As a follow-up of sorts to my genetics of altruism post, The New York Times magazine had a fascinating, thought-provoking piece on the evolutionary advantages of belief.
Turns out that some scientists have been studying religion from an evolutionary perspective, trying to figure out why religion is universal when it is seemingly maladaptive to survival: usually, [...]

Are humans innately good, or innately selfish?
That’s a fundamental question when it comes to discussing morality, law and society. If humans are innately selfish, then the only way society functions is by the majority forcing everyone to behave, through tools of social control like government, religion and culture. Without such control, the argument goes, society [...]

…which the drug companies won’t test because they can’t make any money off of it? Hmmm…
From the New Scientist:
It sounds almost too good to be true: a cheap and simple drug that kills almost all cancers by switching off their “immortality�. The drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), has already been used for years to treat rare metabolic [...]

That’s the claim for this pretty cool looking “Sport Utility Truck.” And you can go 130 miles on that single charge. Not too shabby.
From TechEBlog:
Powered by the revolutionary Altairnano NanoSafe™ battery pack, Phoenix Motorcars’ zero-emission, all-electric Sport Utility Truck (SUT) can cruise on the freeway at up to 95 m.p.h. while carrying five passengers and [...]

A little holiday science…
Snowflakes are symmetrical because they reflect the internal order of the water molecules as they arrange themselves in the solid state (the process of crystallization). Water molecules in the solid state, such as in ice and snow, form weak bonds (called hydrogen bonds) to one another. These ordered arrangements result in the [...]

Watch this video and marvel at how small we are in relation to other planets.
Whoa.

So then…
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has recouped less than 1 percent of the $1 billion that investigators contend it squandered on fraudulent assistance, according to the Government Accountability Office. Its report shows the disaster relief agency’s struggles, one year after the deadly storm, to rush aid to those in need while also preventing abuse.
Last [...]

And could it be made significantly less painful?
Possibly, and BBC has the story.

Ignoring science has been the trend for the past 5 years, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t been progressing.
From MSNBC:
Today Burt has treated 170 patients with stem cells, and increasingly, others are following his lead. There are now more than 1,000 stem-cell therapies in early human trials around the world. The vast majority use cells [...]

I just ran across a great post about the mind and some tips to ensure it’ll be happy, healthy and wise for many years to come.
Here’s a taste from ririanproject:
10. Improve Your Skill At Things You Already Do
Some repetitive mental stimulation is ok as long as you look to expand your skills and knowledge base. [...]

It appears that may be the case…
The Roman Catholic church has taken the first step towards what could be a historic shift away from its total ban on the use of condoms.
Pope Benedict XVI’s “health minister” is understood to be urging him to accept that in restricted circumstances - specifically the prevention of Aids - [...]

A new way to help solve our global addiction?
Holly Jacobson and Tessa Churchill, seniors at Greely High School in Cumberland, are at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today, explaining how they would use fast-growing algae to help solve the energy crisis.
In a nutshell, the young women may have found a way to produce more [...]

This is blood, but better. It can carry 100 times the oxygen to your body then the regular stuff.
From Pop Sci:
…snow-white, completely synthetic substance made from perfluorocarbons, or PFCs, a compound whose chemical makeup closely resembles the nonstick Teflon in your frying pan. PFCs have the highest gas-dissolving capacity of any liquid and, when used [...]

I don’t really think so, but after what happened to my family this weekend, I’m beginning to wonder.

New polls show that the ad had an impact…
Among all respondents, support for stem cell research increased from 78% prior to viewing the ad, to 83% after viewing the ad. Support among Democrats increased from 89% to 93%, support among Republicans increased from 66% to 68% and support among Independents increased from 80% to 87% [...]

Yeah…that’s nonsense…
University of Chicago neurologist Dr. Thomas Kelly says Limbaugh doesn’t have his facts straight. Fox’s disease has progressed where he no longer only gets tremors, which can be controlled with medication, but has more erratic movements which are caused directly by his medicine.
“Chaotic, maybe writhing, dance-like movements, or dyskinesia, the movements I’ve seen in [...]

Wow…Rush just gave the pro-stem cell crowd a huge gift on Monday.
From the Wash Post:
Possibly worse than making fun of someone’s disability is saying that it’s imaginary. That is not to mock someone’s body, but to challenge a person’s guts, integrity, sanity.
To Rush Limbaugh on Monday, Michael J. Fox looked like a faker. The actor, [...]

Powerful. Succinct. Timely.

(h/t: Sully)

Given what I know about the Fischer-Tropsch method of extracting crude from coal, I think the following opinion that we’ll never really run out of oil pretty credible.
From UPI:
A University of Washington economic geologist says there is lots of crude oil left for human use.
Eric Cheney said Friday in a news release that changing economics, [...]

Up to 30 countries may have the capabilities to build nukes soon.
Mohamed ElBaradei gives us the lowdown:
Speaking at a conference on tightening controls against nuclear proliferation, Mohamed ElBaradei said more nations are “hedging their bets” by developing technology that is at the core of peaceful nuclear energy programs but could quickly be switched to making [...]