Bill Nye - the Science Guy talks about
Creationism

post from Top stories on 31 August 2012 07:18:35 PM. © Top stories

Bill Nye, aka, "The Science Guy" talks about why it is foolish to not acknowledge the fact of evolution by natural selection.

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http://machineslikeus.com/videos/bill-nye-science-guy-talks-about-creationism

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Desiring, valuing, and believing good: almost the
same thing

post from Top stories on 31 August 2012 07:04:15 PM. © Top stories

Story Source

Philosophers typically think of belief as one thing and desire as quite another. Beliefs, for example, represent the world as it is; desires picture the world as we want it to be.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/desiring-valuing-and-believing-good-almost-same-th
ing

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NCBI ROFL: Ovulation leads women to perceive sexy
cads as good dads.

post from Discoblog » NCBI ROFL on 31 August 2012 07:00:53 PM. © Discoblog » NCBI ROFL

“Why do some women pursue relationships with men who are attractive, dominant, and charming but who do not want to be in relationships-the prototypical sexy cad? Previous research shows that women have an increased desire for such men when they are ovulating, but it is unclear why ovulating women would think it is wise to pursue men who may be unfaithful and could desert them. Using both college-age and community-based samples, in 3 studies we show that ovulating women perceive charismatic and physically attractive men, but not reliable and nice men, as more committed partners and more devoted future fathers. Ovulating women perceive that sexy cads would be good fathers to their own children but not to the children of other women. This ovulatory-induced perceptual shift is driven by women who experienced early onset of puberty. Taken together, the current research identifies a novel proximate reason why ovulating women pursue relationships with sexy cads, complementing existing research that identifies the ultimate, evolutionary reasons for this behavior.”

Bonus excerpt from the main text:
“An important question to address in future research is the precise psychological mechanism that underlies this hormonally induced ...

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NcbiRofl/~3/B9Zh4siSA7Q/

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Genetic link to prostate cancer risk in African
Americans found

post from Top stories on 31 August 2012 06:44:04 PM. © Top stories

Story Source

Prostate cancer in African-American men is associated with specific changes in the IL-16 gene, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/genetic-link-prostate-cancer-risk-african-american
s-found

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What's Up in the Solar System in September 2012

post from Planetary Society Blog on 31 August 2012 05:20:14 PM. © Planetary Society Blog

It's an active time in interplanetary exploration! Curiosity has begun roving Mars, and Opportunity's not wasting any time either. Dawn has just departed Vesta and begun the more than two-year cruise to Ceres. Juno is in the middle of a big deep-space maneuver, setting up next year's Earth flyby.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2012/08311200-whats-up-september-
2012.html

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How Should we Celebrate Physics in 2015

post from Physics Buzz on 31 August 2012 05:16:47 PM. © Physics Buzz

In 2005, physicists, students, and physics buffs worldwide celebrated the 100th anniversary of Einstein's Miracle Year.

In 2010, we reveled in the technical wonders that the laser brought us over the last 50 years.

It may seem a little early to think about it, but we need to start planning for the international physics event we'll be holding in 2015.

Some possible reasons to party come to mind pretty quick:

- X-rays were discovered in 1895, so 2015 will mark the 125'th anniversary of Rontgen's creepy photo of his wife's hand bones.

- Balmer came up with a proto-quantum explanation for the hydrogen spectrum, also in 1895

- In 1965 Penzias and Wilson discovered the Cosmic Microwave Background

- Maxwell showed how electromagnetic theory could explain light in 1864, but that would be odd to celebrate in 2015 (we could move things up to 2014, I guess)

There must be other reasons to celebrate of physics in 2015, or thereabouts. Let us know if you have a preference, or even better a whole new idea, and post it in the comments below. If you make a convincing argument for something really great, we'll give you a prize. (What that prize might be, we don't yet know. But you like surprises, right?).

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/physicscentral/PhysicsBuzz/~3/glc7u8LFNOI/how-shou
ld-we-celebrate-physics-in-2015.html

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Study gives new insight on inflammation

post from Top stories on 31 August 2012 03:15:22 PM. © Top stories

Story Source

Scientists' discovery of an important step in the body's process for healing wounds may lead to a new way of treating inflammation.

Read The Full Article:
http://machineslikeus.com/news/study-gives-new-insight-inflammation

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The crisis of secularism

The irrepressible Pat Condell discusses the crisis of secularism.

Read The Full Article:
http://machineslikeus.com/videos/crisis-secularism

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Image of the Week: Six New Species of Millipedes
Found in Musuem Collections

A male specimen of Nephopyrgodesmus eungella--one of six new
species of millipede found in leaf litter that was sitting on the shelves
of two Australian museums. Image Courtesy: Robert Mesibov (CC)
Think you have to organize an expedition to an isolated patch of wilderness or the deepest depths of the sea to find news species? Not hardly. This week, scientists described six new species and three new genera of millipedes that were found on the shelves of two Australian museums. Dr. Robert Mesibov, a millipede specialist at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, discovered the specimens among the "residue" (in this case bags full of leaf litter) from previous collecting expeditions focused mainly on beetles. Our image of week shows one of the new species. All six are described--and shown in beautifully creepy photographic detail--in the open access journal ZooKeys.

LEARN MORE
Find out how scientists classify and name the diversity of life on Earth, in our modules: Taxonomy I and Taxonomy II: Nomenclature.

Read about two new bat species discovered in 2009 among the Smithsonian Institution's mammal collections and a new dinosaur discovered in 2011 in Natural History Museum of London's collections.

See the new species of lacewing scientists in California recently found by browsing photos on Flickr.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/VisionlearningBlog/~3/AvTO83YJGdk/image-of-week-si
x-new-species-of.html

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HiRISE's best view of Curiosity yet

HiRISE's best opportunity to view Curiosity so far came 12 days after landing, when the orbiter passed nearly directly overhead. The photo resolves amazing detail on the huge rover.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2012/08311035-curiosity-hirise-la
nding-plus-12.html

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