Culture
Let the public decide on the fate of 1% of our science budget. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin was just one of the many independent researchers who, not reliant on grants or constrained by the conservative pressures of anonymous peer review, did stunningly original work. That kind of freedom
Culture
John Maddox says of Rupert Sheldrake's work, "I was so offended by it that I said and I said that while it's wrong that book should be burned. In practice, if book burning were allowed this book would be a candidate. I think it'
Myth
A long time ago, in a land far away, a child was born. He was the son of a god and a mortal woman, and he used his miraculous powers to do good and to serve others. Tragically, he was betrayed and was killed by his enemies. But ultimately he
Tech
Humans have a powerful capacity to process visual information, skills that date far back in our evolutionary lineage. And since the advent of science, we have employed intricate visual strategies to communicate data, often utilizing design principles that draw on these basic cognitive skills. In a modern world where we
Motion
PBS posted the full episodes of The Fabric of the Cosmos. A four-hour series based on the book by renowned physicist and author Brian Greene, takes us to the frontiers of physics to see how scientists are piecing together the most complete picture yet of space, time, and the universe.
Life
Each mammalian cell has the same genes, yet performs distinct functions. This is achieved by epigenetic control of gene expression; the switching on and switching off of genes. This course will cover the principles of epigenetic control of gene expression, how epigenetic control contributes to cellular differentiation and development, and
Matthew
I was being wheeled into the operating room. The hospital staff was running alongside the gurney. I had sustained a massive injury to my head, and I was unconscious, probably in a coma.
Life
Something has always troubled me about Darwin’s theory and even modern revisions of his work – there is still no explanation for instinct. Ethologists call instincts innate releasing mechanisms or IRM, which in layman’s terms means “we’ll use big fancy words because we just don’t know.” The
Myth
The Christian affirmation of belief in Jesus descent to Hades is in the Apostles Creed and in the so-called Athanasian Creed as well as being article III in the Anglican Thiny-Nine Articles. The Biblical origin for this belief which is a major and normative part of Christian tradition, seems to
Life
Bilateral symmetry is a type of body plan in which an organism has two mirror-image halves along a single axis. The axis of symmetry is the sagittal plane, which passes vertically through the head and body. Each half has one set of sensory organs and appendages: one eye, one ear,
3/15 Update: The video on the TEDx YouTube channel was removed by TED. I downloaded a copy before they took it down and posted it to Vimeo (creative commons license). TED created a page where people are invited to debate the merits of their decision to remove the videos.
Mind
Just about every day at work I have to dial a ridiculously long string of numbers in order to join a conference call. Just about every day on the internet I have to fill out those mind-bending CAPTCHA forms. For me, it takes intense concentration to complete those tasks. Maybe