Tomorrow, the State of Kansas start four days of hearings about the role of evolution, and how it should be approached, in the state’s science education standards. Already, the “venom has been injected by both sides in this debate”:http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/11563607.htm. What I think all scientists need to remember is that theories […]
Science
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Last Friday’s “Talk of the Nation, Science Friday”:http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2005/Apr/hour1_042905.html focused, in part, on the upcoming “debate” in Kansas on the theory of evolution and the beliefs of creationism and intelligent design. Many distinguished scientific socieities have refused to participate in this debate, arguing rightly that they do not get involved in […]
I decided that, despite my claims in a recent post, I might have an optical instrument in the house with more power than those binoculars. I charged up the Sony handicam and set it up on its tripod. A quick look at Kstars gave the rough coordinates of Jupiter in […]
It was in the early 1600s that Galileo gazed at the heavens with his telescope and first saw the mountain and scars on the moon, the moons of jupiter, and many other wonders. Tonight, here on the West Coast, it’s a nearly cloudless night. I decided to step outside into […]
Peer review is the basis of good science publication standards. Papers are sent to journals and the journal collects a group of experts in the field so that the material can be reviewed. A positive review of the work lends itself toward obtaining publication; a negative review, depeding on the […]
The catholic church has “just selected its new Pope”:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20050420/ap_on_re_eu/pope&sid=84439559. Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, will soon begin his reign as Pope of the Catholic Church. In that role, he will affect the lives of a billion people on this planet. While not all catholics share the same views […]
In this, the second in a series of short essays on the known fundamental building blocks of our universe, I will introduce you to a colorful character that has played an ever-evolving role in physics: the *muon*. In units of the electron mass (which I shall here denote me), the […]
There’s a lot going on in our nation right now regarding the pushing of faith into the science classroom. As a scientist, I am watching this issue with great concern. Although the struggle over the content of science class challenges primarily my colleagues in biology and medicine (i.e. those who […]
The Dope on Runners Athletics in the U.S. has recently been put under a microscope, and why not? Olympic runners accused of doping, baseball superstars telling all about their steroid use. Let’s face it, U.S. athletics has become as disgraceful as English football. Now, according to a study published in […]
First the scientists noted that the U.S. was cutting back to dangerous levels the funding for basic science. Then industry noticed, and in conjunction with academia issued the “Future of Innovation Report”:http://www.futureofinnovation.org listing the warning signs of bad things to come. Now it seems the press is taking note of […]
If ever the addage that “size doesn’t matter” needed illustration, I think we’ve found it the story of the “4.4 billion year-old speck on display at the UW Madison Geology Museum”:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&ncid=753&e=5&u=/ap/20050411/ap_on_sc/oldest_object. I mentioned this a few days ago, and lamented that the scientists involved felt a bit shameful about the […]
My wife and I cozied up on the futon tonight to watch the 10 o’clock airing of “Faith Under Fire” on PAX, a cable TV network with ostensibly religious overtones to its programming. I was interested in seeing how the religious side, represented by its own media, framed this debate. […]