Bisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom - Homosexual behavior is common in nature, and it plays an important role in survival (Scientific American, July 10 2008)

"same-sex couplings are surprisingly widespread in the animal kingdom (...) individual animals generally cannot be classified as gay or straight: an animal that engages in a same-sex flirtation or partnership does not necessarily shun heterosexual encounters. (...) animals may engage in same-sex couplings to diffuse social tensions, to better protect their young or to maintain fecundity when opposite-sex partners are unavailable—or simply because it is fun. These observations suggest to some that bisexuality is a natural state among animals"

“[In humans] the categories of gay and straight are socially constructed"
-> so humans are all - to various degrees - bisexual? Could very well be true.

I read this story:

http://www.physorg.com/news135003243.html

and thought others might find it interesting/amusing.

Global Warming researchers in Argentina are equipping cows with backpacks designed to trap the cows' methane emissions. Check out the link for an awesome cow pic...

Wild Facts:

With over 55 million cows, Argentina is among the top beef producers in the world.

The average cow produces 800-1000 liters of "emissions" PER DAY (mixed gasses, not just methane).

Methane is 23 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Initial results indicate that 30% of Argentina's green house gas production could be from cattle.

Hey All,

Recently, you might have noticed that I needed some help.

Schmawy, MrConrads, xxOverCastxx, and MGR came to bat.

I was hoping we could all contribute to this figure. It is a very important part of my talk, and it should be fun to do. So please check it out and if you can help jump.

One point of note, I may include the figure in a publication, if I do it needs to be in the .eps format.

Thanks everybody.

Nate

Our friends down south have managed to do what many states have failed to: Pass a bill which opens science class rooms to Intelligent Design and other religious craziness.

The Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA) claims to promote "Academic Freedom" and:

"assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories."

However, the true intentions of the Bill are revealed in the power it grants schools to use "supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of scientific theories", and the particular attention it pays to the theories of "evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."

Oh you aren't familiar with the Scientific Theory of Human Cloning? What's that you say, those other things are more topics or hot political issues? Wait, you're confused by the fact that there is no SCIENTIFIC controversy on any of those topics, just politicians and business people trying to benefit and pander to stupid people?

Well, luckily the completely neutral Discovery Institute, a pro-ID group who not only helped write and push the bill, but also happens to sell alternative "Scientific" Textbooks, may yet provide you with a proper science education where dinosaurs coexisted with humans (didn't you watch the flintsones??) and the earth is only 6,000 - 10,000 years old.

Proponents of the bill point to section 1d which states that the bill:

“shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or non-religion.”

Ohhhhh! I feel so much better now... thanks for TELLING me how the bill should be construed... wait... what does that even mean? It almost sounds like "We're going to put religion in the classroom, but you shouldn't SEE it that way". And if the purpose of this bill is not to slip religion into the science curriculum, why was this Bill required in the first place and why did Discovery Institute help so much?

It's like a thief opening your wallet, taking all your money, and waving his hand in front of you uttering the words "I am NOT stealing your money"... That's right, the authors of this Bill are attempting a Jedi Mind trick... Except they're destroying science education and the force is weak with the people of Louisiana.


Sources:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080627-louisiana-passes-first-antievolution-academic-freedom-law.html

http://www.au.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr009=p677zibu94.app7b&abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9913&security=1002&news_iv_ctrl=1241

http://sensuouscurmudgeon.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/discovery-institute-spinning-louisianas-anti-evolution-law/

Space Communicator Award acceptance remarks at the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation Stellar Awards Banquet. April 25, 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J3mudwgz18&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxZxPSad77U&feature=related

Video has its embed code disabled, but I must share this with yall.

"Seek first to understand then to be understood"

It seems that on Videosift there is a great gap between hardcore science buffs and hardcore creationists. Although the numbers are very unbalanced I would like to post a few thoughts in order to promote understanding between the two opposing view points and hopefully close some gaps so that both parties can come to a better understanding of the real issues on those topics. I encourage people to join in after reading this, and would ask for mutual respect in regards to such an emotional issue.

Probably the biggest reason people outside of the sciences have such a hard time with evolution is the idea that something can't turn into something different. (somewhat of a remnant of Aristotle's thought on our culture.)

Often scriptures are appealed to so as to defend the notion of innate categories of creatures. However it is important to realize that the notion of species is a man made creation. It was a way various people guessed about how the world was structured. While it is very useful up to a point, once one leaves the kind of experiences you encounter in your day to day existence, it becomes unreliable.

