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News:
August 24, 2003
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Religion in the News
Thousands
Rally in Montgomery for Ten Commandments Display
Ruling called "effort to set the stage for religious persecution."
Doubt
and Meaning
Joni Eareckson Tada's poignant memoir probes God's use of suffering.
The
Unintentional Ethicist
How three assumptions about God can shape the moral choices we are called
to make. An excerpt from My God and I by Lewis B. Smedes
Audit's
lesson was 'painful' for evangelist
Hank Hanegraaff and auditors won't say how much was repaid to the Christian
Research Institute or by whom. Critics allege whitewash (Los Angeles Times).
Astrologers
fail to predict proof they are wrong
Good news for rational, level-headed Virgoans everywhere: just as you might
have predicted, scientists have found astrology to be rubbish (The Daily
Telegraph, London).
The Christian-Muslim
divide
Christians have tended to respond in one of two ways: Some want to learn
about Islam and find common values, while others stress fundamental dangers
in Islam that need to be confronted (The Wichita Eagle).
Atheists
find their comfort in numbers
This weekend, leaders of seven like-minded but distinct national groups
will participate in the Minnesota Atheists Conference, which organizers
say will be an unprecedented gathering of freethinkers of various persuasions
(Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.).
Faith
and works
Lisa Jardine reviews For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations,
Science, Witch-Hunts, and The End of Slavery by Rodney Stark (The Washington
Post).
A
push to map the mystical
As researchers study how spiritual experiences happen inside the brain,
theologians question the point (The Baltimore Sun).
Science in the News
Wagner Free Institute of Science Fall Courses
-
Natural History Since Aristotle. Starts Wednesday 9/24/2003 at 6:30 PM at Wynnefield Branch of the Free Library.
-
An Introduction to the Study of Insects. Starts Thursday, 9/25/2003 at 6:30 PM at Academy of Natural Sciences.
-
Ornithological Exploration. Starts Monday, 9/29/2003 at 6:30 PM at the Academy of Natural Sciences.
-
Ancient Graves and Modern Cemeteries. Starts Wednesday, 10/1/2003 at 7:00 PM at the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
Creation/Evolution
The Dick
Staub Interview: The Long War About Science
Larry Witham, the author of Where Darwin Meets the Bible and By Design,
talks about faith, science, and how the battle has evolved.
RATE group reveals exciting
breakthroughs!
A few years ago an initiative was undertaken to research thoroughly the
whole area of Radioactivity and the Age of The Earth. The RATE project
began as a cooperative venture between the Institute for Creation Research
(ICR), the Creation Research Society (CRS) and Answers in Genesis (AiG). For
the latest RATE discoveries see http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2003/0821rate.asp
For a different view see
Evolution
teaching unlikely to change
Biology teachers who understand evolution generally teach about it; creationist
teachers generally do not (John Richard Schrock, The Wichita Eagle).
Speakers
gear up for textbook battle on evolution issue
The State Board of Education will hold its second and final hearing on the
textbooks Sept. 10. Already, more than 80 people have registered to testify
(Houston Chronicle).
Evolution
backers launch counter-offensive in Texas textbook fight
Religious leaders, scientists and parents unveil campaign Stand Up For Science
as state Board of Education prepares to adopt new biology textbooks this
fall (Associated Press).
Scientists
At TSRI Create New Strain Of Yeast With 21-Amino Acid Genetic Code
A team of investigators at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and its
Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology in La Jolla, California is introducing
revolutionary changes into the genetic code of organisms like yeast that
allow these cellular factories to mass produce proteins with unnatural amino
acids.
Open access
(21 Aug)
Debate over open access to scientific articles is steadily moving into the
mainstream, with the publication this month of an editorial in The New York
Times, a recently introduced Congressional bill to promote open access publishing,
and a television commercial sponsored by the Public Library of Science (PLoS),
a California-based group that plans to launch an open-access journal in
October.
Archaeology/Anthropology
Final Reports on the Yehoash Inscription and James Ossuary from the Israeli Antiquities Authority.
