Category: Science

Environment, International, Politics, Science, Society

Scientists: Humanity’s End Is Now In Sight

earth-screensaver_largeThe same week as Pope Francis’s historic encyclical warning of the dire dangers posed to humanity over climate change , scientists have issue new warnings that we are likely past the point of no-return to save humanity from catastrophe and possible extinction. Famed Australian microbiologist Frank Fenner, a key figure in the elimination of smallpox in the 1970s, now believes that humans will be extinct in 100 years after making the planet uninhabitable. Others have pointed out that the United States and other nations continue to adopt insufficient targets from carbon reduction and that our passing the critical “3C” threshold now appears all but assured due to opponents and deniers of climate change or reforms.

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Congress, Environment, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion, Science, Society

Pope Issues Rare Encyclical On Climate Change That Demands Action To Curtail Carbon Emissions To Save Humanity

120px-Pope_Francis_in_March_2013_(cropped)earth-screensaver_largeAs widely rumored, Pope Francis has issued a historic papal encyclical that agrees with the vast majority of scientists that global warming is real, largely caused by mankind, and threatens the very future of humanity. He has called for emergency action to curtail carbon emissions by reducing fossil fuels and developing renewables.

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Academia, Environment, International, Science, Society

Creationist Finds 60 Million Year Old Fossils In His Basement But Maintains That It Proves Nothing

imrs.phpWe have previously discussed the struggle that creationists have with the daily disclosures of scientific research, particularly the discovery of fossils and other items that are dates in the millions rather than thousands of years. It is hard to maintain that the Earth is less than 6,000 years old given the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. However, Canadian Edgar Nernberg has shown just how easy it is to live in denial. Nernberg was not just confronted with a fossil from over 60 million years ago, but he actually found it in his basement. However, Nernberg does not think God is trying to tell him something. He maintains that “There’s no dates stamped on these things” and it proves nothing if you just reject isotopic dating and basic geology.

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Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, Science

Teacher Allegedly Burned Students With Tesla Coil, Sparking Controversy

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

tesla-coilThe mysterious ways of a familiar high school institution, the Tesla Coil, once again has conjured another spectacle. A Salem, Oregon high school teacher was charged with the shocking crime of Criminal Mistreatment after allegedly employing the coil to burn sweet nothings into the arms of students

After an investigation, Salem Police arrested Samuel Dufner for the alleged crime at South Salem High School.

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Academia, Animals, Science

Attention Span of A Goldfish? You Wish . . .

220px-Goldfish3Please try to read this story in eight seconds and do not get distracted by the picture of the goldfish. There is an interesting study that seems to confirm one curious aspects of our information technology revolution. As we are increasingly bombarded by information and images from different sources, our attention spans appears to be failing. The study of 2,000 people found that the average attention span has fallen from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. With the decline, we have now fallen below the attention span of a goldfish (at nine seconds).

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Science, Society

Happy Mother’s Day Mitochondrial Eve

mitochondrial-eveBy Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

This mother’s day, we can all express our gratitude and love for Mitochondrial Eve—the mother from whom we all descend. While we all cannot remember her from long ago we carry with us her lessons passed from her to each mother, who then did so to their children through all mothers of yesterday to all mothers today. Her words live in our Mitochondrial DNA; a part of our genetics that we all share.

Let us all toast this day the mothers of all our families and our common mom!

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Academia, Science

Scientists Reportedly Succeed In First Test of EM Drive Engine That Could Take Humans To Mars In 70 Days

MV5BMTIyODE4NjI2Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODg4MjMyMQ@@._V1_SX214_AL_This is very cool. Scientists have successfully tested an engine with an electromagnetic propulsion drive, or the EM Drive, that could conceivably take humans to Mars in just 70 days. The EM Drive works in a vacuum that replicates space. This breakthrough has gotten comparatively little attention despite its transformative impact on space travel.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Science, Society

Is The Cell Phone Kill Switch in the Wrong Hands?

