Thursday, June 30, 2005

What’s so intelligent about this design?

What’s so intelligent about this design?
by David P. Barash (Star Tribune)
There’s much more that the supposed designer botched: ill-constructed knee joints that wear out, a lower back that’s prone to pain, an inverted exit of the optic nerve via the retina, resulting in a blind spot. And what about the theological implications? If God is the designer, and we are created in his image, does that mean he has back problems, too?

And external testicles? To paraphrase the Comic Book Guy: Worst. Design. Ever.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Poll Finds Many Americans Believe Cancer Myths

Poll Finds Many Americans Believe Cancer Myths
(Science Daily)
People who were over 65 years, of non-White race, residents of the South, or self-identified as without much or any understanding of cancer were likely to hold more misconceptions. The survey found little relation between people’s self-assessment of cancer knowledge and the accuracy of their answers. For four of the five questions, there was no significant difference in prevalence of endorsement of the inaccuracies between the groups who called themselves “very informed,” “somewhat informed,” or “not very informed.”

How surprising!
Related: Kansas evolution poll shows majority want change

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Saturday, June 25, 2005

AAPT Statement on the Teaching of Evolution and Cosmology

AAPT Statement on the Teaching of Evolution and Cosmology
(American Association of Physics Teachers)
Evolution and cosmology represent two of the unifying concepts of modern science. There are few scientific theories more firmly supported by observations than these: Biological evolution has occurred and new species have arisen over time, life on Earth originated more than a billion years ago, and most stars are at least several billion years old. Overwhelming evidence comes from diverse sources—the structure and function of DNA, geological analysis of rocks, paleontological studies of fossils, telescopic observations of distant stars and galaxies—and no serious scientist questions these claims. We do our children a grave disservice if we remove from their education an exposure to firm scientific evidence supporting principles that significantly shape our understanding of the world in which we live.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Self-absorbed handle trauma best

Self-absorbed handle trauma best
(USNews.com)
“Self-enhancers are somewhat grandiose,” says Dr. George Bonanno, associate professor of clinical psychology and the lead researcher in the study. “They are preoccupied with themselves, they score high on measures of narcissism, and the research shows pretty clearly that they are annoying to be around.”

[…]

Even though the participants were randomly selected, in any group of people about 20 percent are likely to be self-enhancers. In this study, those who showed self-enhancement traits reported fewer post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and were simply happier and more well adjusted over time than most others.

The advantages of being an asshole.

Evidence and exasperation

Evidence and exasperation
(The Loom)
Any theory that would explain the Earth’s landscape has to be able to account for a huge variety of features. The same goes for any theory that would explain the Earth’s biological diversity. Just consider fish. There are fish with eyes and fish without. Most fish only swim, but some fish can fly and some can crawl on dry land. A theory that could only shed light on one kind of fish wouldn’t be much of a theory at all.

Oops! Dinosaur Teeth Sales are a Croc

Oops! Dinosaur Teeth Sales are a Croc
(Live Science)
“Because the teeth look like those we know from herbivorous ornithischians, people assigned them to the dinosaurs,” said Randall Irmis, a graduate student in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Museum of Paleontology at UC Berkeley. “We think we’ve shown that you can’t rely on the dentition to determine what is an early dinosaur, which casts doubt on all the ornithischians from the Triassic of North America.”

These dogmatic, fundamentalist scientists!

Male sweat sells men’s lifestyle magazines

Male sweat sells men’s lifestyle magazines
(New Scientist)
The male participants exposed to androstenol rated Men’s Health as significantly more masculine and more appealing compared with the control group. They also had a higher tendency to report that they might buy the magazine. Women appeared to be completely unaffected by the pheromone.

A much-needed fillip for the ailing scratch-and-sniff industry.

Setting SETI’s Sights II: Abodes for Life?

Setting SETI’s Sights II: Abodes for Life?
(Space.com)
Given the longevity of M stars, however, complex life on worlds circling such stars might get a second chance. “If evolution happens at a very slow pace, or if many times evolution gets started and gets truncated, because of some extinction events,” explained Jill Tarter, Director of SETI Research at the SETI Institute, “planets around M stars may get more than one chance, and they may be able to accommodate a slower evolutionary mode and still end up with telescope builders.”

