Must be the season for science stories that touch religion (archeology, including biblical archeology, is science, isn’t it?), but this one has nothing to do with evolution. It’s all about release of the translation of a “Gospel of Judas,” from an ancient so-called gnostic gospels manuscript found in Egypt in the 70s and that has […]
Yet another counter to Creationists in NYTimes–Evolution’s Mysteries Not So Mysterious
NYTimes’s Kenneth Chang reports on a paper in Science, from a University of Oregon biologist, describing the step-by-step evolution of set of hormone receptors in fish that, at first glance, seems hard to explain as the result of random mutations. Chang rightly refers to the hubbub earlier in the week over a missing fish-to-landbeast link […]
Seattle PI: Puget Sound a Toxic Stew; AP chimes in too
PI Reporter Lisa Stiffler has a roundhouse lede: “Fireproof salmon, fish dosed with anti-depressants and shellfish tainted with amnesia-causing toxins can all be found in Puget Sound, researchers said Wednesday at a public forum.” It may not be new news, but it’s a timely packaging of facts and opinions at a town hall meeting. Read […]
AP: New Red, Blue Rings Found Around Uranus
AP, without byline, posted some astronomy news from the University of California, in this week’s Science, on discovery of newly recognized colored rings around Uranus (which is also a new fillip on the old joke with the punchline, “speak for yourself”). Read AP’s version, or for a bit more, go to Space.com’s version by Sara […]
Wash Post: Climate Researchers Feeling Heat From White House
Staff writer Juliet Eilperin with yet another account, with solid reporting, of White House interference with the ability of federal employees who also happen to be scientists to say openly what they think about recent research in their fields, including research they’ve done themselves, and even if they disagree with rationales for executive branch policies. […]
NYTimes: New, big telescope a tonic for South African science
Reporter Michael Wines on how a low-cost, but very large and productive, telescope modeled after one built a few years ago in Texas is not only doing good astronomy, but is a catalyst for public education. A big aim is to get more young South Africans, particularly blacks and coloreds whose parents were excluded by […]