| Tree of Life in the Genes? Not Yet Wed, 23 Jul 2008 |
| | Now that we have hundreds of animal genomes in the bank (the GenBank), is Darwin's tree of life becoming visible? If it is, it is extremely weak, said Michael J. Sanderson of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University >>more>> |
| Mangrove as Metaphor Tue, 22 Jul 2008 |
| | The mangrove — that shoreline tree with the salt-tolerant roots that grows into dense thickets — is the fulcrum of two unrelated news stories. It never met a force it couldn't handle. It also provides metaphors for evolutionary t >>more>> |
| Earth from Space Is a Special Place Tue, 22 Jul 2008 |
| | The Deep Impact spacecraft, 31 million miles away, captured images of the moon circling the Earth, reported Space.com (Click here for the sequence of images). 'Making a video of Earth from so far away helps the search for other life-bearing >>more>> |
| Adult Stem Cells May Cure Muscular Dystrophy Sat, 19 Jul 2008 |
| | Muscular dystrophy leaves children and adults in a nearly helpless state. Parents watch in agony as their children suffer rapid and progressive weakness. Attempts to support research, like the annual Labor Day events Jerry Lewis has held for >>more>> |
| Cellular Trucks Use Moving Highways Sat, 19 Jul 2008 |
| | Imagine how cool it would be to get in your car and have the road do the driving. The highway would stretch or shrink, moving this way or that, till you saw your destination and hopped off. That appears to be what the cargo-bearing motors >>more>> |
| Early Magnetic Galaxies Surprise Astronomers Thu, 17 Jul 2008 |
| | Astronomers reported in Nature that early galaxies have normal magnetic fields.1 That is surprising because magnetic fields were supposed to start small and strengthen over billions of years. The team tried to be careful to distinguish intervening >>more>> |
| The Cro-Magnon Were Europeans Thu, 17 Jul 2008 |
| | There's no genetic difference between Cro-Magnon Man and modern Europeans, a genetic study reported by Science Daily. Researchers took extra care to avoid contamination of bones found in southern Italy, they said. They claimed Cro-Magnon people >>more>> |
| Another Evolutionary Statistic Is Wrong Tue, 15 Jul 2008 |
| | Marine invertebrate diversity has not increased dramatically over time, contrary to conventional wisdom. That's the conclusion of a team of 35 researchers who spent a decade analyzing seashell fossils from around the world. >>more>> |
| Is Artificial DNA Intelligently Designed? Tue, 15 Jul 2008 |
| | Japanese chemists have made a new kind of DNA, reported Science Daily. It resembles natural DNA, but is composed of bases that are shorter, modified forms of the ones cells use. 'The finding could lead to improvements in gene therapy, futuristic >>more>> |
| Watery Moon Upsets Conventional Wisdom Tue, 15 Jul 2008 |
| | The moon looks pretty dry. It may have maria (oceans) but the figurative term would not attract customers for beachfront property: its seas are made of hardened lava. The moon's 'Ocean of storms' (Mare Procellarum) only gets rain in the form >>more>> |
| Love Your Planet Mon, 14 Jul 2008 |
| | Modern astronomy and space travel have given humans the ability to view the earth from a distance and ponder its significance. Some astronomers expected the earth to be ordinary-looking. In many respects, however, astronomy is teaching us >>more>> |
| What Mean These Stars? Mon, 14 Jul 2008 |
| | There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in current astronomical models. Two articles recently underscored the factd that astronomers still have a lot to learn. 1. Cluster generation conundrum. 2. Cosmic baby boom gal >>more>> |
| Flatfish Evolution Revealed Fri, 11 Jul 2008 |
| | Darwin has been vindicated again, to hear the media reports. Science Daily said, 'Flatfish Fossils Fill in Evolutionary Missing Link.' National Geographic News ruled out the competition by saying, 'Odd Fish Find Contradicts Intelligent Design >>more>> |
| Why Academic Freedom Is Dangerous Thu, 10 Jul 2008 |
| | Barbara Forrest has a tough case on her hands. The veteran creationist-fighter has to convince the people of Louisiana that they did a bad thing by passing the Academic Freedom Bill, because academic freedom when it comes to discussing intelligent >>more>> |
| First Mercury Research Papers in from MESSENGER Wed, 09 Jul 2008 |
| | Science published a suite of papers analyzing data from the first MESSENGER spacecraft flyby of Mercury.1 The flyby last January was the first since Mariner 10 visited in the 1970s. Mariner 10 had left many questions that are now being revisited. >>more>> |
| Feather Fossil Fallacy? Wed, 09 Jul 2008 |
| | Imprints of melanocytes have been found in fossil feathers. What does this mean? The popular science news reports, like Science Daily, Live Science, PhysOrg and the BBC News seem convinced it can tell us something about how birds evolved from >>more>> |
| It's Networks All the Way Down Tue, 08 Jul 2008 |
| | New ways of seeing biology are finding life is full of networks. At both ends of the complexity scale — from humans to bacteria — complex interactions are the rule. Two teams studying different phenomena had the same reaction — >>more>> |
