Yearly Archives: 2007
Interesting Commentary on Eugenics
Eugenics in History and the Bible
I’m getting sick of the constant shrill coming out of the Discovery Institute trying to link “Darwinism” with eugenics. The creationists love to claim that such an idea could never have existed before Darwin came up with the idea of natural selection, but that is patently false.All animals in the wild abandon unfit babies the moment they’re born, even those species without advanced degrees in biology….
Read the rest here at Primordial Blog.
The African Buffalo
The African Buffalo is NOT a bison, and it is NOT a “water buffalo” (it is not even the same genus as water buffalo). But like these other beasts, it is a kind of cattle.The scientific name of the African Buffalo, or Cape Buffalo, is Syncerus caffir. Only the most cynical taxonomists would support the continued use of this term. “Caffer” is the same word as “Kaffir” which in modern usage has the same connotation as “Nigger.” The term “caffir” or “kaffir” has been dropped from other species names, but as far as I know, not yet from the Cape Buffalo. I don’t know why.This particular buffalo is standing tummy-deep in the mud at the base of a fairly large dam on a river in Kruger National Park, South Africa. You can obviously see that the dam (lake) is somewhat dried up. The disturbed surface of the water that you can see off to the right of the Cape Buffalo is caused by very large cat fish who are waiting for rain. Continue reading The African Buffalo
Research on The Origins of Maize (Corn)
Corn (maize) was domesticated in the earlier part of the Holocene in Mexico from a wild plant called teosinte. Subsequent to the discovery of this area of origin by MacNeish, a great deal of research has gone on to track the spread of maize across the New World, its diversification, its effects on Native American lifeways, and so on.How do you tell if corn was grown in a particular area? There are several possibilities, including looking for pollen in swamps and lakes or at archaeological sites, finding macro-fossils (don’t be fooled by the name .. macrofossils are tiny, like individual corn grains) or by examining phyotliths on sites, in cores, or stuck to cooking pots. Phytoliths are silica bodies that form in many plants and that typically have shapes that can be used to identify the plant to some level of taxonomic certainty (depending on the plant species and the state of research on phyotoliths for that species).This post reports on a new paper in PNAS on the problem of distinguishing between wild teosinte and domesticated corn in areas where the two may be expected to have overlapped. Continue reading Research on The Origins of Maize (Corn)
Utterly Stupid Quote of the Day
The flagellum is said to possess “irreducible complexity,” meaning it could not have been produced by evolution. This argues for an outside intelligent designer operating beyond the laws of nature.
Species Comings and Goings
From Blogfish: Blue Crabs are Disappearing from Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay’s famous blue crabs — feisty crustaceans that are both a regional symbol and a multimillion-dollar catch — are hovering at historically low population levels, scientists say, as pollution, climate change and overfishing threaten the bay’s ultimate survivor.This fall, a committee of federal and state scientists found that the crab’s population was at its second-lowest level in the past 17 years, having fallen to about one-third the population of 1993. They forecast that the current crabbing season, which ends Dec. 15 in Maryland, will produce one of the lowest harvests since 1945. *
New NGS Dino Project
National Geographic has a new project called Dino Death Trap. This is a movie due to be released on December 9th, straring the Junggar Basin of western China known as “The Pit of Death” is found.Don’t miss it.In the mean time, you can go here and there is a live web cam in Central Park showing people walking by. You click on a button and it makes a dinosaur roar from the bushes near the people, and they piss in their pants and run away because they are scared of the dinosaur. Really, not kidding. Go do it now before the cops find out and remove it.
New Journal on Evolution and Outreach
An intelligent new way to support the teaching of evolutionNew journal Evolution: Education and Outreach debuts on 28 November
The world-renowned evolutionary scientist Niles Eldredge and his son Greg Eldredge, a high school science teacher, believe it’s time to help science educators fight back against the strong pressure creationists exert on public education. So they joined forces with the scientific publisher Springer and, on Darwin’s birthday in February this year, announced plans to publish a new journal, Evolution: Education and Outreach. …
IsIsn’t this that band from Sesame Street?
Somebody emailed be about a a great way to make money with almost no work.
I just have to send my banking details.Hey, this is from Japan. We trust these guys, right? I can do this, don’t you think? Continue reading Somebody emailed be about a a great way to make money with almost no work.
Jesus-based Cultism lead to murder, suicide
The suicide of a young man and the murder he committed before he killed himself are being blamed on a cult led by his mother.
Also disturbing, former members who spoke to CNN say they witnessed Ricky Rodriguez having sex with his mother, Karen Zerby, the leader of the sect now known as “The Family International.”
The sect’s activities and history are detailed in a newly released book, “Jesus Freaks.” The sect was founded in California in the 1960s by David Berg, who referred to himself as “Mo,” short for Moses. Berg was a self-proclaimed prophet.
Former sect members tell CNN Berg encouraged adult-child sex. More often than not, they say, the chosen child was Rodriguez, the son of Karen Zerby, who Berg called his queen. Zerby became the leader of the sect when Berg died in 1994.
Speaking of corn….
differential interference contrast microscopy to visualize cell division
Where’s PZ?
PZ Myers has posted his third grade class photo on his blog and asks the question, “can you find me?”Here’s the picture:
View Larger ImageI keep looking and looking, but I can’t find him. He’s harder to find than Waldo.
NYT covers Kristine Comer’s Resignation
After 27 years as a science teacher and 9 years as the Texas Education Agency’s director of science, Christine Castillo Comer said she did not think she had to remain “neutral” about teaching the theory of evolution.”It’s not just a good idea; it’s the law,” said Ms. Comer, citing the state’s science curriculum.But now Ms. Comer, 56, of Austin, is out of a job, after forwarding an e-mail message on a talk about evolution and creationism — “a subject on which the agency must remain neutral,” according to a dismissal letter last month that accused her of various instances of “misconduct and insubordination” and of siding against creationism and the doctrine that life is the product of “intelligent design.”
Read the whole sordid story here.