Does life have a purpose? – Michael Ruse. One of my favorite dinosaurs is the Stegosaurus, a monster from the late Jurassic (150 million years ago), noteworthy because of the diamond-like plates all the way down its back.
Since this animal was discovered in the late 1870s in Wyoming, huge amounts of ink have been spilt trying to puzzle out the reason for the plates. The obvious explanation, that they are used for fighting or defence, simply cannot be true. Science Under Attack (BBC Horizon Documentary) Louisiana creationism video: State Sen. Elbert Guillory defends faith healing. Screenshot courtesy of Louisiana state legislature The theory of evolution is not controversial to scientists.
That’s because all of the evidence backs it. But evolution is controversial to the Louisiana state legislature. Last month, for the third year in a row, Louisiana’s Senate Education Committee killed a bill to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act. LSEA is stealth legislation that creates a loophole for creationism to be snuck into public school science classes.
To get a sense of the supplemental materials approved under this law, you need look no further than its proponents. You might think that Louisiana Gov. The Republicans’ war on science and reason. The contempt with which the party views reason is staggering.
Republicans have become proudly and unquestionably anti-science. (It is their litmus test, though they would probably reject the science behind litmus paper.) With the exception of Jon Huntsman, who polls about as well as Darwin would in a Republican primary, the Republican presidential candidates have either denied the existence of climate change, denied that it has been caused — and can be reversed — by man, or apologized for once holding a different view. They have come to this conclusion not because the science is inconclusive, but because they believe, as a matter of principle, that scientific evidence is no evidence at all. It’s on that basis that Ron Paul can say of evolution, “I think it’s a theory and I don’t accept it as a theory.”
How the Universe came from "Nothing", Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss discuss. THE FEYNMAN SERIES (part 1) - Beauty. Garbage Island: An Ocean Full of Plastic (Part 1/3) Dr. Lawrence Krauss' Science & Religion Lecture - "Two Ships at Night" - October 23, 2008. Carl Sagan - You Are Here (Pale Blue Dot) [Sagan Time] Religion. Church Of England Accused Of 'Dishonesty' In Prayer Survey Findings. Atheists have accused the Church of England of "spinning" the results of research that claimed ‘four out of five believe in the power of prayer’ and that young people especially believe in it.
Professor Richard Dawkins and the British Humanist Association has criticised the Church for "seeking to mislead the public", and the story has angered many on social media. @DougAlldred Doug Alldred 80% of Britons believe in prayer says survey funded by CofE. In other news Pope not Catholic says study funded by Pope not Catholic Society. Are fundamentalist schools up to standard? The Accelerated Christian Education (Ace) group of fundamentalist schools has gone largely unnoticed by academic researchers and the mainstream media.
Recent changes to legislation could mean the education they provide does not meet new standards. Ace schools are unlike any others. Students work at desks facing the wall, with partitions separating them from their neighbours. They complete a series of workbooks (Paces); interaction with others is forbidden during this time. Paces integrate religious instruction seamlessly. God will bless obedience and humility. I shall obey Thy statutes and judgments. Humility pleases the Lord Jesus Christ. After completing these exercises, students proceed to mark their own work from answer keys. Last year, the government's Independent School Standards were amended. A school cannot do this and use the Ace curriculum. In an English test, students face the following multiple-choice question:
Evolution Of Flight Called Into Question - The Daily Orbit - The Daily Orbit Videos. Was there a bird before the bird that came before the modern bird?
What animal takes their cues from the Milky Way? What’ll make you happier than Prozac naturally? And we’re lighting it up in more ways than one on today’s Daily Orbit! Hello and welcome to the Daily Orbit. I’m Emerald Robinson! “Come on Grandma everybody’s doing it.” And it looks like there was a bird-like dinosaur creature that came before the prehistoric bird-like dinosaur that scientists previously thought modern birds evolved from? Fruit and vegetables are healthy…shocker! Scientists make 'laboratory-grown' kidney. 14 April 2013Last updated at 19:29 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News The rat kidney was grown in the laboratory A kidney "grown" in the laboratory has been transplanted into animals where it started to produce urine, US scientists say.
Similar techniques to make simple body parts have already been used in patients, but the kidney is one of the most complicated organs made so far. A study, in the journal Nature Medicine, showed the engineered kidneys were less effective than natural ones. But regenerative medicine researchers said the field had huge promise. Kidneys filter the blood to remove waste and excess water. The researchers' vision is to take an old kidney and strip it of all its old cells to leave a honeycomb-like scaffold. The big picture. How Can We Improve UK Drug and Alcohol Policy?