Faking
Biblical History
What happens when you try to mobilize archaeology--at any cost--to prove
the Bible "true"? by Neil Asher Silberman and Yuval Goren.
Cloak
& Trowel
The romantic image of archaeologist as adventurer fuels much of the speculation
linking archaeology with espionage. A look at the facts behind the fiction
by David Price.
Quarry
Excavations
Egyptian archaeologists have recently removed dust and debris from the famous
granite quarry in Aswan in an effort to learn more about the massive obelisks
of ancient Egypt. Their excavations have uncovered not only many obelisk-shaped
pits where the monuments were cut from stone, but also the remains of a
harbor at the quarry site, more evidence that the Nile was used to transport
the enormous obelisks. Other discoveries include an inscription from the
reign of the pharaoh Tuthmosis III that records his order for two obelisks
to be delivered from the quarry to the temple of Karnak.
Field
Museum Archaeologists Discover Tomb Under Zapotec Residential Complex In
Oaxaca, Mexico
On a high hilltop terrace in Oaxaca, Mexico, a team of Field Museum archaeologists
discovered a 1,500-year-old underground tomb while excavating a palace-like
residence. Although it was near the end of their excavation season, they
dared not leave the tomb unexplored. News of this find at El Palmillo was
sure to get around, and looting would follow. As it was, workers had to
guard the tomb every night until the tomb was excavated.
Lice
& Clothes (18 Aug)
Adam and Eve may have put on fig leaves while still in the Garden of Eden
but a study that looked at the most intimate of pests -- body lice -- suggests
that humans started wearing clothes 70,000 years ago, scientists said on
Monday.
Early
Settlement Site in Pa. Debated
AVELLA, Pa. -- Evidence that humans inhabited western Pennsylvania some
16,000 years ago -- thousands of years earlier than most scholars believe
-- is still dividing archaeologists, 30 years after blade tools and materials
to make beads were found in a rock shelter.
Astronomy
Europe's First
Moon Probe Prepares For Launch
Paris - Aug 18, 2003 - Europe's first probe to the Moon, SMART-1, is about
to begin a unique journey that will take it into orbit around our closest
neighbour powered only by an ion engine, which Europe will be testing for
the first time as main spacecraft propulsion.
Some
now doubt Mars had seas but say life still possible
Researchers say there is virtually no evidence of limestone formation on
Mars, a finding that suggests the planet never had oceans or seas. That
conclusion, however, does not alter the possibility of life on Mars, experts
say.
Dim Future
For The Universe As Stellar Lights Go Out
Edinburgh - Aug 18, 2003 - The universe is gently fading into darkness according
to three astronomers who have looked at 40,000 galaxies in the neighbourhood
of the Milky Way.
Biggest Cosmic
Explosions Also May Propel Fastest Objects In Universe
Los Alamos - Aug 18, 2003 - The most powerful explosions in the universe,
gamma-ray bursts, may generate the most energetic particles in the universe,
known as ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), according to a new analysis
of observations from NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory.
Biology
Scientists
Acknowledge Animal Emotions
Aug. 15, 2003 — Researchers working in neurobiology and behavioral
observation seem to be learning what pet lovers have maintained all along:
animals have feelings.
Toxic
Protein Could Explain Alzheimer's And Lead To Breakthroughs
Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered for the first time
in humans the presence of a toxic protein that they believe to be responsible
for the devastating memory loss found in individuals suffering from Alzheimer's
disease.
Viruses
will soon have no place to hide inside the human body
By injecting magnetic nanoparticles into the bloodstream, researchers believe
they can use whole body scans to reveal the location of any lurking menace.
This could help doctors improve their treatments, or gene therapists assess
their success. The particles latch onto the viruses thanks to an antibody
overcoat, and clump together where the virus is rife.
