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Hank CampbellRSS Feed of this column.

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 »

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EPA Joins Bob Geldof And Embraces Nuclear Science

EPA Joins Bob Geldof And Embraces Nuclear Science

May 07 2013 | comment(s)

Bob Geldof, former singer with The Boomtown Rats, is better known today for his work with poor people. Long after it stopped being fashionable, he has continued to help starving people in Ethiopia.

It's not the only way he is unfashionable - so is his old-school liberalism, which doesn't care about labels or circling the wagons for Big Tent left-wing causes or being against anyone on the other side by default.  When he spoke nicely about George W. Bush in 2003, it was stunning because we were all told to hate George Bush. Liberals in America were not allowed to say nice things about the man or the pitchforks and "neo-con" labels came out.
Science Media, Politics And The Big, White Elephant In The Room

Science Media, Politics And The Big, White Elephant In The Room

May 06 2013 | comment(s)

What do science media and politics of 2013 share in common with 2006?

Anti-science beliefs among the public? Check.
Scientists willing to call them out? Check.
Scientists and science media noting the common political affiliation of anti-science offenders?  Not check.

The anti-GMO movement has far more representation on the left than the anti-hESC contingent ever had on the right. Ditto for evolution. Only global warming comes even close.


Social Psychology Of Meat - Men Who Prefer Grilled Burgers Are More Attractive

Social Psychology Of Meat - Men Who Prefer Grilled Burgers Are More Attractive

May 05 2013 | comment(s)

Social and evolutionary psychology studies get a large share of media attention despite being primarily based on surveys of psychology undergraduate students.

It was only a matter of time before others mimicked that process to add their own claims of scientific validity - and so Burger King has taken its war with McDonald's to a new level with a study finding that men who prefer grilled burgers are considered more attractive than men who like 'em fried.
NIMH Delivers A Kill Shot To DSM-5

NIMH Delivers A Kill Shot To DSM-5

May 03 2013 | comment(s)

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is distancing itself from the the American Psychiatric Association and its upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

While they acknowledge that the goal of DSM "is to provide a common language for describing psychopathology" they are no longer convinced that approach has value if we are going to solve 21st century cognitive science problems.  It is, paraphrasing the statement  of Thomas R. Insel, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, more of a dictionary than a manual.  He uses the term "Bible" instead of 'manual' but I would have used 'glossary' rather than 'dictionary'.
Euthanasia: Slope For Newborns Not That Slippery Yet

Euthanasia: Slope For Newborns Not That Slippery Yet

May 03 2013 | comment(s)

The Groningen Protocol, introduced in Holland in 2005, was devised to create a standard for doctors who had families that wanted to end the suffering of sick newborns for humanitarian reasons. It outlined parameters to help identify situations in which euthanasia is warranted and wouldn't land anyone in jail. 

Prediction: 'Dark Genome' Popularity May Make 'Dark' The Top Science Media Cliche Of 2013

Prediction: 'Dark Genome' Popularity May Make 'Dark' The Top Science Media Cliche Of 2013

May 02 2013 | comment(s)

With the popularity of dark matter and dark energy as blanket terms for 'this is weird and we don't understand it but we are studying it, ain't science awesome?' in physics, it was only a matter of time before it caught on elsewhere.

So we have dark lightning and the life sciences made sure they caught the wave, migrating non-coding DNA (factual = booooring) from the colloquially misunderstood blanket term 'junk DNA' to the cooler and edgier 21st century 'Dark Genome'.