Stewart rally's point -- don't divide us

Ozzy Osbourne on genome testing, Neanderthal lineage

 

In July, rocker Ozzy Osbourne became one of few to submit his blood to have his full genome sequenced and analyzed. The results are in, and it turns out his genome reveals some Neanderthal lineage, according to Scientific American.

Osbourne and his wife, Sharon, are expected to discuss the testing and its results Friday at the TEDMED 2010 scientific conference in San Diego, California. In a Sunday Times of London column (registration required), the former Black Sabbath front man said he was reluctant to submitting to the test at first. He eventually gave in to his curiosity over how he had managed to survive years of hard living and substance abuse.

"Given the swimming pools of booze I've guzzled over the years—not to mention all of the cocaine, morphine, sleeping pills, cough syrup, LSD, Rohypnol... there's really no plausible medical reason why I should still be alive," he wrote.

"Maybe my DNA could say why."

Happy Creation Day!

From PZ Myers awesome blog Pharyngula

Daniel Phelps just reminded me that today is 23 October, the date that James Ussher, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, determined to be the very first day of creation in 4004 BCE. That makes the world 6013 years old today, in his chronology (if you're adding it up at home, remember that there is no year 0).

A quote from P. Z. Myers, noted evolutionary biologist.....

"The New York Times has what I consider a skewed but also personally flattering summary of the Secular Humanist convention. Skewed, because it focuses rather more on the disagreements on tactics that were on display, but weren't really the focus of most of the discussions — it was actually an amicable meeting. Personally flattering, because it dwelt more on that firebrand Myers (my full remarks are on the record) than was actually deserved. It read as if I were flailing among the dissenters, smiting the impure atheists with the jawbone of an ass, when I was really one among many in diverse discussions.

I'm going to take it as favorable coverage, though, because the conclusion does accurately convey my views.

Mr. Myers and other "confrontationalists" surely do alienate some potential Christian allies. But they may also give comfort to people like Claire, who feel like an invisible minority. Mr. Myers is way out of the closet as an atheist — proudly, outrageously so. We're here, he's saying. And we don't believe. And we have science and reason on our side. Get used to it."

Welcome To Block II!

To our returning and new students, welcome to South Pointe. As we discussed in class, I will occasionally post a link, story summary, video, or image on this blog that goes beyond what we talk about in class. If you like, you can visit this page, review what I've posted, and comment on it for some extra credit. 

You can even scroll down and comment on as many posts as you like for even more extra credit. You do have to review the material, and say something that lets me know you thought about the topic. 

To get the extra credit, just click on the comment link below each post, let me know what you think, and leave your full name, so I know who gets the extra credit. If you prefer, you can also send me an email with your comment at this address jgiacobbe_southpointe@cox.net (that's jgiacobbe_southpointe@cox.net).

Good luck this Block, and I hope you check back here often for clever, insightful, and really amazing stuff!

Rock on, dudes and duddettes!

Mr. G

For Bobby, who I never would have known, without Dr. Edwards!

Pioneer of In Vitro Fertilization Wins Nobel Prize in Medicine

The British scientist who pioneered techniques of in vitro fertilization, which in the last generation has revolutionized treatment for infertile couples who wish to bear children, was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this morning.

The researcher, Robert G. Edwards, an 85-year-old professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge, will receive the prize, worth about $1.5-million this year, at a ceremony in December. Mr. Edwards's work, which began in the 1950s and was conducted at Britain's National Institute for Medical Research as well as at Cambridge and at the Bourn Hall Clinic, was crowned in 1978, with the birth of Louise Brown, dubbed the world's first "test-tube baby."

Some four million more have followed. Sweden's Karolinska Institute, in Stockholm, hailed Mr. Edwards, who worked with the now-deceased Patrick Steptoe, for not only making IVF possible through important discoveries but also making it safe and effective through refinements and training for IVF specialists at the clinic. In its citation, the institute said Mr. Edwards's "contributions represent a milestone in the development of modern medicine."

What if God Was One of Us? 
Or what if he/she/it wasn't anything at all?

Federal Appeals Court Again Rules in Favor of Embryonic-Stem-Cell Research

By Paul Basken, of the The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Obama administration on Tuesday won another round in its legal battle to permit federally financed embryonic-stem-cell research, as a federal appeals panel affirmed its earlier decision to lift a temporary injunction while litigation on the issue continues.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has now ruled twice against enforcing the injunction, which was issued on August 23 by a lower-court judge in a case brought by researchers who raise ethical objections to work involving human embryos.

The decision allows the National Institutes of Health to continue its work on financing more than $70-million worth of research using embryonic stem cells, and avoids what the NIH has described as a potential disaster for a promising approach to attacking a range of ailments, including cancers, diabetes, heart disease, and paralysis.

The appeals court "understood the serious harm that the preliminary injunction would cause," said Anthony J. Mazzaschi, senior director for scientific affairs at the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The injunction was issued by Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in a case brought by two private researchers, James L. Sherley and Theresa A. Deisher.