The discovery of molecular biology suggests that the old categories of Aristotle just don't make sense as some sort of ontological absolute limit on life. Life simply doesn't work that way.

A lot of the old categories from both the ancient world, and even the early modern world are wrong. Consider the rather common notion that energy and matter are completely different. Einstein showed that they are fundamentally intertwined and that one can convert energy into matter and vice versa. As science progresses we find that many of the traditional notions to explain the world, while accurate to the everyday man, are false when examined more in a larger perspective. The question really ought to be, why should we expect life to be any different?

Regarding the origins of man and it's pertinance to science. theologist and scientist James E. Talmage said:
"This record of Adam and his posterity is the only scriptural account we have of the appearance of man upon the earth. But we have also a vast and ever-increasing volume of knowledge concerning man, his early habits and customs, his industries and works of art, his tools and implements, about which such scriptures as we have thus far received are entirely silent. Let us not try to wrest the scriptures in an attempt to explain away what we can not explain. The opening chapters of Genesis, and scriptures related thereto, were never intended as a text-book of geology, archeology, earth-science or man-science. Holy Scripture will endure, while the conceptions of men change with new discoveries. We do not show reverence for the scriptures when we misapply them through faulty interpretation."

Now to the religious individual who feels his beliefs are threatened by evolution. The scriptures as you know them cannot and do not answer the questions about evolution. They were never intended to be used for such a purpose. Evolution should not contradict your beliefs, rather it should support them.

And to the scientific mind who has no regard for a being of higher power. Be patient with the education system, many are simply relying on an outdated schooling system that is several decades behind.

Now if you would like to comment, please keep it civil, I know it's a touchy subject for both theists and atheists.

http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=84561

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/13/genepax-shows-off-water-powered-fuel-cell-vehicle/

Another pseudo-secret automobile technology that utilizes 'solely water' to move you around. Lets go, Japan! Make it happen!

If you havent already done so, I highly recommend checking out the WorldWide Telescope, yes, yes, Google-did-it-first with Google sky in Google Earth, but seriously WWT is more awesome, its got lots and lots of guided tours by astronomers and its generally much prettier.

Its an amazing tool for learning about stuff in the universe, and I'm sort-of bummed it hasnt gotten more attention.

I'd say this is just about the coolest thing MS has released, and its completely free too. Its still in Beta, so there are some bugs in there, but its still pretty awesome.

Phil Plait has written an article about a recently discovered supernova, this is one of the coolest science articles I've read recently, I highly recommend checking it out

http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/05/21/birth-cry-of-a-supernova/

I can also easily recommend a Bad Astronomy daily intake, its one of the best blogs out there, IMO
http://www.badastronomy.com

For all the James Burke Fans here on the Sift, you might be interested in this "webinar"

Burke Online Live Webcast

The Knowledge Web with James Burke
Thursday, May 22, 2008
8:00 am Pacific /
11:00 am Eastern /
4:00 pm London /

I'm certainly going to try to make it, he is a great influence on how I view technology and history. You can tell I'm a huge fan, Here is an experimental page I recently built through"knowledge web" inspiration Let me know what you think of it. Ten minute segments surrounded with links to information about everything Burke talks about. I'm considering putting the labour in for each episode.

http://www.jove.com/

JoVE, in short, is a peer-reviewed YouTube for bio-scientists, ... and is therefor the coolest scientific journal ever. Its a collection of videos by biological researchers demonstrating techniques, methods and experimental designs that they wish to share with anyone interested, and also includes the odd interview or discussion with a superstar researcher.

It is 100% open-access, and will hopefully jump-start a new movement in how science methods and research techniques are shared around the world.

I live in Saint Louis, Mo, USA which apparently is right on the edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone. We had an earthquake of 5.2 magnitude this morning. There appears to have been no injuries and only minor damage, so it wasn't a disaster, just sorta a "wow that was weird" natural happening.

It's just so striking to me that for about 20 seconds of an otherwise normal day every living thing for miles around me shared an experience. And that it happens all over the Earth, often. I just felt like telling someone, thought this was as good a place as any.

Anyone else had an earthquake experience? Anyone else feel the same earthquake?

here's the article from our biggest paper:http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/nation/story/85FD230AAFCED4D08625742F003769F5?OpenDocument

Bathroom Door Magic from absolutwade on Vimeo



Does anybody recognize this door or this technology? (also, why won't the Sift accept this as a submission?)

Edit: embed problem solved, door found in a CSI epidode.

DARPA is at it again with bugs that become bugs!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/06/scirobot106.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox