO community as a victory for UFOlogy. ..."

Source: http://www.onlypunjab.com/fullstory1004-insight-U+S+Presidential+Candidates+Promise-status-28-newsID-1577.html

Paranormal, Spooks lurk at UNM...

The University of New Mexico (UNM) paper, the Daily Lobo, reported on Oct. 26th that "Peter Jordan has proof that knives suspended in a kitchen wall, people spontaneously combusting, and stigmata are not just freak accidents. ... On Monday night, Jordan brought his evidence for paranormal existence in photos and on film to the SUB ballroom. He had the audience of more than 300 screaming, laughing and jumping out of their seats. ..."

Source: http://www.dailylobo.com/news/781125.html?mkey=1038106

And the Lobo reported on Oct. 28th that "Studying in Zimmerman Library might not seem scary, but the ghost that haunts the basement may make students' hair rise. ... From rumors of the ghost of a decapitated football player in Mesa Vista Hall to the ghost of a former librarian haunting the Zimmerman Library basement, Browning and Carrillo have heard it all. But what may be scarier are the things both men have experienced. Carrillo said he has seen an unexplained shadow more than five times and has seen the ghost of a former librarian. ..."

Source: http://www.dailylobo.com/news/784730.html?mkey=1038106

John Fleck receives Weather Honors...

The Albuquerque Journal reported on Oct. 20th that "Albuquerque Journal science writer John Fleck has won the National Weather Association's Walter J. Bennett Public Service Award, the first reporter so honored since the award was established in 1977. Fleck was nominated by chief meteorologist Charlie Liles and science and operations officer Deirdre Kann of the National Weather Service's Albuquerque office. 'Readers of the Albuquerque Journal clearly have gained a better understanding of science issues because of John Fleck's coverage of these topics,' Kann quoted from their cover letter to NWA, a professional organization for those who participate in and support weather-related activities...."

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/scitech/245376metro10-20-04.htm (subscription)

In Nature This Week...

Duck-billed platypus boasts ten sex chromosomes;Odd mammal hints at evolutionary origin of sex determination.
Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041025/full/041025-1.html

Laser measurements confirm Einstein's general theory of relativity. The experiment, carried out for virtually no cost with Earth-based laser range-finders, scoops Gravity Probe B, the US$700 million orbiting craft launched in April to test exactly the same effect. However, the Gravity Probe B team has questioned whether the result is really quite as accurate as it seems.
Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041018/full/041018-11.html

Auras may be generated in the brain; Synaesthetic woman sees colours around faces and names.
Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041018/full/041018-6.html

Unseen comets may raise impact risk for Earth; Thousands of dark objects could be hiding in our Solar System.
Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041018/full/041018-3.html

Hobbit-sized Hominid in the News...

The discovery of Homo floresiensis raises hopes for yeti hunters and, says Henry Gee, poses thorny questions about the uniqueness of Homo sapiens.
Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041025/full/041025-2.html

Hobbits meet da Vinci...
http://www.chez.com/francoisbc/page10-galerie/hobbit%20da%20vinci-p.jpg

"Hobbit" Discovered: Tiny Human Ancestor Found in Asia
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1027_041027_homo_floresiensis.html

"Island of the Lost Hominids," Carl Zimmer's Loom
http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/026745.html

P. Z. Myers "Homo floresiensis, Flores Man" article, lots of info and pics!
http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/homo_floresiensis/

How ‘Balanced’ Coverage Lets the Scientific Fringe Hijack Reality...

Chris Mooney's article in Issue 6 (November/December) of the Columbia Journalism Review notes that "Journalists face a number of pressures that can prevent them from accurately depicting competing scientific claims in terms of their credibility within the scientific community as a whole. First, reporters must often deal with editors who reflexively cry out for 'balance.' Meanwhile, determining how much weight to give different sides in a scientific debate requires considerable expertise on the issue at hand. Few journalists have real scientific knowledge, and even beat reporters who know a great deal about certain scientific issues may know little about other ones they’re suddenly asked to cover. ..."

Source: http://www.cjr.org/issues/2004/6/mooney-science.asp

Just Plain Weird...

