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Flying Spaghetti Monster Saves Florida?...

The Daily Kos reports on December 26th that "Efforts were afoot recently on the Polk County School Board (in the Tampa, FL area) to begin teaching the "concept" of intelligent design in science classes as an alternative to evolution, at a time when new state standards mentioning evolution by name for the first time are under consideration. It appeared that this bonehead move had the support of a majority of the school board, but that was before the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster arrived and shamed the school board into backing down. Jump down to read more about this somewhat merry holiday tale. ..."

Source: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/26/72046/268/826/426324

Huckabee Resurrects Bumblebee Urban Legend...

The Guardian (UK) reports on December 6th that "Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas who mixes folksy charm with bedrock Christian conservative views, likens his rise to the aeronautics of the bumblebee. 'It's scientifically impossible for the bumblebee to fly,' he told a crowd in the small town of Newton. 'But the bumblebee, being unaware of these scientific facts, flies anyway.' ..."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/story/0,,2222697,00.html

The original "Science says bumblebee flight is impossible" story is pretty hard to track down, but this Boeing scientist says it was due to one M. Sainte-Lague, a lab assistant to famous entomologist August Magnan, whose book starting this urban legend appeared in 1934:

John McMasters, Boeing, ~1999 Wrote:
A long time ago [1989] I wrote an article for the journal American Scientist entitled: 'The Flight of the Bumblebee and Related Myths of Entomological Engineering' (Am. Sci., Vol. 77, pp. 164-8). In this I gave what still appears to be a correct account of the 'Didn’t the aerodynamicist prove that the bumblebee can’t fly ? [sarcastic ha ha]' story. I too had tried to find the name of 'The aerodynamicist' who did this to us. After a long search I was told by a very reputable source that he thought that individual (who was badly misrepresented subsequently by the 'press') was the Swiss gas dynamicist Jacob Ackeret - a famous name in supersonic aerodynamics. It was about the right vintage, so I wrote that in my article without naming Ackeret explicitly. Follwoing publication, however, I got mail. Boy did I get mail - including half a dozen xerox copies of portions of the text of the book Le Vol Des Insects (Hermann and Cle, Paris, 1934) by the famous entomologist August Magnan. On page 8 of the introduction, one finds:

Thus the culprit is finally named: Sainte-Lague, Magnan’s lab assistant who was apparently some sort of engineer. Steve Vogel has correctly added some of the rest of the story and there is more to come thanks to the miracles of high-speed photography and advances in computational physics. As an aside, anyone who hasn’t read Steve’s wonderful books should. They are classics - all of them. Share and enjoy.
John McMasters Technical fellow The Boeing company Seattle, Washington

There you have it - a one-decade-old summation of a two-decade-old correction of a seven-decade-old myth. Kinda reminds me of the Creationists!

Source: http://www.math.niu.edu/~rusin/known-math/98/bees

NOVA's Judgment Day DVD is on sale at PBS....

To paraphrase Dr. Laura, "Do the Right Thing!" Log in and order a copy today!

Source: http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=2950515

New "Design of Life" book shows Dembski's Designs on Harvard Video ...

In November, ID stalwart William Dembski tried to wheedle his way out of being caught using a Harvard/XVIVO animation of the cell, without permission, in his talks. Along comes Tara of the Endogenous Retrovirus Blog (ERV) with news that Dembski's new ID book, "Design of Life," ALSO was written to make illegal use of the Harvard video. While the book was altered at the last minute to use Discovery Institute images from "Unlocking the Mystery of Life" in place of the Harvard cell images, ERV, Peter Irons, and Afarensis teamed up to show that Dembski HAD planned to use the Harvard material originally. The Smoking Gun: the footnote in "Design of Life" which is referenced in the callout for the "Unlocking" image STILL REFERS TO THE ORIGINAL HARVARD ANIMATION!

Can you say, "OOPS?"

Source: http://endogenousretrovirus.blogspot.com/2007/12/discovery-institute-dembski-copyright.html

Battle of the Opinion Pieces in West Side Journal...

On December 16, Media consultant Mark Mathis had an opinion piece in the West Side edition of the Albuquerque Journal titled "No, We Can't Even Discuss Design." This extended infomercial for the Mathis/Ben Stein movie "EXPELLED" declared that "Either you believe that life exists because of strictly material causes (Neo-Darwinism) or you believe the great complexity and diversity of life on earth is the work of a designer (Intelligent Design). There is no middle ground. Atheism, therefore (a religious position), is being taught in Rio Rancho and most schools around the nation." ...

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/west/opinion/270006westoped12-16-07.htm (subscription)

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/west/opinion/271777westoped12-23-07.htm (subscription)

Will New Transitional Whale Fossil Topple Creationists?

Of course not - actual data and evidence has never bothered them before. But, as Carl Zimmer reports on Dec. 19th that "...I was pretty excited to read the newest paper from [Hans] Thewissen and his colleagues, published in tomorrow's issue of Nature. They've identified what they believe is the closest fossil relative of whales. It's a raccoon-sized beast named Indohyus that lived 48 million years ago in Kashmir. Analyzing the bones of Indohyus, the scientists discovered that it shares some--but not all--of the traits previously considered unique to cetaceans from Pakicetus to today's whales and dolphins. Even more intriguing is the evidence suggesting that Indohyus was fairly aquatic. The evidence comes from isotopes in the fossils, as well as from the structure of the bones. Living mammals that spend a lot of time underwater tend to have heavy bones that they use to keep them from floating up to the surface of the water. So does Indohyus. Its teeth appear adapted for eating vegetation. It might have eaten underwater, like muskrats do today, or on land, as hippos do. Its adaptations to water may have helped it find refuge from predators on land. If Thewissen's right, then a key step in the origin of whales was the transition from eating plants to eating meat. (Pakicetus and other early whales show signs of having been meat-eaters.) But that transition came after the ancestors of whales had already started to take the plunge. ..."

Source: http://scienceblogs.com/loom/2007/12/19/whales_from_so_humble_a_beginn.php

Discovery Institute Needs Cash to fight Dogmatic Darwinists...

At the Disinformation organ of the Discovery Institute, Evolution News & Views, Robert Crowther onDec. 19th writes "...As a regular Evolution News & Views visitor, you have been continually informed of the ways in which leading Darwinists have unleashed an unprecedented wave of persecution, propaganda, and paranoia in an effort to strangle an idea that they insist is already dead.... One of the myths promoted by the our critics is that we are somehow lavishly funded. Unlike Darwinists, however, we receive no tax dollars to support our research and education efforts on intelligent design. As a result, our budget is dwarfed many times over by our opponents. Just one small biology department at a mid-size college has an annual budget several times larger than the CSC's. Think about how many such departments there are, not to mention the huge biological science establishment at major research universities - most of which are dominated by very dogmatic, intolerant Darwinists. That's why we need your help. ..."

Could it be that one small biology department at a mid-size college does more science in one year than has been delivered by the Discovery Institute since its inception? Sounds reasonable to me!

Source: http://www.evolutionnews.org/2007/12/two_years_ago_this_month.html

To Heck with Darwinists, Answers in Genesis Wants Your $$$ to Fight Satan Hisself...

Meanwhile, Answers in Genesis is pleading for more money too. Rather than blaming "Darwinists," however, they go right to the Source: Satan himself. In the Year End Message, AiG (led by Ken Ham) says "As you know, Satan's opposition increases in proportion to our effectiveness for Christ—and, praise the Lord, we have had a very effective year in 2007.And we've been attacked from all sides: You'll remember when TV host Bill Maher staged a “covert raid” on the Creation Museum with the sole intent of mocking and degrading the authority of Scripture....Nothing could ever make me, or the dedicated staff here at AiG, abandon our quest to restore true Christian thinking to America (and the world!). But we're human, just like everybody else, and some days we feel the discouragement of being a lone voice in the wilderness. Those are the times when your steadfast partnership would be even more precious to us. As the year draws to a close, I'm asking you to pray diligently about how large a gift you can give to support AiG's year-end ministry and start 2008 strong. We need to raise $400,000 by December 31 to finish the year on-budget—armed to stand as effective witnesses for Christ against Satan's attacks while 2007 closes and a new year begins...."

Source: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/12/18/year-end-message

ICR has Plan for Making Moolah Too...

But Wait -- there's more! Texas Citizens for Science reports on Dec. 20th that "...Texas Citizens for Science Investigation Reveals the Monetary Reasons of the Institute for Creation Research to Win Certification from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Texas Citizens for Science has written a Press Release that describes the major motivation for the rapid, incompetent, and--until now--stealthy process of the ICR site evaluation and certification approval by two committees of the THECB [Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board]. ICR is on-track to make millions of dollars by charging tuition from students from the U.S. and many foreign countries for its new on-line distance education Graduate School Creationism program. Upon completion of the on-line course of study and full payment of fees to the ICR, each student will be awarded a legal, authentic, and Texas-certified Masters Degree in Science Education. This pseudoscientific but money-making travesty depends on winning certification from the THECB, which until now has been progressing smoothly and quietly. ..."

Source: http://www.texscience.org/
http://www.texscience.org/reviews/2007dec20-press-release.htm

Dover 2nd Anniversary, Gilbert and Sullivan Mocked (Mocked, I Say!)...

On Dec. 19th, Amadan posted "I Am the Very Model of a C-Design-Proponentsist" in honor of the 2nd Anniversary of the Dover Decision on ID::

"[Note: Malicious allegations have been made that this work somehow plagiarises something by W.S. Gilbert. Nothing could be further from the truth and I emphatically state that I have nothing to apologise for. And I'm really sorry...]

I am the very model of a c-design-proponentsist
The diametric opposite of all that is materialist
My engineering cert allows me call myself a scientist -
We won't discuss those classes in Biology I might have missed
..."

