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Controversial Science
When I'm not thinking about what I'm going to wear the next day, I'm a biochemist. Yes, I'm a nerd - I like working in a lab. I like memorizing all kinds of facts about proteins and chemicals and, my personal specialty, RNA. And in my particu... 
When I'm not thinking about what I'm going to wear the next day, I'm a biochemist. Yes, I'm a nerd - I like working in a lab. I like memorizing all kinds of facts about proteins and chemicals and, my personal specialty, RNA. And in my particular tiny tiny niche of science, there's not much to argue about: a band in my gel is there or it isn't.But not every corner of science is as objective and issue-free as most people think it is, or most scientists want it to be.When people think "politics," they think Republicans vs. Democrats, Red-Staters vs. Blue-Staters, conservatives vs. liberals. But there are a lot more divides than that.The recent talk in the news about Intelligent Design (also known as ID) vs. Darwinism has drawn a tidal wave of ID-criticism from the scientific community. Should parents have the rights to choose what their children learn and, some would say, freely practice their religion in a country founded by the religiously persecuted? Or should the state be mandated to teach what is almost certainly proven as truth? And what effect is this discussion having on the kids?Though evolution is the most recent controversy in science, there are many other enormously important issues. Stem cell research and bioethics, the government handling of a potential avian flu epidemic, health care and its financing, the environment vs. the economy: these are matters that are becoming more important as we stop thinking about what the new millenium is about and start living it.Related Top 10 Sources: Science News | Environment | Women In Science | US Politics 
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In the spirit of the games, Daniel MacArthur has an extensive post up on ACTN3 and the genetic endowments of elite sprinters. Well worth a read.
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Harry and Louise, foils of the Clinton healthcare reform efforts of 1993-1994, are back on the air again but this time in the service of healthcare reform, says Red Orbit. Organizations as different in philosophies as the American Cancer Society...
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by Douglas L. Theobald, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Brandeis UniversityIn a youtube video, David Berlinski makes the following remarkable claim: “… von Neumann, one of the great mathematicians of the 20th century, just laughed at Darwinian theory. He hooted at it.”For those even tangentially familiar with the Hungari...
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In the Sunday New York Times Book Review, Walter Kirn reviews James Wood's new book How Fiction Works. According to Kirn, Wood views literature as a scientific endeavor to credibly capture human nature. It seems to me that there is...
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Geoengineering is increasingly being discussed (not so sotto voce any more) in many forums. The current wave of interest has been piqued by Paul Crutzen's 2005 editorial and a number of workshops (commentary) and high profile advocacy. But most of the discussion has occurred in almost total ignorance of the consequences of...
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The first correct daily temperature forecast was not broadcast [in China] until July 1999. Previously, temperature predictions were never permitted to fall outside the range for efficient factory work. That's from Cultures Merging: A Historical and Economic Critique of Culture, by Eric Jones. Jones is best known for his...
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Debin Ma of the London School of Economics has spent time in the archives and has come to conclusions quite different from Pomeranz's.Ma's recent papers (especially this one and this one) make archive-driven comparisons of European and East Asian living standards around the start of the industrial revolution. Both papers...
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Debin Ma of the London School of Economics has spent time in the archives and has come to conclusions quite different from Pomeranz's.Ma's recent papers (especially this one and this one) make archive-driven comparisons of European and East Asian living standards around the start of the industrial revolution. Both papers...
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The Sixth Intenrational Conference on Creationism was held from August 3-7, in Pittsburgh, PA. That being a mere five hour drive from my digs in Harrisonburg, I naturally attended. Unlike the revival tent atmosphere that prevails at Ken Ham's ubiquitous gatherings, the ICC's represent an attempt at a serious scientific...
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The International Geological Congress (IGC) is sometimes referred to as the geologists' equivalent of the Olympic Games and is an extremely large gathering of geologists from all over the world, taking place at 4-year intervals. This time, the IGC took place in Lillestrøm, a small place just outside Oslo, Norway (August...