Science
Chemical brain controls nanobots
The researchers have already built larger 'brains'
Science and technology reporter, BBC New.s A tiny chemical 'brain' which could one day act as a remote control for swarms of nano-machines has been invented. Read more here and comment
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Should Galileo's tomb be opened for DNA tests?
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Astronomers Capture Rare Video Of Meteor Falling To Earth; Hunt For Meteorite
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Sensor Necklace Records When Pill In Swallowed, And Prompts Patient When It Is Time To Take Another
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Blood Stem Cells Originate And Are Nurtured In The Placenta
ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2008) Solving a long-standing biological mystery, UCLA stem cell researchers have discovered that blood stem cells, the cells that later differentiate into all the cells in the blood supply, originate and are nurtured in the placenta. Read more and comment
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Boys And Girls Brains Are Different: Gender Differences In Language Appear Biological
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First Humanoid Robot That Will Develop Language May Be Coming Soon
ScienceDaily (Mar. 4, 2008) iCub, a one metre-high baby robot which will be used to study how a robot could quickly pick up language skills, will be available next year. Read more here and comment
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New Material Shows Great Promise For Nuclear Waste Clean-Up
ScienceDaily (Mar. 4, 2008) Nuclear power has advantages, but, if this method of making power is to be viable long term, discovering new solutions to radioactive waste disposal and other problems are critical. Otherwise nuclear power is unlikely to become mainstream. Read more and comment
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The second issue of Evolution: Education & Outreach
For those interested in promoting evolution through their associations and in their local schools, this free online journal is invaluable.
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Device Allows Scientists To Control Gene Activity Across Generations Of Cells
ScienceDaily (Mar. 3, 2008) Just as cells inherit genes, they also inherit a set of instructions that tell genes when to become active, in which tissues and to what extent. Now, Rockefeller University researchers have built a device that, by allowing scientists to turn genes on and off in actively multiplying budding yeast cells, will help them figure out more precisely than before how genes and proteins interact with one another and how these interactions drive cellular functions. read more here
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Chimps May Have A 'Language-ready' Brain
ScienceDaily (Feb. 29, 2008) An area of the brain involved in the planning and production of spoken and signed language in humans plays a similar role in chimpanzee communication, researchers report read on here
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First Peek Into Deepest Recesses Of Human Brain
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The Problem with Prozac
by Martin Enserink ScienceNOW Daily News
27 February 2008
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Seeds of Future Agriculture Enter Doomsday Deep Freeze. Millions of vital crop seeds will be buried deep within the frozen earth of Svalbard
A barren, treeless island in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard may prove to be the last, best hope of agriculture in warmer, more fertile parts of the world. The first batch of 100 million of the most important agricultural seeds were placed into the doomsday repository there today. read more & comment on Hub By David Biello
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News
'Mercy' without borders
Macleans Chris Selley (Mar 10, 2008 11:55 am) It's not just just Canadians who struggle with parents who kill their disabled children.
