z_Ideas

The Breakthrough of 2005: EVOLUTION!

It's cheeky and we love it. The respected magazine Science has named evolution the "breakthrough of the year" for 2005. Says the mag here:

2005 stands out as a banner year for uncovering the intricacies of how evolution actually proceeds. Concrete genome data allowed researchers to start pinning down the molecular modifications that drive evolutionary change in organisms from viruses to primates. Painstaking field observations shed new light on how populations diverge to form new species -- the mystery of mysteries that baffled Darwin himself. Ironically, also this year some segments of American society fought to dilute the teaching of even the basic facts of evolution. With all this in mind, Science has decided to put Darwin in the spotlight by saluting several dramatic discoveries, each of which reveals the laws of evolution in action.

In other words, while the American religious right argues in favour of creationism in its thinly disguised form known as Intelligent Design, the science world is making strides in proving Charles Darwin's theory and rubbing it in the nostaligentsia's face.

That's fair play. As the judge in the Dover, Penn., school board case noted in his ruling on Monday (he stopped the school board from teaching Intelligent design on the grounds it causes Church to invade State's personal space; see judgment a few items down on this blog), evolution isn't a slap in God's face. Said the judge:

scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and that it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator.

And a Merry CHRISTMAS to all.

The half-life of a teaspoon

Why do teaspoons disappear from office coffee stations? Who takes them? Where do they go?

Science has an answer. From EurekAlert.com:

"Where have all the bloody teaspoons gone?" is an age old question in the workplace. In this week's BMJ, researchers at the Burnet Institute in Australia attempt to measure the phenomenon of teaspoon loss and its effect on office life.

They purchased and discreetly numbered 70 stainless steel teaspoons (54 of standard quality and 16 of higher quality). The teaspoons were placed in tearooms around the institute and were counted weekly over five months.

After five months, staff were told about the research project and asked to complete a brief anonymous questionnaire about their attitudes towards and knowledge of teaspoons and teaspoon theft.

During the study, 56 (80%) of the 70 teaspoons disappeared. The half life of the teaspoons was 81 days (that is, half had disappeared permanently after that time). The half life of teaspoons in communal tearooms (42 days) was significantly shorter than those in rooms linked to particular research groups (77 days).

The rate of loss was not influenced by the teaspoons' value and the overall incidence of teaspoon loss was 360.62 per 100 teaspoon years. At this rate, an estimated 250 teaspoons would need to be purchased annually to maintain a workable population of 70 teaspoons, say the authors.

The questionnaire showed that most employees (73%) were dissatisfied with teaspoon coverage in the institute, suggesting that teaspoons are an essential part of office life. The rapid rate of teaspoon loss shows that their availability (and therefore office life) is under constant assault.

One possible explanation for the phenomenon is resistentialism (the theory that inanimate objects have a natural aversion to humans), they write. This is demonstrated by the fact that people have little or no control over teaspoon migration.

Given the widely applicable nature of these results, they suggest that the development of effective control measures against the loss of teaspoons should be a research priority.

No more cavity searches?

An airport security "checkpoint of the future" that lets travellers leave shoes on feet, keys in pockets and laptop computers in carry-on bags was shown off in San Francisco. (Physorg)

From the looks of it, passengers step on a conveyor belt and get zapped in all directions from cool scanners, and then are spat out the other end and told their flight has been cancelled.

Cracking the crackling riddle

Stefano Zapperi is "a leading light in the study of crackling noise," according to New Scientist. The Italian scientist can answer questions like:

Why is it that log fires crackle, but popcorn just pops? Why does scrunching up gift wrap make a din when doing the same thing to silk doesn't? And -- the $64,000 question -- why do wrappers and snack-food bags make such a racket?

This and other articles about such things as how reindeer keep track of time and why heavy meals make us have bad dreams are all packaged together in a great special section of Newscientist.com called "Christmas Science" (click here). A great way to kill time while waiting for Christmas dinner.

How to dispose of a dictator

Policy Review, a heavyweight in the world of thick policy magazines, tackles a topic that many might have overlooked: What to do with Saddam Hussein's body after he is executed, as he is certain to be.

