Satanic Santa, endangered chimps, GM cocaine debunked, poisoned politicians…oh, and a surprise at the end. It’s the TDG News. Thanks to Shadows and Kat for items.
- A Winding Path– Why a Bay Area microbiologist turned to the New Age art of building labyrinths — by hand, out of dirt.
- In Britain, churches protest against a “devil Santa” at a York tourist attraction.
- Does Western Civilisation feel the lack of the old passage rituals of manhood, marriage and others? Maybe pagans have something worth saying on the subject.
- The US Navy wants shark’s sense for its divers, so that they can spot mines in shallow water.
- Impulsive behavior may be a relict of our hunter-gatherer past.
- Science has identified a new subspecies of tiger. Sadly, this does not mean there are more tigers.
- Anthropologist says early Native Indians killed their witches. Why do witches always get it in the neck?
- Advances in technology are opening up new possibilities of discovery at the Kincaid Mounds, a southern Illinois archaeological site where a prehistoric culture thrived 1,000 years ago.
- Doctors say the Ukraine opposition leader Yushchenko was definitely poisoned and they will identify the poison within days.
- A single strange-voiced whale, whose singing calls don’t match any known species, has been cruising the Pacific for at least 12 years.
- A whole new kind of “K” Ration: the Army intends to give ketamine to wounded troops. Plus, some bubbles that work better than blood!
- The true measure of success. Forget GDP, a better metric for prosperity is Gross National Happiness.
- Pygmy chimpanzees or bonobos – which some scientists call man’s closest relative are being hunted to extinction.
- Environmentalists have attacked US claims that America is doing as much to curb global warming as any nation that signed the Kyoto deal.
- How are you reading TDG today? New Scientist says hot laptops may reduce male fertility.
- How easy is it to genetically modify coca plants? No, you cant do it in your garage…
- Height and the hummingbird – how they manage to hover at great altitudes and in thin air has long mystified scientists.
- As my one year old decides 3am is a good time to be wide awake chasing cats and I blearily search for TDG news, I need toast! Sleepless nights make you hungrier, it seems.
- A large new oil find has been made off the coast of Scotland. Knowing my luck, I will get home just in time for Scotland to be invaded pre-emptively.
- Australian snakes have evolved to defend themselves against the poisonous cane toad.
- A Nuclear-powered mission to Neptune could answer questions about planetary formation.
- Organising genes into an entire ecosystem – less can be more.
- Here’s a handy crib sheet if you’ve been following the evolution/creationism debate: who are the players and how much funding do they have?
Listen Up, TDGers. Today, thanks to Kat, we’re offering you the chance to avoid eyestrain by listening to a few news stories instead of reading them. So let your ears do the work for a change, and then tell us what you think about this multimedia approach.
- NPR Interviews archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert about the Kabul Museum’s recently found treasures, including thousands of gold and silver coins documenting the history of Afghanistan’s kings from the 5th century B.C. to modern times. Click “Listen” under title.
- ‘Hobbit’ Fossil Stirs Controversy. Click ‘Listen’ under title.
- With his 1948 book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, biologist Alfred Kinsey infamously yanked American sex out of the closet, arguably beginning a sexual revolution. Kinsey’s detractors have compared the publication of ‘The Kinsey Report’ to the attacks of 9-11, and labelled Kinseyism ‘fifty years of cultural terrorism.’ NPR interviews the man behind the new movie, ‘Kinsey‘, filmmaker Bill Condon. Click ‘Listen’ under title.
- An Independent Report Says NASA’s Robotic Plan to Save Hubble Is Too Risky, but NASA administrators disagree. Click “Listen” under title.
- NPR interviews Cathryn Jakobson Ramin about her recent NYTimes article, In Search of Lost Time, on midlife memory lapses (which actually start in your 20s). For interview, click ‘Listen’ under title. Registration required for the NYTimes article.
- What does the world-wide amphibian die-off have to do with pregnant women? Click ‘Listen’ under title.
- Human brains are hard-wired to respond to fearful body language in others. Click ‘Listen’ under title.
- Increasingly, wild animals are dying from diseases passed to them by humans and domesticated animals, but some scientists still see them only as vectors, not victims. By now you know to click “listen”.
Quote of the Day:
The future is here. It’s just not widely distributed yet.
William Gibson
