An essential prerequisite [for genius] is a particular skepticism. [The scientist] must have refused to acquiesce in certain previously accepted conclusions. This argues a kind of an…

I'm a bit of a movie buff.I especially like science fiction movies.I'm also a little paranoid and keen on conspiracy theories. It should therefore come to no surprise that I was sucked into the viral…

Not quite as scientifically challenging as Garth's Geek Off, but still a workout for the neurons. John Tierney's "Tierney Lab" column in the NY Times features DeCAPitated puzzles, like the one below…

Is it a pig? A rhino? A zebra? Heck if I know. But it's really freaking weird looking, that's for sure. The headline in the NY Times article, "New Research on Malaysia's Odd, Elusive Tapir" caught my…

Very cool news- a ROV recently dove to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench.  Here's the basics over at Discover. I can't wait until they release more images.  It's very exciting that…

The issue of altruism in animals is well recognized, but the explanation has always been strained. In particular, the idea that altruism would be beneficial at the group level gave rise to the idea…

This can't all be good stuff: a paper I'm reading noted that "Just a few keywords (linkage, mapping, SNP, genomewide association) identified 6866 articles in the PubMed database published in 2007…

Sometimes vaccines can eradicate widespread disease, like MMR, diphtheria, polio, smallpox. Sometimes they can mired in controversy, like the fight over whether they cause autism. In this…

It's a laughing matter - apes make "weird" sounds when they are tickled, and these "tickle-induced vocalizations" are akin to human laughter, according to a study discussed on NPR. "The results…

Teasing out the effects of natural selection on our genomes from the effects of other evolutionary processes is hard. A group at the University of Washington, using comparisons with the genomes of 5…

Fraud Takes A Lot Of Brass There have been many daring and dastardly deeds of deception throughout history.  The daring deeds of the French Maquis and Britain's SOE in the second world war are…

If you have not yet heard, David Carradine, aged 72, was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room on Wednesday, probably of a suicide (or perhaps something more INXS-related?).    I was in my den…

An educational culture where it's an embarrassment to not know the names of five plays by Shakespeare but OK not to know the difference between a gene and a chromosome isn't functional.   …

The genetic code is fixed in most organisms, but sometimes microbes pull off a swap. How that swap works is hard to fathom, because you can screw up nearly all of your genes by doing it. A paper out…

Speak Out : Silence is the Enemy. Injustice promotes unrest.  Unrest promotes war.War promotes injustice. It is not possible to have a productive and stable society in which there is widespread…

Mmm. Protein. To a certain someone: I got there first this time! Thanks to Indexed.

Just came across a really cool article, about a recent discovery where scientists have found a way to make a metal absorb water, transport it over distances just like a tree absorbs water from roots…

When looking for an effect, be it cancer drugs, cognitive therapy, etc, how much is enough? Cancer drugs usually enter the market on basis of incremental benefit - extending someone's life by a few…

Random Noise #15 : Noises In Noyes's Poetry. What is a noise, that it annoys us so?Noise is, in a given situation,  any sound or sounds which one or more listeners consider to be any of:…

Little Pigeon-Boxes It seems to be a universal characteristic of humans that we like to label each other, often in simplistic binary fashion.  Friend or foe, left-wing or right-wing, smart or…