Science & Society

Anthropoteuthis

Here's a brilliant username I wish I'd thought of: Anthropoteuthis. The Spanish marine biology student who deserves credit spells it Antropoteuthis, since the "th" phoneme is foreign to Spanish. He recently posted some representaciones ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Sep 10 2011 - 8:12pm

Government Funding Works- Almost No Failed Research Gets Published

What would you say if an oil company said it wanted to invest in alternative energy research but the cost was too much so it needed public financing- but wanted no accountability or timeframes or an expectation of results? You'd be skeptical of the pa ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 12 2011 - 1:38pm

When Common Sense Fails: Checklists To Save You From Woo

Sometimes, when things are bad enough, we'll cave in and buy into concepts and products that we otherwise wouldn't have. As one example, hurt bad enough and you'll try just about anything to ease that pain. And unfortunately, common sense i ...

Article - Kim Wombles - Sep 14 2011 - 7:14am

Professors Offer $10K For Story That HPV Vaccine Caused Retardation

Politicians throw out a lot of anecdotes, especially if it is one told by a constituent or potential voter, so Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann throwing forth a story told to her that the HPV vaccine caused a child's retardation would be just that, a s ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Sep 15 2011 - 11:35am

Paying To Be Seen Quicker- The Future Of The UK Healthcare System

While America debates moving to a health care system more like the UK, the majority of Brits want to try an American approach. According to Simplyhealth's latest survey, 59% of people would consider paying to be seen privately due to concerns about a ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 17 2011 - 12:04pm

Health Care Reform: In Massachusetts, The Working Poor Still Are Not Covered

Massachusetts implemented health care reform to increase employer-based insurance and to provide no-cost or low-cost insurance to those unable to afford it but it hasn't worked- the uninsured in Massachusetts remain predominantly the working poor, ac ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2011 - 11:15am

$65 Billion Net To Farmers: Thanks, Biotech

$65 billion is is the increase in net farm income, the farm level benefit after paying for the seed and its biotech traits, that the biotech industry has provided across the globe during the period 1996 to 2009, according to an analysis published in the I ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2011 - 5:52pm

The Fringes Disagree But Science And Religion Do Mix

To religious fundamentalists, atheists in science are engaged in an insidious campaign to undercut morality and replace it with God-less relativism and moral equivalence.  To militant atheists, religious people are intellectually immature, anti-science bus ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 21 2011 - 11:38am

Anti-Science Republicans Versus Anti-Science Democrats: The Comparison

Writing in USA Today, microbiologist Dr. Alex Berezow makes a statement sure to leave the militant left wing who believe all Republicans are mentally Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann sputtering.  Namely, that anti-science Republicans get media coverage but n ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Feb 23 2012 - 11:42pm

Too Much Cost, Too Much Care: An Argument For And Against US Health Reform

If health care is free, more people will go to the doctor and that means longer waiting for people who truly need it. An overburdened health care system would then have to hire less-qualified people to meet the needs, and that is bad.  If the president sud ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 26 2011 - 5:30pm