If there's one country willing to come to grips with mercy killing, it's the Netherlands. Euthanasia isn't technically legal there, but in 2001, the Dutch Parliament passed the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act, which codifies the "rights and obligations" of both those who wish to die and the physicians willing to help them do so. It exempts physicians from prosecution provided the diagnosis and prognosis of the patient are sufficiently dire and independently verified by another doctor. read more~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Genetic manipulation, pollution top Vatican's 'new sins'
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Coalition government for Pakistan
ZARAR KHAN BHURBAN, Pakistan March 9, 2008 at 4:27 PM EDT
Associated Press - Pakistan's election winners sealed an agreement Sunday to form a coalition government and said parliament would restore judges fired by President Pervez Musharraf - further clouding the U.S.-allied leader's political future.In the capital, Islamabad, police fired tear gas at protesters who gathered outside the residence of the deposed Supreme Court chief justice to demand his reinstatement. Read rest of article here~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Britain's blasphemy law no longer sacred
(March 6 08 Isam Al-Haj / AFP/Getty Images) ANGER IN KHARTOUM: A Sudanese demonstrator holds a newspaper with a photo of Briton Gillian Gibbons, who was convicted of insulting Islam. Some wanted her executed.fter a teddy bear incident and much debate, the House of Lords votes to abolish it. Read and comment here
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Panel tackles same-sex marriage in Canada
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Vatican recants with a statue of Galileo
(March 4, 2008) The times Four hundred years after it put Galileo on trial for heresy the Vatican is to complete its rehabilitation of the great scientist by erecting a statue of him inside the Vatican walls. read more and comment
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UN agency lashes Canada over crack pipe programs
(CBC newsThursday, March 6, 2008) The United Nations has denounced programs in three Canadian cities that provide safe crack pipes to drug addicts with the aim of curbing disease. The crack pipe programs in Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto violate a worldwide anti-drug convention signed by Canada in 1988, the UN's International Narcotics Control Board says in its annual report, released Wednesday. read more and comment
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Staff cuts predicted next year at Catholic board
Declining enrolment and higher wages pre-empt paring down of teachers
(durhamregion.com Fed 27/08)DURHAM Despite reduced expenditures in a myriad of areas this year, the Durham Catholic District School Board plans to begin cutting some jobs in the 2008/2009 school year in order to balance its budget. Read more and comment
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North Korea Executes 15 People
(Time Mag. Mar 5 08 Seoul, South Korea) North Korea publicly executed 15 people who attempted to flee the country or helped others escape, a warning aimed at stemming the growing flow of refugees to China, an aid group said Wednesday. Read more and comment
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Canada to seek clemency for Montrealer facing beheading
(CBC News Wed Mar 5 2008) Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ordered government officials to seek clemency for a Montreal man facing execution in Saudi Arabia for killing a teen, a senior government source told CBC News.Read more and comment
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The Mother Teresa of Baghdad
Madhiha Hassan is a diminutive, 37-year old seamstress whom some people have begun calling the Mother Teresa of Baghdad. She's devoted her energies to helping Iraq's internally displaced people, particularly in the Karada district where she lives. Read article here and comment
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Christianity squares off against Hinduism, Islam and Humanism in Whitby Ontario, Canada
War of the Worldviews fails to pin down absolute truth
DURHAM -- The series of debates between varying religions held on Friday and Saturday at All Saints Catholic High School in Whitby featured humour and pathos, anger and anguish, as well as an overabundance of facts about three major world religions and one philosophy. Read more herefeb 28/08 by Josie Newman of Durhamregion.com
Related reviews -
SLANTED: The palpable Christian literalist bias at the Whitby ''Decide for Yourself'' religion debates
February 24, 2008 L. Ron Brown
View here
Another frustrated Humanist review of the Whitby ''Decide for Yourself'' religion debates
February 24, 2008 Terry Price
View here
Another Humanist review of the Whitby ''Decide for Yourself'' religion debates
February 25, 2008 John Manuel
View here
Review of Atheism - Christianity debate between Christopher DiCarlo and Dave Hunt at the ''Decide for Yourself'' religion debates in Whitby,ON
February 26, 2008 L. Ron Brown
View here
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Feel like cheating? Just say you have no free will, says UBC prof by Kent Spencer, The Province Published Saturday, March 01, 2008
Want to cheat on a math exam, but feeling scruples? A UBC professor knows how to overcome them.Jonathan Schooler said Saturday humans will cheat if they are told they lack free will."We influenced students to cheat by reading them short passages with the belief that there is no free will," said Schooler, 48, a one-time UBC professor who has recently joined the University of California at Santa Barbara. Read more here and comment on the Hub
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Robert Latimer,Day Parole the Saskatchewan farmer convicted of killing his severely disabled daughter in 1993, has been granted day parole.
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The World's Growing Food-Price Crisis
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'End of an era' for Anglicans - St. Hilda's Anglican Church isn't just in a theological battle, it's in a legal oneCharles Lewis, National Post Published: Friday, February 22, 2008
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Events
Darwin Exhibit @ the ROM
From March 8th to August 4th 2008 Toronto Ontario Canada
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The Humanist Association of London and Area presents
IS COGNITIVE SCIENCE UNDERMINING OUR HUMANITY?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
7:30 pm
Dr. Christopher Viger.
