I will not be outdone by my fellow bloggers 3-quarks, Thoughts from Kansas, Pure Pedantry and A Blog Around the Clock. They are all putting up these “electoral compass things” where you ask a bunch of questions and get in return a graph showing where you are in relation to the US presidential candidates. Continue reading Electoral Compass
Daily Archives: January 11, 2008
Elusive Double Einstein Ring Observed for the First Time
An Einstein Ring is one of those freaky relativistic predictions that can’t possibly be true unless Einstein was right. Well, Einstein Rings have been observed in the past, and now, we have a double Einstein Ring. Doubly proving that Einstein was right! Continue reading Elusive Double Einstein Ring Observed for the First Time
New Twist in microRNA biology
MIT scientists have found a new way that DNA can carry out its work that is about as surprising as discovering that a mold used to cast a metal tool can also serve as a tool itself, with two complementary shapes each showing distinct functional roles.Professor Manolis Kellis and postdoctoral research fellow Alexander Stark report in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Genes & Development that in certain DNA sequences, both strands of a DNA segment can perform useful functions, each encoding a distinct molecule that helps control cell functions.
There is a full press report here.
Gemina is Dead
Gemina (pronunced Gem eee na) the Crocket Neck Giraffe died for reasons unrelated to her neck.We prefer to remember Gemina in life rather than as, well, a dead giraffe.Details of her death are here.
It’s Friday, so Here’s a Cat Video
Translation below the fold… Continue reading It’s Friday, so Here’s a Cat Video
Unexpected Black Holes
This just in from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory:
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has detected plump black holes where least expected — skinny galaxies….Scientists have long held that all galaxies except the slender, bulgeless spirals harbor supermassive black holes at their cores. Furthermore, bulges were thought to be required for black holes to grow.The new Spitzer observations throw this theory into question. The infrared telescope surveyed 32 flat and bulgeless galaxies and detected monstrous black holes lurking in the bellies of seven of them. The results imply that galaxy bulges are not necessary for black hole growth; instead … dark matter could play a role.”This finding challenges the current paradigm. The fact that galaxies without bulges have black holes means that the bulges cannot be the determining factor, ” said Shobita Satyapal of the George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. “It’s possible that the dark matter that fills the halos around galaxies plays an important role in the early development of supermassive black holes.”…
Read the whole story here. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2008-01/release.shtml
Florida: Evolution could be coming to a classroom near you…
The latest on the Florida fight over the use of the actual word “evolution” in the classroom. (Or, more specifically, in the science standards) Continue reading Florida: Evolution could be coming to a classroom near you…
Interplanetary collision called off
An asteroid heading for Mars is going to miss the angry red planet. Too bad, that would have been cool.But there is a very cool graphic that results from the science surrounding this non event.This is a moving GIF showing the evolution over time of the uncertainty region for the collision. You can see where mars was initially in the uncertainty region, and over time, as the uncertainty region became smaller and smaller, the planet moved first to the edge then entirely out of the region.Much like Barack Obama and the New Hampshire Primary.Oh well, maybe next time. Mars and Barack.The full story and more graphics are here.
More Florida Creationism Woes
Sure, the Taylor County school board was apparently the first to pass a resolution complaining about evolution, but they’re not the only one.Two more counties passed resolutions, too: Baker County and Holmes County.
Florida Citizens for Science and Dispatches from the Culture Wars are covering this.
The Island Effect in Dinosaurs
Everyone these days knows about the “island effect” where certain animals evolve to a diminutive size because they live on islands. You know this because of the Flores hominid. Now, it has been shown to have operated in a dinosaur. Continue reading The Island Effect in Dinosaurs
Federal Court: Bible Distribution in Schools Violates U.S. Constitution
In a very important ruling, a Federal district court in Missouri has ruled that allowing the Gideons to come into elementary schools and distribute Bibles to students is a violation of the establishment clause …. This is a key ruling that could be replicated nationwide, where many schools still allow the Gideons to go into schools and do this. The ruling was by summary judgment.
Ed Brayton has the story and the details here.
Religious Mother Murders Children
They were possessed by the devil. She claims the demons did the killing but authorities may not be buying it.
Texas Official: Call it a “Creationism Degree”
Here’s a novel idea for creationists: Be honest!
Continue reading Texas Official: Call it a “Creationism Degree”
Texas Official: Call it a”Creationism Degree”
Here’s a novel idea for creationists: Be honest! Continue reading Texas Official: Call it a”Creationism Degree”