Should the Iraqi government cremate Saddam’s body, scattering his ashes to the four winds, his name never to be uttered again? Perhaps the tribunal could simply bury Saddam intact but in an unmarked grave, his precise whereabouts kept a state secret. Or his corpse could be returned to his family and given a proper burial, turning his plot into a shrine for thousands of sympathizers. Then again, he could be both hanged and decapitated, his torso tossed into a ditch while his head is stuck on a spike in public view for the next several years.

Tough question. The piece goes on to examine what happened to toppled tyrants of the past. It's a fascinating roundup, and you can read it by clicking here.

Oldest footprints found

Hundreds of human footprints dating back 20,000 years to the Ice Age have been discovered in a dry lake bed in Australia, scientists said on Thursday. University of Melbourne archaeologist Matthew Cupper told Australian radio they were the earliest footprint fossils found in the country. (Reuters)

Queen for a day

Cartoon band Gorillaz will deliver their own version of the Queen's speech on Christmas Day via mobile phones. The band's animated frontman Murdoc -- voiced by Blur's Damon Albarn -- will talk about political, social and artistic highs and lows of 2005. (BBC)

And in Canada, Paul Martin will deliver the prime minister's message. We see a symmetry.

Scan-tastic!

A hi-tech scanner has been developed which takes images in less time than it takes the human heart to beat. (BBC; cool images)

Intelligent rebuke

It's long but it's a great read. The U.S. judge's decision in the Dover school board Intelligent Design case makes it clear the whole thing was about sticking creationism down the craw of high-school students. From the conclusion:

The proper application of both the endorsement and Lemon tests to the facts of this case makes it abundantly clear that the Board’s ID Policy violates the Establishment Clause. In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science. We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents.

Both Defendants and many of the leading proponents of ID make a bedrock assumption which is utterly false. Their presupposition is that evolutionary theory is antithetical to a belief in the existence of a supreme being and to religion in general. Repeatedly in this trial, Plaintiffs’ scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and that it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator.

To be sure, Darwin’s theory of evolution is imperfect. However, the fact that a scientific theory cannot yet render an explanation on every point should not be used as a pretext to thrust an untestable alternative hypothesis grounded in religion into the science classroom or to misrepresent well-established scientific propositions.

The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy. It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy.

With that said, we do not question that many of the leading advocates of ID have bona fide and deeply held beliefs which drive their scholarly endeavors. Nor do we controvert that ID should continue to be studied, debated, and discussed. As stated, our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in a public school science classroom.

Those who disagree with our holding will likely mark it as the product of an activist judge. If so, they will have erred as this is manifestly not an activist Court.

Rather, this case came to us as the result of the activism of an ill-informed faction on a school board, aided by a national public interest law firm eager to find a constitutional test case on ID, who in combination drove the Board to adopt an imprudent and ultimately unconstitutional policy. The breathtaking inanity of the Board’s decision is evident when considered against the factual backdrop which has now been fully revealed through this trial. The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources.

MSNBC has a PDF transcript of the 139-page decision here.

SCIENCE BRIEFING, 12-05-2005: Out of global luck; ancient power woman; man escapes puberty; words that wound

Rising seas have forced 100 people on a Pacific island to move to higher ground in what may be the first example of a village formally displaced because of modern global warming, a U.N. report said on Monday. [Reuters]

Archeologists working in Guatemala have unearthed a monument with the earliest-known depiction of a woman of authority in ancient Mayan culture, the Canadian leader of the research team said on Monday. [Reuters]

Lawrence Koomson is a doctor living and working in London. On the face of it, he seems no different from any other young man but Lawrence has a secret.  At 33, he has never been through puberty. He's never had a spot. He's never had an erection. And he's trapped in the body of a 12-year-old boy. [BBC]

The stress a married couple experiences during a 30-minute argument can delay their bodies’ ability to heal a wound by at least a day, according to a new study. And if the couples’ relationship endures routine hostility, the delay can be increased yet further. There could be important implications for people suffering from chronic wounds, such as skin ulcers. [New Scientist]