Electronic_Privacy_Information_Center_logo

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor

You may not have heard of it before, but the government has the ability to shut off cell phone service at any time, under the guise of National Security.  The Department of Homeland Security has an operating procedure known as Standard Operating Procedure 303( SOP 303) and it has been labeled as the cell phone “kill switch”.

I knew very little about the “kill switch” before today, but according to a recent Al Jezeera America article, the kill switch authority is being currently debated in Federal court. Continue reading “Is The Cell Phone Kill Switch in the Wrong Hands?” →

Media, Politics, Science

Computer Scientist Gives Virginia Voting Machines F- Security Grade

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

WinVote User Interface
WinVote User Interface

A six year effort by Computer Scientist Jerry Epstein of SRI International has finally achieved fruition in his quest to decertify AVS WinVote Machines for election use due to what can described as extremely broken security measures and weaknesses in its design. Such deficiencies were so magnified the machines had not only the potential for fault but a relatively unsophisticated hacker could have brought down the State of Virginia’s election system.

Mr. Epstein reportedly stated the WinVote system “would get an F-” in security.

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Academia, Science, Society

Study: 69 Percent Of People On Antidepressants Do Not Meet Criteria For Clinical Depression

Old_guitarist_chicagoThere is an interesting study out in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry that has concluded that the majority of people taking antidepressants may not actually have depression. The study found that more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of people taking antidepressants did not meet the criteria for major depressive disorder, or clinical depression.

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Academia, Environment, International, Politics, Science

Study: Global Deaths Due To Air Pollution Are Substantially Higher Than Previously Estimated

220px-AlfedPalmersmokestacksA new study has raised the disturbing question of whether we are substantially under-estiminating the annual death toll from air pollution, which currently stands at around 3.4 million a year. The reason is the failure to measure the lethality of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), emitted during fossil fuel burning.

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Environment, Politics, Science, Society

Farmer Asks Nebraska Oil & Gas Commissioners To Drink Fracking Wastewater Before Approving Plan

Screen Shot 2015-03-28 at 6.19.45 PMLast week, there was a compelling moment in the meeting of the Nebraska Oil and Gas Commission when a Nebraska farmer stepped forward to discuss the plan to allow 80 truckloads carrying 10,000 barrels per day containing fracking wastewater into Nebraska. Then the farmer offered the Commissioners a simple challenge: you drink it.

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Academia, Science, Society

George Mason Students Invent Device To Douse Fires With Sound Waves

Screen Shot 2015-03-24 at 7.59.39 PMThis is one of the most impressive new inventions that I have seen recently and it is the work of two George Mason students. Engineering seniors Viet Tran and Seth Robertson have created a fire extinguisher using low-frequency sound waves to douse a blaze. Question: does this mean that there are never any kitchen fires in the home of Barry White?

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Media, Science, Society

A Concerning Look At Privacy In Cloud Computing

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

300px-Rolling-thunder-cloudThere is an interesting video on Slashdot of an interview with Tom Henderson, principle researcher at Extreme Labs, Inc. He provides a primer into his well founded concerns on privacy in the world of cloud computing. His research has led him to the position of distrust of companies hired to store data on behalf of users as opposed to the advantages of these users self-storing and archiving. It is reminiscent of the convenience placed above privacy that is coming to a greater magnification today and likely to be more so into the future.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Religion, Science, Society

George Washington University Investigates Swastika Postings As Possible Hate Crime

150px-GWUlogoGeorge Washington University President Steven Knapp last night sent an urgent message to all students and faculty and employees regarding the disturbing discovery of swastikas at the International House, which houses 176 Greek students. The first appearance of swastikas appeared a few weeks ago and then again yesterday on the bulletin board of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. It is clearly a hateful demonstration and the university has worked with the campus Rabbi to counsel students who might have been traumatized by the postings. However, the letter below indicates that the University is treating the posting as a possible hate crime and seeking assistance from the police. A colleague wrote me last night after receiving the email to ask if the posting of such an image is really a hate crime now. It is a good question, though one that some faculty or students might not feel comfortable in raising in fear of being viewed as insensitive.

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