Peeping Tom filter lets phones see through bikinis; As well as taking snaps in the dark, the Yamada Denshi infrared filter apparently sees through people's clothes.
Source: http://news.com.com/Peeping+Tom+filter+lets+phones+see+through+bikinis/2100-1039_3-5425105.html

Biotech firm wants to breed allergy-free cats; Genetically altered felines wouldn't produce irritating protein.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6343637/

NMSR's "Alabama Pi" Prank STILL Making the Rounds; Professor Lawrence Krauss has authored books on "The Physics of Star Trek" and "Beyond Star Trek," and often speaks out against creation science. A Cleveland interview notes "As an example of people taking the Bible too literally, he told the story of an Alabama school board that determined the number pi must equal three."
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2004/10/21/features/profile/evolve1022.txt

Alabama Pi: http://www.nmsr.org/alabama.htm

Posted October 25th 2004

GLOBAL WARMING MOVIE CONSUMES HOUSE...

The Detroit NBC affiliate station reported on Oct. 16th that "A Georgia man facing arson charges for burning his own home is blaming nine or 10 beers, and a disaster movie.Charles Adams told Crisp County authorities he had been drinking while watching the movie 'Day After Tomorrow.' Adams allegedly told deputies that after watching the special-effects extravaganza depicting deadly natural disasters caused by global warming, he decided to set fire to pillows on his bed. The flames destroyed his doublewide mobile home. ..."

Source: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/3826496/detail.html

PLANET FORMATION VIOLENT, MESSY, AND SLOW...

New Scientist reports on Oct. 19th that "The collisions that spawn planets are bigger and take place over longer periods of time than previously thought, say astronomers who studied nearly 300 stars with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The new cache of data gives astronomers fresh hope that Earth-like planets might be common in the universe...."

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996545

GIANT VIRUS IS "LIVING ORGANISM"...

Nature reports on Oct. 14th "Roll up, roll up, to meet Mimi, the biggest virus in the world. This monster has just had its genome sequenced, and scientists say that, unlike its fellow viruses, it may truly be called 'alive'. The virus's genetic sequence also holds clues that may explain the evolution of the very first cells possessing a nucleus of DNA. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041011/full/041011-14.html

DINOSAUR SLEPT LIKE A BIRD......

Nature reported on Oct.13th that "The angst-ridden Prince Hamlet described death as an eternal sleep, fearfully wondering what dreams may come during the everlasting slumber. So perhaps he would have empathized with a dinosaur newly unearthed in China: it seems to have been preserved in the act of sleeping. The dinosaur, named Mei long, or 'soundly sleeping dragon', has lain undisturbed for almost 140 million years. But its sleeping posture is strikingly similar to that of modern birds, showing that this position might have evolved before they did. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041011/full/041011-7.html

NIDS SHUTS DOWN...

The National Institute for Discovery Science, Robert Bigelow's pro-UFO thinktank in Nevada, announced on Oct. 15th that "We at the National Institute for Discovery Science have come to a time in which a decision must be made as to the direction of the Institute. We have labored long and hard, coming to the conclusion to place NIDS in an inactive status. The reasons for this decision are as follows: (1) We have not had the need to do any major investigative work for well over 2 ½ years. (2) In view of that fact we decided to reduce our staff. (3) Our administrator, Colm Kelleher, has taken a position outside of Nevada to do cancer research. Colm's ambition has always been to do cancer research and was employed in this field prior to his employment with NIDS. We are sorry to see him leave. It is unfortunate that there isn't more activity, as there was in the past, that warrants investigation. ..."

Source: http://www.nidsci.org/

PENNSYLVANIA PASSES INTELLIGENT DESIGN SCHOOL REQUIREMENT...

The Daily Record reported on Oct. 19th that "The Dover Area School Board voted to add 'Intelligent Design Theory' to the district's biology curriculum Monday evening just two weeks after Supt. Richard Nilsen assured former board member Lonnie Langione that wouldn't happen. The change passed by a six-to-three margin after a heated discussion by the board and a dozen members of the community. During the Oct. 4 board meeting, Langione asked Nilsen if teachers would be required to teach 'intelligent design,' after he allowed 50 copies of the book 'Of Pandas and People,' published by the Foundation for Thought and Ethics, to be used in science classrooms as reference books. 'No,' replied Nilsen at the time. 'A teacher can, but is not required.' But during Monday's meeting, district biology teacher Jen Miller said the new curriculum wording implies that she will be required to teach 'intelligent design' . The new wording in the curriculum states: 'Students will be made aware of gaps/problems in Darwin's Theory and of other theories of evolution including, but not limited to, intelligent design. Note: Origins of life will not be taught.' ... "

Source: http://ydr.com/story/main/45864/printer/

Posted October 15th 2004

7-foot Robot finds no "Smoking Gun" re Noah's Flood ...