Source: http://www.antievolution.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?act=SP;f=14;t=1274;p=89125

Evolution: Is It Inevitable Change, Stasis, or Random Noise?

In a paper titled "The relative importance of directional change, random walks, and stasis in the evolution of fossil lineages," (November 14, 2007 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA)), Gene Hunt of the Department of Paleobiology/Smithsonian Institution writes that ... "The nature of evolutionary changes recorded by the fossil record has long been controversial, with particular disagreement concerning the relative frequency of gradual change versus stasis within lineages. Here, I present a large-scale, statistical survey of evolutionary mode in fossil lineages. Over 250 sequences of evolving traits were fit by using maximum likelihood to three evolutionary models: directional change, random walk, and stasis. Evolution in these traits was rarely directional; in only 5% of fossil sequences was directional evolution the most strongly supported of the three modes of change. The remaining 95% of sequences were divided nearly equally between random walks and stasis.... ..."

Source: http://http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/short/104/47/18404

But, Have Humans Stopped Evolving? No...

In a pre-published PNAS paper titled "Recent acceleration of human adaptive evolution," (John Hawks, Eric T. Wang, Gregory Cochran, Henry C. Harpending, and Robert K. Moyzis), the authors argue that "Genomic surveys in humans identify a large amount of recent positive selection. Using the 3.9-million HapMap SNP dataset, we found that selection has accelerated greatly during the last 40,000 years. We tested the null hypothesis that the observed age distribution of recent positively selected linkage blocks is consistent with a constant rate of adaptive substitution during human evolution. ... Larger populations generate more new selected mutations, and we show the consistency of the observed data with the historical pattern of human population growth. We consider human demographic growth to be linked with past changes in human cultures and ecologies. Both processes have contributed to the extraordinarily rapid recent genetic evolution of our species. ... It is sometimes claimed that the pace of human evolution should have slowed as cultural adaptation supplanted genetic adaptation. The high empirical number of recent adaptive variants would seem sufficient to refute this claim. ..."

Author Cochran, of Albuquerque, has given several talks at NMSR on populations and evolution. We're hoping he'll speak about this topic also.

Source: http://http://johnhawks.net/weblog/topics/evolution/selection/acceleration_embargo_ends_2007.html

Texas Tempest Heating Up...

The NCSE reports on Dec. 14th on the continuing controversy stirred up by the forced dismissal of science education coordinator Christina Castillo Comer: "Over two weeks after it was first reported that Christine Comer was forced to resign from her post at the Texas Education Agency, apparently because she forwarded a brief e-mail announcing a lecture on "intelligent design" by Barbara Forrest, the state's newspapers continue to provide a steady stream of news and commentary. And groups with a stake in the integrity of science education in Texas continue to voice their concern. As the Austin American-Statesman (December 14, 2007) observed in its latest story, "The controversy over Comer’s departure put the agency’s scientific credibility at risk at a time when Texas is trying to attract star researchers and scientists for a growing biomedical and biotech industry, and just before the State Board of Education begins developing new science standards next month."..." ...

Among the recent developments: editorials stating grave concern over Comer's dismissal by the Austin American-Statesman, a statement by Texas Education Agency (TEA) commissioner Robert Scott ("Asked, 'Why shouldn't the agency advocate the science of evolution? Texas students are required to study it,' he replied, 'you can be in favor of a science without bashing people's faith, too. I don't know all the facts, but I think that may be the real issue here.'"), and statements of support for Comer from the Society for the Study of Evolution, AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner, and hordes of biologists from across Texas.

Source: http://http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/TX/141_the_comer_controversy_continue_12_14_2007.asp

Speaking of Texas, does the ICR want an "MS in Creation Science Education"?

The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is apparently seeking certification from the state of Texas to grant a Master of Science degree in science education from the new "Henry M. Morris Center for Christian Leadership", http://http://icr.org/morriscenter

From the meeting agenda for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Committee on Academic Excellence and Research (AER), for December 12, 2007 we find this: "INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH, DALLAS RECOMMENDATION: Pending Certification Advisory Council recommendation Background Information: The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is a private, not-for-profit corporation, registered in the states of California and Texas for the purposes of research, writing, and education in both the standard curriculum of each scientific discipline and the Institute’s supplemental framework of scientific creationism and biblical authority in all disciplines. The ICR Graduate School program provides graduate-level training in science education through an online environment, with minors in the natural sciences that are particularly relevant to the study of origins. An on-site evaluation was conducted at ICR on November 8, 2007. The Board’s Certification Advisory Council will review the evaluation team’s report, and ICR’s response to the evaluation on December 14, 2007. The Commissioner will forward their recommendation to the Board with his endorsement or with his substitute recommendation. ..."

Source: http://http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/events/committeemeetings/AER/2007_12/Agenda.pdf

Rio Rancho Board Nixes "Science" Policy 401...

The Rio Rancho Observer reports on Dec. 6th that "Science Policy 401, which attracted some statewide and national attention for its permissiveness in teaching Creation and Intelligent Design in science and biology classes, along with evolution, was put to rest by the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education Monday evening. It is not expected to be resurrected, barring a shakeup of the board’s makeup. With a jam-packed boardroom, about to exceed fire marshal regulations until Superintendent Dr. Sue Cleveland urged some attendees to sit in the hallways outside the room, 14 people spoke about the controversial policy during the public comment session. Final score: 11 for, three against rescinding the policy. The board had the final say, 3-2. ..." ..."

Source: http://www.observer-online.com/articles/2007/12/05/news/anews2.txt

NMSR's Rio Rancho Updates Page: http://www.nmsr.org/riorncho.htm

Panda's Thumb Blog, "Game Over in Rio Rancho, NM: Science 1, Wedge 0" (by Marshall Berman, Kim Johnson & Dave Thomas): http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2007/12/game-over-in-ri.html

Vatican Astronomer: Creationism is Superstition & Paganism...

Catholic World News reports on Dec. 6th that "A Jesuit astronomer from the Vatican Observatory has said that scientific creationism is a form of superstition. Speaking in Glasgow this week, Brother Guy Consolmagno said that scientists should protect against the tendency of religion to slide into superstition. In turn, he said, science needs religion 'in order to have a conscience.' In the case of creationism, he said, believers have constructed a theory that is not supported by scientific facts. 'Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality,' Brother Consolmagno said-- 'to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism.' ..."

Source: http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=55172

Exquisitely Fossilized Hadrosaur Amazes...

Evan Ratliff of Wired.com reports on Dec. 3rd that "Scientists on Monday announced the discovery of what appears to be the world's most intact dinosaur mummy: a 67-million-year-old plant-eater that contains fossilized bones and skin tissue, and possibly muscle and organs. Preserved by a natural fluke of time and chemistry, the four-ton mummified hadrosaur, a duck-billed herbivore common to North America, could reshape the understanding of dinosaurs and their habitat, its finders say. 'There is no doubt about it that this dinosaur is a very, very significant find,'' said Tyler Lyson, a graduate student in geology at Yale University who discovered the dinosaur in North Dakota. 'To say we are excited would be an understatement,'' said Phil Manning, a paleontologist at England's University of Manchester who is leading the examination. ..."

Source: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/dino_mummy

Is Space Alien Tourism Campaign a Monster?

Marks Evans reports for AP in the Albuquerque Journal that "New Mexico bills itself as The Land of Enchantment. But for weeks now, a contentious debate has raged among tourism officials here over a new state-financed advertising campaign aimed at attracting vacationers ... The ad makes no reference to New Mexico's most famous connection to aliens. In 1947, the U.S. military said a weather balloon crashed near Roswell in the desert, but legends persist that it was a UFO, and a small tourism industry has grown up in Roswell about the tale, complete with an annual festival and museums. At a recent meeting of the state's tourism commission, M&C Saatchi representatives were urged to "soften up" the aliens in the ad. ... Aliens are fine, he said, but do they need to be creatures 'that look like they're going to suck your brains out?''..."

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/265076nm11-27-07.htm

Speaking of Aliens, How 'Bout that Tournament of Roses Parade Float?

Jim Belshaw discusses the largely negative reaction to cute Roswellian aliens adorning New Mexico's official Tournament of Roses Parade float entry in his Nov. 25th Albuquerque Journal column, observing that " Here are some float themes I found in past Tournament of Roses Parades.
In 2004, the La Canada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association gave us three giant singing saguaro cactuses. They called it Cactus Practice.
In 2006, the City of Burbank won a trophy for Dumbo flying behind a line of circus elephants.
In 2004, CalPoly University had a giant octopus wrapped around a ship with giant seahorses on the stern.
In the same year, Farmers Insurance had an animated 75-foot long dragon flying over a castle. The theme was ... home insurance. Seriously.
Then there's the giant parrot riding a giant banana with the animated giant lobster representing the City of Alhambra.
The City of West Covina had three giant canaries in tuxes singing opera.
New Mexico will have space aliens.
I'm guessing that most people, maybe even all of them, will laugh and applaud when the space aliens of Roswell roll past them on New Year's Day. I'll bet everyone has a good time, having a good time being the point of parades as I understand them. I'll bet not one person thinks the state of New Mexico puts a lot of solemn stock in space aliens, other than to say, "Roswell has had a grand time with this space alien thing. So drop by and check it out, and while you're in New Mexico, you'll also find a splendid place with splendid people, none of whom has undergone embarrassing medical probes by space aliens.'' "...

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/belshaw/264601opinion11-25-07.htm

Has Climate Change Shaped the Human Genome?

