Subscribe to the newsletter

[x]

Stay in touch with the scientific world!

Cool Links

Valentine's Day Romance Debunked

Feb 11 2012 | comment(s)

Save your breath. We've heard all the arguments that Valentine's Day is an artificially manufactured holiday designed to bilk men out of money, just like we have heard postmodernists and humanities people (are they any different today?) argue that Communism is great, it is simply that none of the communist countries do 'real' Communism. It doesn't matter; if you step out of line for Valentine's Day, the romantic equivalent of the KGB is knocking on your door.

But just because it is a marketing-driven, pressure-filled fabrication doesn't mean you can get away with just anything. Writing on Real Clear Science, Katherine Dickinson notes 6 ways science totally sucks the romance out of Valentine's Day.

Science Journalism: Less Gushing, More Analysis, Please

Feb 09 2012 | comment(s)

The media absolutely gushed over the possibility that smoking leads to brain damage, highlighted in a 'study' Monday. They were so happy to not have to write about another miracle vegetable or marshmallow cannons and call it 'science' they didn't bother to really read the data, so the news coverage of the study was misleading and highlighted why we need better science journalism.

Last of the Mohicans Soldiers Still Not Buried

Feb 07 2012 | comment(s)

For decades, tourists visiting Lake George, N.Y. could view the skeletons of soldiers from nearby French and Indian War sites depicted in James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans".

In 1993, though, a reburial ceremony put the 18th century remains to rest. Except that never happened. The collection of remains was taken to Arizona and Canada for study and never returned. Even Robert Blais, mayor of Lake George since 1971, didn't know. He learned about tit from The Associated Press, who spoke to archaeologists who have dug at the site, fort officials and the anthropologists who have the remains to confirm that the bulk of the skeleton collection is not at the fort.

Mouthwash? Not A Great Idea - Unless You Make Your Own

Feb 07 2012 | comment(s)

Put mouthwash in your mouth? Some of the ingredients you don't even want to put down your drain.

Nothing tells you what you need to know about government wishful thinking than efforts to stick flouride in everything. Sure, it fights cavities but it is also linked to cancer and neurological diseases. You'd best stay away from it until the science is more clear.

Want a simple recipe for mouthwash that won't kill fish due to alcohol content or give you brain damage?

Mouthwash Recipe:

Warm water
Baking soda or sea salt
A drop of peppermint

Really, that's it.

Bringing up Bebe: Best Moms Do It The French Way?

Feb 05 2012 | comment(s)

French women are quite giving - after all, they let their husbands have a girlfriend, a mistress and a whore. It only makes sense that generous nature would translate into parenting as well. Even if that sometimes means a laissez faire approach to childrearing.

Former Wall Street Journal reporter and current Paris ex-pat Pamela Druckerman was intrigued by the manners of French children - in a country famous for being rude - so she set out to study what they were doing and then wrote a book on it. It's not an Asian "tiger mom" approach, by any means, but Druckerman says it is less coddling than the American way.

Cupid's Brainwave? Scientists Claim They Can Measure Love

Feb 03 2012 | comment(s)

Dr. Jon Cowan, the CEO of Peak Achievement Training, says they have found the “Cupid brainwave” – what they call Neureka! brainwaves that are related to feelings of love, happiness and gratitude. He presented his experimental findings at recent meetings of the International Society for Neurofeedback and Research, and at the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. Their claim: People who enhance these feelings have stronger Neureka! brainwave patterns.

Article: In Time For Valentine’s Day: A Science Way To Measure Love

The Tribal Psychology of Politics

Feb 02 2012 | comment(s)

A social psychologist who doesn't spend his days finding ways to rationalize being progressive? University of Virginia Prof. Jonathan Haidt certainly was a partisan liberal, he says, but researching John Kerry's failure to connect with voters in 2004 made him see things a little different, and now he is a moderate - which is still right wing in the social sciences, so a bold step not without risk.

'The Atlantic' Revolutionizes Cancer Research By Ignoring Science

Jan 31 2012 | comment(s)

I hope The Atlantic is enjoying its page views - pseudoscience sells and they are pushing it out there. After an ill-fated no-science-allowed cultural diatribe (by a food critic, no less) against genetically modified foods graced its pages they have clearly seen the dollar signs - so they want to say maybe cell phones don't cause cancer but (*PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE ALERT*) maybe they do.

Russian Academy of Sciences Member Leonid Ksanfomaliti Loses His Mind

Jan 23 2012 | comment(s)

If you want cool stuff that no one else will believe, look to Russia.(1) It isn't just the home of rampant piracy and corruption (and trademark infringement, in the case of their ridiculous theft of "Science 2.0" for a terrible television show) it is also the place to find kooky confirmation of odd beliefs.

Leonid Ksanfomaliti of the Space Research Institute of Russia's Academy of Sciences says he analyzed photographs from the Venus mission made by a Soviet landing probe, Venus-13, in 1982 and found...aliens. Well, he found a black dot that may have not been the same as another black dot.

