(If you haven’t read part one, please click here.)        Firstly, having caught a glimpse of the power and prowess of the practise of philosophy, I'm sure one can…

    We begin by examining the contents of your mind. Our goal in this four part discussion will be to separate the ideas we have concocted for ourselves from the ones that are…

Day one if you missed it.  Science is sometimes about  taking a hunch and amassing data to confirm the hypothesis.  I am still amassing data but I am reasonably sure the way to know…

The FBI yesterday released a 104-page report laying out its case the the 2001 anthrax attacks were committed by a US Army bioweapons researcher, Dr. Bruce Ivans. Some are arguing that this report isn…

Doctors can now understand better chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), including how it responds to therapy, thanks to a new mathematical model for the disease developed by scientists in Portugal,…

Assorted creationists claim variously that creation theories are falsifiable and that evolutionary theories are not falsifiable. Here, I want to quickly point out a few flaws that I see in their…

When I am out doing bug programs I am often asked (with a slow-down-to-look-at-an-accident wince); “where do you keep all these bugs? Do they stay at your house?” I explain about the…

Good to see that even if journalists can't be bothered to investigate the links between tobacco companies and so-called scientific research, then at least some scientists are doing so. This study,…

Heads up, banner-plane pilots: you, like so many before you, could lose your job to a sleek, 21st century technology that not only performs better than you, but looks way cooler doing it. A new…

There is a new article out in today’s Molecular System Biology, which has the media saying the typical baloney-filled things like “The Key to Aging Discovered,” “Breakthrough to Immortality,” and…

Context Is Vital The meaning of a string of words can seem to be entirely opposite in intent if it is placed in the wrong context.  The device of spreading false ideas by quoting people out of…

It's often the case that attending a conference like AAAS means you have to choose between competing programs, like the good stuff, the fun stuff and the stuff you will make fun of.  This…

Did you ever wonder why some people become astronomers?  I asked random astronomers at last month's AAS meeting, and in my latest 365DOA podcast, you can find out what each said-- and how each…

The British government has just published a whole batch of reports on science communication. The Science&Media Report was published on 20th January 2010, including a variety of supporting…

It has become a pleasant habit for me to visit Bassano del Grappa every February for a conference on particle physics aimed at high-school students. Thanks to the efforts and the skill of dr. Sergio…

In many parts of the country there is a recession but some segments are immune to the ups and downs of economic cycles.  Three are obvious; your lawyer, your accountant and hotels in towns where…

No, this isn’t a close-up of the surface of a golf ball. It’s a new type of material, one that is porous and elastic, lighter than solid aluminum yet stronger than steel, one that its creators are…

The enzyme calcineurin is critical to normal development and function of heart cells, and loss of the protein leads to heart problems and death in genetically modified mice, according to researchers…

People who live in areas with lower household incomes are much more likely to die because of their personal and household characteristics and their community surroundings, according to research…

Plants and algae, as well as cyanobacteria, use photosynthesis to produce oxygen and "fuels," the latter being oxidizable substances like carbohydrates and hydrogen. There are two pigment-protein…