Science & Society

Chemiosmosis: An Example Of Gary Herstein's Real Scientific Controversies

In his July 23 column, Gary Herstein presented a thoughtful discussion and analysis of scientific controversies (What Does A Real Scientific Controversy Look Like?), with an example from physics. Perhaps readers of Scientific Blogging will be interested i ...

Article - Dave Deamer - Jul 28 2009 - 12:32pm

Gullibility Is Bad For You (.org)

Those of you who know or follow me surely realize that I'm not exactly a guy with a lot of spare time on his hands. Yet, I just launched a  second blog  devoted to short entries (mostly a paragraph with an accompanying link) to document the fact that ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jul 27 2009 - 4:01pm

First They Want To Kill Me, Now Discovery Channel Wants To Be Friends...

A few weeks ago, I got an eerie package from the folks who work for Discovery Channel; an obituary and clues to a mystery.  Turns out this was part of a big viral marketing campaign for their upcoming Shark Week. ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jul 27 2009 - 5:11pm

On The Fringe: An Editor’s Dilemma Raises Questions About The Future Of Science

The tough editorial decision was behind us; the die had been cast.   Pre-prints of the controversial article and its invited rejoinder appeared on the publisher’s web site.   The same day, the Nicolas Cage movie Next opened in theaters. Those who believe ...

Article - Fred Phillips - Jul 28 2009 - 3:31pm

Who's To Blame For UK Gun Crime?

If you're an ordinary, law-abiding citizen in the UK, you can't own a gun.  So who owns them?  Criminals, of course, making crimes easier to commit.   But it isn't just organized crime and the assumption that gangs are most often at the root ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 29 2009 - 9:53pm

What Happens To Dad Visitations When The Baby Mama Starts Dating Someone New?

Many children born outside of marriage are born to parents in unstable relationships and often live apart from their fathers.    New research from the Journal of Marriage and Family says that children born outside of marriage are less likely to be visited ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 3 2009 - 10:57am

Just-in-Time And Its Hazards (Including “Illicit Wealth Transfers”)

Last month New York’s Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo criticized banks – including Citi, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase – for paying large (okay, huge) executive bonuses when the companies were losing money. He called this a ...

Article - Fred Phillips - Aug 4 2009 - 9:47am

Moms (Up)Rising: Grassroots Health Care Reform Movement Or Well-Funded PAC?

As you might imagine, I get a lot of press releases.  As I have said here before, I like getting them because it's difficult for me to know all the good things happening out there, especially if an organization lacks the budget to hire an expensive PR ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Aug 5 2009 - 7:27pm

Advocacy Group Says 13 Million Young Adults Will Gain Coverage Under Government Health Plan

The Commonwealth Fund,  a private foundation devoted to health care reform, has issued a report saying that President Obama's proposed health care plan would help more than 13 million uninsured young adults ages 19-29 gain coverage. ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2009 - 1:52pm

A new meaning to "carbon compounds"?

Ploughing through the Codex just now, I come across this (with particular reference to MRSA), by Brigitte Nerlich of the University of Nottingham, England: Words matter in public health... media coverage of hygiene and cleanliness in hospitals tended to po ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Aug 10 2009 - 2:59am