Dear Virginia: Be Grateful for Our Rats - Love, Washington DC

Jan 20 2012 | comment(s)

A new District of Columbia (that's Washington, D.C. to those of you outside the Beltway) law is wonderfully progressive regarding the rights of rats. Since they love to overregulate stuff, it now dictates how pest control people - exterminators - can deal with them.

Sure, you may have believe the only rats are at Occupy DC protests in Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square but some homes get them also. The new law stipulates that rats can't be killed and must instead be relocated. Along with their rat families. But rats have to be sent at least 25 miles, say zoologists, or they will find their way back.

Marijuana Goes To The Supreme Court

Jan 19 2012 | comment(s)

For being progressives, California has a states-right belief that really hasn't been seen in America since the South in 1860. If it isn't in the US Constitution they think they can do it.

More rational people have believed that the Obama administration was not going to like any state circumventing U.S. law so when medical marijuana dispensaries were 'legalized' in California (medical marijuana itself was sort of legalized in the 1990s), the DEA busts began. Some municipalities defer to federal law and ban marijuana 'dispensaries' even while California claims they are legal.

Obama Blames Republicans For His Cancellation Of Keystone XL Pipeline

Jan 19 2012 | comment(s)

At first, President Obama sided with science and smart politics - the Keystone XL project, a 1,700 mile pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf Coast that will produce 700,000 barrels of oil a day and employ over 130,000 people in construction and management jobs, could go ahead. Environmental studies done by scientists in the administration showed no substantial harm and these were union jobs, an important liberal constituency.

Mayans In Georgia - Because You'll Believe Anything

Jan 18 2012 | comment(s)

Expect to hear a lot about the Mayans until December 22, 2012. End of the world conspiracies happen pretty much five times a year but it's still going to get its attention because a lot of older people now read books in the 1970s, when they were young, about aliens populating Earth. "Chariots of the Gods" and all that.

But Americans hate to be left out. Want people to watch The Olympics? Americans had better be winning gold medals.

A Science State Of The Union

Jan 17 2012 | comment(s)

In advance of President Obama’s State of the Union address next week, RealClearPolitics is rolling out daily “state of” reports to better frame the issues he might discuss. The following is a transcript of how their RealClearScience division would deliver a "State of Science" address.

11 More Solyndras: Department Of Energy Venture Capitalism Under Fire

Jan 14 2012 | comment(s)

Despite the claims of Department of Energy ~~experts~~ interns that they are all completely qualified to pick winners and losers among technology companies and rationalization by the New York Times that the Solyndra failure was just healthy capitalism, it isn't being washed over in the broad media as easily.

CBS News' Sharyl Attkisson, one of the original reporters that uncovered the Solyndra scandal, has outlined 11 more companies that are part of Obama's Energy program and have floundered despite an outrageous $6.5 billion in taxpayer money. Five have already filed for bankruptcy: Beacon, Evergreen Solar, SpectraWatt, AES' subsidiary Eastern Energy and Solyndra. Only $30 billion more in losses to go.

Where Did The Rocks Of Stonehenge Come From?

Jan 12 2012 | comment(s)

5,000 years ago, Stonehenge was built. Beyond that, not much is known. Why it was a built - as a a temple of healing, a calendar, or even a royal cemetery - and how, has been a matter of speculation.

Researchers say they are closer to cracking one aspect of the mysteries after working out the exact spot where some of the rocks came from - an outcrop 150 miles away in north Pembrokeshire.

Kosher Food In 500 A.D.

Jan 12 2012 | comment(s)

A ceramic stamp has been found in Acre, northern Israel, during excavations at Horbat Uza - but and it dates to the Byzantine Era.

The tiny seal has the image of a seven-branch menorah and was used to stamp the kosher sign on bread 1,500 years ago. It has Greek letters that spell out what the researchers believe to be the name of the baker, Launtius.

"The presence of a Jewish settlement so close to Akko -- a region that was definitely Christian at this time -- constitutes an innovation in archaeological research," said Danny Syon, director of the excavation.

Fair Weather Voters: Should Republicans Pray For Rain In November?

Jan 11 2012 | comment(s)

Progressive journalists love to insist Republicans are both stupid and rich, which would seem to be in defiance of common sense. America's smartest people can't figure out how to make money?

It doesn't matter, it is a logical fallacy created to rationalize why only 6% of academia is Republican; smart people become Democrats and if you don't believe that, you are anti-science.

Sympathetic Magic In Science

Jan 08 2012 | comment(s)

Is science just lacking a bumper sticker slogan? Paul Root Wolpe, director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University, seems to think so. Aside from being in New Scientist, you can see a problem with the piece in his first sentence:

SCIENCE is under assault.

Scientific American's Guide to the 2012 GOP Candidates

Jan 06 2012 | comment(s)

Is geekness important in your choice of a Republican candidate? Maybe to the five Republicans who still read Scientific American it is - and progressive scribe Chris Mims is here to outline the science and geek cred of people in a political party he has never voted for and never will. Most Scientific American readers will find his analysis, as one commenter put it, "mildly comforting", because they were never voting for a Republican anyway and this is pleasant enough confirmation bias.