http://www.cultureofscience.com/2011/10/24/do-humans-matter/
Scientists prove plausibility of new pathway to life's chemical building blocks For decades, chemists considered a chemical pathway known as the formose reaction the only route for producing sugars essential for life to begin, but more recent research has called into question the plausibility of such thinking. Now a group from The Scripps Research Institute has proven an alternative pathway to those sugars called the glyoxylate scenario, which may push the field of pre-life chemistry past the formose reaction hurdle. The team is reporting the results of their highly successful experiments online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. "We were working in uncharted territory," says Ramanarayanan ("Ram") Krishnamurthy, a Scripps Research chemist who led the research, "We didn't know what to expect but the glyoxylate scenario with respect to formation of carbohydrates is not a hypothesis anymore, it's an experimental fact." A New Pathway
The Truth About Christmas [NSFCWCC] (Not Safe For Christians Who Celebrate Christmas) It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The wonderful holiday season where we all come together and deck the shit out of our halls and jingle all the way. Because if you’re gonna’ jingle why half ass it? Logical Fallacies and How to Spot Them Logical Fallacies and How to Spot Them In the Evolution vs. Creationism debate, it is important to be able to spot all the logical fallacies that Creationists tend to throw around. This essay covers many bare essentials of logical thinking, as well as ways to critically evaluate an argument. The logical fallacies listed here are the ones most often used by Creationists, although Creationists have, to date, used almost every single logical fallacy in existence to "prove" their case. Each fallacy will have its own little paragraph, describing it, why it is fallacious and how to counter it.
10 Psychological Experiments That Went Horribly Wrong Psychology as we know it is a relatively young science, but since its inception it has helped us to gain a greater understanding of ourselves and our interactions with the world. Many psychological experiments have been valid and ethical, allowing researchers to make new treatments and therapies available, and giving other insights into our motivations and actions. Sadly, others have ended up backfiring horribly — ruining lives and shaming the profession.
Plants use circadian rhythms to prepare for battle with insects In a study of the molecular underpinnings of plants' pest resistance, Rice University biologists have shown that plants both anticipate daytime raids by hungry insects and make sophisticated preparations to fend them off. "When you walk past plants, they don't look like they're doing anything," said Janet Braam, an investigator on the new study, which appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "It's intriguing to see all of this activity down at the genetic level. It's like watching a besieged fortress go on full alert." Braam, professor and chair of Rice's Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, said scientists have long known that plants have an internal clock that allows them to measure time regardless of light conditions.
Facebook: April 14th 1865 Have you ever wondered what Abe Lincoln’s Facebook posts would have been like, if he used Facebook? No? Me neither, but now I know! The Evolutionary Psychology of Human Sex and Gender By Daniel Pouzzner, 2000-Apr-11/12 Sexuality is an indispensable mechanism whereby biological evolution bridged the immense gap between asexual/Lamarckian unicellular organisms, and the now plainly preeminent humans. For tens of millions of generations, the lineage leading to humanity has been formed and continued exclusively by sexual procreation.
What is Occams Razor? [Physics FAQ] - [Copyright] Updated 1997 by Sugihara Hiroshi. Original by Phil Gibbs 1996. Occam's (or Ockham's) razor is a principle attributed to the 14th century logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham. Ockham was the village in the English county of Surrey where he was born. Plants use circadian rhythms to prepare for battle with insects Public release date: 13-Feb-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Jade Boydjadeboyd@rice.edu 713-348-6778Rice University
100-Year-Old Color Photos of Pre-Revolution Russia Have you ever wondered what Russia looked like shortly before the revolution, but aren’t satisfied with black and white photos? Well then, you owe Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii a debt of thanks. While color film was still years away from development, the chemist-turned-photojournalist developed his own solution to capture the vivid colors of his native home. Using color-filtered glass plates, he photographed a scene in red, then blue, then green and then put the images together to reveal a colorized portrait. His amazing photographs, taken from 1909 to 1912 show what Russian life was like for everyone from peasants to noblemen before the country turned to communism.