Science & Society

The great thing about science is the uncertainty

Brian Greene on science as the ultimate adventure: Science is about immersing ourselves in piercing uncertainty while struggling with the deepest of mysteries. It is the ultimate adventure. Against staggering odds, a species that has walked upright for onl ...

Blog Post - Michael White - May 26 2009 - 10:26pm

Army Announces 60 Percent Of U.S. Chemical Weapons Destroyed

U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) officials have announced the destruction of 60 percent of the U.S. declared stockpile under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). This milestone was achieved Saturday, April 25. CMA reached the 50 percent mileston ...

Article - News Staff - May 26 2009 - 11:58pm

Particle Physics- Not Just For Black Holes And Blowing Up The Vatican Any More

If you watched "Angels&Demons" recently, you may have thought particle physics was just about scary science that could do real harm on the chance it may do future good.   Not so, though most people don't realize the impact particle physi ...

Article - News Staff - May 28 2009 - 9:43am

Creationism, Andrew Jackson, And The Battle Of New Orleans

"Somebody's got to stand up to experts," cried the creationist head of the Texas State Board of Education, Don McLeroy. McLeroy's lament is nothing new in American culture- we love to lionize the artless hero who conquers the world thr ...

Article - Michael White - May 28 2009 - 2:12pm

Grassroots Science: An Article Wishlist For The Journal Of Scientific Communication

I’m fascinated by the contributions of researchers outside of the mainstream— the monk whose bean garden seeded modern genetics, the bicycle mechanic brothers who built a flying machine in their garage, and all of those amateur stargazers who found superno ...

Article - Stephanie Pulford - May 28 2009 - 5:22pm

Murder Capital of the World

Which of the following Latin American countries has the highest murder rate? a. Nicaragua b. Mexico c. Venezuela d. Jamaica If you answered "Mexico", you made a very reasonable choice. In the past year, violence has been so rampant there that mur ...

Blog Post - Randy Borum - Jun 3 2009 - 1:17pm

EU legislates (again!)

An indignant letter in this month's Chemistry World has drawn my attention to a forthcoming ban on the use of dichloromethane, except by the most professional of professionals. EU sidesteps Reach to ban paint stripping solvent goes the relevant artic ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Jun 1 2009 - 1:30pm

Privatize Foster Care And Help Kids More, Says Study

In these days of jaw-dropping trillion-dollar budgets and deficits along with current retirement obligations 7X the size of our economy, $6.3 billion may not sound like much.  But, hey, a billion here and a billion there, and pretty soon you are talking ab ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 2 2009 - 3:01pm

Air France Flight 447 Crash Circumstances Point To Terrorism, Says International Relations Professor

Speculation continues about the crash of Air France jetliner flight 447 on its transatlantic journey.  A University of Indianapolis international relations expert says recent events point to the possibility of terrorism. Although there have been no claims ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 3 2009 - 7:43pm

Diversity Makes You Smarter

The encouragement (or requirement) of diversity sometimes gets labeled reverse racism, under the assumption that encourgaing diversity is only about somehow making up for past injustices by discriminating against today's white men who may never have t ...

Article - Michael White - Jun 5 2009 - 1:20pm