In a Nov. 25th post at Inkstain, John Fleck notes that "Cleaning off my desk this evening, I found an interesting paper I’d printed and set aside to read weeks ago by Alison Smith in Holocene about the relationship between climate change and human evolution. Smith uses data from the human genome project on the timing of major bits of human evolution to argue that pressures from abrupt climate change during the last 10,000 years can be linked in time to major steps in human evolution: 'For example, 5000 to 6000 years ago, changes occurred in the human genome, including among others the development in some populations of lactose tolerance, the development of malarial resistance and an increase in brain size. These changes occurred in regionally distributed populations responding to some strong positive selection pressure. I suggest that the source of the selection pressure may have been the abrupt climate change documented as occurring at the close of the mid-Holocene hypsithermal climatic optimum), 5000–6000 years ago.' ..."

Source: http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/?p=2331

Science Director EXPELLED in Texas...

The New York Times/AP reports on Nov. 29th that " The state’s director of science curriculum said she resigned this month under pressure from officials who said she had given the appearance of criticizing the teaching of intelligent design. The Texas Education Agency put the director, Chris Comer, on 30 days’ paid administrative leave in late October, resulting in what Ms. Comer called a forced resignation. The move came shortly after she forwarded an e-mail message announcing a presentation by Barbara Forrest, an author of 'Creationism’s Trojan Horse.'' The book argues that creationist politics are behind the movement to get intelligent design theory taught in public schools. Ms. Comer sent the message to several people and a few online communities. Ms. Comer, who held her position for nine years, said she believed evolution politics were behind her ousting. 'None of the other reasons they gave are, in and of themselves, firing offenses,'' she said. Education agency officials declined to comment Wednesday on the matter. But they explained their recommendation to fire Ms. Comer in documents obtained by The Austin American-Statesman through the Texas Public Information Act. 'Ms. Comer’s e-mail implies endorsement of the speaker and implies that T.E.A. endorses the speaker’s position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral,' the officials said. " ...

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/us/30resign.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

More: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/29/1129science.html

The Blogosphere heats up in reaction: http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2007/11/expelled-texas.html
http://www.texscience.org/reviews/tea-science-director-resigns.htm
http://austringer.net/wp/index.php/2007/11/29/expelled-texas-education-agency-fires-staffer-for-announcing-talk-by-barbara-forrest/
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/11/fear_of_barbara_forrest.php
http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/TX/950_texas_education_official_force_11_29_2007.asp

From the NCSE story: "Barbara Forrest herself was aghast at the news, telling NCSE, 'In my talk, I simply told the truth -- about the history of the 'intelligent design' movement, about the complete rejection of its claims by the scientific community, and about the Kitzmiller trial and my involvement in it. Maybe the TEA can't afford to take a position on what constitutes good science education -- maybe it must remain neutral on whether or not to lie to students about evolution -- but if so, that's just sad.' A professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University and a member of NCSE's board of directors, Forrest is the coauthor (with Paul R. Gross) of Creationism's Trojan Horse."

sex, lies and a math mistake...

Last week's mention of how the Discovery Institute's rapid response to the PBS/NOVA show on the Dover ID trial was full of simple arithmetic errors and absolute mistruths has made it to the Panda's Thumb blog, where comments may be left. It's titled "sex, lies and a math mistake." A snippet: "First, the sex. I'll admit right up front that this post has nothing to do with sex, except for the general nature of what the ID movement is trying to do to public science education in this country. Before discussing lies, let's take care of the math mistake. ..."

Source: http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2007/11/sex-lies-and-a.html

Doc Who Helped Start Stem Cell 'Culture War' May End It...

Gina Kolata of the NY Times reports on Nov. 22nd that "If the stem cell wars are indeed nearly over, no one will savor the peace more than James A. Thomson. Dr. Thomson’s laboratory at the University of Wisconsin was one of two that in 1998 plucked stem cells from human embryos for the first time, destroying the embryos in the process and touching off a divisive national debate. And on Tuesday, his laboratory was one of two that reported a new way to turn ordinary human skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells without ever using a human embryo. ..."" "

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/science/22stem.html?em&ex=1195966800&en=3d24427925954325&ei=5087%0A

Biggest. Arthropod. Ever.

Various news outlets, including the Canadian Broadcast Company, reported on Nov. 20th that "A giant fossilized claw discovered in Germany belonged to an ancient sea scorpion that was much bigger than the average man, an international team of geologists and archaeologists reported Tuesday. The 46-centimetre-long claw was discovered by report co-author Markus Poschmann, from Germany, in a quarry near Pruem, a city about 200 kilometres east of Frankfurt. ... In a report in the Royal Society's journal Biology Letters, the team said the claw indicates that sea scorpion Jaekelopterus rhenania was almost 2.5 metres long, making it the largest arthropod — an animal with a segmented body, jointed limbs and a hard exoskeleton — ever found. In the report, the authors said the scorpion exceeds previous size records for arthropods by almost half a metre. The fossil, found in a 390-million-year-old rock, suggests that spiders, insects, crabs and similar creatures were much larger in the past than previously thought ..."

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/11/20/giant-scorpion.html

Red-Handed or Red-Faced? Dembski Caught Plagiarizing Harvard's Work...

ERV (Endogenous Retrovirus) has the scoop this week. It seems that the splendid video William Dembski and other ID stalwarts have been presenting at talks all over the country was, in fact, lifted sans credit from a Harvard/XVIVO video on "Inner life of a cell". As ERV notes, "Harvard/XVIVOs narration, all of the science, is whisked away and replaced with a 'surrealistic lilliputian realm'-- 'robots', 'manufacturing', 'circuitry', 'nano moters', 'UPS labels'. Maybe they think it is 'okay' because they turned all of Harvard's science into 'MAGIC!' ..."

ERV has links to the original video, plus one of Dembski mis-using and abusing same. Plagiarism? YOU DECIDE!

Source: http://endogenousretrovirus.blogspot.com/2007/11/di-fellows-expelled-for-plagiarism.html

It's a Shower! Leonids Peak Saturday Night/Sunday Morning...

It should be a fine, no-moon opportunity to see a good meteor shower. If you're in the Mountain Time Zone, the Leonids should be good between midnight Saturday and the wee hours of Sunday the 18th, peaking at 3 AM MST.

Source: leonid.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.html

NOVA/PBS SHow on Dover ID Trial CENSORED in Tennessee...

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) reports on Nov. 16th that "Although Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial, the recent documentary on Kitzmiller v. Dover, aired on PBS stations around the country, residents of Memphis, Tennessee, were not able to watch it on the regular, analogue, channel of WKNO, the local PBS affiliate. A locally produced documentary about World War II was aired instead. The Memphis Commercial Appeal (November 15, 2007) quoted a spokesperson for the station as explaining, "We had plans to do our local programs to honor veterans this week during Veterans Day. We thought Tuesday night was a good spot for local programs of this nature, and we were concerned about the controversial nature of the ... program as were 15 percent of the top 50 public television stations in the country." Although Judgment Day was aired on WKNO's digital broadcasts, the station's failure to air it on the regular channel elicited complaints; the spokesperson for the station would not disclose how many." ...

Source: http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/TN/829_emjudgment_dayem_censored_11_16_2007.asp

Discovery Institute Repeats Lie, but Can't Count...

The official ID “Think” Tank, the Discovery Institute, has published its own guide to counter the effective PBS production on the Dover ID Trial of 2005. The guide is called “The Theory of Intelligent Design: A briefing packet for educators, to help teachers understand the debate between Darwinian evolution and intelligent design,” and was written by the Institute’s John West and Casey Luskin. They have some really poor math skills, especially with numbers larger than Three: On Page 12 of 24, they write "Five states (Kansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Minnesota) have already adopted science standards that require learning about some of the scientific controversies relating to evolution." But on page 13 of 24, they claim "Four states (Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina) have science standards that require learning about some of the scientific controversies relating to evolution." Oh yeah, one other problem. They are LYING about New Mexico, and the other states to boot. ...

Source: http://www.nmsr.org/thelie.htm#latestlie

Maybe the Discovery Institute will Finally Find Big Foot...

It seems the Discovery Institute’s newest Senior Fellow is radio talk show host Michael Medved. Here is the Nov. 15th announcement from William Dembski:

"Michael Medved, nationally syndicated talk radio host and bestselling author, has joined the Discovery Institute in the role of senior fellow. The position cements a longstanding friendship and recognizes a commonality of values and projects across a spectrum of issues. ..."

Source: http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2007/11/maybe-the-disco.html

Ball Lightning - IN THE LAB...

National Geographic reported back on Jan.22nd that "Brazilian scientists may have solved a shocking scientific mystery by creating ball lightning in the lab. Physicist Antonio Pavão and doctoral student Gerson Paiva of the Federal University of Pernambuco have created orbs of electricity about the size of golf balls that mimic natural ball lightning. The fluffy-looking spheres spin, throw off sparks, and vibrate. They also move erratically about the lab, rolling around on the floor, bouncing off objects, and burning whatever they touch (see enlarged photo for stills from laboratory video). People have reported seeing ball lightning in nature for hundreds of years, but there is no scientific consensus as to what causes the phenomenon. ..."

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070122-ball-lightning.html

Hope for the Honeybees...

MIT's Science Tracker reports that "Time flies by and next thing you know, so are a bunch of healthy honeybees. The Christian Science Monitor’s brings an encouraging word today on the colony collapse disorder that nearly panicked some farmers and many bee keepers last year. While its precise cause remains to be determined, one thing is clear. This year’s impact was far lower thanks in part at least, it says here, to import of foreign stocks and good weather. An underlying theme is the persistence of risks inherent in relying so heavily on one species to pollinate crops. .."

Source: http://ksjtracker.mit.edu/?p=4715

Flying Lemurs, not Tree Shrews, are Primates' Closest Kin...