Dr. Sherley and Ms. Deisher work with stem cells derived directly from adult patients rather than from embryos. In their lawsuit, they argue that President Obama's easing of restrictions imposed by his predecessor, George W. Bush, on federal support for embryonic-stem-cell research has unfairly deprived them of federal money for their own studies by increasing the competition for NIH funds.

The Justice Department, arguing the case on behalf of the Obama administration, says the two plaintiffs have suffered no real harm because the NIH provides far more money for work with adult stem cells than it does for work with embryonic stem cells. Dr. Sherley has already received $425,500 in NIH grant money, while Ms. Deisher has never even applied, the department said in a filing.

Obscure Provision in Federal Law

That lawsuit is continuing, but Judge Lamberth issued his injunction after concluding that the Obama administration's policy appeared to violate a longstanding provision in federal law that bans the use of federal money for research that involves the creation or destruction of human embryos. Embryos are destroyed when embryonic stem cells are obtained from them.

In a separate court filing this week, Story C. Landis, director of the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, said that 73 of the 75 embryonic-stem-cell lines approved so far by the NIH were from embryos donated before the NIH guidelines were put into effect, in July 2009, suggesting that any possible violation of the older provision, known as the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, had already largely occurred under the terms of the Bush administration's policy.

The appeals court temporarily lifted the injunction this month, but gave the parties more time to file briefs before issuing a more-permanent order. That order came on Tuesday, and will remain in place while the appellate panel carries out a more-detailed review of the arguments. That means the federal financing of embryonic-stem-cell research can continue while the case before Judge Lamberth proceeds.

A trial of the lawsuit could last several months. Each side, however, have asked Judge Lamberth to end the matter by issuing a summary judgment in its favor. Both sides contend that the judge already has enough undisputed facts to make a final ruling. Either way, the federal appeals court and possibly the Supreme Court could still be months away from delivering a final resolution to the argument.

The NIH director, Francis S. Collins, told reporters in August that the case threatens 22 grants worth $54-million that are awaiting annual renewal, and an additional $15-million to $20-million worth of new projects. His chief spokesman, John T. Burklow, said on Tuesday he couldn't comment on the latest court ruling because of "pending legal actions."

Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat of Iowa who led a Senate hearing on the matter on September 16, issued a written statement on Tuesday calling the appellate panel's ruling a sign that "the tide is turning in our favor." But Mr. Harkin made no comment in his statement about whether he would continue to press for legislative action that would end any ambiguity about Congress's intent with the Dickey-Wicker Amendment.

What did you do for Blasphemy Day?

Today is the official Blasphemy Day, and I hope you all had a good time. I'm afraid I didn't do anything in particular, because every day is Blasphemy Day for me, and I'm a walking talking affront to god.

CFI had a video contest and announced the winners today. Here's the top choice in their Protect Dissent campaign:

Bill would exempt wolves from federal protection

Environmental groups ready to challenge legislation that would classify wolves as predators- By BEN NEARY, Associated Press 

U.S. senators from Wyoming, Idaho and Utah are proposing legislation that would strip wolves in the northern Rockies of federal endangered species protection. 

The legislation unveiled Thursday is the latest in a series of recent bills that generally are aimed at short-circuiting legal opposition from environmental groups opposed to seeing an end to federal wolf protections. 

Much of the environmentalists' concern has centered on Wyoming, where the state has proposed classifying wolves as predators that could be shot on sight in most areas. 

Wyoming officials say they would welcome removing federal protections. But environmental groups promise stiff opposition to any congressional effort to sidestep the Endangered Species Act and offer wolves less protection.

Rally to Restore Sanity - 10.30.10

http://www.rallytorestoresanity.com/

Scientists Are Optimistic as Appeals Court Lifts Injunction Against Stem-Cell Research

The federal government can continue to finance embryonic-stem-cell research, temporarily, because a federal appeals court on Thursday lifted an injunction that had blocked such work. The move added to optimism about eventual victory for university scientists who use this research in a search for cures for a range of devastating diseases.

The original injunction was issued August 23 by Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. The appeals court lifted it after the Justice Department argued that the ban would harm both scientists and taxpayers.

But the court also ordered the two sides in the case to submit written briefs by September 20 setting out their arguments for whether the injunction should be put back into effect for an expected trial lasting several months. During that trial, Judge Lamberth will hear a full set of arguments over the legality of the Obama administration's policy of expanded federal support for embryonic-stem-cell research.

The new appeals-court action was especially welcome to stem-cell scientists because Judge Lamberth's injunction had prevented the National Institutes of Health from distributing millions of dollars in research money at a time, near the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30, when the NIH often awards many of its grants, said Anthony J. Mazzaschi, senior director for scientific affairs at the Association of American Medical Colleges. "At least in theory by this, they can restart the grant-review process," Mr. Mazzaschi said of the NIH.

for the rest of the article, click here.

