Thanks to the zillions of friendly people who sent me links to the coconut octopus story, I can share accounts from slashdot, treehugger, new scientist, the AP, and of course, the BBC. Much indignant…

Last week I talked about some H1N1 numbers from the CDC. The numbers I highlighted were by and large from either the CDC's focused surveillance sites, or based on reports voluntarily submitted by…

The American religious experience is changing. The mystical experience has long been a part of the human religious experience. It is in fact believe to be the original documented form of the…

Consider this an open letter to Hank, not as an act of aggression but because, hey, I'm due a blog post for today anyway. We need a "Computational Science" section.  It's okay for stuff that…

Who is the president of physics? Hawking, maybe? "I mean, what's more likely -- that I have uncovered fundamental flaws in this field that no one in it has ever thought about, or that I need to read…

While trying to develop a vaccine for AIDS, researchers have uncovered a biological catch-22 that's been hindering their chances of success. They say that while the immune system can produce cells…

Many studies have shown, and common sense dictates, that good looks greatly benefit those who have them. Prettier people tend to have more social relationships, and reap the psychological benefits as…

Analysis of microfossils found in ocean sediment cores is illuminating the environmental conditions that prevailed at high latitudes during a critical period of Earth history. Around 55 million years…

In a pilot project that could help better manage the planet's strained natural resources, NASA satellites and sensors are providing a local Washington community the information needed to make more…

NASA researchers studying urban landscapes say the intensity of the "heat island" created by a city depends on the ecosystem it replaced and on the regional climate where the city is located. Urban…

Before the tobacco industry gave up the fight over the health effects of smoking, it was common for major cigarette manufacturers like Phillip Morris to fight advertising restrictions on their…

Holographic Hot HorizonsWe are all familiar with gravity. Gravity is what makes us earthbound. It causes ourselves and any object in our vicinity to accelerate downward at 9.8 m/s2. Newton has shown…

India under attack as high drama mars climate summit Copenhagen: India and China came under a concerted attack from rich nations Monday for a three-hour suspension of the Dec 7-18 climate summit,…

The United States, Russia and a United Nations arms control committee are discussing methods to, "strengthen Internet security and limiting military use of cyberspace." It interesting how different…

The government of China has funded and opened a pipeline going from Turkmenistan to Xinjiang province in China.  The pipeline is set to provide, "40 billion cubic meters of gas for 30 years once…

Today's issue of Molecular Cell has two complementary papers on biological signal processing that look interesting (subscription required): "The Incoherent Feedforward Loop Can Provide Fold-Change…

Discussion of the rise in diagnosed autism is a controversial topic, and I applaud one company that is sidestepping the entire 'why' and 'who is at fault' issue and tackling it like good capitalists.…

This is an experiment to stir up reaction: a significant proportion of the literature is misleading or false, tainting up to 20% of publications. What are the consequences? 1. The wastage…

4797047001   bente tuesday noon union square

Be sure about one thing: in my very humble opinion it is not like Berlusconi would not deserve some kind of punishment, for the damage he has caused to my country. But violence is not the way.…