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« Science: December 2013 | Main | Science: February 2014 » ScienceDon't blame liberals for anti-vaccination sentiment About a year ago i panned Scientific American for trying to say that liberals were just as anti-science (or moreso) than conservatives by citing anti-vaccination and anti-GMO sentiment. Kevin Drum links to an American Prospect report showing a study that anti-vaccination sentiment, at least, is not really concentrated amongst liberals and is actually slightly higher amongst conservatives (and especially Michele Bachmann!). As Kevin Drum says, that just leaves GMO, and some of that sentiment is less anti-science per se and more distrust of corporations, and especially their business practices (e.g. contamination of non-GMO farmers' fields, suing farmers for using their seed "technology"), and a desire for more testing and regulation. Maybe you think that's a distinction without a difference. But as i mentioned in my post from a year ago, the scale of the resistance is something else entirely; it's not lot like you have Democrats in Congress opposing GMOs the way you have Republicans opposing measures to combat global warming. By fnord12 | January 29, 2014, 1:34 PM | Liberal Outrage
& Science | Link From The Epigenetics Revolution: I think i can get access to some toilet paper rolls, but i'm not so sure about the running wheels. By min | January 24, 2014, 8:47 AM | Science | Link If you should ever find yourself being chased by bayonet-wielding raptors, head towards a windmill! It may be your only chance! By min | January 22, 2014, 9:43 PM | Science | Link *shudder* ETA: I can't remember if Gattaca was what you would call a "good" movie or not. I think i liked it (except for the aforementioned leg thing). You should watch it. Jude Law's in it. And Gore Vidal. Who can resist Gore Vidal? And why is that relevant to this post? In Gattaca, science had advanced to the point where parents could choose what traits their offspring inherited from them, thus creating the perfect child. Vincent was the child they had the "natural" way. By min | January 21, 2014, 11:22 PM | Movies
& Science | Comments (2)| Link A report that we sleep more than we say we do, which follows up on a report that says we work less than we say we do. As Catherine Rampell says, there may be discrepancies between the reports that measure this stuff. I mean, i may surf the internet or stare into space and pray that a meteor will land on me, but i still consider that "working" in the sense that i am chained to my desk. But those of you who are inflating your industriousness, quit it! You're just setting new standards that the rest of us now have to lie to match, and then next year you'll have to inflate it further. You're not doing anyone any favors, including yourself. By fnord12 | January 16, 2014, 4:01 PM | Liberal Outrage
& My stupid life
& Science | Link Hippos are blessed with, as lead author Chris Walzer of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna put it, "highly mobile testicles." Unlike humans, hippos' testicles are not external, nor are they tucked inside the abdomen. Instead they are located inside the inguinal canal, a space in the lower front part of the body. But their exact location in the canal varies widely, sometimes minute by minute. "Hippo testicles are retractable, and can vary in depth by around 40cm, which makes them quite hard to find," Walzer said, adding that there had been in the past several documented efforts that tried and failed to locate them, and at least one paper that declared that it was "not known" where they are. Be warned! If you click on that link, you are going to be subjected to a drawing of hippo genitals! I've always said that the location of such a sensitive body part on men is really, really stupid. It's just hanging out there, unprotected! Guys need what hippos got - the "ability to yank them more than a foot further into the body". By min | January 8, 2014, 1:34 PM | Science | Link "Earthquake lights are a real phenomenon--they're not UFOs," says lead author Robert Thériault, a geologist at Quebec's Ministry of Natural Resources in Quebec City, Canada. "They can be scientifically explained." Oh, i got your scientific explanation right here. It's pretty obvious to me that these glows followed by earthquakes are caused by Megalon digging his way out of Seatopia. Der. By min | January 5, 2014, 11:25 AM | Godzilla & Science | Link |