APNewsMyWay reported on Oct. 11th that "Four years ago, scientists thought they had found the perfect place to settle the Noah flood debate: A farmer's house on a bluff overlooking the Black Sea built about 7,500 years ago - just before tidal waves inundated the homestead, submerged miles of coastline and turned the freshwater lake into a salty sea. Some believed the rectangular site of stones and wood could help solve the age-old question of whether the Black Sea's flooding was the event recounted in the Biblical story of Noah. ... Scientists who in the summer of 2003 visited the underwater site off the northern Turkish coastal town of Sinop couldn't arrive at any conclusions. The settlement, about 330 feet underwater, was 'contaminated' by wood that had drifted in, foiling any attempt to accurately date the ruin - and thus date the flood. 'We were not able to get a smoking gun,' said Robert Ballard, the underwater explorer and discoverer of the Titanic, who led the $5 million Black Sea expedition. ... Ballard heralded the work of Hercules, an underwater excavator that was used for the first time. The 7-foot robot gingerly dug around the deep-water ruins and retrieved artifacts using pincers outfitted with sensors that regulated the pressure they exerted - much like a human hand. Fredrik Hiebert, an archaeology fellow at National Geographic, said the mechanical excavator's success ushers in a new era in ocean archaeology. ..."

Source: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041011/D85L7FJG0.html

Chimp IQ gets a Boost...

ABC News reported on Oct. 6th that "... new research shows African chimpanzees to be smarter than anyone thought. It has long been known that they use sticks as crude tools — but now there is proof that they switch tools, something that had never been seen before. Scientists say that is a remarkably advanced concept for a primate. 'An analogy is, say, a human goes into the garage and picks, among a set of screwdrivers, a flathead instead of a Phillips head,' said Augustin Fuentes, an associate professor of anthropology at Notre Dame. 'This shows us that chimpanzees are incredibly intelligent, incredibly cognizant of their surroundings, and do very complex things.' ..."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/News/story?id=144342&page=1

Bush Administration accused of "Intellectual Cowardice"...

Environmental Media Services reports on the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Oct. 13th announcement that "The Bush Administration has decided that it will stand by its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah’s flood rather than by geologic forces, according to internal documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Despite telling members of Congress and the public that the legality and appropriateness of the National Park Service offering a creationist book for sale at Grand Canyon museums and bookstores was 'under review at the national level by several offices,' no such review took place, according to materials obtained by PEER under the Freedom of Information Act. Instead, the real agency position was expressed by NPS spokesperson Elaine Sevy as quoted in the Baptist Press News: 'Now that the book has become quite popular, we don’t want to remove it.' ...The Park Service ignored a letter of protest signed by the presidents of seven scientific societies on December 16, 2003. 'Promoting creationism in our national parks is just as wrong as promoting it in our public schools,' stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, 'If the Bush Administration is using public resources for pandering to Christian fundamentalists, it should at least have the decency to tell the truth about it.' ..."

Source: http://www.ems.org/nws/2004/10/13/park_service_sti

On Carl Zimmer's The Loom blog for Oct. 15th, Zimmer notes that "Yesterday I blogged about how the National Park Service is selling a young-Earth creationist book about the Grand Canyon in its stores. Today the Washington Post wrote an article on the subject. It contains a response from the National Park Service, which I find pretty unbelievable. They claim that they are in fact reviewing the matter. The review was supposed to be done in February, but it's been delayed while lawyers at the Interior and Justice department 'tackle the issue.' No deadline is set for the decision, and the book will continue to be sold until one is made. Tackle the issue? Do these folks really need an extra eight months (and counting) to recognize that the Grand Canyon is millions of years old, and was not formed in Noah's Flood? The book has been moved from the science section to the inspirational section. But from what I know about it, it's not claiming to offer inspiration but facts. The intellectual cowardice continues. ..."

Source: http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/026594.html

Dembski Demoted?...

