Science & Society

Economics Learns A Thing Or Two From Evolutionary Biology

“I discovered a flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works.” This, infamously, was uttered by former chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, who admitted that his view of how economies ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Dec 24 2008 - 11:57am

Sports Drinks With Protein Best For Improving Athletic Performance

Sports drinks containing protein are better at improving athletes' performance. Research published in BioMed Central's open access Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition has shown that drinks containing a mix of carbohydrate and ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 23 2008 - 8:18pm

President George Bush Gives A Presidential Award To Embryonic Stem Cell Researcher (You Read That Right)

George Bush, he of the horned skull and demonic scowl, mortal enemy of all science, with the funding increases during his tenure being just a clever headfake so he could ruin science for everyone under the age of 30, has done something no one (well, no one ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 24 2008 - 1:45pm

Rick Warren vs. Obama's 'New Respect for Science'

A "new respect for science" in the Obama administration? The dissonance is jarring: Obama says: I am confident that if we recommit ourselves to discovery, if we support science education to create the next generation of scientists and engineers ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Dec 25 2008 - 3:39pm

Galileo revisited- from heretic to hero

The Vatican is recasting the most famous victim of its Inquisition as a man of faith, just in time for the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope and the U.N.-designated International Year of Astronomy next year, according to the AP story. And peopl ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Dec 24 2008 - 11:26pm

There's Science At Christmas Too (And We Have It)

Sure, Christmas is a religious holiday and science and religion share common people but not often common ground.   That doesn't mean we can't all join together and share some Christmas science... and an awesome electric car (5 MPH!) I assembled f ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jan 4 2010 - 5:32pm

How Well Do Adopted Children Really Adjust To A New Language?

Adoption is a great change in the life of a child and the changes are even greater when a new language is included. According to figures from the adoption associations, around 18 000 children from 30 countries have come to Norway through adoption. Research ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 26 2008 - 1:48pm

What Do Barack Obama, John McCain And Tom Cruise Have In Common? Scientific Illiteracy

Go ahead and admit it, you would have been stumped if the answer wasn't in the title, right?   There isn't much a Democrat President-elect, an old white Republican war veteran and an insane actor could all have in common, but they do, according t ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Apr 27 2010 - 10:36pm

Is Spinal Surgery Worth The Cost?

Back pain costs more than $100 billion annually in the U.S. but is the surgery to offset it cost effective?  Obviously to people suffering any cost might be worth it but since most people today have health insurance, and the government is likely to institu ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 29 2008 - 1:19pm

No Nonsense Nutrition Advice Most Of You Will Ignore In 2009

America is slightly schizophrenic when it comes to weight.   If you open a newspaper you can simultaneously read that the five skinny women left must need counselling and society is to blame for that but anorexia is genetic even though that gene seems to ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 29 2008 - 1:46pm