stephrdf

by Ken Paulson It took 151 years, but “In God We Trust” has gone viral. The phrase, first placed on a U.S. coin in 1864, has become the message of choice for a growing number of law enforcement agencies across the country. “There are all these news stories about Ferguson and Baltimore, and I have personally …

Is evolution a fact? How do the claims of creationists stack up against the fossil record and the actual science? Dr. Donald Prothero presents the evidence in a presentation based on his 2007 book (and more recent findings). Prothero is a paleontologist, geologist, author and science educator. He holds a Ph.D in geological sciences from …

By MICHAEL KEEGAN, president of People for the American Way Antigay extremists are increasingly arguing that more rights for gay people mean fewer rights for them. They have lifted up cases challenging business owners who have refused service to LGBT people as examples of religious liberty supposedly being infringed by the gay rights movement. A conference …

Ted Cruz was the third Republican presidential candidate to appear at the “National Religious Liberties Conference” in Iowa yesterday, an event organized by extremist right-wing pastor Kevin Swanson, who earlier in the program proclaimed that, according to the Bible, “the sin of homosexuality … is worthy of death.” Swanson introduced Cruz by stating that Jesus …

by Jonathan Webb A dig in Jersey has yielded a stash of hunter-gatherer artefacts from the end of the last Ice Age, including stone pieces criss-crossed by carved lines. They are similar to engravings found from the same period in continental Europe, but are the first of their kind in the British Isles. Archaeologists are …

by Jess Emspak What’s the difference between matter and antimatter? Sometimes nothing, a new study finds. Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) discovered that antimatter protons, called antiprotons, act just like their ordinary-matter cousins when they are close enough to interact via the so-called strong nuclear force, which binds protons and neutrons …

Source: University of Chicago Many families believe religion plays an essential role in childhood moral development. But children of religious parents may not be as altruistic as those parents think, according to a new international study from the University of Chicago published Nov. 5 inCurrent Biology. A team of developmental psychologists led by Prof. Jean …

Source: United Nations University Biogas from human waste, safely obtained under controlled circumstances using innovative technologies, is a potential fuel source great enough in theory to generate electricity for up to 138 million households — the number of households in Indonesia, Brazil, and Ethiopia combined. A report from UN University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment …

Source: Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) VTT develops new method for wearable technology and cosmetic applications VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a new high-volume production method for hot embossing microscopic channel structures onto large areas of plastic film at a low cost for use, for example, in wearable technology and cosmetic applications. …

Inside every cell is a chef of sorts, cooking up the “cuisine” that makes life possible—a vast array of proteins. Now scientists have built an alien chef, capable of cooking from recipes written in artificial DNA to make novel proteins that might serve as antibiotics, biofuels or other useful molecules. In the typical order of …

by Herb Silverman I’m not accustomed to being part of the majority in most things, especially religion. One notable exception comes from a recent Harris survey that shows the majority of American Jews do not believe in God. While I’m mildly surprised by such a high percentage, I’m not totally shocked. Throughout my academic career, …

by Richard Monastersky Seven centuries ago, tens of thousands of people fled their homes in the American Southwest. Archaeologists are trying to work out why. Vultures carve lazy circles in the sky as a stream of tourists marches down a walkway into Colorado’s Spruce Canyon. Watching their steps, the visitors file along a series of …