science

Argument From Authority – Baroness Greenfield on Autism

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She is at it again, making silly pronouncements, this time it is Autism. Least you missed it, in New Scientist, she has been casually linking internet use with autism. (So no not vaccines, just using the Internet). Now, since this is Baroness Greenfield, CBE,  scientist, writer, broadcaster, and member of the House of Lords, specializes in the physiology of the brain, and has worked to research and bring attention to Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease – we can just take her word for it … right?

Exactly, the old “I’m a doctor just trust me” line simply does not cut it when it comes to claims like this. So what do you need? How about some actual “Evidence”.

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Cosmos is coming back

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Do you remember Cal Sagan on Cosmos? Well, plans are afoot to bring it back in 2013. Sadly Carl is no longer with us, so it will be Neil deGrasse Tyson leading the charge. He is truly a great choice to do this. At one point Sagan himself went out of his way to recruit Tyson. During an interview with writer Daniel Simone (in the November 2, 2007 issue of Dan’s Paper here) Tyson said,

“Interestingly, when I applied to Cornell, my application dripped of my passion for the study and research of the Universe. Somehow the admissions office brought my application to the attention of the late Dr. Sagan, and he actually took the initiative and care to contact me. He was very inspirational and a most powerful influence. Dr. Sagan was as great as the universe, an effective mentor.”

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What do you need to do to live to be 95 and beyond?

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We all know the guidance: exercise, eat well, don’t smoke, etc… but is that really all it takes to live to be 95 and beyond? Apparently not. There is a new study that throws some interesting light on all this.

It was conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and was published, August 3, 2011 in the online edition of Journal of American Geriatrics Society entitled “Lifestyle Factors of People with Exceptional Longevity“.

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NEWS: Celebrate Science coming soon – they have a cool movie

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Celebrate Science is launching later this month to “promote the importance of keeping creationism” out of the classrooms.

The campaign has the support of the National Centre for Science Education and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. There will also be screenings of No Dinosaurs in Heaven a film that “examines the hijacking of science education by religious fundamentalists”.

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Climate Change and Cloud Cover – the new report

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The climate change debate is heating up yet again. OK, so what has happened? Well, before I go there, lets first establish a few things so that you fully understand where I’m coming from. Man made climate change is real, the evidence is in, there is not really much real scientific controversy. In April 2010 a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that nearly 98% of working climate scientists accept the evidence for human-induced climate change, this latest study does not change that.

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The space shuttle programme has been a multi-billion-dollar failure – Lawrence M. Krauss

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The famous theoretical physicist, Lawrence Krauss, writes in the UK Guardian today that space shuttles have been a colossal waste of American resources, time and creative energy. When I  listened to him debate last week at TAM with Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson, he took the same line … and you know what … I tend to agree with him, I believe he is right.

Now please do not misunderstand me here, this stance does not in any way short change the courage and drive displayed by those brave individuals who have climbed on board and gone up. In fact when you consider the fact that these complex machines are constructed by assembling 2.5 million parts, each of which has been outsourced to the cheapest government contractor, then you would be utterly insane not to be highly nervous, and so yes, I applaud their courage.

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