Today this (local) news had me feeling down and really creeped out. The Free Press has three or four pages of gory details.*
But this news, from Science, is more cheerful:
"The ethical problems of using eggs can be circumvented with induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are adult cells reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. In 2006, scientists created such cells from mice and rats by introducing a combination of four genes to a culture of skin cells. Then last year, scientists showed that they could do the same thing with human cells. The new study, published online today by Science, shows that iPS cells can be successfully generated even from the skin cells of an elderly, sick person, Eggan says."
Hurray for progress in science! Especially progress that solves ethical problems rather than creating new ones.
And Boo to unprovoked homicides / decapitations by cannibal psychotics off their meds.
*They even had a story about worldwide reactions. Best were the quotes from boorish Americans informing us that Canadians were wimps, blaming the tragedy on handgun control, or explaining that this was clearly an al-Qaeda terrorist attack aimed at the USA. (Oh, just like fist bumps or reporters?) There are good rebuttals to such allegations, but it's more fun to reply in the same spirit they were made: No, your MOM is clearly a wimpy handgun controlling al-Qaeda attack aimed at the USA!!
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Friday, August 01, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Henry Gee and the Science of Middle-Earth
Here's an interesting-sounding book:
The Science of Middle-Earth: Explaining the Science Behind the Greatest Fantasy Epic Ever Told! by Henry Gee.
The promotional blurb reads in part: The author explores just how elves might be able to see much further than humans, why Frodo's sword turns blue at the sight of evil orcs, how the rings of power do their thing, and just about every other conundrum or piece of 'elvish magic' that have puzzled and delighted Tolkien fans for years. Throughout, Gee makes the point that science, fantasy, and nature are really more similar than one might think. Gee writes in a popular tone and style, fully explaining all science concepts and convincingly demonstrating how Tolkien's world of fantasy makes sense in a very real - scientific - way.
Now, you might think this is a pointless exercise in fandom by a fantasy fanatic with his head in the clouds... except for the fact that Dr. Henry Gee is himself a scientist, more specifically a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist. He is also a senior editor of Nature, the world-renowned scientific journal, and has edited a collection of science fiction previously published in the pages of Nature. He's written popular books on evolutionary biology, genomics, and dinosaurs. The Scientific American review of the LotR book points out: In a closing essay, [Gee] argues that "Tolkien's own worldview was closer to the true spirit of science than that held by many who propose to promote the public understanding of science."
He's also written some science fiction of his own, which is available for free here. The write-up: "Jack Corstorphine is a man with a rare intuition. He is convinced that the landscape of Europe hides a civilization a million years old. Jadis Markham has a gift for analysis -- she can reach solutions while everyone else is still grappling with the problem. Together, they change the face of prehistory. But prehistory bites back. Forces almost beyond imagination are stirring in Jack and Jadis' world, among the worlds of their friends -- their scientist-priest mentor Domingo, and their adopted son, Tom -- and among the stars. The Sigil is an epic of near-future SF about the nature of the past, religion, love and the nature of humanity."
I tend to enjoy the work of people who avoid polarization or easy categorization, like those who are at home in both science and art, who are good at rigorous thinking but who also appreciate the power and beauty of myth. And it seems that Dr. Gee is one of those 'in-between' people, not only in regards to fantastic literature ("he read The Lord of the Rings about once a year between the ages of 10 and 25") but also in questions of science, religion and philosophy. According to his awfully witty blog, The End Of The Pier Show, he is Jewish, with progressive/liberal opinions on religious matters. On the one hand, he's strongly opposed to creationism and the Intelligent Design movement, and on the other he has also expressed his disagreement with the militant atheists among his scientist colleagues (for example, here, here or here) while maintaining personal friendships with many of them.*
Something that comes through loud and clear on his blog, as a powerful recurring theme, is his passion for popularizing science for the widest possible audience. The Science of Middle-Earth sounds like a marvelous contribution to that quest.
*If you strongly disagree with Dr. Gee's views on creationism, I.D., militant atheism, or The Lord of the Rings, please take the issue up with him, as I'm allergic to strenous comment box arguments.
The Science of Middle-Earth: Explaining the Science Behind the Greatest Fantasy Epic Ever Told! by Henry Gee.
The promotional blurb reads in part: The author explores just how elves might be able to see much further than humans, why Frodo's sword turns blue at the sight of evil orcs, how the rings of power do their thing, and just about every other conundrum or piece of 'elvish magic' that have puzzled and delighted Tolkien fans for years. Throughout, Gee makes the point that science, fantasy, and nature are really more similar than one might think. Gee writes in a popular tone and style, fully explaining all science concepts and convincingly demonstrating how Tolkien's world of fantasy makes sense in a very real - scientific - way.
Now, you might think this is a pointless exercise in fandom by a fantasy fanatic with his head in the clouds... except for the fact that Dr. Henry Gee is himself a scientist, more specifically a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist. He is also a senior editor of Nature, the world-renowned scientific journal, and has edited a collection of science fiction previously published in the pages of Nature. He's written popular books on evolutionary biology, genomics, and dinosaurs. The Scientific American review of the LotR book points out: In a closing essay, [Gee] argues that "Tolkien's own worldview was closer to the true spirit of science than that held by many who propose to promote the public understanding of science."
He's also written some science fiction of his own, which is available for free here. The write-up: "Jack Corstorphine is a man with a rare intuition. He is convinced that the landscape of Europe hides a civilization a million years old. Jadis Markham has a gift for analysis -- she can reach solutions while everyone else is still grappling with the problem. Together, they change the face of prehistory. But prehistory bites back. Forces almost beyond imagination are stirring in Jack and Jadis' world, among the worlds of their friends -- their scientist-priest mentor Domingo, and their adopted son, Tom -- and among the stars. The Sigil is an epic of near-future SF about the nature of the past, religion, love and the nature of humanity."