That seems extremely overoptimistic, but it can’t hurt to keep searching. (Although, with the current rate of server outages, it might take a bit longer than what Seth predicted.)

Voice of Reason: Fact vs. Fiction on Obesity

Voice of Reason: Fact vs. Fiction on Obesity
(Live Science)
Many obesity skeptics denounce popular culture’s obsession with thinness. While thin bodies are undeniably present in entertainment media, large bodies are just as present, from Oprah Winfrey to Roseanne Barr and Kirstie Alley, American Idol Ruben Studdard to Starr Jones and Queen Latifah. Bizarrely, Campos cites very thin actresses Kate Moss and Calista Flockhart as being the “cultural ideal.” He offers no support for this claim (ideal according to whom?) and seems unaware that both Moss and Flockhart were continually and harshly criticized—not lauded—for their thin bodies.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Brains Contain ‘Celebrity Cells’

Brains Contain ‘Celebrity Cells’
(Live Science)
But this was not the only case of a person-specific neuron. In another patient, the activity of a single neuron was tied to Halle Berry. Not only did pictures of the actress elicit a response but so did other representations: a drawn caricature, images of Berry in her “Catwoman” costume, and even the spelling of her name.

Which inevitably brings up the question of the functional status of their other neurons.

Remember Flim-Flam

Remember Flim-Flam
How to be a modern skeptic.
by Daniel Engber (Slate)
That’s the conundrum of the modern skeptics movement: Intelligent Design theorists and deniers of global warming may very well be phonies and scoundrels, but no one is going to debunk them in the classic sense. You can’t reveal their hidden microphones or mimic their tricks with sleight of hand. Intelligent Design, after all, is an attempt to recast (even to “rebunk”) Creationism in scientific terms. The best weapon against it isn’t dramatic exposé, but scientific argument. So a change in tactics makes sense for the movement.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Hunter-gatherers face extinction on India island

Hunter-gatherers face extinction on India island
(Reuters AlertNet)
“It is really frightening,” said author and activist Madhusree Mukherjee. “The surest way to kill hunter-gatherers is to take away their territory.”

The Jarawa are one of four ancient Negroid tribes barely surviving on the Andamans. Last month, Indian scientists said DNA evidence suggested they were direct descendents of man’s earliest ancestors, who migrated from Africa 65,000 to 70,000 years ago, only to be stranded on the islands by rising seawater.

Anesthesia can give rise to sex illusion

Anesthesia can give rise to sex illusion
(Arizona Daily Star)
Several Tucson physicians say anesthetized patients have expressed graphic, erotic fantasies during and after surgical procedures, but none has resulted in a legal accusation of assault.

However, in Phoenix several years ago, a dentist lost his license after using a drug known to trigger sexual dreams to assault patients. He claimed the patients were hallucinating the sex.

Probably not related: Women More Afraid Of Dentists Than Men: University Of Toronto Study

Planet of the Hats

Planet of the Hats
(Pharyngula)
It sounds very silly, I know. A minority on my planet also find it pointless, myself among them, and didn’t bother with wearing a hat. This is tolerated in the more civilized nations, although there are places where wearing no hat, or a strange hat, can get you killed.* And honestly, many people in my country only bothered to wear their hat once a week, although the rest of the time they would keep them on ornate hatstands in their home, and attached much significance to their presence.

*Only if they find out. Until then …

Monday, June 20, 2005

The Bible Poop Quiz

The Bible Poop Quiz
(Landover Baptist Church)
While He is our praiseworthy, omnipotent God, the Lord has always suffered from various unsavory obsessions. One of the more troubling is His infatuation with excrement, both human and animal. To ensure that you are taking as close a walk as possible with the Lord by at least feigning interest in His fetishes, it behooves you to brush up on the Lord’s favorite scatological scripture.

Take the quiz.

I got only five correct, which reveals my semi-crappy scriptural ignorance.

Did humans evolve in fits and starts?

Did humans evolve in fits and starts?
(New Scientist)
Instead, they found that the big duplications had occurred in a short period of time, relatively speaking, after which only smaller rearrangements occurred. Eichler found the bulk of the duplications were present in the genomes of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, but were absent in Old World monkeys—such as baboons and macaques.

Research Shows Women’s Weight Gain Brings Loss of Income

Research Shows Women’s Weight Gain Brings Loss of Income, Job Prestige
(New York University)
Through sibling comparisons, Conley and Glauber found that a 1 percent increase in a woman’s body mass results in a 0.6 percentage point decrease in her family income and a 0.4 percentage point decrease in her occupational prestige as measured 13 to 15 years later. There were no such associations found for the men in the sample.

Homer Simpson would be going, “Woohoo!” (Incidentally, he makes $65,000 a year.)

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Intelligent design is good topic for religion class

Intelligent design is good topic for religion, not biology, class
by David R. Keller (Salt Lake Tribune)
First, intelligent design theory does not evoke an omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent Lord. The problematic design and superfluousness of some organs, not to mention the existence of famine, pestilence and suffering, all point to flaws in nature rather than perfection. Thus, if design in nature is the result of some intelligent being, it is entirely possible that the earth was an early, mediocre experiment of an infantile deity who abandoned this undertaking and moved on to bigger and better projects elsewhere.

Friday, June 17, 2005

Ophelia Speaks …

Mill and Russell Speak Up
(Butterflies and Wheels)
No, the reality is, the argument from design is just a shop window thing. It’s just a pretense. IDers don’t want an explanation (that’s obvious, because if they did, by now they would have taken in the fact that ID isn’t an explanation at all)—they want their God, and they think ID is a respectable way to be able to have it. In fact it’s not respectable, because it’s so silly. An explanation that doesn’t explain anything is silly. But they do get people to listen to them. Maybe if the obvious problem with the designer were more widely noticed, they’d have more trouble.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Cultivating the Third Eye

Cultivating the Third Eye
(Science Magazine)

“In lower vertebrates, the pineal organ had a visual role which got lost during evolution. Our experiments show that this vestigial organ can be activated in vertebrates,” says Jangir. Both the eyes and the pineal organ depend on similar developmental signals in the embryo and express the same homeobox gene, he says. Ramesh Ramachandra Bhonde of the National Center for Cell Science in Pune (India) calls the achievement “an important milestone” that contributes to the value of the pineal gland as a model in studies of both evolution and development.

Can’t expect any less from a country with a popular three-eyed deity.

Face on Mars: Why People See What’s Not There

Face on Mars: Why People See What’s Not There
(Live Science)
“It’s a manifestation of over-learning, such as when we find a man’s face on Mars’ surface or in a forest or on a cloud,” said Takeo Watanabe of Boston University. “We’ve over-learned human faces so we see them where they aren’t.”

Seeing faces is one thing; thinking up elaborate stories to support ridiculous notions is another.

Friday, June 10, 2005

The Real Intelligent Designers

The Real Intelligent Designers
by James Pinkerton (Tech Central Station)
But it’s a fallacy to argue that just because one person—or even all the people of an era—can’t figure out how something works, therefore such mysterious workings are beyond any human comprehension, ever. To take one humble example, years ago I saw Siegfried and Roy perform their tiger-based magic in Las Vegas, and was frankly astonished at some of the illusions they generated at the aptly named Mirage casino. I had no idea how they did their tricks, but since I knew that they employed mechanics, not metaphysics, to do their show, I was content just to enjoy it, marveling all the while at human ingenuity. And of course, if one waits long enough, he will get a peek behind the conjuring curtain, learning how tricks are done and also that like the rest of us, Siegfried and Roy suffer from Murphy’s Law, too. And so it is with science: eventually, some scientist will figure out how the “trick” of the bacteria’s flagellum is done.

The piece talks about Scientific Intelligent Design (SID)—not an oxymoron in this case—an ongoing discipline with an exciting future.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Mixed-gender pornography boosts sperm

Mixed-gender pornography boosts sperm
(Nature)
Although this seems to go against common perceptions about male sexual preferences, it is consistent with the theory of sperm competition, says study leader Leigh Simmons of the University of Western Australia, Perth. This states that males (of many species, including humans) should produce better sperm when faced with a female who has other mates, because this stimulates them to boost their chance of procreation.

US Christian drills for oil in Israel

US Christian drills for oil in Israel
(Jerusalem Post)
Brown bases his quest on a Bible verse—Genesis 49:25—where Jacob tells his son Joseph that God will give him “blessings of the deep that lie beneath.”

The operative words here being “deep” and “lie.”
Brown says he “prayed and asked God for oil for Israel,” and believes, “the answer was yes.”

This is why I’ll never strike rich—nobody answers my prayers.

Genes blamed for fickle female orgasm

Genes blamed for fickle female orgasm
(New Scientist)
Unsurprisingly, more women were able to achieve orgasm through masturbation, with 34% saying they could always do so. However, the figure for those who could never achieve it was only slightly lower, at 14%. The analysis suggests that 45% of this variation is genetic.

Go ahead, blame those selfish brutes.
Also, I need to bone up (ahem) on stump-tailed macaques.

Review of The Privileged Planet

Review of The Privileged Planet
(National Center for Science Education)
Unfortunately, it means that the ancient argument from design (of which this book is just a modern example) is scientifically useless. There is no conceivable evidence that could, even in principle, refute the notion that everything happens as a result of an unconstrained, very powerful “designer.” This is because such an entity can be invoked to explain any evidence whatsoever. Real scientific hypotheses have to be vulnerable to evidence. It must be possible to imagine evidence that would undermine them (see Pennock 1999, ch 6, for an extensive discussion). This is not the case for a mysterious “intelligent designer” of nature so unspecified that one cannot even make predictions about what one would expect to observe if it existed.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Pollution-eating bacteria produce electricity

Pollution-eating bacteria produce electricity
(EurekAlert)
“These bacteria are very diverse in their metabolic capabilities, including the food that they can consume. That means that these bacteria can convert a large number of different food sources into electricity,” says Milliken. “The technology could be used to assist in the reclamation of wastewaters, thereby resulting in the removal of waste and generation of electricity.”

Students torn over life’s origins

Students torn over life’s origins
(Richmond Times Dispatch)
William Doran IV, theology teacher at Benedictine High School, a Catholic military school, said Benedictine requires students to take the science curriculum and theology.

“I actually provide kids with a growing amount of evidence that creationism is at least as possible as evolution is,” he said.

By doing that, Doran said, he expects students to take the Scriptures more seriously.

“I don’t want individual students to think it’s Bible versus science because that’s unfair,” he said. “There is science in both.”

Whoa! There’s science in … science. Didn’t see that coming, did you?

Monkey Business

Monkey Business
(New York Times)
Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys’ true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)

Dolphins teach their children to uses sponges

Dolphins teach their children to uses sponges
(New Scientist)
Most sponges are flat, but tool-using dolphins select conical ones that will not fall off their snouts. The majority of dolphin “spongers” are females.

[…]

Krützen also has an idea about why males do not like using sponges. “Males are more interested in forming alliances with other males than sponging,” he says. “They have a different social life than females, and this might restrict them to invest too much time in sponging, which is quite a solitary activity.”

I am sure many male mammals would concur.

Invention Allows Humans to Breathe Like Fish

Invention Allows Humans to Breathe Like Fish
(Live Science)
Alan Izhar-Bodner, an Israeli inventor, has developed a way for divers to breathe underwater without cumbersome oxygen tanks. His apparatus makes use of the air that is dissolved in water, just like fish do.

Slightly different from the invention that allows you to drink like one.

Monday, June 06, 2005

For Fruit Flies, Gene Shift Tilts Sex Orientation

For Fruit Flies, Gene Shift Tilts Sex Orientation
(New York Times)
“We have shown that a single gene in the fruit fly is sufficient to determine all aspects of the flies’ sexual orientation and behavior,” said the paper’s lead author, Dr. Barry Dickson, senior scientist at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna. “It’s very surprising.”

“What it tells us is that instinctive behaviors can be specified by genetic programs, just like the morphologic development of an organ or a nose.”

Like I’ve mentioned before, God sure works in mysterious ways.

