Debunking 5 common Darwin myths – #DarwinDay

charles darwin

Today is officially International Darwin day. No seriously, it really is, I’m not making that up, the 12th February is officially Darwin day. It was chosen because Charles Darwin was born on 12th February 1809, and so it is celebrated all around the world today. Celebrating the life and works of Charles Darwin goes right … Read more

Scott Pruitt says global warming may help ‘humans flourish’

scott pruitt

Listing to a climate denier explain his stance will generally result in you listening to something utterly daft being said. Normally the appropriate response is to perhaps roll your eyes and move one, but in this specific case a spotlight needs to be thrown upon it all because it actually does matter. Scott Pruitt is … Read more

How much does it cost to sequence your Genome?

human genome

In 1990 a very ambitious project was started called the Human Genome Project. It was scheduled to take 15 years, but was actually completed in 2003, earlier than expected. As the project had progressed, technology had advanced and so it did not take as long as had been anticipated. A few quick facts … The … Read more

Have Astronomers really detected planets in another Galaxy?

Extragalactic planets

The TL;DR; best possible answer to the extragalactic planets question is “Probably yes”. The degree of fuzziness in the above answer reflects the complexity of what was done and the degree of certainty that surrounds the conclusion reached. We can’t go with “yes”, nor can we go with “No”, but instead the best we have … Read more

Maya Archaeologists in Guatemala make a “HOLY $HIT” discovery

maya

Regarding the above posting title about the new Maya discovery in Guatemala, I’m not exaggerating. Take for example this tweet by Egyptologist Sarah Parcak … Hey all: you realize that researchers just used lasers to find *60,000* new sites in Guatemala?!? This is HOLY $HIT territory. — Sarah Parcak (@indyfromspace) February 2, 2018 Beyond the … Read more

Do Cell Phones cause Cancer?

cell phones cause cancer

Over the years various health-scare stories have popped up regarding the supposed dangers of cell-phone radiation causing cancer. This plays very much into the observation that literally billions of humans now use cell phones and so if the danger is real then that is something that we should not only understand but come to terms … Read more