Halloween Horror Science: Are Chickens That Learn A Bigger Threat To Us Than AI?

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) vegetarian advocacy group ...

Ignore Critics, Gen Z, We Weren't Smarter In 1984

It's commonplace for older generations to criticize the young. In my early career, an older fellow...

Taking The Book Of The Dead To Heart

In ancient Egypt, the heart was the key to a happy afterlife. It lived on after death, they believed...

American CO2 Is Below War War II Levels But We Keep Emissions High In Poor Countries

In politics, one way to make your belief in alternative energy seem feasible is to make its competitors...

Hank Campbell

I founded Science 2.0® in 2006 and since then it has become the world's largest independent science communications site, with over 300,000,000 direct readers and reach approaching one billion. Read More »

Yahoo! Buzz For Science

Aug 20 2008 | comment(s)

Yahoo! Buzz, a competitor to social news sites like Digg and Reddit, has been opened up to the entire worldwide community. We've been critical at times of sites like Digg, which are overrun by marketing people and have a secret 'auto-bury' list of sites that aren't tithing properly. It isn't just Digg, Shoutwire and any number of small sites are the same way, but the leader will take the most heat and deservedly so. Sites like ours, that don't need to make money from Digg or artificially pumping up traffic, can take a stand and so we have. Why? Well, it's social media, not who-pays-to-be-seen media. In a world where only people who pay get to be seen, we could never exist because we're the only large science site not owned by a media corporation or the government.

Eco-Tourism Is Big Business But Can Wildlife And Tourism Mix?

Aug 13 2008 | comment(s)

To some on the fringes, the only good planet is one without people. To some pseudo-environmentalists, a good planet is one where theirs is the only SUV. To millions more, nature is a way to escape the rigors of city life and enjoy the outdoors without being intrusive.

Ecotourism is big business these days. Convincing society that nature's beauty should be preserved and enjoyed has convinced more people than ever they should actually enjoy it.

But an examination of Californian forests says that hiking, bird-watching and other low-impact activities are linked to a sharp drop in carnivores like bobcats and coyotes. In other words, if you really care about Mother Earth you should leave nature to conservationists who get paid to monitor wildlife and instead walk around the local mall.

Of snakes and wives

Aug 10 2008 | comment(s)

I guess the residents of Barbados are not as amused as we are about some fame-whoring scientist tripping over a snake they have seen their whole lives and naming it after his spouse. "How dare this man come in here and name a snake after his wife?" said the writer who identified themselves as Margaret Knight. Even Columbus didn't try to name anything after his wife and he discovered a whole bunch of people no one in Europe had ever seen, but that's science - Hedges was first to 'discover' Leptotyphlops carlae was a new species.

It's Official: Sauna Is Good For Your Skin (And It's A Sport)

Aug 09 2008 | comment(s)

Sauna has long been a cottage industry in Finland and the entire Northern hemisphere, with Scandinavians and Russians claiming to have used saunas for cleansing and relaxation for over 2,500 years.

Saunas are the new Prius, with various studies claiming a positive influence on general health.

A recent study(1) conducted in 41 healthy volunteers and presented in Dermatology says that regular sauna also has a positive effect on skin physiology.

Left, Right - Evolution Has Something For Everyone To Attack

Aug 07 2008 | comment(s)

Quick; who is against evolution the most? Right wing, religious fundamentalists or left-wing academics? Well, you're right. Both sides have something to fear and both sides attack evolution in order to keep their world view intact. The worst thing for a humanities professor who has spent his life dissecting the impact of social learning and culture is to find out there may actually be genetic distinctions that promote inequality. If you're a biologist, it's a strange fear because the exact opposite is true; evolution offers a way for everyone to share genetic commonality.

On Heisenberg: I'm Not The Only One Who Had So-So Grades

Aug 03 2008 | comment(s)

We don't have a lot of students reading here but if we did, I would tell them not to sweat the letter grades too much. You can be a 'C' student at Yale and be President of the United States.

Heck, you can be an even worse student and be his Democrat opponent in 2004.