Texas A&M University (via eurekalert.org) reports on Nov. 1st that "Researchers at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, in collaboration with scientists representing institutions around the world, have discovered the closest living relative to primates. They did so after completing a multispecies genomic comparison within the superordinal group Euarchonta, which includes primates, dermoptera (colugos) and scandentia (tree shrews). Their findings are published in the Nov. 2 edition of the journal Science. “Determination of the closest living relative of primates has important ramifications for anthropology and genomics,” said Dr. William Murphy, a professor of veterinary integrative biosciences and team leader of the study.“In order to resolve the ancestral relationships among primates and their closest relatives, we had to compare alignments in recently sequenced genomes of multiple species, looking for rare genomic changes which would suggest evolutionary branching patterns between species. This gives us a clearer, more accurate look at how primates evolved and may help in placing fossil primates and their relatives on the evolutionary family tree.” As conclusions of the study have indicated that colugos (flying lemurs), rather than tree shrews, are genetically more closely related to primates, further sequencing of the colugo genome is warranted, Murphy said, in order to develop a better understanding of the evolutionary changes leading to primates, as well as to more accurately reconstruct the ancestral primate genome. "...

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/tau-rec110107.php

Richardson on Roswell UFO: Feds haven't "Come Clean"...

Fresh Intelligence reports on Oct. 31st that "New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, for one, doesn't seem to think longshot presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is all that crazy for claiming to have seen a UFO. When asked about the incident during last night's Democratic debate, Richardson declared that the government hadn't 'come clean' about Roswell, the alleged alien hangout in his home state. (He had less to say about human illegal aliens in New Mexico, presumably a more sizable group). " ...

Source: http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2007/10/bill-richardson-aliens-in-america.php

Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/337700_ufosonline02.html

The Courthouse 'Ghost' was a Bug...

The Associated Press (and numerous subscribers) reported this week that "Jeepers, it was just one of those creepers. An investigator specializing in all things bizarre has debugged the mystery of the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost — a specter captured on a blurry surveillance videotape. "Whooooooooooooo....," Benjamin Radford said in his finest ghostly Halloween howl. "In the end, it was in fact a bug or inspect of some sort that was on the lens of the surveillance camera," said Radford, an Albuquerque-based professional scientific paranormal investigator and managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. ... Radford drove to Santa Fe to watch the original video, ruling out a couple of theories. "If it was a reflection, what would be reflecting and why was the sun in the wrong place?" he said. "And why would someone conduct a prank on courthouse surveillance with deputies with guns watching. That didn't make sense." Radford narrowed it down to drifting seeds from cottonwood trees or an insect. ... Radford then visited an Albuquerque nursery for some creepy-crawlies, shelling out $9 for 1,750 ladybugs. "So basically, I then put the bugs on the camera casing (the next day) to see if by any chance they would duplicate the ghost and eventually, sure enough, we got the ghost," he said. ") ...

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i4rh0XO0fOAx-cyaWwniksXMMyggD8SJPN500

Discovery Institute: Designer's Identity is a "Theological" Question...

On Oct. 31st, The Discovery Institute's premier lackey, Casey Luskin, posted this about identifying the "Designer" responsible for "Intelligent Design': "In other words, using present knowledge, identifying the designer can’t be done by science. It is a strictly theological question ..."...

Source: http://www.evolutionnews.org/2007/10/principled_not_rhetorical_reas.html

Hat Tip: Dr. James McGrath/Butler University, http://exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com/2007/11/discovery-institute-responds.html

Posted October 26th, 2007

St. Bernards Study Pooh-Poohs Creationism...

inthenews.co.uk reports on Oct. 24th that "The St Bernard breed of dogs has disproved the theory of creationism, a UK-based team of researchers has said. Biologists from the University of Manchester say that changes to the skull shape of St Bernards over the last 120 years "can only be explained" via evolution and natural selection. The research team analysed arrived at their findings by examining 47 St Bernard skulls donated to the National History Museum in Berne by Swiss breeders. ..."

Source: http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/science/creationism-in-st-bernard-blow-$1155508.htm

Intelligent design is not creationism, but What IS It?

The Daily Gerald (Illinois) has an Oct. 22nd column titled "Intelligent design is not creationism" by Tom Rand. The editorial is interesting mainly for what it does NOT say about the Theory of Intelligent Design : "Intelligent design is modest in what it attributes to the designer, avoiding moral character, purposes or what a designer is thinking. ... Intelligent design doesn't depend on any biblical-type account of creation, attempt to identify the intelligent cause responsible for design, or describe the sequence of events by which the intelligence acted. ... Intelligent design has no religious commitments, makes no claims about the origin of the universe, isn't committed to biblical geology, can accommodate any degree of evolutionary change, doesn't prejudge how humans arose and doesn't specify how a designing intelligence brought life into being. ..."

Oh yeah, with a Theory that robust, ID will have AIDS/HIV cured in no time. Oops, forgot they don't think HIV causes AIDS.

Source: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=62111&src=

Discovery Institute Fellow Reynolds to J. K. Rowling: You Don't know Albus about Dumbledore...

John Mark Reynolds, a Fellow of the pro-Intelligent Design Discovery Institute, writes on Oct. 23rd that "Recently, J.K. Rowling announced to the world that one of her characters, the heroic mentor of Harry Potter, Dumbledore was gay. Nonsense. There is no evidence of it in the books and the books (at this point) are all that matter. I have always thought the books deeply Christian not because Rowling told me so (which she recently confirmed), but because the text is full of Christian images and ideas. She had a chance to give Dumbledore a boyfriend, but she muffed it. I refuse to denigrate friendship by reading every close one as sexual . . . and she gave us nothing else. No offense to an excellent author, but Dumbledore no longer belongs only to Rowling. ..."

Source: http://www.scriptoriumdaily.com/2007/10/23/dumbledore-is-not-gay-taking-stories-more-seriously-than-the-author/

O'Reilly, Stein make Big OOPS on TV...

They just didn't get the Discovery Institute memo! When Ben Stein, the star of the upcoming horror flick "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," appeared on the Bill O'Reilly show on Oct. 22nd, O'Reilly got things stared with a bang by equating Intelligent Design with "that is, a deity created life ..." OOPS! Stein blurts out that "We're not trying to shut anyone up. Bill Maher can say anything he wants. All these Darwinist people, all these atheists can say anything they want. ..." And O'Reilly clearly says ID IS Creationism, and Stein agrees: "O'REILLY: Okay, do you think thought that people who believe in creationism are being persecuted in America? STEIN: There's no doubt about it. We have lots and lots of evidence of it in the movie. ..."

Source: http://scienceblogs.com/evolutionblog/2007/10/oreilly_and_stein_transcript.php

Video: http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Play/22714/1/billo-stein-creationism-102207.wmv/

Red-Headed Neaderthals?

The BBC reports on Oct. 25th that "Some Neanderthals were probably redheads, a DNA study has shown. Writing in Science journal, a team of researchers extracted DNA from remains of two Neanderthals and retrieved part of an important gene called MC1R. In modern people, a change - or mutation - in this gene causes red hair, but, until now, no one knew what hair colour our extinct relatives had. By analysing a version of the gene in Neanderthals, scientists found that they also have sported fiery locks. 'We found a variant of MC1R in Neanderthals which is not present in modern humans, but which causes an effect on the hair similar to that seen in modern redheads,' said lead author Carles Lalueza-Fox, assistant professor in genetics at the University of Barcelona. ..."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7062415.stm

Vitter earmark withdrawn...

The National Center for Science Education reports on Oct. 18th that "Speaking on the Senate floor on October 17, 2007, Senator David Vitter (R-Louisiana) withdrew a controversial $100,000 earmark that he previously added to the appropriations bill for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The earmark was to the Louisiana Family Forum, a religious right group with a long history of promoting creationism and attacking evolution education in the state, including backing a 'strengths and weaknesses' policy in Ouachita Parish. ... Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, applauding the removal of the earmark in a press release dated October 18, 2007, commented, 'If Sen. Vitter's aim was to improve science education in Louisiana, I have to wonder why he did not direct these funds to a scientific group or a museum.' He added, 'Boosting science education is an odd task for a religious group.' 'Senator Vitter's defense of the earmark is obviously disingenuous, given the Louisiana Family Forum's record of fighting tooth and nail against evolution education,' commented NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott. 'But I'm glad to see that, with the removal of his earmark, public funds are not going to be misused to miseducate the children of Louisiana about the science of evolution.' ..."

Source: http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/US/216_vitter_earmark_withdrawn_10_18_2007.asp

How to spot a hoax...

Hannah Wiest of the Casper (WY) writes on Oct. 15th that "The managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer, a magazine that critically investigates claims of paranormal activity, has a haunted front door. Ever since he moved in five months ago, Benjamin Radford has heard a loud knock around 7 a.m. every day. But, when he opens the door to check it out, there is nothing there. It is not the paperboy. It is not an animal. It must be a ghost, right? Wrong. Radford's door -- painted white inside, dark red outside -- faces east in sunny New Mexico. Every morning when the sun rises around 7, the door heats up, expands and makes a knocking sound. But, Radford says, his mysterious door is just the sort of thing that can be mistaken for a ghost when it actually has a natural cause. Call him a Halloween spoilsport -- a poo-pooer of all things that go bump in the night. ... 'We like to put labels on things we can't explain and use them as a vehicle to think about such things,; said David Thomas, a physicist and mathematician and member of New Mexicans for Science and Reason. We want to believe in ghosts to validate thoughts about the afterlife or dead loved ones, Thomas said. We also just like a good spook and a good mystery now and then. Did you hear that tapping? ...

Source: http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/10/15/features/range/f92e9abaa44e16da872573730020fe6c.txt

Supernatural Thriving on Television... NY Times asks 'Why?'