 

2 asteroids to whiz harmlessly past Earth

 (uh oh, this may be the mother ship, so if you don't see me tomorrow....)

NASA says two small asteroids discovered just days ago will zip harmlessly past Earth on Wednesday, a double flyby that should be visible through a telescope.

The asteroids were discovered Sunday by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. The Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts, which tracks asteroids and comets, determined there was no chance of an Earth collision.

Asteroid 2010 RX30, thought to be 32 to 65 feet long, will pass within 154,000 miles of Earth shortly before 3 a.m. PDT Wednesday.

The second one, dubbed 2010 RF12, will fly by about 11 hours later at a distance of about 49,000 miles. NASA says the second one is 20 to 46 feet long.


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/09/07/20100907asteroids-to-pass-earth.html#ixzz0yucqNfgZ

Some Stephen Hawking Quotes

"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star..."
--Hawking putting human existence in perspective in Der Spiegel

"...But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special."
--Hawking make us feel a little better again, in the same interview

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing..."
--Hawking in an except from his new book The Grand Design, on why God might not exist.

"I believe that the long-term future of the human race must be in space."
--Hawking arguing that mankind must take to the stars to continue to survive as a species. (See some of mankind's greatest explorations and adventures.)

"I think computer viruses should count as life. Maybe it says something about human nature, that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. Talk about creating life in our own image."

--Hawking on life and man's true nature

Tea Baggers and Thomas Paine (from Cracked.com at this link)

"Beck and his minions could probably benefit from actually reading some Thomas Paine. The guy whose 17th century ghost waxes emotional about 9/11 and congressional pay raises on the Internet is also responsible for these ideas:

"Pay as a remission of taxes to every poor family, out of the surplus taxes, and in room of poor-rates, four pounds a year for every child under fourteen years of age." Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man.
Huh, that sounds like the child tax credit created under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, signed by. . .

"It is painful to see old age working itself to death, in what are called civilised countries, for daily bread... pay to every such person of the age of fifty years ... the sum of six pounds per annum out of the surplus taxes, and ten pounds per annum during life after the age of sixty... This support, as already remarked, is not of the nature of a charity but of a right." Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man.

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_18606_8-historic-symbols-that-mean-opposite-what-you-think.html#ixzz0yRSIsTMK

The Sleeper Must Awaken  

(from words by Duncan Idaho and Duke Leto Atriedes)

I think, what a joy it is to be alive,

and wonder if I will ever leap inward, 

to the root of this flesh, 

and know myself as I truly am.

The root is there, but it is tangled in the web that is both future and past at once.

It only awaits a word to free me.

Because of this a person needs change.

Change jars something deep within us, 

and allows us to grow.

Without change, something sleeps within us, and seldom awakens.

To be a complete human, the sleeper must awaken...

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. 

It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — God damn it, you’ve got to be kind. Kurt Vonnegut, from "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater"

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I'm pretty sure I'm just talking to myself here, perhaps a mirror, or even an evil doppelganger, because no one else seems to be coming 'round here no more...

Just in case, if any of my bright, shiny STUDENTS are listening, leave me a comment or send me an email. Cheer up an old man, and get 100 points extra credit. That's right, 100 points free and clear, for only a little teeny, tiny email or comment!

This offer expires Friday, August 20th, 2010, so act now. 

Free shipping and handling!

Our lines are open, so respond quickly. 

The first 50 callers (emailers/commenters) get a free cookie with each response!

Act Now! (This means you!)

JG

Judge Orders Gray Wolf Back On Endangered List

by The Associated Press - posted on NPR online

A federal judge on Thursday reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for wolves...saying the government made a political decision in removing the protections..

The decision puts a halt to wolf hunts in Montana and Idaho planned for this fall. Montana wildlife regulators last month set the wolf-hunt quota at 186, more than doubling last year's number, with the aim of reducing the state's wolf population.

Gray wolves were listed as endangered in 1974, but following a reintroduction program in the mid-1990s, there are now more than 1,700 in the Northern Rockies.

 

Welcome to our new students, and welcome back to the old ones! 

It's time to put aside the joys of Summer, and get back to work and the more sublime pleasures of school. If you've found this page, then you've probably already visited our class home page at http://www.nakedscience.org/mrg. As we discussed in class, please visit this blog every now and then for interesting and thought provoking articles, videos, and audio clips, as well as some blather from yours truly. To get some extra credit, include your name in a comment on the various postings, or send me an email at jgiacobbe_southpointe@cox.net

Good Luck in Block I!

Requiem in pace et amor

We lost a longtime friend this weekend. Brisco County, Jr., our faithful companion of 10 years, passed away, and crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He brought us great joy and companionship through the years, and we can only hope we offered him the same. 

He traveled with us across the mountains, to the sea, and back again, always vigilant, always watchful, always ready to play and run like the wind. We can never fill the whole his passing has left in our lives, yet we will only tolerate wonderful., loving memories of our short time together. He was brave and stoic until the end, of course...

Goodbye old friend, and I'll see you on the other side...