A Natural Selection of Information

Biology and Bull@!$%#

Seeded on Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:37 PM EST (richarddawkins.net)

All books supporting religion are alike. All books attacking it do so in their own way (well, maybe not, but doesn't this start us off on a nice Tolstoyan note?).

science, evolution, christianity, islam, faith, richard-dawkins, atheism, sam-harris, daniel-dennet, francis-collins

The war within Islam. - By Christopher Hitchens

Seeded on Wed Feb 21, 2007 10:27 AM EST (Slate)

The growing danger of the Sunni-Shiite rivalry.

politics, islam, middle-east, sunni, shia, iraq, christopher-hitchens, christianity, al-qaida

A deadly certitude by Steven Weinberg

Seeded on Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:48 PM EST (The Times)

Of all the scientific discoveries that have disturbed the religious mind, none has had the impact of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. No advance of physics or even cosmology has produced such a shock.

religion, richard-dawkins, steven-weinberg, islam, christianity, god, atheism, old-testament, the-god-delusion, evolution

Five Reasons Why Battlestar Galactica Will Survive

Seeded on Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:02 PM EST (buddytv.com)

I hope he is right because it is the best show on television right now.

entertainment, battlestar-galactica, ratings, sci-fi-channel, dvd-sales

Large size crucial for Amazon forest reserves

Seeded on Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:36 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

An international research team has discovered that the size of Amazon forest reserves is yet more important than previously thought.

science, rain-forest, species, extinction, biodiversity, amazon, forest

Scientists find potential 'off-switch' for HIV virus

Seeded on Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:34 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

While there is no cure for lingering viral infections such as HIV and herpes, a recent study at Princeton University suggests it may be possible to deactivate such viruses indefinitely with the flick of a genetic switch.

science, hiv, aids, gene, latent-phase, virus, infection, national-institutes

Spread Of Modern Humans Occurred Later Than Previously Thought

Seeded on Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:33 PM EST (-)

The spread of modern humans out of Africa occurred 40,000 to 50,000 years later than previously thought, according to researchers including one Texas A&M University anthropologist.

science, evolution, out-of-africa, humans, anthropology

Diamonds from outer space

Seeded on Tue Jan 9, 2007 6:57 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

Geologists discover origin of Earth's mysterious black diamonds

science, black-diamonds, national-science-foundation, outer-space, earth, geology

Placing Eye Implants in Cats to Help Humans See

Seeded on Tue Jan 9, 2007 6:56 PM EST (munews.missouri.edu)

Kristina Narfstrom, a University of Missouri-Columbia veterinary ophthalmologist, has been working with a microchip implant to help blind animals "see."

science, eye-implants, cats, humans, microchip, star-trek, retinitis-pigmentosa

Astronomers discover an enormous halo of red giant stars around Andromeda

Seeded on Sun Jan 7, 2007 8:12 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

Astronomers have found an enormous halo of stars bound to the Andromeda galaxy and extending far beyond the swirling disk seen in images of the famous galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbor.

science, american-astronomical-society, milky-way, astronomy, andromeda, red-giant-stars, galaxy

A bumpy shift from ice house to greenhouse

Seeded on Thu Jan 4, 2007 8:53 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

The transition from an ice age to an ice-free planet 300 million years ago was highly unstable, marked by dips and rises in carbon dioxide, extreme swings in climate and drastic effects on tropical vegetation, according to a study published in the journal Science Jan. 5.

science, global-warming, climate-change, greenhouse, ice-age, carbon-dioxide, permian, ice-sheets

How fish species suffer as a result of warmer waters

Seeded on Thu Jan 4, 2007 8:50 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

Ongoing global climate change causes changes in the species composition of marine ecosystems, especially in shallow coastal oceans

science, global-warming, climate-change, fish-species, water, extinction, biodiversity, environment

Probe of acid mine drainage turns up unsuspected virus-sized Archaea

Seeded on Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:45 PM EST (spaceref.com)

Imagine her surprise, then, when research scientist Brett Baker discovered three new microbes living amidst the bacteria she thought she knew well.

science, joint-genome-institute, virus, bacteria, archaea, genome, shotgun-probe, vinesci, microbes

Gene chip discovery may lead to individualized treatment for 5 hereditary liver diseases