Alessandra Stanley of the NY Times writes on Oct. 14th "There must be a rational explanation for all the supernatural phenomena on television. There must. Because it is weird, and even a little freaky, that so many shows this season prey on the paranormal. Vampires have day jobs as detectives, store clerks reap souls for the Devil, reporters time-travel to get their stories straight, cheerleaders walk through fire and people of all kinds talk to dead people, sometimes quite chattily. Even reality television is getting swept up in the surreal: On Oct. 24 NBC will unveil “Phenomenon,” an “American Idol”-ish competition for illusionists and mentalists, with Uri Geller and Criss Angel as judges.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/arts/television/14stan.html?ref=television

Posted October 12th, 2007

Los Alamos: Science and Intelligent Design to be discussed Tuesday...

PvM of The Panda's Thumb Blog writes on October 11, 2007 that The Los Alamos Monitor announces a presentation starting at 7PM in the Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos.

Source: http://www.lamonitor.com/articles/2007/10/11/features/features01.txt

Slakey, in his presentation, will address Intelligent Design and its effect on the scientific method. Alan Hurd, director of the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory, explained the scientific method involves creating a hypothesis and testing it. If something cannot be verified, then it is not covered by the scientific method, he said. Intelligent Design was created to circumvent the scientific method in order to resolve questions about humans’ origins. If evolution is happening, Intelligent Design suggests that it is being guided by a supernatural intelligence.

In a press release, Slakey states, “Science is rarely a talent of kings and governments. When King Solomon built his temple, he declared that pi equals three. Three thousand years later, the Kansas Board of Education eliminated all reference to the Big Bang from the state’s curriculum. And over the past five years more than 20 states have developed legislation that would dilute the teaching of science and promote intelligent design in public schools. This talk will examine the rise of the Intelligent Design movement and describe the response of a coalition of science societies.”

Hurd recommended that parents who have children enrolled in school should attend the presentation because Intelligent Design could affect the curriculum that students are taught. Additionally, he said people who on principle are concerned about “not so scientific” explanations of the universe attend the lecture. After the talk, coffee and cookies will be served and participants can meet with Slakey. Slakey will also bring his lecture to LANL at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Lujan Center.

Slakey holds an endowed position at Georgetown University where he is the Upjohn Lecturer in physics and biology and the co-director of the Program on Science in the Public Interest. He is also the Associate Director of Public Affairs for the American Physical Society (APS), the leading membership organization of physicists from national laboratories, universities and industry. He oversees all legislative affairs for the APS, specializing in the areas of defense and nuclear policy. Slakey’s technical publications have received more than 400 citations. He has also written widely on science policy issues, publishing more than 50 articles for the popular press including The New York Times, Washington Post and Scientific American. He has served in advisory positions for a diverse set of organizations including the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Geographic and the Creative Coalition Society - the political advocacy organization of the entertainment industry. He is a Fellow of the APS, a MacArthur Scholar and a Lemelson Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution. Slakey became the 28th American to summit Mt. Everest in an unguided expedition that was the subject of the movie “Beyond the Summit,” narrated by Sharon Stone. After a climb in the jungles of Indonesia, he completed his ascents of the highest mountain on every continent. In recognition, he carried the Olympic torch from the steps of the U.S. Capitol as part of the 2002 Olympic Games.

Source: http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2007/10/los-alamos-scie.html

Posted October 5th, 2007

Council of Europe: Just Say NO to Creationism in School...

Reuters reports on Oct. 4th that "Europe's main human rights body voted on Thursday to urge schools across the continent to firmly oppose the teaching of creationist and "intelligent design" views in their science classes. The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly approved a resolution saying attacks on the theory of evolution were rooted "in forms of religious extremism" and amounted to a dangerous assault on science and human rights. The text said European schools should 'resist presentation of creationist ideas in any discipline other than religion.' It said the 'intelligent design' view defended by some United States conservatives was an updated version of creationism. ... The resolution, which passed 48 votes to 25 with 3 abstentions, is not binding on the Council's 47 member states but reflects widespread opposition among politicians to teaching creationism in science class. ..."

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKL0417855220071004

Hacking at the Roots of Creationism...

Ian Hacking has a thoughtful piece on the evolution of anti-evolution in the October 8th issue of The Nation. He writes "The arguments that Darwin painstakingly presented in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859) were revolutionary in their day. They continue to astonish and perplex; never take them for granted. Unfortunately, anti-Darwinism keeps playing minor variations on the same negative themes and adds nothing to our understanding of life. Many scientists who are upset by the ongoing lobbying insist that it is bad science or pseudo-science. Living With Darwin, Philip Kitcher's brief and cogent manifesto, very rightly disagrees. Anti-Darwinism is, he says, dead science, recapitulating old stuff long abandoned. I prefer to call it degenerating. ... Anti-Darwinists love to repeat news of difficulties. They say, "We told you so; it is just a bunch of guesswork." Hence defenders of the faith, like Kitcher, do not like to dwell on present problems, for fear of giving succor to the foe. I wonder if they should not instead celebrate the difficulties, making plain that evolutionary theory is a living, growing, vital organism, while anti-Darwinism is lifeless, if not, in Kitcher's word, dead. In my opinion the arrogant religion-baiters--yes, Richard Dawkins comes to mind, but others are worse--do a disservice to their cause by making evolutionary theory seem so cut and dried (viz. dead), when it is a blooming, buzzing, confusing delight, finding out more about the world every day. With anti-Darwinians fabricating a "controversy," it helps to see what a real scientific controversy is like, with each competing conjecture piling on new research methods, new explanations, new questions, new failures and new successes. ..."

Source: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071008/hacking

or http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20071008&s=hacking

Clinton: Shield Science from Politics...

The New York Times reports on Oct. 5th that "In a stinging critique of Bush administration science policy, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said yesterday that if she were elected president she would require agency directors to show they were protecting science research from “political pressure” and that she would lift federal limits on stem cell research. ... In the telephone interview after the speech, Mrs. Clinton also tacitly criticized opponents of evolution. Some of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates have said flatly that they do not believe in evolution, while other Republican contenders have said they support teaching evolution, intelligent design and creationist ideas. 'I believe in evolution, and I am shocked at some of the things that people in public life have been saying,' Mrs. Clinton said in the interview. 'I believe that our founders had faith in reason and they also had faith in God, and one of our gifts from God is the ability to reason. I am grateful that I have the ability to look at dinosaur bones and draw my own conclusions,' she added, saying, too, that antibiotic-resistant bacteria is evidence that 'evolution is going on as we speak.' ..."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/us/politics/05clinton.html?ref=politics

Craig Venter: "I am creating artificial life"...

The Guardian (UK) reports on Oct. 6th (it's later over there) that "Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth. The announcement, which is expected within weeks and could come as early as Monday at the annual meeting of his scientific institute in San Diego, California, will herald a giant leap forward in the development of designer genomes. It is certain to provoke heated debate about the ethics of creating new species and could unlock the door to new energy sources and techniques to combat global warming. Mr Venter told the Guardian he thought this landmark would be 'a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before.' ..."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/oct/06/genetics.climatechange

Acupuncture Works, but Doesn't Depend on Woo-woo 'Medians'...

Reuters UK reports on Sept. 24th that "Acupuncture provided twice as many patients relief from lower back pain as did conventional drug and exercise therapy, which German researchers said on Monday might point to a 'superplacebo' effect. In a study of 1,162 adults with chronic lower back pain, 48 percent of those in a group who underwent between 10 and 15 treatments with traditional Chinese "verum" acupuncture reported at least one-third less pain and an improvement in functional ability, with lasting benefits. That compared to 27 percent of those reporting relief in the group undergoing drug and exercise therapy. ... A third group of patients underwent so-called sham acupuncture, where needles are inserted randomly and less deeply around the painful area while avoiding the medians. Of these, 44 percent reported relief from their back pain -- more patients than conventional therapy and only slightly fewer than traditional acupuncture. ..."

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUKN2428726920070924

Meteor Strike Responsible for Ice Age Extinction?

ScienceDaily reports on Sept. 25th that "At the end of the Pleistocene era, woolly mammoths roamed North America along with a cast of fantastic creatures – giant sloths, saber-toothed cats, camels, lions, tapirs and the incredible teratorn, a condor with a 16-foot wingspan. About 12,900 years ago, these megafauna disappeared from the fossil record, as did evidence of human remains. The cause of the mass extinction and the human migration is a mystery. Now a team of scientists, including Brown University planetary geologist Peter Schultz, provides evidence that an asteroid impact likely caused the sudden climate changes that killed off the mammoths and other majestic beasts of prehistory. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the international team lays out its theory that the mass extinctions in North America were caused by one or more extraterrestrial objects – comets or meteorites – that exploded over the Earth or slammed into it, triggering catastrophic climate change. The scientists believe that evidence for these extraterrestrial impacts is hidden in a dark layer of dirt sometimes called a black mat. Found in more than 50 sites around North America, this puzzling slice of geological history is a mere three centimeters deep and filled with carbon, which lends the layer its dark color. This black mat has been found in archaeological digs in Canada and California, Arizona and South Carolina – even in a research site in Belgium. The formation of this layer dates back 12,900 years and coincides with the abrupt cooling of the Younger Dryas period, sometimes called the 'Big Freeze.' ..."

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070924172959.htm

"Expelled" Deceptions Detailed in the NY Times...