Cross Cultural Learning Centre, 505 Dundas Street, London, Ontario
(enter from the parking lot at the rear of the building)
Dr. Viger will consider recent work in cognitive science and philosophy of mind, and discuss how this impacts our conception of ourselves as human beings. In particular, he will discuss the nature of meaning in a physical world, consciousness and free will. Dr. Viger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Western.
Contact: Don Hatch
Tel: 519.472.6167
dahatch@rogers.com
http://humanists-london.org
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"Censorship in Education" Presented by Halton-Peel Humanist Community
March 18th at 7:30 in the Acorn Cafa, Oakville Town Hall on Trafalgar Rd.
This topic was chosen because of the conflicting decisions by two neighbouring school boards to censor writings by atheist author, Phillip Pullman which include "The Golden Compass". It was the first of a trilogy written for children which was released as an award winning movie last December. Article
Article in Oakville Beaver on event
For information contact Elka Enola at ere@sympatico.ca or 905-257-7075.
Humanists and those wishing to learn about Humanism are welcome. Admission is free.
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"Evolution is a Fact and Theory"
March 19th: 7pm
Speaker: Dr. Larry Moran
Guelph University
1200 Thornborough Building
$2.00 Entry Fee
Some deny the truth of evolution, claiming that it is "just a theory".
Others have the mistaken impression that there is debate in the scientific
community as to whether evolution occurred at all. This event will examine
the different theories and mechanisms (eg. natural selection) used to
explain the fact of evolution (that is, that species have changed throughout
time and are all related via common decent).
Discussion and questions are encouraged, & no science background is required.
Biography: B.Sc. Carleton University: Ph.D. Princeton University. Author of
textbooks and online articles about evolution. Event Info email here
Sandwalk - Larry's blog
Larry Moran website
Facebook Events Page
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STRING THEORY: APPROACHING OUR BIGGEST QUESTIONS (Future of Science Series)
Presented by CFI Ontario
Friday, March 21th at 7:00 pm to 9:00pm
Location: Centre for Inquiry Ontario, 216 Beverley St, downtown Toronto
String theoriest Amanda Peet, Professor at the University of Toronto
Cost: $6 general, $4 students, FREE for Friends of the Centre
Visit website for more info
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The Kingston Humanist Association presents: Exploring the Biology of Belief
WHEN: March 23rd at 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Chapters Bookstore Community Room
2376 Princess Street Kingston Ontario
Are we hard-wired to believe in the supernatural? Is religion inevitable? Can our drive to connect cause and
effect be satisfied by science? Join us at our next meeting for a discussion of these and other ideas explored in the book ''Six Impossible Things before Breakfast'' by biologist, engineer, author, broadcaster and columnist Lewis Wolpert.
Visit Website for more info and downloadable flyer
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"Misinformation Theory: The Ideological Abuse of
Mathematics"
March 26th, 7pm
Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Shallit
Guelph University
1200 Thornborough Building
2.00 Entry Fee
Mathematics has been used by a variety of groups to further ideological
means. One such group are creationists who claim that mathematics and a new
field of mathematics called information theory prove that evolution is wrong
and that there is an intelligent agent behind the creation of life. This is
done through probability calculations which show that certain structures are
too complex to have been created through evolution, or that the information
content of DNA could only have come from an intelligent cause. Specific
attention will be paid to the claims of Dr. William Dembski, a famed ID
proponent. Dr. Shallit will deal with all of these claims, as well as going
over what Information theory really is. Event Info email here
His blog
Facebook Events Page
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Dan Barker in St. Catharines
Organized by the Niagara Secular Humanists, the date for the long awaited debate between the prominent American pastor-turned-Atheist,
Dan Barker co-president of the Freedom from Religio Foundation and an equally prominent local minister, Reverend Peter Youngren has been firmed up for Wednesday, April 9/08 at the CWA Hall, Bunting Road in St. Catharines.
Doors open at 6:00 pm, debate starts 7:00 pm., tickets $6.00 each.
Both are the toughest debaters we could find on the subject "Does God exist'', Rev. Peter Youngren apparently often appears on Vision TV and
believes he can bring at least 150 people from his congregation to the debate, along with a camera crew. We have chosen a well-known personality
from the St. Catharine's Standard as moderator - The whole thing could be most interesting!
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HIP - Humanists In Peterborough - - Monthly Meeting
Discussions will include the Humanist Perspective Radio Show and bringing awareness to Humanism in Peterborough The date will be April 20, time 5:00 PM, Location: Charlotte Anne's. Visit Website for all info
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Sex, Religion and PoliticsCDRH - Clarington Durham Region Humanists
Friday April 25th 2008
Golden Griddle Restaurant - Pickering Ontario 6:45pm to 10pm approx
Guest Speakers to be announced
More info to follow shortly
Visit Website
Weekly Features
Khalid Sohail Mar 10/08
From Religious Fundamentalism to Secular Humanism
My dear atheist friend,I am quite aware that you enjoy passionate dialogues and heated debates with priests and pundits, maulanas and ministers and most of the times you win those debates because you have all the intellectual tools in your kit to win any debate. You are like a charming and aggressive sales person who can sell sand to the Arabs and snow to the Eskimos.Read full Article here
Dr. Sohail's work can be found at these sites Chowk.com drsohail..com Green Zone Living
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Minds of their Own Animals are smarter than you think. (National Geographic) Read article here and comment
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International Women's Day - March 8th 2008
Listen Sunday as we discuss International Women's Day on The Humanist Perspectives Radio Show
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God, power and money
The television evangelist Benny Hinn has an audience of millions - and makes millions. David Millikan joined the throng on stage intent on asking the American preacher a tough question. Read more and comment
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My evangelical co-worker won't stop preaching to me David Eddie
One of my colleagues is a fervently religious woman who is not content practising her faith on her own time, but instead interrogates her co-workers in their cubicles and preaches to them. On one occasion she followed me on my lunch break to a shoe store and chastised me for "shopping again." read more and comment
From Friday's Globe and Mail February 29, 08
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Khalid Sohail, Mind space Chowk.com
Men's Liberation...Better Late Than Never
It is ironic that those men who become caring towards their wives are sometimes called sissy, wimp and 'zan mureed' read more here Feb 27, 2008
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Ricky Gervais
My Arguement With God Feb 20 08
Comment on the Hub ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book of the week
The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution Richard Dawkins
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Video of the week
The Lava Lizard's Tale - Richard Dawkins
This is the first of 3 tales to be posted. They were written immediately after The Ancestor's Tale was completed, and would have been included
if Richard had visited the Galapagos Islands before the book was published.
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Song of the week critical thinking music
Bryan Adams - This Side of Paradise - From the Room Service Album Read the lyrics and comment here
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Website of the week
We, non-believers, atheists, and ex-Muslims, are establishing or joining the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain to insist that no one be pigeonholed as Muslims with culturally relative rights nor deemed to be represented by regressive Islamic organisations and 'Muslim community leaders'.
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Quote of the week
"And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence."
Bertrand Russell
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Laugh of the Week
George Carlin ''It's Make Believe'' Recent HBO Special - Strong Language caution
Part 1 & Part 2 on the Hub comment here
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Blogs, Sites & A/V
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The Humanist Perspectives Radio Show
March 9th Show International Womens Day and Dr. Henry Morgentaler More show details
Host Age Smies Tune in here
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CDRH Darwin Day presentations now available listen online
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Strolling with a skeptical biochemist
The Sandwalk is the path behind the home of Charles Darwin.
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Petitions
Sign NAF's Petition: Support Dr. Morgentaler
The Order of Canada, the highest civilian honour, was established to recognize outstanding lifetime achievement and service. Please sign this petition to the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada, which has repeatedly overlooked Dr. Morgentaler for this distinguished award.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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