Category Archives: Science without worms

Is Cannabis a parasite on humans?

Whatever the silliness and arrogance of his views on religion, the Dawkins of The Extended Phenotype continues to fascinate me. The idea that genes are selected as much for their effects on other phenotypes as on those of the bodies … Continue reading Continue reading

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slikewatch in Berkeley

There is a paper referenced in Language Log which charts the use of “all” as a quotative in Californian speech over the last decade. It seems to be falling out of favour, replaced in this usage by “like”, so that … Continue reading Continue reading

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The speed of spaghetti affects the shape

Jeremy Ahouse sends me an amazingly good story from The Scientist about protein folding. As you know, proteins are made of a long chain, or chains, of amino acids folded up on themselves in complicated ways to make nubbly shapes, … Continue reading Continue reading

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Progressives in praise of eugenics

I have mentioned before here one of my favourite books, An outline for Boys and Girls, which is a left-wing encyclopaedia from the early Thirties, edited by Naomi Mitchison. Since she knew all the smart lefty young people, it is … Continue reading Continue reading

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Words fail me

But there is a photograph in the New Scientist of a bat with a tongue twice the length of its body. Go look at it, that words may fail you too. Daughter, rushing off to school: “Guess what’s happening today? … Continue reading Continue reading

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Consciousness nearly explained

Anyone interested in the scientific study of consciousness should read Nick Humphrey’s most recent lectures, Seeing Red, and perhaps the piece he had in a fairly recent JCS Solving the Mind Body Problem. I’m not sure that he’s right in … Continue reading Continue reading

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A better vat for the brain in your life

An astonishing story from the New Scientist: an engineer at the University of Illinois has built a prototype retinal cell out of silicon. The idea is to replace damaged cells in human retinae with something that is a lot better … Continue reading Continue reading

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Passive smoking

It’s quite common to see people in wheelchairs smoking at the entrance to hospitals, Usually they are in wheelchairs because they have had feet or toes amputated as a result of diabetes; if there is one thing guaranteed to worsen … Continue reading Continue reading

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The sight of creationist arses

I had not realised the aggression of modern creationists. They are all over Nature’s newsblog report on Tiktaalik. One of them drew a really awe-inspiring smackdown from Henry Gee. This gained its effectiveness becasue it was theological — a rebuke … Continue reading Continue reading

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They may pray but they don’t mean it.

There have been two reactions to the most recent large study of intercessory prayer. Both have missed the point. Atheists have pointed to the fact that it shows no benefits at all for the recipients; believers have said that this … Continue reading Continue reading

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