I tend to enjoy the work of people who avoid polarization or easy categorization, like those who are at home in both science and art, who are good at rigorous thinking but who also appreciate the power and beauty of myth. And it seems that Dr. Gee is one of those 'in-between' people, not only in regards to fantastic literature ("he read The Lord of the Rings about once a year between the ages of 10 and 25") but also in questions of science, religion and philosophy. According to his awfully witty blog, The End Of The Pier Show, he is Jewish, with progressive/liberal opinions on religious matters. On the one hand, he's strongly opposed to creationism and the Intelligent Design movement, and on the other he has also expressed his disagreement with the militant atheists among his scientist colleagues (for example, here, here or here) while maintaining personal friendships with many of them.*
Something that comes through loud and clear on his blog, as a powerful recurring theme, is his passion for popularizing science for the widest possible audience. The Science of Middle-Earth sounds like a marvelous contribution to that quest.
*If you strongly disagree with Dr. Gee's views on creationism, I.D., militant atheism, or The Lord of the Rings, please take the issue up with him, as I'm allergic to strenous comment box arguments.
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Bible and Race
Here's a highly interesting review of a book which explores the way the Bible has often been used against racist ideas, as well as in support of them.
The book is entitled: The Forging of Racism: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600-2000, by Colin Kidd. It was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006.
"Moreover, far from this being the incidental implication of a few verses, orthodox Christians have consistently recognized the solidarity of the human race as a core theme of both the biblical narrative and formal Christian theology: the image of God in humanity, the Fall, and original sin are predicated on the understanding that all human beings are bound together in a single, common origin, lineage, and family. The Christian tradition has consistently discerned that this doctrinal teaching has substantial implications when it comes to the issue of race. To take a typical example, the 18th-century conservative biblical scholar Nathaniel Lardner averred: "all men ought to love one another as brethren. For they are all descended from the same parents, and cannot but have like powers, and weaknesses, and wants … . For notwithstanding some differences of outward condition, we have all the same nature, and are brethren."
...
The Bible, therefore, has actually been a roadblock in the way of racists—although a barrier that all too many Christians, alas, have managed to find their way around. Kidd forcefully explains how it would have been so much easier for white southerners to have defended their "peculiar institution" ideologically if they could have accepted polygenesis. A few voices made the tempting argument that blacks were closer to soulless beasts than blood brothers but, as southerners were not generally ready to throw away their Bibles, they did not win out. The truths revealed in Scripture remained present to bear witness against them: African Americans were their brothers and sisters, co-recipients of the plan of redemption in the one, human family that is made in the image of God. The Bible was even an obstacle when it came to the stand against miscegenation: for example, was it not patently clear from the scriptural narrative that Moses had married a black woman? Even the pro-apartheid Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa was forced to concede that the Bible permitted interracial marriages."
The book is entitled: The Forging of Racism: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600-2000, by Colin Kidd. It was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006.
"Moreover, far from this being the incidental implication of a few verses, orthodox Christians have consistently recognized the solidarity of the human race as a core theme of both the biblical narrative and formal Christian theology: the image of God in humanity, the Fall, and original sin are predicated on the understanding that all human beings are bound together in a single, common origin, lineage, and family. The Christian tradition has consistently discerned that this doctrinal teaching has substantial implications when it comes to the issue of race. To take a typical example, the 18th-century conservative biblical scholar Nathaniel Lardner averred: "all men ought to love one another as brethren. For they are all descended from the same parents, and cannot but have like powers, and weaknesses, and wants … . For notwithstanding some differences of outward condition, we have all the same nature, and are brethren."
...
The Bible, therefore, has actually been a roadblock in the way of racists—although a barrier that all too many Christians, alas, have managed to find their way around. Kidd forcefully explains how it would have been so much easier for white southerners to have defended their "peculiar institution" ideologically if they could have accepted polygenesis. A few voices made the tempting argument that blacks were closer to soulless beasts than blood brothers but, as southerners were not generally ready to throw away their Bibles, they did not win out. The truths revealed in Scripture remained present to bear witness against them: African Americans were their brothers and sisters, co-recipients of the plan of redemption in the one, human family that is made in the image of God. The Bible was even an obstacle when it came to the stand against miscegenation: for example, was it not patently clear from the scriptural narrative that Moses had married a black woman? Even the pro-apartheid Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa was forced to concede that the Bible permitted interracial marriages."
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Sci/tech links
Top ten scientific discoveries of 2007. [via Martin]
350 is the number to remember. [via Lee]
Clive Thompson points out that we're pushing a lot of information out of our own heads and relying on computers as "outboard brains." I quite liked his closing lines:
We've come to think of human intelligence as being like an Intel processor, able to quickly analyze data and spot patterns. Maybe there's just as much value in the ability to marinate in the seemingly trivial.
Of course, it's probably not an either/or proposition. I want both: I want my organic brain to contain vast stores of knowledge and my silicon overmind to contain a stupidly huge amount more.
At the very least, I'd like to be able to remember my own phone number.
350 is the number to remember. [via Lee]
Clive Thompson points out that we're pushing a lot of information out of our own heads and relying on computers as "outboard brains." I quite liked his closing lines:
We've come to think of human intelligence as being like an Intel processor, able to quickly analyze data and spot patterns. Maybe there's just as much value in the ability to marinate in the seemingly trivial.
Of course, it's probably not an either/or proposition. I want both: I want my organic brain to contain vast stores of knowledge and my silicon overmind to contain a stupidly huge amount more.
At the very least, I'd like to be able to remember my own phone number.
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