God, science and “Intelligent Design”

God, science and “Intelligent Design”
By Julie Berry (Metrowest Daily News)
This lack of popular understanding of evolutionary science and of religious doctrine is exploited by the Intelligent Design movement, says Dr. Alan Templeton, professor of biology, genetics, and biomedical engineering at Washington University. Templeton, who is Jewish, says of Intelligent Design proponents, “They distort what evolution says, thereby exploiting ignorance.”

One such area is the use of the word ‘theory’ as applied to evolution, implying that it is a dubious proposition instead of a unifying framework for explaining phenomena. Likewise, proponents of Intelligent Design seize upon instances debated among evolutionists as proof that evolutionary theory is in scientific jeopardy.

Inordinate Fondness for Beetle Horns

An Inordinate Fondness for Beetle Horns
(The Loom)
Emlen and his colleagues argue that sexual selection has driven the horns of these beetles to outrageous lengths. If you’re a male dung beetle and you want pry another male out of his tunnel, it helps to have a longer horn. If you’re that male in the tunnel, your own chances of victory depend on the horn too. So it’s the males with bigger horns that are most likely to win.

No conflict between Bible and evolution

No conflict between Bible and evolution
(York Daily Record)
First off, the Bible is a book of faith. It tells us about God and our relationship with God. For this knowledge and understanding there is no better source. However, the Bible is not a science book. There is no need for conflict between science and religion—because science is merely attempting to explain what God has made. Science merely tries to figure out how the universe that God made works. There is no conflict.

As opposed to the Qur’an, which is a bona fide, peer-reviewed book of science.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Smithsonian Distances Itself From Controversial Film

Smithsonian Distances Itself From Controversial Film
(Washington Post)
“We have determined that the content of the film is not consistent with the mission of the Smithsonian Institution’s scientific research,” said a museum statement. The film, “The Privileged Planet: The Search for Purpose in the Universe,” is based on a book by Iowa State University astronomy professor Guillermo Gonzalez. Opponents say it and other arguments for intelligent design are creationism in disguise.

“Trust” Hormone’s Smell Helps Us Hand Over Cash

“Trust” Hormone’s Smell Helps Us Hand Over Cash, Study Says
(National Geographic News)
Investors who smelled a dose of oxytocin before playing the game were far more likely to hand over money than those in a control group who received a placebo.

Hormone spray—yet another valuable addition to the multilevel marketer’s formidable arsenal.

Men better at chess

Men better at chess
(ABC Science)
He says his results rule out any ‘glass ceiling’ effect and lack of female role models as explanation for the differences.

Instead, he says his results show that innate differences in ability between men and women, namely the evolutionary psychology view, could be one explanation.

”However, I suspect it might be in many cases that women just don’t get obsessed with things like men do. They don’t want to spend all their waking hours studying chess and competing harder.”

Lust Strikes Both Genders Daily

Lust Strikes Both Genders Daily
(Forbes)
In keeping with previous studies, the team found that men do think of sex more often—close to four times more frequently—than women. Men also rated the intensity of these lustful episodes as being slightly higher than those related to the researchers by women.

“These differences may reflect socialization processes that differentially influence men’s and women’s sexual attitudes and behavior,” the researchers speculated. “Alternatively, they may reflect underlying biological differences between men and women.”

You think?

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Most Americans Believe Alien Life is Possible

Most Americans Believe Alien Life is Possible, Study Shows
(Space.com)
Of those polled who believed in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, 77 percent thought alien life forms could develop on planets very different from Earth. About eight of 10 Americans believe it is likely that intelligent aliens on other planets are more advanced than humans, the poll found.

Something doesn’t quite add up.

Love More Powerful than Sex, Study Claims

Love More Powerful than Sex, Study Claims
(Live Science)
The processing of romantic feelings involves a “constellation of neural systems.” The researchers—neuroscientists, anthropologists and social psychologists—declare love the clear winner versus sex in terms of its power over the human mind.

“Romantic love is one of the most powerful of all human experiences,” said study member Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at Rutgers University. “It is definitely more powerful than the sex drive.”

Related: Love’s all in the brain: fMRI study shows strong, lateralized reward, not sex, drive
Watching New Love as It Sears the Brain