Cornelia Dean of the New York Times reports on Sept. 276th that "A few months ago, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins received an e-mail message from a producer at Rampant Films inviting him to be interviewed for a documentary called 'Crossroads.' The film, with Ben Stein, the actor, economist and freelance columnist, as its host, is described on Rampant’s Web site as an examination of the intersection of science and religion. Dr. Dawkins was an obvious choice. An eminent scientist who teaches at Oxford University in England, he is also an outspoken atheist who has repeatedly likened religious faith to a mental defect. But now, Dr. Dawkins and other scientists who agreed to be interviewed say they are surprised — and in some cases, angered — to find themselves not in 'Crossroads' but in a film with a new name and one that makes the case for intelligent design, an ideological cousin of creationism. The film, 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,' also has a different producer, Premise Media. ... If he had known the film’s premise, Dr. Dawkins said in an e-mail message, he would never have appeared in it. 'At no time was I given the slightest clue that these people were a creationist front,' he said. Eugenie C. Scott, a physical anthropologist who heads the National Center for Science Education, said she agreed to be filmed after receiving what she described as a deceptive invitation. The growing furor over the movie, visible in blogs, on Web sites and in conversations among scientists, is the latest episode in the long-running conflict between science and advocates of intelligent design, who assert that the theory of evolution has obvious scientific flaws and that students should learn that intelligent design, a creationist idea, is an alternative approach. There is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution as an explanation for the complexity and diversity of life on earth. And while individual scientists may embrace religious faith, the scientific enterprise looks to nature to answer questions about nature. As scientists at Iowa State University put it last year, supernatural explanations are 'not within the scope or abilities of science.' ..."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/science/27expelled.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

One of the movie's producers is New Mexico's own Mark Mathis: http://www.nmsr.org/nmcists.htm#mathis

Creationists Claim Fractals in the Name of God...

Answers in Genesis has a 2007 article on fractals titled "Hidden Beauty Revealed in Mathematics."  A snippet: "Believe it or not, numbers like 1, 2, 3, etc., contain a “secret code”—a hidden beauty embedded within them. Numbers have existed from the beginning of creation, yet researchers have only recently discovered the hidden shapes that the Lord placed within them. Such beauty defies a secular explanation but confirms biblical creation. ... God alone can take credit for mathematical truths, such as fractals. Such transcendent truths are a reflection of God’s thoughts. ... Evolution cannot account for fractals. These shapes have existed since creation and cannot have evolved, since numbers cannot change—the number 7 will never be anything but 7. But fractals are perfectly consistent with biblical creation. The Christian understands that there are transcendent truths because the Bible states many of them. (...Such as laws of morality) ..."

Source: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n1/fractals

Looks like the creo's are changing their tune. Just a few years ago, it was all about "Nothing ordered can ever come from a random process." But, amazingly ordered fractals can emerge from a random process. NMSR's "Digital Doodles" article "Order from Chaos: The Sierpinksi Gasket" explains how.

Source: http://www.nmsr.org/digdudle.htm

Tom Cruise Digs In Before Xenu's Return?

The Evening Standard (UK) reports on 28th September that "Hollywood star Tom Cruise is planning to build a bunker at his Colorado home to protect his family in the event of an intergalactic alien attack, according to new reports. The Mission Impossible actor, who is a dedicated follower of Scientology, is reportedly fearful that deposed galactic ruler 'Xenu' is plotting an evil revenge attack on Earth. ... A spokesperson for the actor has denied the reports, saying: 'This is completely untrue. He is not building on his property at all. ..."

Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23414203-details/Tom+Cruise+building+%27%C2%A35m+bunker+to+protect+against+alien+attack%27/article.do

Posted September 21st, 2007

Shades of the Andromeda Strain: Big Meteorite Spooks Peruvians...

The Los Angeles Times reports on Sept. 21st that "When she heard the explosion, Isabel Junquilla said she was sure war had broken out. ' ... Townsfolk in this desolate, high-plains hamlet not far from Lake Titicaca and the Bolivian border received the shock of their lives — a meteorite that struck with a thunderous bang just before noon Saturday, leaving a deep crater, an acrid smell and terrified villagers and livestock. ... The incident took on a magical-realism feel out of a Gabriel García Márquez tale as residents reported strange illnesses and revolting odors, while repeating rumors of a military attack, radiation or a celestial rain of gold. Authorities took soil and water samples from near the crater for analysis. After days of doubt, they confirmed Thursday that the object was indeed a meteorite — not volcanic pumice, space junk or some other earthly or extraterrestrial phenomenon. 'We're now convinced this was a meteor,' said Ronald Woodman, director of the Peruvian Geophysical Institute, which sent a team to the site, more than 600 miles southeast of Lima, the capital. 'This kind of phenomenon can be dangerous, if it falls on a town, or on a house or person. Fortunately, this wasn't the case.' ... Experts from Peru's nuclear-energy institute estimated the meteorite probably was no more than 1 meter in diameter when it smashed into Earth at an extremely high speed. That may have been all that remained of a much larger object that burned up while streaking through the atmosphere, experts said. ... The pungent odor, experts say, could have been caused when the crashing object fused with such elements as sulphur found in the earth. 'Now that various experts from Japan and other countries have assured us there is nothing bad, we have decided this belongs to us,' said Benito Mosaja Pari, 56, who called himself the village lieutenant governor. 'We're going to dig it out. The scientists tell us this was part of a world that fell apart. It has some value. And now it's ours.' ..."

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003894935_meteor21.html

Velociraptors had Feathers...

Ker Than of LiveScience.com reports on Sept. 20th that "Tiny bumps on the fossilized arm bone of a Velociraptor specimen show that the carnivorous dinosaur—made infamous in the movie "Jurassic Park"—had feathers. The finding, detailed in the Sept. 21 issue of the journal Science, confirms what scientists have long suspected about the creature as fossils of some of its close relatives bear imprints of feathers. The researchers believe the bumps on the arm bone are remnants of quill knobs, places where the quills of secondary feathers—important for flight in many modern birds—were anchored to the bone. 'Finding quill knobs on Velociraptor means that it definitely had feathers,' said study team member Alan Turner, a paleontology graduate student at the American Museum of Natural History and at Columbia University in New York. 'This is something we'd long suspected, but no one had been able to prove.' ..."

Source: http://www.livescience.com/animals/070920_velociraptor_feathers.html

Creationists Make Nice, Settle Suit..

The Cincinatti Post reports on Sept. 21st that "Two leading creationism advocates, including Boone County's Answers in Genesis, have decided to settle their differences like Christians. Rather than fight in court, last month the board of Answers in Genesis and Creation Ministries International met in Hawaii and reached a tentative agreement to settle the lawsuit they're parties to. 'We feel very, very satisfied about it,' CMI Managing Director Carl Wieland said. 'We were pleased to end it this way, and glad to have had the chance to have face-to-face communication.' The two organizations hope to have a final, written agreement by mid-October, Wieland said. ..."

Source: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070921/NEWS01/709210348

"Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" Movie has a New Mexican Connection...

The new ID movie "Expelled" has a New Mexico connection. In a Sept. 19th article from the Baylor Lariat on new interviews there for the movie "Expelled:No Intelligence Allowed" starring Ben Stein, one Rampant Films co-producer Mark Mathis, is mentioned: "Troubled by the Baylor administration's removal of an intelligent design Web site from a Baylor server, a producer from the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is planning a Thursday trip to campus in hopes of meeting with President John Lilley. Distinguished professor Dr. Robert Marks' personal research Web site on evolutionary informatics was taken down from a Baylor server last month, and producers of Expelled want to speak to Lilley about it. 'We are disturbed with what happened with Dr. Marks,' executive producer Walt Ruloff said. 'He was working on some really vital research.' Even though he was not granted an official meeting with Lilley, associate producer Mark Mathis has decided to bring a film crew on campus anyway. ..."

Source: http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46951

Pharyngula's PZ Myers has discussed how Mathis interviewed him for "Expelled" under false pretenses:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/08/im_gonna_be_a_movie_star.php

Here's a Trib article on the "Da Vinci Code" ties Albuquerque's Mark Mathis to a role in the film "Astronaut Farmer" (it's in the comments, all the way to the end):

http://blogs.abqtrib.com/albq/film/2006/05/code_words.html

At the web site of Rampant Fims, one can click on "Inside Rampant", then on "Mark Mathis", and read that Rampant's (and Expelled's) Mark Mathis is the SAME person that starred in "Astronaut Farmer" as an ABC news reporter.

http://rampantfilms.com/rampantfilms.swf

On August 9th, 2005, before KAGM 106.3 FM dumped Larry Ahrens and its Talk format, Intelligent Design was the subject of the KAGM Anderson/Mathis morning show. Here's Dianne Anderson (now morning anchor at KRQE TV13) from that program: "I believe there's no way we could have been created without a *highly* intelligent God up there creating this universe." On the same show, Mark Mathis said "I don't understand why intelligent design can't be taught in schools alongside of evolution."

Related Links:

http://www.nmsr.org/nmcists.htm#mathis

Posted September 14th, 2007

Could Facial Features Reveal Genetic Disorders?

The Daily Mail (UK) reports on Sept. 10th that "It is a branch of science that has long since fallen out of favour. But now the once-popular idea that you can read a person's character from their face could be making a medical comeback. In Victorian times, the science of phrenology - in which the bumps on the head were 'read' to predict personalities - was taken seriously. The technique was discredited in the 20th century, but now a computer system has been developed which will allow doctors to diagnose genetic disorders by looking at a child's face. It analyses the shape of the eyes, nose, mouth and ears to pinpoint the genetic condition a child might be suffering from. Its creator, Professor Peter Hammond, of Great Ormond Street Hospital, believes it could eventually lead to quicker diagnosis of hundreds of genetic disorders. ... Professor Hammond believes the programme could speed up diagnosis, saving both parents and children from the trauma of test after test. In all, there are around 700 genetic disorders that leave their mark on the face. Examples include Williams and Smith-Magenis syndromes. ..."

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=480952&in_page_id=1774&in_a_source=

No Potions Lessons - but, Owner of Hogwarts Castle to Start Creationism Classes?

