Show Me The Science Month Day 8

A tuatara may look like an iguana, but it's a reptile in a category all its own. Tuataras are most closely related to lizards and snakes, but in some ways they are oddballs among reptiles, with unique characteristics among reptiles, like their affinity for cool weather, their nocturnal lifestyle, a third eye on top of the skull, and vertebrae that more closely resemble those of fish and amphibians than reptiles. Male tuataras also have another odd feature - they lack a certain member, which means their reproductive behavior differs from other lizards.


Image courtesy of the Wikipedia Commons

SAN FRANCISCO, February 4 /PRNewswire/ --

- Commission within the China Ministry of Industry Information Technology and Bureau within the China Ministry of Culture Declare Formal Support for the Definitive Event for Chinese Developers

Evolution may be viewed as a controversial subject by much of the US population, but evolutionary biologists frequently complain that this controversy is manufactured by opponents of evolution who have a very flawed understanding of what the science of evolution is. This poor grasp of the science was demonstrated once again in a talk given by Intelligent Design advocate Jonathan Wells, who claims that "DNA does not control embryo development."

Wells, who has a PhD in biology, (I don't know what the director of graduate studies at UC Berkeley was smoking), has repeatedly demonstrated his cluelessness about basic elements of biology, and he is a clear illustration of why a PhD does not necessarily indicate anything about its holder's knowledge. Over at Pharyngula, PZ Myers has a thorough takedown of Wells' absurd talk. The talk is based on the bizarre claim that "DNA does not control embryo development." If that's true, Wells argues, then the whole tottering neo-Darwinian edifice collapses, or something like that.

Recently I read on this site Massimo Pigliucci’s articles on Hard and Soft Science.  As usual, though, I at first sailed over the main theme, and picking up one or two phrases went off on one of my tangents.  The first of these phrases was:

    the long interval on the question of the nature of gravity between Newton and Einstein.

which led me to think that:

HOUSTON, February 3 /PRNewswire/ --

AEG Affiliated Energy Group has been retained by a large Texas retail electricity provider seeking to explore strategic merger, acquisition and sale opportunities. The REP has strong historic customer growth rates, substantially positive EBITDA of approximately US$15,000,000 on an annual basis and serves almost 100,000 meters with load exceeding 2,000,000 megawatt hours per year.

LONDON, February 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers should be very careful when looking at 'free' or subsidised laptop deals, claims broadband comparison website Broadband Genie. As well as ending up tied to a highly restrictive two-year contract which could soon become poor value, customers face a very limited choice of machines.

Many people are buying mobile broadband for the first time, and getting their first laptop, perhaps thinking it is free of charge, said Broadband Genie editor Chris Marling. These deals can sound great on paper, but in truth the choices are very limited, the contracts long, and consumers may get more value from buying a laptop and dongle separately.

Kudos to Sally Jenkins at the Washington Post for the best article I've read so far on the Michael Phelps non-scandal. I thought I was going to read a humorous article about one of my favorite TV shows (The Big Bang Theory), not connecting the dots with Willie Nelson's favorite pasttime.

FLORHAM PARK, New Jersey, February 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- SIP Trunking Solutions Enhance Unified Communications, Increase Productivity

Global Crossing (Nasdaq: GLBC), a leading global IP solutions provider, today announced it is providing users of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2 (R2), access to Global Crossing's suite of Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) Trunking solutions. This positions Global Crossing as one of the first SIP Trunking service providers qualified for use with Office Communications Server 2007.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, February 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- 'Managing the Evolution of Grey Market Handsets in Africa' is Free to Download at http://www.wdsglobal.com/grey-market/

WDSGlobal has published a report that suggests grey-market mobile phone ownership will present an increasing challenge for African mobile operators in 2009, despite a global drop in their circulation.

WORCESTER, England, February 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Over a foot of snow in some places, travel chaos and bitter temperatures have been the major news story in recent days, and there is plenty more to come.

In the shorter term, further snow will develop during Wednesday particularly over the north of the country. Thursday could see another major snow event with significant falls of snow affecting England and Wales - with the Midlands perhaps the most likely region to suffer the worst. Even into the weekend the cold stays over the UK with more snow likely yet again.

Paul Michaelwaite of Netweather.tv comments: