Darwin and the Pythoness

No U.S. distributor for Charles Darwin movie because of fear of fundamentalists

Many of you will remember the Xtian angst that ensued when the Monty Python movie "The Life of Brian" was released in the USA. At that time, I was friendly with a married couple who ran the a 'mom & pop' size theater in my college town. They were fans of Python, and dearly wanted to show the film. But they had received a very pointed threat against them on their answering machine, if they decided to show the film. They agonized whether they should show the film. In this case, this threat of terrorism had the desired effect. One of the owners told me that although someone defacing one of their movie screens would be covered by insurance, the loss of revenue would ruin them. (This was before studio owned megaplexes dominated the market). They decided not to show the film.

Well, it looks like the factually challenged have won the day again. The 'good' news is that theater owners will not have to sweat the decision to show the film or not, as the film now has about zero chance of finding a distributor in the US. From Crooks&Liars:

...Good God, what is this country coming to?

It seems the film Creation, a major-production biopic about Charles Darwin starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly, won't be seen in the United States because no distributor with the guts to stand up to the religious right in this country can be found...

The producer said:

"...The film has no distributor in America. It has got a deal everywhere else in the world but in the US, and it's because of what the film is about. People have been saying this is the best film they've seen all year, yet nobody in the US has picked it up.

Day at the Museum

Scientists study foes' ways at Creation Museum

Scientists are visiting the 'Creation Museum' in order to learn how they are portrayed:

...The real purpose of the museum visit is to give some of my colleagues an opportunity to sense how they're being portrayed," said Arnold Miller, a professor of paleontology at the University of Cincinnati, which is hosting the conference. "They're being demonized, I feel, in this museum as people who are responsible for all the ills of society...


I'm glad he used the term 'demonized'. That's the way most Dominionists and Eliminationists characterize anyone who does not subscribe to their myopic world view.

Obama at NSA

Obama speaks before the NSA today (here's the link to his speech). Some interesting bits.

And we have watched as scientific integrity has been undermined
and scientific research politicized in an effort to advance
predetermined ideological agendas.

...We know that our country is better than this.

That is why I have charged the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy with leading a new effort to ensure that
federal policies are based on the best and most unbiased
scientific information. I want to be sure that facts are driving
scientific decisions – and not the other way around...

On March 9th, I signed an executive memorandum with a clear
message: Under my administration, the days of science taking a
back seat to ideology are over. Our progress as a nation
– and our values as a nation – are rooted in free
and open inquiry. To undermine scientific integrity is to
undermine our democracy.

In reference to the importance of space exploration and the American moon landing:

The scientific community rallied behind this goal and set about
achieving it. And it would lead not just to those first steps on
the moon, but also to giant leaps in our understanding here at
home. The Apollo program itself produced technologies that have
improved kidney dialysis and water purification systems; sensors
to test for hazardous gasses; energy-saving building materials;
and fire-resistant fabrics used by firefighters and soldiers.
And, more broadly, the enormous investment of that era –
in science and technology, in education and research funding
– produced a great outpouring of curiosity and
creativity, the benefits of which have been incalculable.

Here's a bit that will enrage flat-earthers, young-earthers, anti-evolutionists,
and the teabag crowd:

Fifth, since we know that the progress and prosperity of future
generations will depend on what we do now to educate the next
generation, today I am announcing a renewed commitment to
education in mathematics and science.

That is why I am announcing today that states making strong
commitments and progress in math and science education will be
eligible to compete later this fall for additional funds under
the Secretary of Education's $5 billion Race to the Top program.

I am challenging states to dramatically improve achievement in
math and science by raising standards, modernizing science labs,
upgrading curriculum, and forging partnerships to improve the
use of science and technology in our classrooms. And I am
challenging states to enhance teacher preparation and training,
and to attract new and qualified math and science teachers to
better engage students and reinvigorate these subjects in our
schools.

Cool. Here's the link for the full transcript.

Scientists weep with joy

Scientists Welcome Obama’s Words

President Obama's statement that he will “restore science to its rightful place" brought joy to scientists thought the US government. Although many scientists (and science policy experts) realize it will take years to repair the damage of Bush's antediluvian rules and regulations, many are optimistic:

...Still, many scientists were exuberant. Staff members throughout the government’s scientific agencies held inaugural parties on Tuesday, and many reported being teary-eyed with joy. “If you look at the science world, you see a lot of happy faces,” said Frank Press, a former president of the National Academy of Sciences and former science adviser to President Jimmy Carter. “It’s not just getting money. It’s his recognition of what science can do to bring this country back in an innovative way.”

Short Lived little fella

A Chameleon With a Short Life
A little chameleon has a very short life:

...As researchers...reported in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the entire life span of the Furcifer labordi chameleon — from the moment of conception to development in the egg, hatching, maturation, breeding and right through to its last little lizardly thud to the ground — clocks in at barely a year...That hypercondensed biography, the scientists said, may well make the chameleon the shortest-lived tetrapod on Earth, a creature chronologically more like a butterfly or a sea squirt than like the other reptiles, frogs, birds and mammals...

Authors of the report also point out that the chameleon spends two thirds of it's brief existence inside the egg! Many invertebrates have short life spans, the vast majority being just one year. As pointed out in the study, this is certainly unusual for a vertebrate.