The Nov. 2004 on-line issue of Christianity Today Magazine reports that "Intelligent Design researcher William Dembski [has been appointed] as the first director of the Center for Science and Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's new Center for Science and Theology. Dembski who since 1999 has been associate research professor in the conceptual foundations of science at Baylor University, begins his new position on June 1. ..."

Google Ranking for "Baylor University" : 337,000 hits.

Google Ranking for "Southern Baptist Theological Seminary" : 28,100 hits.

Do the Math!

Source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/011/4.20.html

Uterus Evolution...

People have been trying to understand the History of the Uterus for quite some time. Researcher Roseanne Barr even hypothesized that "Husbands think we should know where everything is; like the uterus is a tracking device."

But, in the Japan Times for Oct. 14th, Rowan Hooper reports that "About 180 million years ago, something happened to trigger the evolution from egg-laying to fetus-nurturing. ...As soon as that happened, the evolutionary floodgates opened. The origin of the uterus was one of the most dramatic advances in vertebrate evolution. ... It's fairly easy to come up with plausible reasons for the evolution of a particular trait, but since the relevant selection pressures that led to the uterus occurred so many millions of years ago, we will always be guessing. What we need is some sort of solid evidence, a record of what happened. And this is exactly what Lynch and colleagues have now got. How could a record survive 180 million years? Easy -- in something that has been passed from generation to generation, from ancestral mammals all the way to you and me. In other words, our genes. Remarkably, evidence of the evolution of the uterus is still visible and measurable in mammalian DNA. ... If it seems amazing that we can still read in genes the changes that occurred in our mammalian ancestors 180 million years ago, try getting your head round this: Similar bursts of evolution can be read in genes shared by plants and animals. And those two groups of organisms started evolving separately some 1.6 billion years ago. If only Darwin could have seen such evidence for natural selection, 100-odd years ago . . . and if only those who preach the nonsense of creationism and intelligent design could, today. ..."

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20041014rh.htm

Meyer, Shermer to Tango on PAX TV...

The Saturday, Oct. 16th episode of "Faith Under Fire" features three segments. The middle segment is "DARWIN OR DESIGN?" PAX TV notes that in this segment, "Dr. Stephen Meyer, Director of The Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute and co-author of 'Darwinism, Design, and Public Education,' will defend Intelligent Design and its theistic implications against Darwinian evolutionist Dr. Michael Shermer. Dr. Shermer is the publisher of Skeptic magazine, author of 'The Science of Good and Evil,' and a columnist for Scientific American Magazine."

The show airs at 10-PM Eastern (or 8:00 PM MDT).

Source: http://www.faithunderfire.com/indexFlash.html

Posted October 8th 2004

A Nobel For Smell (Explained)...

ABC News reported on Oct. 4th that "U.S. scientists Richard Axel and Linda Buck won the 2004 Nobel prize for medicine for gene studies that explained how the human sense of smell functions, Sweden's Karolinska university hospital said on Monday. 'The sense of smell long remained the most enigmatic of our senses. The basic principles for recognizing and remembering about 10,000 different odors were not understood,' said the institute's Nobel Assembly in its citation for the prize, given since 1901 and worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.38 million). ..."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20041004_35.html

Carl Zimmer, on his "The Loom" blog, says "Congratulations to Linda Buck and Richard Axel for winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine today. They won for their pioneering work on the 600 or so receptors that we use to smell. As is so often the case these days, the research that wins people the Nobel for Medicine also reveals a lot about our evolution. This February, for example, Buck published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in which she and her colleagues charted the evolutionary history of human olfactory receptors. As Buck explains, it appears that many olfactory receptor genes mutated beyond repair in our lineage as we came to rely more on sight than smell. Only about half of the olfactory receptor genes in the human genome actually produce working proteins. (You can find working versions of these genes in other animals). Other researchers, however, have found that some human olfactory genes have undergone strong natural selection, which suggests that it's still a good idea to be able to sniff out a piece of rotten meat. (If you want more details on this line of research, you can read an essay I wrote a couple years ago for Natural History.) And yet, somehow creationists and their ilk keep a straight face as they continue to tell us that evolution is a dying myth. In this month's Wired, for example, techno-know-nothing George Gilder declares 'Darwinian materialism is an embarrassing cartoon of modern science.' When Gilder gets to run the Nobel Prize committee, I guess he can take back Buck's medal. ..."