'Sophisticated
Molecular Machine' Is Found To Govern Cell's Reading Of Genetic Code
The process by which a cell reads the genetic code in its DNA in order to
manufacture a protein is complex, involving dozens of enzymes and other
biological molecules working together. Now, research at Cornell University,
using the fruit fly as a model system, has confirmed a theory about one
step in the process by showing that a protein complex known as FACT is positioned
in living cells at sites where chromosomal DNA is unpacked so that its code
can be read.
Microbes'
'Blueprints' Promise Insights Into Oceans, More
The world's smallest photosynthetic organisms, microbes that can turn sunlight
and carbon dioxide into living biomass like plants do, are in the limelight.
Three international teams of scientists, including a group from MIT, have
announced the genetic blueprints for four closely related forms of these
organisms, which numerically dominate the phytoplankton of the oceans.
Leading
Bacterial Pathogen Is Sequenced
The complete genome sequence of a leading bacterial plant pathogen offers
new ways to stave off agricultural loss and perhaps foil animal or human
infection, says a Cornell University researcher.
Earth Science
Textbook
Case Of Tectonic Movement Is Wrong, Says New Study
Results from an expedition to the sea floor near the Hawaiian Islands show
evidence that the deep Earth is more unsettled than geologists have long
believed. A new University of Rochester study suggests that the long chain
of islands and seamounts, which is deemed a "textbook" example
of tectonic plate motion, was formed in part by a moving plume of magma,
upsetting the prevailing theory that plumes have been unmoving fixtures
in Earth's history.
With
Supercooling And The Right Geometry, 'Warm' Glaciers Can Trap And Transport
Silt
It may take them a century to advance a few meters, but the bottoms of some
glaciers churn with supercooled activity, according to an article by a Lehigh
University geologist in the Aug. 14 issue of Nature magazine.
Physics
Element
110 Is Named Darmstadtium
At the 42nd General Assembly in Ottawa, Canada, the IUPAC Council officially
approved the name for element of atomic number 110, to be known as darmstadtium,
with symbol Ds.
Psychology
TAMING
STRESS
Scientists have recently come to understand a great deal about the role
that stress plays in the two most common classes of psychiatric disorders:
anxiety and major depression, each of which affects close to 20 million
Americans annually, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
And much investigation focuses on developing the next generation of relevant
pharmaceuticals, on finding improved versions of Prozac, Wellbutrin, Valium
and Librium that would work faster, longer or with fewer side effects.
Rethinking
the DSM
Christian Perring reviews Rethinking the DSM: A Psychological Perspective
edited by Larry E. Beutler and Mary L. Malik.
ADHD
(17 Aug)
Scientists tracking the progress of children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) as they became teenagers have shed new light on the link
between ADHD and the risk of developing alcohol and substance use problems.
The researchers found that individuals with severe problems of inattention
as children were more likely than their peers to report alcohol-related
problems, a greater frequency of getting drunk, and heavier and earlier
use of tobacco and other drugs. The findings indicate that childhood ADHD
may be as important for the risk of later substance use problems as having
a history of family members with alcoholism and other substance use disorders.
The study appears in the August issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
Serotonin
Transporter Gene Shown To Influence College Drinking Habits
Researchers have identified a genetic factor that may predispose young people
to harmful drinking habits. A team of scientists interviewed college students
about their alcohol consumption and then analyzed their genetic profiles,
or genotypes.
Rutgers
Scientists Pinpoint Brain Cells Involved In Drug Addiction Relapse
Relapse among recovering drug addicts can now be linked to specific nerve
cells in a particular region of the brain, according to a team of researchers
at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The discovery may help pave
the way for new addiction therapies and intervention strategies.
WHEN
YOU WISH UPON A STAR
Apparently around one-third of us suffer from CWS, otherwise known as Celebrity
Worship Syndrome. You may think taking an interest in the antics of the
rich and famous is a bit of harmless fun, but psychologists are starting
to suspect that worshipping celebrities is the top of slippery slope that
leads to depression, anxiety and psychosis. However, on the other hand are
evolutionary biologists who believe paying special attention to successful
individuals is among the cleverest things our big-brained species does.