Chimpanzees, you are not alone. The distinction of being our closest living relative in the animal kingdom is now a tie with the bonobo. An international team of researchers has sequenced the genome of the bonobo for the first time, confirming that it shares the same percentage of its DNA (about 99.6%) with us as chimps do.
read moreI just wrote an article talking about how limiting choice is framed as 'leading the way' when it comes to a pet belief - and anti-science Californians who insist any genetically optimized food is dangerous are making my point while making some inroads into turning their non-reality-based beliefs into law for everyone in the state. read...
read moreDo you want to ban cigarettes and legalize marijuana? Did you cheer when a judge in one state broke the law regarding the Ten Commandments and hissed when a judge in another state broke the law regarding gay marriage?Freedom is a moving target, as is social authoritarianism, and how people seem to come down on one issue often shows how they think on a whole raft of other ones. read...
read moreBank of America was recently so crushed by its risky derivatives investments it needed $45 billion in bailout money from taxpayers - and then proceeded to engage in questionable practices to cover its losses, much like it engaged in questionable practices to acquire the losses. Things are so much better now they can afford to fix global warming and are devoting $50 billion to the...
read moreSometimes natural is not good. Actually, a lot of the time natural is bad but we live in in era where anti-science types have a 'natural' fetish, believing anything natural is good.But not always. Weeds are natural yet if you leave them alone your vegetables will die. And that goes for plenty of other invasive species. Even wild salmon.There's long been precautionary principle...
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