Comment Re:So. (Score 1) 457
Just curious, but how did the court verify that the emails were indeed genuine? I would think a good lawyer would be able to challenge that and get them thrown out.
Comment Re:If only. (Score 1) 468
During the height of the IRA bombing campaign in London we took reasonable steps (don't leave unattended bags anywhere, etc) to reduce the risks but in general we just got on with it. That is by far the best way for society to deal with these sorts of problems.
It's interesting how you bring up the response to the IRA bombing campaign as "reasonable". But isn't that the catalyst for the "ring of steel" CCTV system implemented in London?
Comment Mohammed images vs. the N-word (Score 1) 949
Just because we think being offended by Mohammed images is silly, doesn't mean that it doesn't piss other people off. The closest thing that could compare Mohammed images to would be the N-word for Americans. It is just a simple word, but it has alot of power. I could easily imagine riots over this word. Basically, not everyone looks at the world in the same way. Does it justify murder? Of course not, but you might see why this might be upsetting...
Comment picture? (Score 1) 428
Does anyone have a picture of this thing? It would be really interesting to see how it works.
Scientists Say a Dirty Child Is a Healthy Child 331
Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California have shown that the more germs a child is exposed to, the better their immune system in later life. Their study found that keeping a child's skin too clean impaired the skin's ability to heal itself. From the article: "'These germs are actually good for us,' said Professor Richard Gallo, who led the research. Common bacterial species, known as staphylococci, which can cause inflammation when under the skin, are 'good bacteria' when on the surface, where they can reduce inflammation."
Comment Re:Don't play dead (Score 1) 803
I'm guessing this is the same strategy employed by the native americans. In the end, it never really mattered, only delayed things for a bit. I think if the aliens were interested in colonization, we're pretty much screwed.
Comment Re:Where is the line? (Score 4, Informative) 185
The linked article seems to disagree with you:
Stanford University's Irving Weissman has injected human neural stem cells from aborted fetuses into the brains of fetal mice, where they have integrated and grown into human neurons and glia that intermingle with mouse brain cells, making up about 1 percent of the tissue in their brains.
Comment Where is the line? (Score 4, Interesting) 185
I'm assuming most people here won't have a problem with this research. But truly, where is the line? What about injecting human brain cells into mice? How about into chimps? Do we have any moral obligations not to cross this line? I am in awe and at the same time terrified about the future.
This article raises some of these questions. It's quite interesting that it was written in 2004. It even mentions the FOXP2 gene.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/34941.html
Comment Re:Time out (Score 2, Interesting) 712
I don't think the problem is climate change per se. It's more the rapid rate of change. If some of the predictions are true, and climate/sea level changes dramatically within our lifetimes, then things could be pretty bad for alot of people. Will Canada and Russia take in all the Bangladeshis once sea level rises and most of Bangladesh disappears? Well, they may have to...
Comment Re:I'll repeat what I heard elsewhere (Score 1) 557
25 people so far. The funny thing about the flu is it's potential for exponential growth.
Comment can this be it? (Score 1) 236
Can this be what brings string theory from realm of math into the realm of science? (testable hypotheses and all that)
Comment Re:Cause & Effect (Score 1) 319
I am interested to read more about this incident. Do you have more information, like the name of the scientist?
Thanks.
