Berry Go Round is a new web carnival. It is …
A plant’s Carnival, to be hosted at Seedsaside by the end of january 2008. Please submit your best posts before the 25th of January. Send contributions to seedsaside[at]gmail.com…
Monthly Archives: January 2008
Google to Host Terabytes of Open-Source Science Data
Sources at Google have disclosed that the humble domain, http://research.google.com, will soon provide a home for terabytes of open-source scientific datasets. The storage will be free to scientists and access to the data will be free for all. The project, known as Palimpsest and first previewed to the scientific community at the Science Foo camp at the Googleplex last August, missed its original launch date this week, but will debut soon.
The Internet
Check out this picture of the Internet! Can you find yourself? I think I see my house!!!
the worst of scienceblogs.com
There is a new blog you should know about. It’s called “The Worst of Scienceblogs.com” and it contains, so far, only three posts (so maybe we are not so bad after all). I thank Terra Sigillata, one of WOS’s victims, for pointing this out. Continue reading the worst of scienceblogs.com
Chimpanzee Food Sharing
Is chimpanzee food sharing an example of food for sex?
One of the most important transitions in human evolution may have been the incorporation of regular food sharing into the day to day ecology of our species or our ancestors. Although this has been recognized as potentially significant for some time, it was probably the Africanist archaeologist Glynn Isaac who impressed on the academic community the importance of the origins of food sharing as a key evolutionary moment. At that time, food sharing among apes was thought to be very rare, outside of mother-infant dyads. Further research has shown that it is in fact rare … the vast majority of calories consumed by human foragers in certain societies and at certain times of the year comes from a sharing system, while the fast majority of calories consumed by chimpanzees is hand to mouth without sharing.
Look Around You – 4 – Ghosts
Look around you: Math
Educational on line learning: Math. Have your copy book ready:
Evolution, Cuisine and Romance
The Bell Museum, in Minneapolis, will sponsor a Valentine’s Day Cafe Scientifique that will be especially close to my heart … Continue reading Evolution, Cuisine and Romance
Report shows disturbing trends in US science capacities
The National Science Board this week said leading science and engineering indicators tell a mixed story regarding the achievement of the US in science, research and development, and math in international comparisons.For example, US schools continue to lag behind internationally in science and math education. On the other hand, the US is the largest, single, R&D-performing nation in the world pumping some $340 billion into future-related technologies. The US also leads the world in patent development.
Minneapolis: Ritmos Unidos Tonight
The World of Emetrece Productions presents:”Ritmos Unidos”3rd Annual Afro-Latin Tribute to MLK DayFeaturing Maria Isa & CubanÃaSunday, January 20th, 2008 // First Avenue Main RoomDoors 8PM // Show 9PM – 2AM // $8 Advance // $10 Door // 18+In remembrance of King’s legacy, “Ritmos Unidos” celebrates the hyphen between Afro & Latin.Advanced tickets available on-line at First Avenue & TicketmasterIn contrast to the American ‘One Drop Theory,’ of African racial classification, in Latin America there are various names for differing degrees of Blackness such as prieto, negro, mestizo, mulato, trigueño, or jabao. In general the term ‘Afro’ declaring race has been uniquely hyphenated with nationhood, such as Afro-American, Afro-Cuban or Afro-Brazilian.”Ritmos Unidos” celebrates the hyphen by bringing together Twin Cities’ artists whose musical repertoires are native to Minneapolis and St. Paul, yet speak to their national and racial afro-diasporic legacies.Hosted by former Timberwolves player Felipe López, this year’s “Ritmos Unidos” highlights the local Afro-Latin diversity. Rising Latin hip-hop and reggaetón artist Maria Isa headlines with her ten-piece band, accompanied by opening act Afro-Cuban salsa vocalists Viviana Pintado and Gloria Rivera inaugurating their folkloric fusion group CubanÃa. The evening also includes a diverse range of appearances by Danza Mexica Cuauhtémoc; Casino Revolution: Cuban Salsa Expo; Drizzle’s Drummers: McNally Smith Percussion Ensemble; “Lightning and Thunder” all-stars BussOne & The Kamillion; with Back Up Plomo & Don Xaba; Omac Mountainya; and Omari Omari on the 1’s & 2’s.Ritmos Unidos – produced by Emetrece Productions, venue and tickets at First Avenue, additional sponsorship by Urban Gear Clothing and Rose Up Productions.First Avenue Main Room // 701 First Avenue North, MinneapolisInfo: 612-332-1775 (First Avenue) // 612.281.9970 (Emetrece Productions)
Florida Science Standards Current Links
The Grubbs and Gibbs Memorandum: Require A Religious Reading of the Evolutionary Record in Public Schools
As promised, I have more on the memorandum written by Francis Grubbs and David Gibbs. Grubbs is some kind of quack pseudo-scientist, and Gibbs is some kind of shyster lawyer, apparently. The memorandum is interesting … the real meat of it is buried in the last several paragraphs, so don’t fall asleep reading it! I’ve reproduced it here below, having used OCR to change the PDF file into text. The purpose of doing this onerous and thankless task is so that my fellow bloggers, or anyone else, can cut and paste from my transcription and thus make more use of the document than otherwise possible. The original file is here. And following is the cover letter and the memorandum, in all it’s glory. There may be some mistakes owing to the nature of OCR. Feel free to let me know if you spot any.UPDATE: Corrections made of the OCRT scan by Sam Howard of Rational Rant Continue reading The Grubbs and Gibbs Memorandum: Require A Religious Reading of the Evolutionary Record in Public Schools
Naturally Occurring Peptide Inhibits Common Viral Infection
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that a naturally occurring peptide known for its antibacterial action can also inhibit viral infection. Continue reading Naturally Occurring Peptide Inhibits Common Viral Infection
Is a Florida Church Acting Illegally?
Apropos the fight over excellent science education (as opposed to creationism) in Florida schools, is it OK for a church, which I presume has religious non profit status, to engage actively in an attempt to sway elected officials? Continue reading Is a Florida Church Acting Illegally?