Featured Articles

Detected - Thermal Emissions From Transiting Hot-Jupiter Exoplanets

Detected - Thermal Emissions From Transiting Hot-Jupiter Exoplanets

Jan 18 2009 | comment(s)

Transiting exoplanets are routinely detected when they pass in front of their parent star as viewed from the Earth, which only happens by chance. The transit event causes a small drop in the observed starlight, which can then be detected.
Closer - A Pharmaceutical Medication For Smallpox

Closer - A Pharmaceutical Medication For Smallpox

Jan 18 2009 | comment(s)

Smallpox has a nasty history throughout the world. Caused by poxviruses, smallpox is one of the few disease-causing agents against which the human body’s immune system is ineffective.

The human immune system is rendered helpless against poxviruses partly because the viruses block a human immune molecule, interleukin-18 (IL-18), from sending out a signal to the immune system. The body acts as if everything is fine and the deadly disease takes over.

A major breakthrough by Junpeng Deng, a structural biologist in the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (DASNR) at Oklahoma State University, and his first-year Ph.D. student, Brian Krumm, may be the first step towards a pharmaceutical medication for smallpox and the emerging human monkeypox.
Combustion - After Two Million Years, Maybe It's Time For Something New

Combustion - After Two Million Years, Maybe It's Time For Something New

Jan 18 2009 | comment(s)

Since man first discovered that he could control fire and combust fuels for heat and cooking, he has had to deal with the byproducts of the combustion of organic fuels.  But with more people the byproducts are much greater.

For the first two million years of our existence, man’s fuel usage was limited to the combustion of wood in simple campfires.  Recently, research has said that continual exposure of early man to campfires used as heat sources in enclosed areas contributed to increased incidences of nasal cancer.

Today, man’s need for energy has led to the formation of megacities – large urban and suburban centers whose populations exceed 10 million inhabitants. In 1950, New York City was the world’s only megacity. By 2007, there were 14.
Declining Male Fertility Linked To Water Pollution In UK

Declining Male Fertility Linked To Water Pollution In UK

Jan 18 2009 | comment(s)

New research by Brunel University, the Universities of Exeter and Reading and the Centre for Ecology&Hydrology says there is a stronger link between water pollution and rising male fertility problems. The study outlines how a group of testosterone-blocking chemicals is finding its way into UK rivers, affecting wildlife and potentially humans. The research was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council and is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. 
Scientific Heroes and Genius Cults

Scientific Heroes and Genius Cults

Jan 17 2009 | comment(s)


OK, here's more commentary on some of the interesting stuff over at Cosmic Variance, this time on the cult of genius:

During high school or college, many aspiring physicists latch onto Feynman or Einstein or Hawking as representing all they hope to become. The problem is, the vast majority of us are just not that smart. Oh sure, we’re plenty clever, and are whizzes at figuring out the tip when the check comes due, but we’re not Feynman-Einstein-Hawking smart. We go through a phase where we hope that we are, and then reality sets in, and we either (1) deal, (2) spend the rest of our career trying to hide the fact that we’re not, or (3) drop out. It’s always bugged the crap out of me that physicists’ worship of genius conveys the simultaneous message that if you’re not F-E-H smart, then what good are you? In physics recommendation land, there is no more damning praise than saying someone is a “hard worker”.


I'm not a physicist, so I don't have any personal experience with how badly physics is infected by a cult of genius. In biology, our geniuses aren't as flashy, partly because brilliant mathematical theories of the type found in theoretical physics don't do much good in biology.
How to go from Physicist to Crackpot

How to go from Physicist to Crackpot

Jan 17 2009 | comment(s)

At Cosmic Variance, find out how the once active physicist Frank Tipler now registers high on John Baez's crackpot index:

In science, we tend to valorize (to the point of fetishizing) a certain kind of ability to abstractly manipulate symbols and concepts — related to, although not exactly the same as, the cult of genius. (It’s not just being smart that is valorized, but a certain kind of smart.) The truth is, such an ability is great, but tends to be completely uncorrelated with other useful qualities like intellectual honesty and good judgment. People don’t become crackpots because they’re stupid; they become crackpots because they turn their smarts to crazy purposes.
Celebrate Your Inner Activist - Can You Create A GMO Tipping Point?

Celebrate Your Inner Activist - Can You Create A GMO Tipping Point?

Jan 17 2009 | comment(s)

As a science site, we can continually be baffled that both the left and the right can find something to be critical about.   Some on the right are critical of stem cell research or climate science (Republicans) while some on the left are critical of genetically modified foods or vaccines (Democrats) - to science, it doesn't make much sense.
Panspermia, Red Rain, and Space Bread

Panspermia, Red Rain, and Space Bread

Jan 17 2009 | comment(s)

In an article in the International Journal of Astrobiology, P. McCafferty discusses the possibility of a red, blood-like life form living inside meteors.

This conclusion raises the possibility that, in space, there are objects that contain red, blood-like cells. In other words, comets possibly harbour life. Such an image of a comet, containing a liquid interior teeming with red cells, is difficult to imagine and even harder to accept.

What Aliens Can Tell Us About Evolution

What Aliens Can Tell Us About Evolution

Jan 17 2009 | comment(s)

Imagining aliens helps us think about evolution

If we ever do make contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence, what will it look like?  Hollywood has had no shortage of examples for films and television shows that feature aliens, but they are almost  always bipedal primates who speak English with a funny accent.  This  depiction is more the result of wardrobe budget constraints and the  flexibility of actors than it is the imagination of writers.  
Science In The Mists Of K'un Lun

Science In The Mists Of K'un Lun

Jan 17 2009 | comment(s)

If you're a reader of geography or a student of eastern philosophy, you may have seen the name K'un Lun.  It is the name of a mountain range in western China and borders the northern edge of Tibet (1) and is also a name for 'paradise' in Taoism.    Whoever can climb to the top of K'un Lun gains access to the heavens, the ancients said.  

