I recently heard a news report about the murder victim at Yale University, Annie Le.  This was followed by a cacophony of calls to change our culture of violence against women and to bring…

Today an archaeologist revealed that even in ancient Israel they were making outstanding likenesses of Alexander the Great.   Israel was a far cry from his usual stomping grounds but he had…

There is a new article on LiveScience "Scary: Fake Videos Alter Perception of Reality"that reports some findings related to faked videos and the responses to them. This particular article brings up…

Private military firms and the Department of Defense bare the brunt of the United States military complex. The "shark" (US DoD) embraces its "supremacy" (technological superiority).  Yet we, our…

Fermilab is a wonderful place to travel to in the late summer or fall. The site of the laboratory is a wide chunk of land just east of the Fox river, 30 miles west of Chicago. It is home to not just…

Around 80% of the population lives in rural areas which primarily utilize biomass for their energy requirement. Depending on the agroclimatic zone by diversity and plant productivity the biomass…

Knowing Josh, he probably trademarked his Second Cutest Babies EVER series (check out the most recent post here), so in hopes of pre-empting IP lawsuits I went for one notch lower on the cutest baby…

Scientific Name Bombax ceiba Linn Family Bombacaceae Used Part Flowers Distribution Area Throughout India in forests upto an elevation of about 1500 m also raised in plantations. Common Uses…

Scientific Name Valeriana jatamansi Jones syn. V. wallichii DC. Family Valerianaceae Used Part Rhizome, roots. Distribution Area A sligtly hairy, tufted herb, found in the temperate Himalayas at…

What happened to all the enthusiasm?  Perhaps new astronomy will shed light on the matter.In 2005 the anniversary of Einstein's miracle year there was much talk of "new Einstien"s and why there…

Scientific Name Cassia fistula Linn. Family Caesalpiniaceae (Fabaceae) Used Part Root. Distribution Area A deciduous medium-sized tree, occurring in deciduous forests throughout the greater part of…

So there's this big art competition in Grand Rapids, MI. Artists make art, show it in one of numerous venues, and everyone who wants to can cast a vote. The piece winning the most votes lands the…

Parasites... why the freak did god think it was ok to invent parasites!? They are the creepiest freak-o-zoidal things I have ever heard of. Sometimes silently plaguing mankind and animal kingdom…

Just how much would you pay to go into space? $12000 for a satellite plus launch, like me? Or perhaps... $300 to build a high-altitude balloon camera? Or, if $300 is too high, how about getting a…

The first (intended to be annual)[1] Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism was held on Saturday, sponsored by the New England Skeptical Society and the New York City Skeptics. The…

Scientific Name Bambusa arundinacea (Retz) Willd. ( B. arundinacea (Retz.) Roxb.; syn. B. bambos Druce) Family Poaceae Used Part Bamboo manna. Distribution Area Distributed throughout the…

Seriously? The film [Creation] was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to…

Like many institutions, the University of Guelph is hosting a series of events in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of…

Scientific Name Woodfordia fruticosa (L.)Kurz. (W. fruticosa Kurz syn. W.floribunda Salisb.) Family Lythraceae Used Part Flowers. Distribution Area A shrub, commonly occurring…

Lucrative alternative All this, says Ibrahim, is good news for Malawi, where most people live on less than US$1 a day. He says jatropha could be a lucrative alternative to tobacco, Malawi's…