VIEW HEADLINES ONLY
Education

Teachers Getting Reluctant to Teach Evolution
February 1, 2005
Cornelia Dean in the New York Times worries that, to stay out of trouble, more and more biology teachers are avoiding the discussion of evolution. Dean quotes someone who claims “the practice of avoiding the topic was widespread, particularly in districts where many people adhere to fundamentalist faiths.”  But why would teachers fear discussing it […]
CONTINUE READING
Education

Editorials Lukewarm to ID, but Not as Hot to Darwin
January 31, 2005
A subtle shift seems to be taking place in media coverage of intelligent-design controversies in school boards across the country.  Darwinists used to be the unchallenged kings of the hill.  Alternatives, whether creationism or intelligent design, were disqualified before they reached the starting gate.  It also used to be “open season” on anti-Darwinists.  No vituperative […]
CONTINUE READING
Cell Biology

Your Motors Are Turbo-Charged
January 30, 2005
Think how fast 6000 rpm is.  It would redline on most cars.  Yet you have motors in your body that make that speed look like slow-mo.     The Japanese have taken great interest in the cellular machine ATP synthase since its rotary operation was discovered in 1996 (see 12/22/2003 entry).  Maybe it’s because they […]
CONTINUE READING
Origin of Life

Astrobiology: 0 Steps Forward, 3 Steps Back
January 28, 2005
Astrobiology, the science in search of a subject, has major hurdles to overcome in its quest to explain everything from hydrogen to high technology.  Despite being one of the most active interdisciplinary research projects around the world (see 01/07/2005 entry), a leading researcher this week conceded that several promising leads of the past are now […]
CONTINUE READING
Fossils

Bat Theory Strikes Out
January 28, 2005
An international team of biologists set out to write the family history of bats, a story that is “largely unknown,” they admitted in Science.1  They didn’t have much to go on.  “The fossil record is impoverished,” their research confirmed, so they tried to piece together a phylogenetic story by combining all that is known about […]
CONTINUE READING
Politics and Ethics

Medical Professionals Lambaste the Nature of Ethics
January 27, 2005
Nature’s editorial on religion and ethics last month (see 12/09/2004 entry) motivated two medical professionals to write in and give the journal a piece of their mind.1  Apparently indignant over the editorial’s patronizing view of religion and its simplistic view of ethics, they made it clear that the scientific establishment is no judge of truth […]
CONTINUE READING
Uncategorized

Venus Flytrap Is Snappy-Fast
January 27, 2005
One tenth of a second is all the time the fly gets.  The traps of the Venus flytrap, an insectivorous plant Charles Darwin called “one of the most wonderful in the world,” somehow responds to stimuli quickly without muscles.  The entire mechanism is still largely unknown.  A team of French, UK and American scientists set […]
CONTINUE READING
Bible and Theology

Shroud of Turin Debate Reopens
January 26, 2005
The shroud was from the 13th century, concluded earlier researchers, using carbon 14 dating methods.  Now, other experts are claiming the methods were flawed, because the researchers dated a mended patch made by medieval monks.  The BBC News reports a new claim that it is older than thought: between 1300 and 3000 years old.  National […]
CONTINUE READING
Health

Trail + Trail Mix = Health Mix
January 26, 2005
Peanuts, a staple ingredient in trail mix, are “rich in good chemicals,” reports the BBC News.  They have as many antioxidants as fruits, are high in protein and “good” monounsaturated fat.  So take some along and go on the trail, because, according to Southwestern Medical Center, “Exercise helps reduce symptoms of depression,” and EurekAlert reminds […]
CONTINUE READING
Mammals

Hippo to Whale: Missing Chain
January 26, 2005
Despite claims to the contrary,2 whale and hippo evolution are poorly understood.  That’s the gist of a paper in PNAS this week1 that tries to connect the dots between hippopotami (artiodactyls) and whales (cetaceans) and other groups of mammals.  There’s lots of missing dots:  The origin of late Neogene Hippopotamidae (Artiodactyla) involves one of the […]
CONTINUE READING
Education

Newspaper Editorials Lead Revolt Against King Charles
January 24, 2005
Some columnists and editorial writers are gaining boldness to attack the Darwin-only rule in science education.  Some examples: Senator Rick Santorum (R., Pennsylvania) in The Morning Call advocated a balanced approach to teaching evolution. Brian Fahling in The Union Leader took up the charge to defend Georgia’s “critical thinking” stickers (see 01/13/2005 entry). Neal McCluskey, […]
CONTINUE READING
Uncategorized

Spinach Leaf: “One of Nature’s supreme examples of nanoscale engineering”
January 24, 2005
Under the peaceful summer sun, plants deal with a life-or-death situation: too much sun.  Those of us with legs can take cover, but a poor spinach plant out in the furrow must deal with the excess energy or die.  Since it usually doesn’t die, what’s its secret?  A process called photosynthetic feedback de-excitation quenching, if […]
CONTINUE READING
Uncategorized

How To Make Instant Petrified Wood
January 24, 2005
“Want to petrify wood without waiting a few million years?  Try this,” EurekAlert teases.  The recipe: pick up some pine or poplar wood chips from your local lumber store, soak them in an acid bath for two days, then soak them in silica solution for two more.  Air dry, then put into argon-filled furnace at […]
CONTINUE READING
Solar System

More Titan Results Announced
January 21, 2005
A week after the successful landing on Titan, ESA held its second main press conference on the findings.  The scientists were clearly upbeat about the results.  The probe transmitted data for 72 minutes from the surface after its 2.5 hour descent through the atmosphere.  The mesas, observed in stereo, are made of water ice about […]
CONTINUE READING
Uncategorized

Ribosome Unties the Messenger-RNA Gordian Knot
January 19, 2005
Cells needing to translate their DNA into proteins have a problem.  The messenger RNAs, the molecules that carry the genetic code from the nucleus to the translating machine called the ribosome, get tied up in knots.  How does the ribosome untie them before they can begin translating?  Takyar et al., writing in Cell,1 explored this […]
CONTINUE READING
Posts by Date
[archives type="yearly"]