Source: http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/2004_10.html

Biggest Pinhole Camera EVER...

Universe Today reported on Oct. 1st that "A common science experiment for young kids is to build a pinhole camera. Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder think NASA should build a gigantic one in space and use it to find planets orbiting other stars. The 'New Worlds Imager' would be a football field-sized opaque light shade with a small opening right at the centre to let light through. A detector spacecraft would sit thousands of kilometres back and collect the light that comes through the opening. The shade would block the light from the star and let astronomers detect planets orbiting it. The proposal was one of 12 advanced concepts recently selected for further study by NASA. ..."

Source: http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/biggest_pinhole_camera_ever.html?1102004

Spaceship One claims Ansari X-Prize...

Reuters reported on Oct. 4th that "The world's first privately funded manned spacecraft soared through the blue fringe of Earth's atmosphere to the blackened frontiers of space on Monday for the second time within a week to win a $10 million prize designed to spur commercial space travel. SpaceShipOne, a stubby, three-seat rocket plane about the size of a minivan, hurtled to a height of 368,000 feet traveling at more than three times the speed of sound and surpassing its target altitude without the heart-stopping barrel rolls that vexed the craft's qualifying flight on Wednesday. 'We are proud to announce that SpaceShipOne has made two flights to 100 kilometers (62 miles) and has won the Ansari X Prize,' Peter Diamandis, founder of the X Prize, announced to reporters at Mojave airport. ..."

Source: http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6408469&section=news

Friends of the Past need YOU to Help Stop NAGPRA AMendment...

The Friends of the Past (http://www.friendsofpast.org) have issued a "NAGPRA Alert."  On Oct. 8th, they said "Proposed Amendment Imperils Study of Ancient Human Remains • THE PLAY. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Colorado, has sponsored a bill in Congress that seeks to amend the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990. If enacted the proposed legislation would dramatically impact efforts to preserve and study human remains from federal lands in efforts to learn about America’s past. • HIDING THE PLAY. The proposed amendment hidden in Section 14 of the bill states: “Section 2(9) of Public Law 101-601 (25 U.S.C. 3001 (9) is amended by inserting ‘or was’ after ‘is’.” Although supporters of the bill would like us to believe that the “correction” made by these few words are “non-controversial,” they are anything but that. • WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO. The purpose of Section 14 of the bill is to overturn the court decisions in the Kennewick Man lawsuit by changing NAGPRA’s definition of the term Native American. By inserting the words ‘or was’ to include all human remains found in the United States that pre-date European contact (1492), even if the human remains are not from Native Americans. It presumes that if 50,000 year-old remains, or remains of Adam and Eve, were found in the American, they are somehow related to modern American Indians and should be placed off limits to scientific study (and buried if tribal groups so wish). • UPSETTING THE BALANCE OF POWER. NAGPRA is legislation that was supposed to balance the interest of Native American’s and the scientific community. Senate Bill 2843 would upset that balance. It would allow Native American tribes to claim all prehistoric human remains found on federal land even if those remains have no relationship to any living American Indians....• WHAT YOU CAN DO. SB 2843 has the potential to cripple the field of physical anthropology and to limit studies on the peopling of the Americas. All Americans own the past and should share equally in what we can learn about our common human heritage. Please call and write your senator and house representatives now! Passage of this bill is eminent and could occur within a matter of days. ..."

Source: http://www.friendsofpast.org/nagpra/news.html

PHIL JOHNSON ON CREATIONIST TOUR OF ENGLAND...

ID leader Phillip Johnson and Andrew Snelling (of ICR, the Institute of Creation Research) are touring in England from October 26th to November 13th. The tour is sponsored by Elim Churches and several "evangelical alliances." In commentary on the Touchstone website, Johnson said

I have consistently said that I take no position on the age of the earth, and that I regard the issue as not ripe for debate yet. I have also rejected all suggestions that I should denounce the YECs and instead have said that I regard high-quality YECs [Young Earth Creationists] like Andrew Snelling as respected allies. I am not upset when YECs criticize me for not embracing their position, nor am I upset when theistic evolutionists or progressive creationists criticize me for being overly friendly with YECs. For now I am standing right where I want to stand. When developments make it appropriate for me to clarify or adjust my position, I will not hesitate to do so.