| Leaky Fat Blobs Produced Life Mon, 07 Jul 2008 |
| | 'How life began remains an open question,' said David Deamer in Nature,1 then filled the opening with a speculation: maybe life started in leaky blobs of fat. The imaginary first primitive cells would have had a problem. Without transport >>more>> |
| Darwinist Reporter Calls Everyone a Hypocrite Mon, 07 Jul 2008 |
| | In a surprising show of journalistic hubris, reporter Robin Nixon of Live Science accused every human being in the world of being a moral hypocrite. 'Why We're All Moral Hypocrites' reported results of a study by Piercarlo Valdesolo at Northeastern >>more>> |
| Amazing Cell Tricks: Contour Map Navigation Sat, 05 Jul 2008 |
| | Watch a cell divide, and if things go well, it always divides in the middle. How does a cell figure out where its middle is? It follows its contour map. PhysOrg titled its entry, 'Dividing cells find their middle by following a protein 'contour >>more>> |
| How to Tell an Evolutionary Story Sat, 05 Jul 2008 |
| | Thanks to Science Daily, we now know that 'Evolutionary Origin Of Mammalian Gene Regulation Is Over 150 Million Years Old.' The proof is easy. It is so easy, in fact, that no proof is necessary. One can merely assume it is true. Trust them; >>more>> |
| Leaf Vein Patterns Are Not in Vain Sat, 05 Jul 2008 |
| | The vein patterns in a leaf approach perfection. If the requirement is to reach every cell with the shortest and most efficient paths, leaves do it just right. A team of scientists at Cornell, 'inspired by plant leaves,' tried to build a network >>more>> |
| Saturn Rings: F is for Flamboyant Sat, 05 Jul 2008 |
| | The Cassini spacecraft just started its extended mission on July 1. Among its many achievements during the four-year prime mission (2004-2008) was the elucidation of complex processes occurring in Saturn's rings. One ring in particular, the >>more>> |
| Can Psychology Figure Out Humans? Sat, 05 Jul 2008 |
| | Psychology is often considered a soft science. Anything they pronounce one year is likely to be modified or overturned the next. A few years ago (and still in some quarters), self-esteem was all the rage (now fading, though; see 05/12/2003). >>more>> |
| Cosmology at the Outer Limits Fri, 04 Jul 2008 |
| | Those who think cosmology could not get any weirder than it already is may want to take note of recent pronouncements by the gurus of universal physics. Physics teachers in particular may feel an obligation to state Bob Berman's disclaimer >>more>> |
| Yellow Journalism Invades Science Fri, 04 Jul 2008 |
| | James Kerian, a mechanical engineer, has a colorful term for science reporting these days: 'yellow science.' Writing for the Wall Street Journal June 25, he accused scientists of the same kind of sensationalism that disgraced journalism in >>more>> |
| Public Views on Darwin Not Evolving Fri, 04 Jul 2008 |
| | A new Gallup Poll shows that American views on evolution have changed little for 26 years. As they have done since 1982, the pollers asked adults if they feel humans evolved millions of years ago (with or without God's help) or were created >>more>> |
| Birds of Different Feathers Evolve Together Thu, 03 Jul 2008 |
| | Are pigeons like parrots? Are hummingbirds like hawks? And are falcons unlike eagles? Scientists are all a-flutter after results of a massive genetic comparison of birds has put some members in unlikely pigeonholes. 'The largest ever study >>more>> |
| Not Another Tetrapod Missing Link Thu, 03 Jul 2008 |
| | Fossils don't contain light bulbs, but almost every time a new one is found, scientists claim it sheds light on evolution. The BBC News kept that tradition going with this line, 'Scientists say a fossil of a four-legged fish sheds new light >>more>> |
| Bacterial Flagellar Motor Has a Protein Clutch Tue, 01 Jul 2008 |
| | The bacterial flagellum, the whiplike outboard motor that has become an icon of intelligent design, has another artificial-looking part: a clutch. Science reported this in 'machine language' without any reference to evoluiton. >>more>> |
| Animal Patterning Keeps Scientists Puzzle-Solving Tue, 01 Jul 2008 |
| | Here's a fascinating area of research for a budding young scientist: the development of animal patterns. Look at the dazzling wing patterns on butterflies in an illustration on Science Daily or consider a zebra's stripes. How do such patterns >>more>> |
| Love Your Heart: Look at Nature Tue, 01 Jul 2008 |
| | Heart patients can get instant relief from stress by simply looking out at nature through a window, reported Science Daily. It worked better if the patient looked at the real thing, not just a picture on TV. >>more>> |
| Evolutionist Learns from 'Neo-Creationists' Sat, 21 Jun 2008 |
| | Neo-creationists: the Intelligent Design (ID) people as well as the active old creationists, are still to be despised and expelled, thinks an evolutionist. That doesn't mean, though, that they aren't making some good points. >>more>> |
| Sunshine Is for Health Sat, 21 Jun 2008 |
| | The old wisdom: stay out of the sun. The new wisdom: your life could depend on getting moderate sunshine: about 10-15 minutes of exposure three times a week. >>more>> |
