Thought of the day

Is it fair to be suspicious of an entire profession because of a few bad apples? There are at least two important differences, it seems to me. First, no one doubts that science actually works, whatever mistaken and fraudulent claim may from time to time be offered. But whether there are any “miraculous” cures from [...]

Thought of the day

The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together.
~Carl Sagan

Carl

I posted this not too long ago. It’s still good.
The simplest thought like the concept of the number one
Has an elaborate logical underpinning
The brain has its own language
For testing the structure and consistency of the world

Carl Sagan Day

Today is Carl Sagan Day. That means you should appreciate science and have a Cosmos marathon. Also, watch this video. It’s hilarious.

Billions and…googols

Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life

I recently watched a BBC America special by David Attenborough titled Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life. It was excellent. I’m familiar with Attenborough. Any fan of science probably is. However, I’ve had limited exposure to the man. He isn’t as popular in America as he is across the Pond as far as I [...]

James Randi on Carl Sagan

Billions of Earths

There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard.
Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms.
He was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago.
So far, [...]

What will change everything?

Edge asks us What will change everything? Specifically, “what game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?”
I’m not so sure it makes much sense to ask what ideas will change the world dramatically, but I think there are two clear-cut scientific developments which will occur within the next 50 years. The [...]

CO2 found on exo-planet

I need to get back to some science. Fortunately, CO2 was recently detected on an exo-planet.
NASA said its Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of “hot Jupiter” planet HD 189733b, which orbits a nearby star 63 light-years from Earth.
The planet is itself too hot to support life — its surface is [...]