Science & Society

Death By Fraud Jim McCormick has been charged with fraud over his sales of a totally bogus explosives detection device, as reported in my earlier post here. I was beaten to the punch in writing about this bogus device by Barry Leiba back in November 2009 ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Jan 25 2010 - 1:04am

Planet Earth's Vanishing Act

Planet Earth's Vanishing Act Dr Frank Drake said the phasing out of analogue transmissions from television, radio and radar was making our planet electronically invisible from outer space. "I was watching the image on my display, and it just sor ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jan 26 2010 - 3:12am

Global Warming May Be Real, But Americans Aren't Concerned

The scientific community may agree that anthropogenic global warming poses a real threat, but the general public isn't all that worried about the changing climate. Public concern about global warming has dropped sharply since the fall of 2008, accordi ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 27 2010 - 11:45am

Blowing Things Up: Is It Science?

We scientists have a desperate need to make our science interesting to everyone-- including ourselves. Our terminology reflects this. In astronomy, we have the Big Bang. In comp sci, computers Crash. In engienering, "Test to Destruction". But at ...

Article - Alex "Sandy" Antunes - Jan 31 2010 - 1:15am

Can Biotech Companies Patent Your Genes?

The trial over gene patents, Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, et al., is beginning. Discover summarizes the case: When Lisbeth Ceriani, a 43-year-old Massachusetts woman, was diagnosed with breast cancer last ...

Article - Michael White - Feb 4 2010 - 9:55am

Da Vinci Resume Advice

Marc Cenedella has excavated an old resume of da Vinci, the very definition of 'renaissance man' and 'genius'. At the time, da Vinci was applying to work for the Duke of Milan. Wired UK looks at his resume (Was Da Vinci the right man ...

Article - Alex "Sandy" Antunes - Feb 5 2010 - 3:54pm

The Age Of Stupid-- Movie Review

"The Age of Stupid," a 2009 docudrama set in 2055, asks why didn't we save Earth when we had the chance. "Stupid" was first conceived by Director Franny Armstrong as a documentary integrating themes of excessive consumption, war an ...

Article - Diana Deregnier - Apr 10 2012 - 12:22pm

"Natural" cleaning products to get their own certification standards

Wondering if the "natural" cleaning product you're using is really all that natural? Well, soon you won't have to wonder- the Natural Products Association (NPA) released a set of guidelines today that "dictate whether a product can ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Feb 11 2010 - 10:22am

'Electronic Cigarettes' Should Be Regulated, Researchers Say

Electronic cigarettes fail to deliver nicotine to the consumer and be should be regulated and packaged in a manner consistent with the product's effect – even if that effect is a total failure to deliver nicotine as demonstrated, according to a study ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 11 2010 - 11:49am

The NY Times Hits Rock-bottom On Climate

The question of whether record snows in the Northeast US says something about climate change is a scientific question. The NY Times shows us how not to report on a scientific issue: Skeptics of global warming are using the record-setting snows to mock tho ...

Article - Michael White - Feb 11 2010 - 12:33pm