New species of Bird discovered

Smithsonian scientists discover new bird species

...Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution have discovered a new species of bird in Gabon, Africa, that was, until now, unknown to the scientific community...the newly found olive-backed forest robin (Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus) was named by the scientists for its distinctive olive back and rump. Adult birds measure 4.5 inches in length and average 18 grams in weight. Males exhibit a fiery orange throat and breast, yellow belly, olive back and black feathers on the head. Females are similar, but less vibrant. Both sexes have a distinctive white dot on their face in front of each eye...

Listen to the little things

Climate change: disease spread fears

In the novel "War of the Worlds" by HG Wells, you'll find one of the most famous quotes in SciFi history. Near the end, the narrator stares in wonderment into a huge dug-out pit, a sort of bivouac for the invading martians and their machines of war, now miraculously stopped in their tracks:

...And, scattered about it, some in their overturned war machines...and a dozen of them stark and silent and laid in a row, were the martians--dead! Slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared...slain, after all man's devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth...

We should listen to the littlest things. At the 23rd International Congress of Entomology , a dire warning was issued:

"...Today's lifestyles are energy dependent and the increased demand is leading to an increased warming in the atmosphere," said Dr John Githure of the African Insect Science for Food and Health based in Nairobi, Kenya. He told fellow entomologists that the most worrying effect was the spread of vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, on the African continent...

Not only is Global warming bringing about an increase in the populations of insect vectors, it is allowing them to increase their range:

...Githure explained that his study had documented an "intensified transmission to areas that weren't affected before, as parasites were finding new places to breed...The external changes in the temperature have a direct effect on the metabolism and development of parasites," said Githure...

Beelzebufo: The Frog From Hell

Ancient frog was as big as a bowling ball

...A frog the size of a bowling ball, with heavy armor and teeth, lived among dinosaurs millions of years ago -- intimidating enough that scientists who unearthed its fossils dubbed the beast Beelzebufo, or Devil Toad...

Presidential Debate: Science and Technology

A Call for a Presidential Debate on Science and Technology

After sitting through the recent disgraceful and Xtain pandering Republican candidate debate on CNN, this strikes me as a very good idea--actually asking candidates about issues of vital importance:

...As you watched the scores of U.S. Presidential debates, did you ever wonder why there has been no debate devoted to policy surrounding what may be the most important social issue of our time: Science and Technology...?

Yeah. I have wondered. It was really jaw-dropping watching Anderson Cooper lob softball "what would Jesus do" questions to preachers and Dominionists:

...We have noticed that science and technology lie at the center of a very large number of the policy issues facing our nation and the world - issues that profoundly affect our national and economic security...

And I might add 'our survival as a species', yet:

...as science and technology continue to transform our lives...We believe a debate on these issues would be the ideal opportunity for America and the candidates to explore our national priorities on the issues, and it is hard to imagine any candidate not wishing to be involved in such an occasion. Please join us and make Science Debate 2008 a reality...

(via Josh at TFK)

Chinese Turtle at brink of extinction

China’s Turtles, Emblems of a Crisis

Only two remaining Giant Yangtze Soft Shell Turtles are known to exist. A male and female, both are in captivity at separate zoos:

...The agenda is simple: The turtle must not die. Earlier this year, scientists concluded that she was the planet’s last known female Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle. She is about 80 years old and weighs almost 90 pounds...As it happens, the planet also has only one undisputed, known male. He lives at a zoo in the city of Suzhou. He is 100 years old and weighs about 200 pounds. They are the last hope of saving a species believed to be the largest freshwater turtles in the world...

China contains some of the worlds richest biodiversity. Yet China's wildlife has been under unrelenting pressure due to economic development. 40 percent of animals are threatened, as well as 70 percent of non-flowering and 86 percent of flowering plants.

...“It’s a very dire situation,” said Peter Pritchard, a prominent turtle expert in the United States who has helped in trying to save the species. “This one is so big and it has such an aura of mystery...

How the turtle wound up at the zoo is an amazing story:

...Fifty-one years ago, a traveling circus performed at the new zoo in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province in southern China. For a cash payment, the circus left behind a large female turtle. Zookeepers slipped the turtle into a large pond, where for a half-century it hibernated in winters and poked its pig-like snout above the water’s surface every spring. The walls of the zoo became the equivalent of a time capsule...Outside, the convulsions of modern Chinese history were scarring an already damaged landscape...

My so called past life

Ancient sea scorpion was 8 feet long

Obviously this is what I was in a past life. No wonder Dr. Zaius had me classified as a 'crab person' for a while. Heh!

Woowhooo...Science Blog Con

2007 North Carolina Science Blogging Conference

Sat, Jan 20, 2007
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
UNC-CH
Murphey Hall 116
Chapel Hill, NC

Join us for a day of discussions, readings and demonstrations about science and blogging Saturday, January 20, 2007 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (building and rooms tbd) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m..

In addition to being an internationally known hub of scientific and biomedical research and education, North Carolina has numerous science blogs written by a wide variety of people (see this listing of Science bloggers). This is a conference to explore new ways in communicating the scientific exploration happening in our state.

Our conference will address a variety of issues and perspectives on science communication, including science literacy, the popularization of science, science in classrooms and in homes, debunking pseudoscience, using blogs as tools for presenting scientific research, writing about science, and health and medicine.