So, Johnson wants to "teach the controversy," except when it would upset creationists. This is very revealing. IDers try to pretend they're not creationists, but they just can't resist visiting their roots, can they?

Source: http://www.touchstonemag.com/merecomments.html

Posted October 1st 2004

Quote of the Week...

"Making inferences based on a theory is a valid exercise, but it must not be confused with testing the theory against the evidence. When the truth of the theory itself is at stake -- as it is here -- the theory cannot be defended by inventing just-so stories that presuppose its truth. No scientific theory can be tested without explicit and serious consideration of the possibility that it might be false. To think otherwise is to abandon science for story-telling." - Fellows of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture, September 29

Source: http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=2223

Goof of the Week...

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (Barnes & Noble Edition), by Charles Darwin, (Introduction by Brian Regal), was released in paperback in September of 2004. I've got my copy already! This edition is of interest because it sports a picture of a bearded British scientist on the cover. Just one problem: the scientist shown is NOT Charles R. Darwin.

Check out the book details here:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=lr4zMH1AAr&isbn=076076199X&itm=12

See a larger image of the cover here:
http://a1204.g.akamai.net/7/1204/1401/04070815011/images.barnesandnoble.com/images/7930000/7938392.jpg

Then, if you haven't figured out who IS on the cover, try the National Academy of Sciences link here:
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/evolution98/page13-2.html (SPOILER!)

I've informed the local Barnes & Noble branch of the error.

Catholic Church Re-affirms Evolution Science, Contingency in Nature...

The Vatican's International Theological Commission issued a statement on evolution in mid September. Catholic News Service reported on the statement on Sept. 24th, noting that "First, it accepts as likely the prevailing tenets of evolutionary science: the universe erupted 15 billion years ago in a 'big bang'; the earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago; all living organisms on earth descended from a first organism; and man emerged some 40,000 years ago with the development of the larger, human brain. Second, the document does not argue for a 'divine design' in specific processes of evolution. While acknowledging that some experts do see a providential design in biological structures, it says such development might also be 'contingent,' or dependant on chance. 'True contingency in the created order is not incompatible with a purposeful divine providence,' it said. ..."

Source: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0405245.htm

Bird Navigation Decoded... Multiple Mechanisms Involved...

ABC News reported on Sept. 27th that "The question of how migrating birds manage to fly for hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles, often at night, to end up in the same spot year after year has been nagging biologists, even physicists, for decades. Do they hone in on landmarks or familiar smells? Do they orient themselves using the sun or Earth's magnetic field? Finally, after years of research, it appears scientists have found the answer: Yes. It turns out that birds are sophisticated navigators who use a mix of methods to keep their flights on course. ..."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/US/birds_migration_040927.html

Harvard's "Alien Abduction" Prof Dies in Car Accident...

The Boston Globae/AP reported on Sept. 28th that "Dr. John E. Mack, the Harvard Medical School professor of psychiatry who won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Lawrence of Arabia and also conducted research on people who claimed to be abducted by aliens, has died. Mack was struck and killed by an alleged drunken driver in London on Monday while attending the T.E. Lawrence Society Symposium in Oxford, England, according to a release on the John E. Mack Institute Web site. He was 74. ..."

Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/09/28/john_mack_pulitzer_prize_winner_alien_abduction_researcher_dies/#

See Also: http://johnemackinstitute.org/center/center_news.asp?id=227

"Fossil Genes" reveal details of evolution...

The University Of Wisconsin-Madison announced on Sept. 27th that "Reading the fossil record, a paleontologist can peer into evolutionary history and see the surface features that plants and animals and, occasionally, microbes have left behind. Now, scouring the genome of a Japanese yeast, scientists have found a trackway of fossil genes in the making, providing a rare look at how an organism, in response to the demands of its environment, has changed its inner chemistry and lost the ability to metabolize a key sugar. The finding is a snapshot of evolution at work showing, at the most fundamental level, how traits and features are discarded by virtually all forms of life when they are no longer needed. ..."

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/09/040921081106.htm

Laboratory evolution experiments are "Survivor" for Real...