The Times Online (UK) reports on Sept. 9th that "His home has already doubled as Hogwarts school of witchcraft in the Harry Potter films. Now the Duke of Northumberland, owner of Alnwick Castle, is to open a school of his own after signing up as a sponsor of the government’s city academy programme. ... The proposed academy in the Hirst district of Ashington, while open to pupils regardless of faith, will have a strong Christian ethos. Nicholson said she hoped it would 'bring honour to God and to the whole community'. ... The strongly Christian tinge to some city academies in the northeast has already proved controversial. The Emmanuel Schools foundation, started by Sir Peter Vardy, the car sales tycoon, has been accused at its academy in Gateshead of teaching pupils creationism - a religious-based theory of how the world came into being - on an equal footing with Darwinism. Vardy denies this. ..."

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2414772.ece

Litigious Larry Caldwell Loses...

The Roseville (CA) Press-Tribune reports on Sept. 13th that "A proponent of controversial supplemental science materials in public schools has lost his legal battle against the Roseville Joint Union High School District. U.S. District Court Judge Frank Damrell Jr. last week granted the district's motion for summary judgment against the plaintiff, Granite Bay resident Larry Caldwell, who sought to introduce material into the district's science curriculum offering alternatives to Darwin's theory of evolution. ... in his ruling, Damrell stressed that, 'Despite numerous arguments by both parties regarding the content of plaintiff Larry Caldwell's proposals, this case is not about how biology, including discussions of evolutionary theory, can or should be taught in public schools. Rather, this case is about whether Larry Caldwell was denied access to speak in various fora or participate in certain processes because of his actual or perceived religious beliefs.' ..."

Source: http://www.thepresstribune.com/articles/2007/09/12/news/breaking_news/01caldwell.txt

Permian Prints Get Protection... (but, no Human Prints from before the Dinosaurs...)

Rene Romo of the Albuquerque Journal reports on Sept. 13th that "What experts call a world-class repository of pre-dinosaur era fossil tracks near here will get more protection as the result of a federal decision on nearby mining. A Bureau of Land Management decision not to renew a mining permit has closed a rock quarry on the southern edge of the Robledo Mountains. 'Our sort of new focus is on trackways protection and trying to reclaim this mine site so the trackways are preserved,' said Tim Sanders, assistant manager for the BLM's Las Cruces district. Most of the fossils rest undisturbed under thousands of acres in the Robledos area, but fossils within 50 acres of the rock quarry have been damaged over the years. Jerry MacDonald of Las Cruces, an amateur paleontologist who discovered the Paleozoic-era trackways in 1987, welcomed news of the closure. 'They finally did it,' MacDonald said. 'What it does is it gets rid of the mixed message that was, by intent or not, being sent by the BLM— the fact that you could have the world's most important Paleozoic track sites and then have a working quarry breaking up trackway material for people's walls and floors. It just didn't make sense.' The BLM allowed the six-month permit held by Raul Villa to expire Aug. 24, Sanders said. ..."

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/593996nm09-13-07.htm (subscription)

Not everyone is happy, including Raul Villa. In addition, the folks behind 'PaleozoicTrackways.org' have been fuming about legislation to protect the trackways for years, dismissing the tracks as unimportant and insignificant: "The trackways were not from big dinosaurs. they are typically hard to see, tiny tracks. Do these micro tracks justify a national monument?"

Source: http://www.paleozoictrackways.org

See also http://www.paleozoictrackways.org/LegislativeHistory.htm

But perhaps the most interesting backstory about these tracks come from creationists, who have falsely been claiming that paleontologist and track expert Jerry MacDonald actually found a human footprint in New Mexico's Permian strata. Here's an example, from the folks at 'AncientHebrew.Org': "The Zapata Track, Robledos Mountains, New Mexico, 248 to 290 million years ago. The Discovery: In 1987 paleontologist Jerry MacDonald discovered a number of fossilized tracks from many different species of animals and birds in a Permian strata. Among the tracks were prints of a human foot. ..."

Source: http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/ancientman/02_zapata.html

The website "Scientific Evidence for Creation" (www.bible.ca)  has a web page with glossy photographs of creationist Don Patton with the "Zapata Track":

http://www.bible.ca/tracks/new-mexico-problematica-track.htm

However, track expert Glen Kuban has risen to defend MacDonald's honor on his 'Zapata Track' page: "On the Bible.ca website, next to an image of Don Patton with the track in question, the accompanying paragraph states that among the tracks found in New Mexico by Jerry MacDonald were problematic ones among which 'we' (presumably Patton and associates) found 'even more obvious problematica.' This gives the false impressions that MacDonald had found and described similar human-like tracks. I have worked with MacDonald, and can testify that this is entirely untrue. His track assessments are also clear from his own writings (MacDonald, 1994). The Permian problematica he described consisted not of human tracks, but various large amphibian and mammal-like reptile tracks. ... The Zapata track has not been demonstrated to be a real footprint, nor has any evidence been provided that the rock came from a Permian rock formation. Without more substantial evidence regarding its origin, the print is a curiosity at best, not reliable anti-evolutionary evidence. ..."

Source: http://paleo.cc/paluxy/zapata.htm

And, while the folks at www.bible.ca certainly don't like evolutionists, they are sputtering mad about many other "False Doctrines," including Catholicism, Mormonism, Islam, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and more.

Source: http://www.bible.ca/false.htm

Posted September 7th, 2007

Nepal Airlines: Aircraft Maintenance by Animal Sacrifice...

Reuters reports on Sept. 5th that "Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday. Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due the problem. The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft Sunday at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said. 'The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights,' said Raju K.C., a senior airline official, without explaining what the problem had been. ..."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC47086020070905

Remind me not to fly Nepal Airlines.

Earth's Chicxulub and Moon's Tycho Craters... Cousins?

ScienceMode reports on Sept. 5th that "The impactor believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs and other life forms on Earth some 65 million years ago has been traced back to a breakup event in the main asteroid belt. A joint U.S.-Czech team from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Charles University in Prague suggests that the parent object of asteroid (298) Baptistina disrupted when it was hit by another large asteroid, creating numerous large fragments that would later create the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan Peninsula as well as the prominent Tycho crater found on the Moon. ..."

Source: http://sciencemode.com/2007/09/05/dinosaurs-killer-traced-back-to-breakup-in-asteroid-belt-65-million-years-ago/

Debunkers Beware - Even Describing Myths Reinforces Them...

The Washington Post reports on Sept. 4th that "The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a flier to combat myths about the flu vaccine. It recited various commonly held views and labeled them either 'true' or 'false.' Among those identified as false were statements such as 'The side effects are worse than the flu' and 'Only older people need flu vaccine.' When University of Michigan social psychologist Norbert Schwarz had volunteers read the CDC flier, however, he found that within 30 minutes, older people misremembered 28 percent of the false statements as true. Three days later, they remembered 40 percent of the myths as factual. Younger people did better at first, but three days later they made as many errors as older people did after 30 minutes. Most troubling was that people of all ages now felt that the source of their false beliefs was the respected CDC. The psychological insights yielded by the research, which has been confirmed in a number of peer-reviewed laboratory experiments, have broad implications for public policy. The conventional response to myths and urban legends is to counter bad information with accurate information. But the new psychological studies show that denials and clarifications, for all their intuitive appeal, can paradoxically contribute to the resiliency of popular myths. ..."

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090300933.html

Kids: Smarter than your Average Chimp...

Will Dunham of Australia's news.com reports on Sept. 7th that "In another case of researchers reporting the bleeding obvious, European scientists have found that children are smarter than chimpanzees. A unique study comparing the abilities of human toddlers to chimpanzees and orang-utans found that two-year-old children have social learning skills superior to the apes, the researchers said. In one social learning test, a researcher showed the children and apes how to pop open a plastic tube to get food or a toy contained inside. The children observed and imitated the solution. Chimpanzees and orang-utans, however, tried to smash open the tube or yank out the contents with their teeth. ..."

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22377952-13762,00.html

Bee Still, My Heart - New Clues to Colony Collapse...

Scientific American reports on Sept. 7th that "The mystery illness that has bedeviled U.S. beekeepers since 2006 may stem from a bee virus that apparently spread to the U.S. from Australia three years ago, according to a new study that marks the first big break in the puzzling case of the disappearing bees. Researchers performed a sophisticated genetic comparison of healthy and diseased U.S. colonies that revealed the presence of Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), an obscure but lethal bee bug, in almost all beekeeping operations affected by 'colony collapse disorder' (CCD), but in only a single healthy one they examined. ..."

Source: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=E0E0362F-E7F2-99DF-3F4F781839D6C879&chanID=sa003

Posted August 31st, 2007

Return of the Peppered Moth - Still Evolving...

The Independent (UK) reports on Aug. 25th that "For more than a century it has been cited as the quintessential example of Darwinism in action. It was the story of the peppered moth and how its two forms had struggled for supremacy in the polluted woodlands of industrial Britain. ... Critics suggested that the key experiments on the peppered moth in the 1950s were flawed. Some went as far as to suggest the research was fraudulent, with the implication that the school textbooks were feeding children a lie. Creationists smelt blood. The story of the peppered moth became a story of how Darwinism itself was flawed - with its best known example being based on fiddled data. ... Now a Cambridge professor has repeated the key predation experiments with the peppered moth, only this time he has taken into account the criticisms and apparent flaws in the original research conducted 50 years ago. Michael Majerus, a professor of genetics at Cambridge University, has spent the past seven years collecting data from a series of experiments he has carried out in his own rambling back garden. ... n a seminal description of his results to a scientific conference this week in Sweden, Professor Majerus gave a resounding vote of confidence in the peppered month story. He found unequivocal evidence that birds were indeed responsible for the lower numbers of the black carbonaria forms of the moth. It was a complete vindication of the peppered month story, he told the meeting. ... Professor Majerus compiled enough visual sightings of birds eating peppered moths in his garden over the seven years to show that the black form was significantly more likely to be eaten than the peppered. A statistical analysis of the results revealed a clear example of Darwinian natural selection in action. 'The peppered moth story is easy to understand, because it involves things that we are familiar with: vision and predation and birds and moths and pollution and camouflage and lunch and death,' he said. 'That is why the anti-evolution lobby attacks the peppered moth story. They are frightened that too many people will be able to understand.' ..."

Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2893896.ece

Guilty Husband? - Give Her a 7,000-Carat Diamond...

The BBC reports on Aug. 28th that "A small South African mining company has claimed to have discovered the world's biggest-ever diamond. A shareholder in the unnamed mine told the BBC the stone had been unearthed at their operation in the north-west province on Monday afternoon. He said the giant gem was about 7,000 carats - which would be twice the size of the Cullinan Diamond, centre-piece of the British crown jewels. But industry experts are sceptical about the unconfirmed claim. ..."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6966540.stm

Speaking of Diamonds, a Gift: New Insights on Primordial Earth...

THe BBC also reported on Aug. 23rd that "Tiny diamonds found in Australia suggest the early Earth was not a hellish world for as long as previously supposed, the journal Nature reports. The miniature gems, from Jack Hills in the west of the country, are encased in zircon crystals that have been dated up to 4.25 billion years ago. Scientists say their analysis of the diamonds suggests the planet had cooled sufficiently by then to form a crust. This shell may even have been moving and exchanging material with the deep. In other words, the diamonds could be the earliest evidence for plate tectonics, the theory used today to explain how the continents drift across the surface of the globe and rocks are recycled into the interior. ..."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6959224.stm

NMFC Not Off the Hook...

Even though the ex-chair of the New Mexico Family Council (NMFC), Kevin Jackson, was fired by the organization, and later had to resign as Mayor of Rio Rancho because of numerous troubled financial dealings, NMFC is not in the clear. The Albuquerque Tribune reports on Aug. 24th that "The Albuquerque nonprofit abstinence program under investigation for its handling of federal grant money during the tenure of former executive director Kevin Jackson faces an uncertain future. Best Choice, which urges teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage, is waiting on word from four federal entities, Executive Director Tony Oliva says. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is considering whether to award the program a new grant for the next five years. The Democratically controlled Congress is considering whether to cut or increase funding for the abstinence education program. It is almost certain to insist on strong oversight. Meanwhile, the Health and Human Services inspector general and the FBI are investigating the financial practices of Jackson, Oliva's predecessor and the former mayor of Rio Rancho. ..."

Source: http://abqtrib.com/news/2007/aug/24/albuquerque-nonprofit-abstinence-program-under-inv/

More dirt on Kevin Jackson: http://www.nmsr.org/whatsnew.htm#jackson

The Spider That Ate Texas...

The Star-Telegram (TX) reports on Aug. 29th that "If you hate creepy-crawlies, you might want to avoid Lake Tawakoni State Park where a 200-yard stretch along a nature trail has been blanketed by a sprawling spider web that has engulfed seven large trees, dozens of bushes and even the weedy ground. But if you hate mosquitoes, you might just love this bizarre web. 'At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland,' said park superintendent Donna Garde. 'Now it's filled with so many mosquitoes that it's turned a little brown. There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs.' There have been heated Internet discussions among experts that the webs were constructed by social cobweb spiders, which work together, or perhaps a mass dispersal where the arachnids spin webs to spread out from one other. Either way, it's generating a lot of bug buzz. ..."

Source: http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/217700.html

Creepy Video! http://sb1.thefifthnetwork.com/VCMS/Player.aspx?id=cd619911-39cf-41ac-8462-ad0078a31011&UsePlayList=true&videoGUID=C4729F6C-4211-4681-A365-A61498524F77&channelId=ID0EXF

More Fun: http://membracid.wordpress.com/2007/08/30/the-spiders-that-ate-texas/

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho - a Creationist? I'm Shocked, SHOCKED, I say...

My Aug. 30th blog on The Panda's Thumb has the nitty-gritty details and links. It turns out that Senator Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has been up to more than just allegedly soliciting men in adjacent bathroom stalls. Courtesy of Jim Fisher’s January 9, 2006 article in the Lewiston Morning Tribune: "Then there’s U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, who as a House member 16 years ago co-sponsored a constitutional amendment, the 'Community Life Amendment,' to authorize teaching 'the creation of the earth as accepted in Judeo-Christian tradition.' ..."

Source: http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2007/08/and_yet_another.html

Posted August 17th, 2007

NASA Flubs on "Hottest Year"...

The Star (Toronto, CA) reports on Aug. 14th that "In the United States, the calendar year 1998 ranked as the hottest of them all – until someone checked the math. After a Toronto skeptic tipped NASA this month to one flaw in its climate calculations, the U.S. agency ordered a full data review. Days later, it put out a revised list of all-time hottest years. The Dust Bowl year of 1934 now ranks as hottest ever in the U.S. – not 1998. More significantly, the agency reduced the mean U.S. "temperature anomalies" for the years 2000 to 2006 by 0.15 degrees Celsius. ..."

Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/246027

Apply Talc to Relieve Earthquake Stress...

Nature reports on Aug. 15th that "Talc, the balm that stops chafing for babies' bottoms, seems also to soften the rubbing along some faults within the Earth. Researchers drilling deep into the San Andreas fault in California report in today's Nature1 the presence of talc inside a relatively sedate section of the famous fault. This seems to explain why this region of the fault typically creeps slowly to relieve stress, rather than experiencing the abrupt slips that cause large earthquakes. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070813/full/070813-6.html

Have German Physicists gone FTL?

The Telegraph (UK) reported on Aug. 16th that "A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light - an achievement that would undermine our entire understanding of space and time. According to Einstein's special theory of relativity, it would require an infinite amount of energy to propel an object at more than 186,000 miles per second. However, Dr Gunter Nimtz and Dr Alfons Stahlhofen, of the University of Koblenz, say they may have breached a key tenet of that theory. The pair say they have conducted an experiment in which microwave photons - energetic packets of light - travelled 'instantaneously' between a pair of prisms that had been moved up to 3ft apart. ..."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/08/16/scispeed116.xml

Scottish Physicists:  "Wingardium Leviosa"???

The Telegraph (UK) reports on Aug. 8th that "Levitation has been elevated from being pure science fiction to science fact, according to a study reported today by physicists. In earlier work the same team of theoretical physicists showed that invisibility cloaks are feasible. Now, in another report that sounds like it comes out of the pages of a Harry Potter book, the University of St Andrews team has created an 'incredible levitation effects’ by engineering the force of nature which normally causes objects to stick together. Professor Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin, from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, have worked out a way of reversing this pheneomenon, known as the Casimir force, so that it repels instead of attracts. Their discovery could ultimately lead to frictionless micro-machines with moving parts that levitate But they say that, in principle at least, the same effect could be used to levitate bigger objects too, even a person. ..."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/06/nlevitate106.xml

Explore Evolution: The Skeptic's Companion...

The Discovery Institute's "Usual Suspects" have churned out yet another boilerplate assault on evolution. They hope to have this book in public schools by the end of the year. Check out the "Explore Evolution" website...

Source: http://www.exploreevolution.com/

And then check out Wesley Elsberry's critique of EE, a work in progress:

Source: http://www.antievolution.org/cs/ee_companion (click on "Annotations" to go to the list of individual critiques.)

Explore Evolution: Is It Hopelessly Obsolete?

While the authors of Explore Evolution go around saying things like "An experience-based analysis of the causal powers of various explanatory hypotheses suggests purposive or intelligent design as a causally adequate--and perhaps the most causally adequate--explanation for the origin of the complex specified information ..." (Stephen Meyer), real scientists are using evolution and evolutionary-inspired methods to develop radical new enzymes with complex specified functions. Nature reports on June 19th that "Methods have been developed for modifying and improving existing enzymes through screening, selection and directed evolution. However, the design and evolution of truly novel enzymes has relied on extensive knowledge of the mechanism of the reaction. Here we show that genuinely new enzymatic activities can be created de novo without the need for prior mechanistic information by selection from a naive protein library of very high diversity, with product formation as the sole selection criterion. ... We now describe the isolation of novel RNA ligases from a library that is based on a zinc finger scaffold, followed by in vitro directed evolution to further optimize these enzymes. The resulting ligases exhibit multiple turnover with rate enhancements of more than two-million-fold. ..."

Source: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7155/abs/nature06032.html

Church calls for "Imprecatory Prayer" against Church-State Separation Group...

Christian Newswire reports on Aug. 14th that Pastor Wiley Drake is calling for prayer to bring God's Wrath down upon Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has been calling for investigations into the church's illegal forays into blatant political activism. Drake demands "In light of the recent attack from the enemies of God I ask the children of God to go into action with Imprecatory Prayer. Especially against Americans United for Separation of Church and State. ... Now that all efforts have been exhausted, we must begin our Imprecatory Prayer, at the key points of the parliamentary role in the earth where we live. ... Let us join Paul and declare anathema upon anyone 'who loves not the Lord Jesus.' I Cor 16:22 ...."

Source: http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/44143894.html

Americans United has issued a press release in response, saying "Americans United for Separation of Church and State today denounced the tactics of a political pastor in California who has urged followers to pray for the demise of staff members of the religious liberty watchdog group. Yesterday, Americans United asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, Calif., for a potential violation of federal tax law barring electioneering by non-profit groups. Dr. Wiley S. Drake, pastor of the church, issued a press release on church letterhead endorsing Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and subsequently offered the endorsement on a church-affiliated radio show. Instead of responding to Americans United’s concern of illegal activity, Drake issued yesterday afternoon a plea to his supporters to join in 'imprecatory prayers' (curses) every morning for Americans United and its staff. ..."

Source: http://www.au.org/site