Dear America, I haven’t written to you in a while, and for that I am very sorry. The last time we spoke was in March, when I was in Washington D.C. There has been no stop to the work I’ve been doing here on the West Coast since then, and […]
Politics
277 posts
According to the BBC, “scientists in the UK claim to have developed the first human nerve cells from human stem cells”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4155016.stm. They used embryonic cells, the most pliable of the known stem cell types. These are also the very ones which have mired the U.S. in controversy over Federal funding […]
Earlier this week, President Bush apparently weighed in on the whole “teaching of non-science in the science classroom” debate. As “reported by the New York Times”:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/03/politics/03bush.html?hp&ex=1123041600&en=c1600f3f547f7dc7&ei=5094&partner=homepage, in a meeting with Texas reporters the President expressed that he felt both sides should be taught. I’m gonna have to “side with Bob […]
This week was a very exciting week, both for the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (“SLAC”:http://www.slac.stanford.edu), where I do my research, and for me personally. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, a member of the U.S. Cabinet and head of the U.S. Department of Energy, visited SLAC to learn more about the […]
Jodi and I hit Borders Bookstore and Cafe last night. It’s one of those regular consumer things we do: go to a bookstore, browse, buy things we shouldn’t buy, and drink some caffeinated beverages and talk. We were scanning the new arrivals last night, when I noticed that Senator Rick […]
“Here’s a man who really knows science and who really knows government,” Specter said. “So it is a very, very profound change. It’s an earthquake.” That’s a quote from Sen. Arlen Specter, concerning the shift in position on Federally funded stem cell research made by Senate majority leader, Sen. Bill […]
What a week. Busy, busy, busy! Let’s start at the beginning. BaBar is engrossed in its fifth run, which we aptly denote “Run 5”. A lot of things changed in the accelerator and detector when we shutdown for the 2004 upgrade last fall. It’s critical, given such changes, to validate […]
I here reproduce the excerpt of Rep. Sherwood Boehlert’s (R-NY) letter to Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) regarding Barton’s initiation of a political inquiry into a scientific study of climate change. This excerpt is taken from “AIP FYI #112”:http://www.aip.org/fyi/2005/112.html. From the FYI: In response to these letters, House Science Committee Chairman […]
“Science Friday discussed the recent authoring of letters by Rep. Barton to three climate scientists, requesting they submit their records for review by Barton and his colleagues”:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4766641.
It’s sad. I know it was a busy day on the Hill, but every day is a busy day on the Hill. So when I read that “only three U.S. Senators from the Senate Commerce subcommittee on global climate change attended hearings where the new head of the National Academies […]
There are only a few stories that just plain worry me. Most of them I find horrific, but somehow amusing (i.e. the suing of NASA by an astrologer over their recent comet mission). However, a story that is gaining momentum is the “request of U.S. Rep. Barton, member of the […]
As reported by the Associated Press, “the Kansas State Board of Education has started internal personal attacks over the issue of science education standards”:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050615/ap_on_sc/evolution_debate;_ylt=Aq5Y1YhEiEiFnO2zSr2eYQUPLBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl. Some personal venom is being exchanged between the subcommittee members, who held their sham hearings on the Theory of Evolution, and those who would maintain the […]