Fake Banner
Marijuana For ADHD?

Cannabis and THC, its main psychoactive compound, have been endorsed by people suffering from anxiety...

Rutgers Study - Forcing DEI Programs On People Increases Hostility

If you have done nothing wrong, do you want to be treated like a criminal? That was always the...

Minnesota Trial Lawyers Want To Ban Neonics - Here Is Why That Is A Mistake

Minnesota is having a challenging year, so challenging they are approaching California as the wackiest...

The Toxic Masculinity Of Disney Movies

Once upon a time, stories were just stories. They were fantasies that took people to a new world...

User picture.
picture for Tommaso Dorigopicture for Robert H Olleypicture for Hontas Farmerpicture for Ilias Tyrovolaspicture for Fred Phillipspicture for
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 »

 Blogroll
Save Our Skiing - Protect Snow In Bubble Wrap, Says Climatologist

Save Our Skiing - Protect Snow In Bubble Wrap, Says Climatologist

Apr 18 2011 | comment(s)

You may not know this, but the fourth most popular sport in Scotland, behind head-butting people and kicking them when they are on the ground, golf and caber-tossing, is skiing.

Skiing is so popular in Scotland a University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) climatologist believes they need to cover snow there in bubble wrap to make the skiing last longer - because there is so little sunshine.  And all the rain makes snow melt faster.

Aside: Seriously, why does anyone live there again?   There is a reason my ancestors left 150 years ago.
Epigenetics: Is Stress Carried In Your DNA?

Epigenetics: Is Stress Carried In Your DNA?

Apr 07 2011 | comment(s)

People may object to my calling for Ph.D. programs in Theoretical Phys Ed and Quantum Paleontology, but humor is not far off the mark.  Evolutionary psychology, for example, is practically self-ridiculing.   

But I was somewhat intrigued by recent research I saw about stress being a genetic issue and the person behind it called it theoretical evolutionary biology.    This concerns me on a few levels; first, evolutionary biology has detractors by a fringe religious minority obsessed with what Darwin did not know 150 years ago so slapping the word 'theoretical' in front of evolutionary biology will make people think 'made up', like people do about a lot of the more obscure physics ideas, which is more hypothetical than theoretical.
Feed People Or Preserve The Environment?

Feed People Or Preserve The Environment?

Apr 06 2011 | comment(s)

If you read this site, it won't surprise you to see me write that some people feel like the environment is more important than their fellow man.  I am not saying they all want to kill their fellow man, though some advocate forced birth control, while others just want us to "live small" - but by that they don't mean lower your carbon footprint they mean literally make your footprint smaller by genetically forcing people to be shorter.   
Academic Freedom Versus Freedom Of Information Act Requests

Academic Freedom Versus Freedom Of Information Act Requests

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)

In the 1970s, the federal government mandated that only universities that adhered to racial quotas could receive federal money - as a result, nearly all U.S. universities today receive federal funding of some sort and all receive state money.
Early 20th Century Robots: Sparko, The Robotic Scottish Terrier

Early 20th Century Robots: Sparko, The Robotic Scottish Terrier

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)

At the 1939 World’s Fair, Westinghouse, which had an interest in robotics even a decade before, unveiled two robot prototypes: a humanoid named Elektro and a dog named Sparko.

Elektro was able to walk, count and smoke cigarettes (which likely did not make his voice raspy, since he talked using a record player) while Sparko was able to sit up and bark.  Take that, G.E.!

Sparko and Elektro.   The big guy was 7 feet tall and weighed 300 lbs.  No wonder science fiction was scary.   
'Organic' Food Lovers Should Avoid Raw Bean Sprouts

'Organic' Food Lovers Should Avoid Raw Bean Sprouts

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

Sprouts are regarded as a healthy food source, rich with vitamins, minerals and non-meat proteins, but they've also been recalled five times in the last two years for salmonella and hundreds of people have become sick due to them.    Activists can complain about GMOs but, after decades in use, not so much as a stomach ache has been caused by them.