Robert Boyd of Knight-Ridder reportes on Sept. 26th that "In a deadly serious version of the TV game show 'Survivor,' scientists are re-running the story of evolution in miniature in their laboratories. They watch as billions of tiny microbes battle starvation, environmental stress and fierce predators, much as living organisms have had to do throughout nearly 4 billion years of life on Earth. In one long-running experiment by biologist Richard Lenski at Michigan State University in East Lansing, 30,000 generations of the common intestinal bacterium, E. coli, have struggled, adapted and perished in the little world inside a test tube. ...Besides helping to illuminate the process of evolution, their work has practical goals in medicine, agriculture, manufacturing and the environment. Experimental evolution 'is being used in many contexts to create new drugs and industrial enzymes,' reported Holly Wichman, a biologist at the University of Idaho. ..."

Source: http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/nation/9766974.htm

Raelian Movement backs ID, Meyer...

The Raelian Movement announced on Sept. 20th that "The whole world would benefit from a healthy educational system where the Theory of Evolution and The Theory of Intelligent Design are both taught in schools. Students have the right to know about the two different scientific theories and to openly debate which one better explains how life originated and diversified."

Source: http://www.rael.org/int/press_site/english/pages/press_releases/200904.html

The Movement had previously announced on Sept. 14th, in a release titled "Scientific creation recognized officially as a scientific theory for the origin of life," that "On August 4th, 2004 an article by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, Director of Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture appeared in a peer-reviewed biology journal published at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (volume 117, no. 2, pp. 213-239). ... This article represents a major breakthrough as being published in a peer reviewed journal, it can be used as a reference and free the numerous scientists who were obligated to refer to evolution in explaining their discoveries. Raelians are rejoicing over this event and will make sure that more articles are published in that domain so that biologists can look at living entities not as the result of random mutations but more as sophisticated creations in which every detail has been thought of and has a reason to exist. 'Biology will go so fast once biologists stop being blinded by the evolution theory and I am sure that in ten years from now scientists will look back and wonder why they accepted evolution for so long' said Dr. Boisselier, spokesperson of the Raelian Movement. ..."

Source: http://www.rael.org/int/press_site/english/pages/press_releases/140904.html

I was a Token Darwinist...

I've blogged some comments about last week's "Darwin, Design and Democracy V" conference, held on September 24th and 25th in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the Panda's Thumb site, here:
http://www.pandasthumb.org/pt-archives/000523.html

I've also posted some notes from my DDDV presentation, here:
http://www.nmsr.org/dddv.htm

Posted September 24th 2004

Methane Controversy on Mars...

New Scientist reports on Sept. 4th that "Methane and water vapour are concentrated in the same regions of the Martian atmosphere, say scientists studying data from Europe's Mars Express orbiter. They say the link may point to a common source - possibly life - but others remain sceptical about the detection. In March, scientists using the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) on Mars Express announced they had found methane in the atmosphere at a level of just 10.5 parts per billion. Two other groups say they have also detected the gas with telescopes in Chile and Hawaii. Ultraviolet sunlight takes about 300 years to destroy atmospheric methane. These detections suggest the gas is being replenished on Mars in the same way it is on Earth - by processes such as geothermal heating or by life forms, such as bacteria. ..."

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996425

Brains of Men, Women are Different...

ABC News reports on Sept. 21 that "Men and women may really be from the same planet, but research is yielding mounting evidence that our brains are more different than we might think. From the way we record information to how we process language to the size of our brains and different regions of the brain, clear differences have emerged through animal studies and the use of technology such as brain scanning. Scientists are also trying to get at the roots of what may be behind these differences by looking at the effects of chromosomes and hormones at work in lab animals. And this is just the beginning. Jill Goldstein, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, argues that social climates have only recently made such research acceptable. 'When I was growing up, to say there were sex differences in the brain, you weren't even supposed to talk about it,' said Goldstein. 'I think we're living in a time now when we can look at what some of these differences are without saying they are necessarily deterministic.' ... "

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/Living/brain_gender_040921.html

Dino Day-Care ...

The Salt Lake Tribune reports on Sept. 21 that "Fossil evidence of dinosaurs caring for their young is rare, but it is hard to imagine what else could have been going on in a 125-million-year-old tableau unearthed in northeastern China. In about 5 square feet of space, paleontologists discovered the remains of an adult dinosaur and 34 youngsters. The dinosaurs, of a plant-eating variety called Psittacosaurus, were apparently buried suddenly, said David J. Varricchio of Montana State University, one of the scientists who described the find in the journal Nature. ... Little is known about the brood size of psittacosaurs, so it is impossible to say if the finding represents an adult with its own offspring or a kind of dinosaur day-care. 'We may be looking at a larger group, a mixed assemblage from multiple adults,' Varricchio said. ..."

