Philosophy & Ethics

How Will Religion Regard Nanotechnology?

When it comes to the world of the very, very small — nanotechnology — we may have a big problem: Nano and its capacity to alter the fundamentals of nature could be failing the moral litmus test of religion. In a report published today in Nature Nanotechnol ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 8 2008 - 3:16pm

The Meaning Of Milton 400 Years Later

Many people may not know that this past weekend marked the 400th anniversary of John Milton’s birth (he was born on December 9th, 1608). “But Milton remains incredibly relevant to us today,” says Shannon Miller, professor and chair of the English departmen ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 9 2008 - 11:23am

What If Nicotine Addiction Has A Biological Basis?

Would you insist someone change if they are left-handed?   90% of the world is right-handed.  Short?  That's relative but the average height for an American man is under 5'10".    Genes do a lot of things, and a new study from the Abramson C ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 10 2008 - 2:05pm

Scientists Vow To Crack Down On Science Fraud

Public confidence in the honesty of scientists is being harmed by a small minority of researchers who behave badly, heard attendees of a meeting in Madrid on 17-18 November that was organized by the newly formed Research Integrity Forum of the European Sci ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 10 2008 - 9:26pm

Do Womens Magazines Downplay The Emotional Risks Of Cosmetic Surgery?

Women's magazines such as The Oprah Magazine and Cosmopolitan portray cosmetic surgery as a physically risky but overall worthwhile option for enhancing physical appearance but a University of British Columbia study has found they aren't really a ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 11 2008 - 11:32am

Scientific Red Cards- French Students Launch Online Registry Of Fraudulent Science Papers

A group of French research students is launching an online register to flag up scientific papers that have been tainted by fraud and other types of scientific misconduct. Claire Ribrault, a PhD student in neurobiology at Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 17 2008 - 5:02pm

Adult choices in making the movie "Horton Hears a Who"

There is a serious side of Taoism which advocates becoming like a child. "Why do the enlightened seem filled with light and happiness like children? Why do they sometimes even look and talk like children? Because they are," said Lao-tse in the &q ...

Blog Post - Diana Deregnier - Dec 23 2008 - 12:21am

Binge Drinking During The Holidays Blamed On Marketing

As the party season approaches, a timely reminder of the issues surrounding the binge drinking culture are again highlighted by research into 'young people and alcohol' a team lead by Professor Christine Griffin, at the University of Bath. The re ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 28 2008 - 2:50am

Jesus Loves Darwin, Claims Evolutionary Evangelist Michael Dowd

Brian Swimme is fond of saying, "Four billion years ago, the earth was molten rock and now it sings opera."  In their 1992 book "The Universe Story," Swimme and Thomas Berry attempted to bridge the gap between science, religion and the ...

Article - Diana Deregnier - Jan 5 2009 - 2:48pm

The New Religion Of Emergent Properties

Salon has an interview with Stuart Kauffman, a biologist who has written multiple fascinating books about complex systems. Kauffman has a new book, Reinventing the Sacred, in which he argues that we need to toss out scientific reductionism and take a new, ...

Article - Michael White - Jan 5 2009 - 2:05pm