Seeded on Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:55 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have developed the first gene chip to use in the early diagnosis of at least five hereditary liver diseases, to detect genetic causes of jaundice in children and adults, and potentially to lead to personalized treatment …

science, gene-chip, hereditary-disease, liver, jaundice, children

Why Women Aren't Funny

Seeded on Wed Dec 20, 2006 3:00 PM EST (The Latest From VanityFair.com)

What makes the female so much deadlier than the male? With assists from Fran Lebowitz, Nora Ephron, and a recent Stanford-medical-school study, the author investigates the reasons for the humor gap.

entertainment, culture, women, men, humor, funny, stanford-university-school, christopher-hitchens, sex, reproduction

Team Records Rare Glimpses of Light from Neutrons

Seeded on Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:47 PM EST (nist.gov)

Researchers from the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and four universities have made the first experimental observation of rare particles of light emitted during the radioactive decay of the neutron, a key building block of matter.

science, physics, neutrons, light, stars, particles, standard-model

Universe's oldest objects emerge from the background

Seeded on Tue Dec 19, 2006 11:26 AM EST (EurekAlert!)

Faint cosmic glow appears to be remnant radiation from first stars or black holes born in our universe

science, universe, cosmology, radiation, energy, stars, astronomy, space

Intelligent design: The God Lab

Seeded on Fri Dec 15, 2006 11:17 PM EST (New Scientist)

I am standing on the ground floor of an office building in Redmond, Washington, the Seattle suburb best known as home town to Microsoft.

science, discovery-institutes, biologic-institute, new-scientist, evolution, intelligent-design, seattle, god, naturalists

From hot springs to rice farms, scientists reveal new insights into the secret lives of archaea

Seeded on Fri Dec 8, 2006 1:36 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

In the world of microbes, as in politics, some groups just can't seem to shake the label ''extremist.'' So it is with archaea (ar-KEY-uh), a collection of bacteria-like microorganisms whose unique genetics and chemical structure separate them from all other living things.

science, dead-sea, terrestrial-microbiology, american-geophysical-union, archaea, hot-springs, extremophiles, climate-change, life, microbes

NYU chemists create 'nanorobotic' arm to operate within DNA sequence

Seeded on Thu Dec 7, 2006 8:32 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

New York University chemistry professor Nadrian C. Seeman and his graduate student Baoquan Ding have developed a DNA cassette through which a nanomechanical device can be inserted and function within a DNA array, allowing for the motion of a nanorobotic arm.

science, dna-array, nanotechnology, nanorobotic-arm, chemistry

Ancient ape ruled out of man's ancestral line

Seeded on Thu Dec 7, 2006 8:29 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

Ancient remains, once thought to be a key link in the evolution of mankind, have now been shown to be 400,000 years too young to be a part of man's family tree.

science, evolution, fossils, ape, human, ancestor

Parkinson's approach with stem cells a promising first step

Seeded on Fri Dec 1, 2006 2:05 PM EST (EurekAlert!)

Brain cells derived from human embryonic stem cells improved the condition of rats with Parkinson's-like symptoms dramatically, but the treatment caused a significant problem – the appearance of brain tumors – that scientists are now working to solve.

science, vinesci, embryonic-stem-cells, tumors, parkinsons-disease, treatment

Time to Stand Up by Richard Dawkins

Seeded on Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:55 PM EST (ffrf.org)

To blame Islam for what happened in New York is like blaming Christianity for the troubles in Northern Ireland!" Yes. Precisely. It is time to stop pussyfooting around. Time to get angry. And not only with Islam.

religion, islam, christianity, atheism, september-11, middle-east, judiasm, muslims, richard-dawkins, god

Genetic breakthrough that reveals the differences between humans

Seeded on Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:33 PM EST (Independent.co.uk)

Scientists have discovered a dramatic variation in the genetic make-up of humans that could lead to a fundamental reappraisal of what causes incurable diseases and could provide a greater understanding of mankind.

science, genome, disease, vinesci, humans

Icelandic volcano caused historic famine in Egypt

Seeded on Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:34 AM EST (EurekAlert!)

An environmental drama played out on the world stage in the late 18th century when a volcano killed 9,000 Icelanders and brought a famine to Egypt that reduced the population of the Nile valley by a sixth.

science, environment, volcano, egypt, nile-river, iceland, climate-change, history

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Cheers, mate.

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