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/healthscience/ci_2417509

Perhaps Monster Sea Reptiles Sucked (Prey, That Is ...)

Guy Gugliotta of the Washington Post writes on September 23 that "They were unwieldy pond-dwelling predators with long necks that didn't have enough joints and neck ribs that must have kept their heads practically immobile. They had all the grace of Godzilla -- the 1950s version. For decades scientists wondered how they caught enough prey to survive. 'They are really grotesque creatures,' said paleontologist Olivier Rieppel, of Chicago's Field Museum, who has studied these ancient reptiles for 25 years. 'This neck is not going to be very flexible.' ... But in research reported today in the journal Science, Rieppel and co-authors Chun Li, of China's Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, and Michael C. LaBarbera, of the University of Chicago, said a new fossil suggests that these animals, known collectively as protorosaurs, used their long necks not as supple spears, but like lethal suction hoses. ... The protorosaur case presents a classic example of one of evolutionary biology's eternal mysteries: does a particular characteristic develop to serve a specific function, or is it an aberration caused by growth patterns or some other factor? In the protorosaurs' case, what seemed at first like an aberration has probably turned out to be a functional trait. ..."

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45087-2004Sep23.html (Free Registration Required)

Darwin, Design and Democracy V in Albuquerque...

The Fifth Annual "Darwin, Design and Democracy" Conference will be held Friday and Saturday at UNM's Woodward Hall and the SUB. I'll be speaking on "The Top 10 Myths of the Intelligent Design movement" Saturday morning (11:30) and afternoon (1:30). See you there!

Source: http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/2004symposium.htm

Posted September 17th 2004

SETI Mystery Signal is No Big Whoop...

NewsFactor reported on Sept. 2nd that "A quick burst of excitement over possible reception of radio signals from extra-terrestrial intelligence by the SETI@home project has turned out to be premature. A report from the online publication New Scientist set off a wave of speculation that a mysterious signal may be coming from aliens. ... The brouhaha stems from SETI@home's re-observation last year of nearly 200 candidate signals. 'We had use of the Arecibo telescope,' said David Anderson, a space science researcher and the director of SETI@home at the University of California at Berkeley. Arecibo is located in Puerto Rico. 'We gave the signals a score, and all but one [SHGb02+14a] dropped.' But that did not mean SHGb02+14a was a good candidate. There was a major problem. The Doppler shift was too large to suggest it was generated by life forms. 'Whatever it is, it's just accelerating toward or away from us too quickly,' said Anderson. ..."

Source: http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Steady_as_She_Goes_at_SETI_home__No_Alien_Contact_Yet&story_id=26735

Tibetans Are Evolving ...

Nature reports on Sept. 16th that "A gene for well oxygenated blood is spreading in the Himalayas. Higher blood levels in Tibetan mothers means a better survival rate for their children. Tibetan mothers have provided anthropologists with a prime example of ongoing human evolution. Researchers have found that women who are able to store more oxygen in their blood have more offspring that live to maturity. ... Once non-genetic factors such as age, illness, or smoking were removed, a subset of the group seemed to have a blood-oxygen concentration that was 10% higher than normal. This trait was inherited in a way that suggested the difference was due to a single gene. ... The result strongly suggests that the high-oxygen gene confers a reproductive advantage, and is spreading through the population, says Beall. The work will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040913/full/040913-20.html

Radioactive Dating Used In Forensic Work...

MSNBC reports on Sept. 6th that "A new technique using radioactive dating is helping police pin down the approximate time of death of even badly decomposed bodies, researchers told a science conference Monday. Stuart Black said the British-pioneered technique had already been used to good effect in tracing not only the date of death but also the origin of a headless and limbless torso dubbed Adam, found floating down London’s River Thames in September 2001. ... Research has found that trace elements of lead isotope 210 makes its way into the food chain for humans in fairly even quantities and that people therefore have more or less constant quantities in their bodies. When a person stops eating, the isotope — which has a half-life of just 22 years — starts to degrade and diminish. The half-life measure is the period over which an isotope loses half its rad