Interesting Stuff Thread

Galvasean

Sense About Science have released their list of ridiculously unscientific things celebrities have said this year. Some of it is cringeworthy in it's hilarity. You can download the pdf here:
http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/about/444/

Don't tell PDN that Robin van Persie is on the list

Turtwig

PDN, Robin Van Persie is on the list!:D

Turtwig

PDN

Malty_T wrote: »

PDN, Robin Van Persie is on the list!:D

You want a striker that's capable of wizardry in the box, not one who thinks he's limited by the laws of physics.

Dades

You lads just need a striker! :pac:

robindch

The excellent Robert Sapolsky on some of his latest research into parasites which change the host behaviour.

Specifically, how a protozoan named Toxoplasma has figured out how to alter the brain chemistry of rats so that instead of rats finding the smell of cat urine repellent, they find it attractive. The rat then tends to check out any cat urine he finds and, inevitably, makes himself more likely to end up as cat-food by doing so. The remains of the rat make their way to the cat's stomach where the acid breaks down the rat, but not the Toxoplasma which takes up residence there before eventually ending up in the cat poo. Which rats, weirdly but natually, enjoy eating (and bringing Toxoplasma's strange life-cycle full-circle).

There's a lot more to this story, and Sapolsky tells it like it is:

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/sapolsky09/sapolsky09_index.html#video

Galvasean

Dades wrote: »

You lads just need a striker! :pac:

We've gotten more Premier League goals than anyone without one.
Now THAT is interesting.

Turtwig

Just one of those cutesy save the animals things that humans do because it's not only our own species that we care about.:)

Galvasean

robindch wrote: »

The excellent Robert Sapolsky on some of his latest research into parasites which change the host behaviour.

Specifically, how a protozoan named Toxoplasma has figured out how to alter the brain chemistry of rats so that instead of rats finding the smell of cat urine repellent, they find it attractive. The rat then tends to check out any cat urine he finds and, inevitably, makes himself more likely to end up as cat-food by doing so. The remains of the rat make their way to the cat's stomach where the acid breaks down the rat, but not the Toxoplasma which takes up residence there before eventually ending up in the cat poo. Which rats, weirdly but natually, enjoy eating (and bringing Toxoplasma's strange life-cycle full-circle).

There's a lot more to this story, and Sapolsky tells it like it is:

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/sapolsky09/sapolsky09_index.html#video

I know of another species of parasite which latches on to developing tadpoles' soon to be limb sockets, resulting in abnormal adult frogs with extra legs. These frogs are akward movers so are more likely to get eaten by predators such as heron. The parasite is then transfered to the heron.

pts

Interesting article in the New York Times about how monkeys communicate:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/science/12monkey.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc

ZorbaTehZ

token56

Interesting Article on current rate of evolution, well at least I think it is interesting

http://www.dailytech.com/Study+Indicates+Human+Chimp+Males+Evolving+Faster+than+Females/article17408.htm

Agonist

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sheep-gives-birth-to-human-faced-lamb/story-e6freuy9-1225819071357

and

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055799728

A SHEEP gave birth to a dead lamb with a human-like face. The lamb was born in a village not far from the city of Izmir, Turkey. Erhan Elibol, a vet, performed a caesarean on the animal to take the lamb out, but was horrified to see that the features of the lamb's snout bore a striking resemblance to a human face.
The lamb’s head had human features on – the eyes, the nose and the mouth – only the ears were those of a sheep.

Coriolanus

The governor of the province where the ugly goat was born said that the little goat was the fruit of unnatural relationship between the female goat and a man.

Lawlsome.

Dades

Forget the Crocoduck - Presenting MuttonMan

Moved to this thread. Not sure where it's evilness belongs tbh. :pac:

Galvasean

That remind anyone else of this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpEy-LYo3vg

Galvasean

Anyone watch the X-men cartoon in the 90s? Towards the end of it's run an episode featured A&A forum favoourite Mr. Charles Darwin.

I tell ya, that show was sstreets ahead of the competition as far as kids' entertainment went.

liamw

I thought this was interesting...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Lifespan_variation_over_time

The percentage of children born in London who died before the age of five decreased from 74.5% in 1730-1749 to 31.8% in 1810-1829.[22]

Tyler MacDurden

From The Washington Post's 'On Faith' series:

Q: Is there widespread media bias against Christianity? Against evangelicals such as Brit Hume and Sarah Palin? Against public figures who speak openly and directly about their faith? Against people who believe as you do?

There is no media bias against Christianity. If it appears to some people that there is, it is probably because after decades of hyper-diplomacy and a generally accepted mutual understanding that religion was not to be criticized, we have finally begun breaking through that taboo and are beginning to see candid discussions of the varieties of religious folly in American life. Activities that would be condemned by all if they were not cloaked in the protective mantle of religion are beginning to be subjected to proper scrutiny.

Full article.

iUseVi

If you have 3 minutes spare this will put a smile of your face I guarantee it.

http://www.atheistmedia.com/2010/01/orangutan-and-hound.html

Galvasean

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleoworld

Check out episode 33

Dave!

Terrific short clip of Bertrand Russell being interviewed in 1959:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aPOMUTr1qw

Naz_st

Nice presentation by Michael Shermer on ted.com about the nature of belief (it's a been there a while, so apologies if it's been posted here before!):

http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shermer_on_believing_strange_things.html

Turtwig

Galvasean wrote: »

Anyone watch the X-men cartoon in the 90s? Towards the end of it's run an episode featured A&A forum favoourite Mr. Charles Darwin.

I tell ya, that show was sstreets ahead of the competition as far as kids' entertainment went.

The new Wolverine and the X-Men ain't bad either (though it is weird listening to Sam Fisher as the bad guy). Marvel.com have all X-men, X-men Evolution episodes and season 1 of Wolverine available to watch online for free. Unfortunately it can be pain to navigate their video library at times. Loved Scott, Jean and Kitty when I was younger, never was a big fan of auld Wolverine.

Turtwig

This guy URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku"]Michio Kaku[/URL is very good at explaining stuff and applying everyday visuals to them. Video also has some religious relevance to it.

A more detailed blog on the topic.

Dades

Malty_T wrote: »

This guy URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku"]Michio Kaku[/URL is very good at explaining stuff and applying everyday visuals to them. Video also has some religious relevance to it.

I watched a documentary of his on "Time", on BBC4 last week.

Basically went through the development of our sense of time, and how we fit into the universe. Started with creation stories and then went on to show how we got to our current understanding of the age of the universe. Didn't even mention the fruit and nuts that still cling to religious time!

Might be this link here...
Was part 3 I watched it seems.

Dades

Now I've been off watching his videos...

Michio Kaku on God
I like his answer. Not sure where the interviewer was getting her info on theoretical physicists though...

Turtwig

Dades wrote: »

Now I've been off watching his videos...

Michio Kaku on God
I like his answer. Not sure where the interviewer was getting her info on theoretical physicists though...

Many physicists tend to have deistic sorta romantic views of the universe - I know I did, and if it wasn't for ID, I'd probably still have. You see a layer of beauty to it all and, well, you just er don't bother thinking that much about it.

Dades

Malty_T wrote: »

Many physicists tend to have deistic sorta romantic views of the universe - I know I did, and if it wasn't for ID, I'd probably still have. You see a layer of beauty to it all and, well, you just er don't bother thinking that much about it.

I'm just surprised to hear it described as "spiritual", tbh. I agree about ID - it's a crying shame creationists hijacked a very workable, non-theistic term. :mad:

pljudge321

A good read, especially if you've seen the ubiquitous video.

http://www.damninteresting.com/the-unfortunate-sex-life-of-the-banana#more-971