There's  a city there now and if you visit  K'un Lun City and drink the yellow water in the lakes of its parks known as cinnabar (tan), they also say you will become immortal.(2)

That last part is scientifically undocumented.   Drinking yellow water is generally a bad idea.
Revisiting The Einstein-Bohr Dialogue Conclusion

Revisiting The Einstein-Bohr Dialogue Conclusion

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

In part 2 we closed with the idea that Bohr seemed to be using general relativity against Einstein to save quantum mechanics! A wonderful story. But is it true?

Einstein seems to have thought that they were arguing about something else. We know this from a letter that Paul Ehrenfest wrote to Bohr in July 1931, after a visit with Einstein in Berlin.  Ehrenfest and Einstein seem to have had a long and thorough chat about the debate with Bohr at the previous fall’s Solvay meeting. Ehrenfest reports to Bohr a most surprising comment from Einstein:
Body Size and Evolutionary History - No it Does Not Prove Intelligent Design

Body Size and Evolutionary History - No it Does Not Prove Intelligent Design

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

Is a recent PNAS paper a knock against evolution? Does it support a "the concept of a preexistent design, with front-loaded genetic programs"?

Nonsense. PZ explains why. Go read this if you're at all tempted to believe the intelligent design peanut gallery over at Uncommon Dissent. Remember, those guys do no science - they have no labs, they do no field work, they don't test any hypotheses. They just sit back and distort the latest findings published by real scientists.
Most Famous German Blog Sold On EBay For EUR 46,902

Most Famous German Blog Sold On EBay For EUR 46,902

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

HUERTH, Germany, January 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The piece of news regarding the sale of Basic Thinking - the most well-known blog in the German-speaking countries, which has been run by Robert Basic - had caused quite a stir in the media recently. Speculations were running wild afterwards about who would acquire the blog in the online auction and what its future form would be. Now, the mystery is solved: serverloft, a supplier of professional Root Servers with headquarters near Cologne, Germany, is the winner of the auction.

Signs of the bubble popping

Signs of the bubble popping

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

Previously I wrote about "the Science Bubble".  Since then, there has been good news, and bad.
The good news is that apparently Speaker Pelosi has been recorded as noting that Science will be emphasized in the stimulus package.  I do hope that happens, and I hope that if it does happen, it is done in a sustainable and thoughtful way - not just a bunch of "let's throw money at scientists" followed by an even bigger bust later.
DM Holdings Appoints Victor J. Pacor As CEO

DM Holdings Appoints Victor J. Pacor As CEO

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

TOKYO, January 16 /PRNewswire/ --

DM Holdings Inc. today announced the appointments of Eric C. Evans as Chairman of the Board and Victor J. Pacor as Chief Executive Officer of the company. Both appointments are effective immediately.

The Board has made an excellent move in electing Vic Pacor to be the new CEO, said Evans who continues with the Company as an executive Chairman. Vic is a talented executive who knows DM's competitive strengths intimately. His deep understanding of the industry gives him an unmatched perspective on the road ahead. The Company has benefited and will continue to benefit from his judgment and experience.

SiEnergy Systems Achieves Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Breakthrough

SiEnergy Systems Achieves Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Breakthrough

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

BOSTON, January 16 /PRNewswire/ --

SiEnergy Systems, LLC has developed a breakthrough solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) by placing a micro fuel cell directly on a silicon chip, an advance that will revolutionize the way people use power. These Silicon Energy fuel cells address the problems that limit standard SOFCs: Leveraging the power of silicon, they operate at lower temperatures and use normal industrial materials. This key breakthrough brings real-world applications within reach. SiEnergy's radical new approach promises to deliver SOFCs with small carbon footprints and unprecedented efficiency.

Darwin Year gear

Darwin Year gear

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

Two years ago, I had t-shirts made up for my evolution course that depicted Darwin's notebook sketch of a simple tree diagram capped by the words "I think". In total, we generated about $500 for conservation charities, and the students got a pretty cool shirt (I still see them around campus fairly frequently). Had I been teaching the course this semester, I probably would have produced the t-shirts again. This is Darwin Year, after all. But I'm not, so I won't.

Liquidnet Announces Record Volume For 2008

Liquidnet Announces Record Volume For 2008

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

NEW YORK, January 16 /PRNewswire/ --

- 2008 Total U.S. equities trading volume up 28 percent

- Average execution size up 8 percent

Liquidnet, the global institutional marketplace, today announced monthly and yearly trading statistics for U.S. and international equities.

Forget The January Sales - Discounts Are Available All Year Round At Http://www.voucherseeker.co.uk

Forget The January Sales - Discounts Are Available All Year Round At Http://www.voucherseeker.co.uk

Jan 16 2009 | comment(s)

LEEDS, England, January 16 /PRNewswire/ --

- Nobody Buys Anything at Full Price any More, Says Ed Hall, Director of Voucher Code Website, http://www.voucherseeker.co.uk

Bargain hunters looking to take advantage of the January sales can now find all of the best discounts online at new voucher code website, VoucherSeeker - http://tinyurl.com/7syzku

What's more, the discounts don't stop at the end of January. Shoppers can use VoucherSeeker all year round in order to find great money saving voucher codes that will help them beat the credit crunch.