Month: November 2014

Eavesdropping on E.T. and the possibility of interstellar travel

Gabriel Popkin as an article at Inside Science about a study that looks at the possibility of intercepting communications between other alien civilizations.  The idea is that communicating across interstellar distances is best done with lasers. So far, the optical search for extraterrestrial intelligence has focused mainly on the hope of receiving—and recognizing—an intentional, laser-encoded … Continue reading Eavesdropping on E.T. and the possibility of interstellar travel →

The number of senses, free will, and productive reality

Christian Jarrett has an interesting article at BBC Future on the number of senses that we have. The principle of five basic human senses is often traced back to Aristotle’s De Anima (On the Soul), in which he devotes a separate chapter to vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Today, the five senses are considered … Continue reading The number of senses, free will, and productive reality →

A cute video, at first, before getting into the darkness of addiction

I consider myself to be lucky that I've managed to only acquire one real addiction: caffeine.  I've given it up several times over the years, but always slid back into its clutches.  Given that, I have complete sympathy with those caught in the clutches of much more serious addictions, like nicotine, alcohol, prescription painkillers, or any … Continue reading A cute video, at first, before getting into the darkness of addiction →

How Farming Almost Destroyed Ancient Human Civilization

Annalee Newitz has a fascinating article at IO9 on early neolithic societies: How Farming Almost Destroyed Ancient Human Civilization. Roughly 9,000 years ago, humans had mastered farming to the point where food was plentiful. Populations boomed, and people began moving into large settlements full of thousands of people. And then, abruptly, these proto-cities were abandoned for … Continue reading How Farming Almost Destroyed Ancient Human Civilization →

The RNA world

Why Evolution Is True

by Matthew Cobb

I have just sent off the final version of my book Life’s Greatest Secret: The Story of the Race to Crack the Genetic Code (to appear in 2015 with Profile Books, and Basic Books in the USA). The book is mainly history, covering the period 1943-1961, but the final four chapters bring the story up to date, describing things like the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome, the development of genetic engineering, and epigenetics.

To celebrate, I thought I’d give readers a condensed version of one of the sections dealing with that exotic-sounding entity, the RNA World.

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Proteins and DNA, which are so important to life today, have not always existed on our planet. The RNA machinery that exists in every cell of every organism on Earth, and the ability of RNA molecules to act as enzymes, catalysing biochemical reactions without the involvement of proteins, all indicate that…

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Elon Musk: Killer robots will be here within 5 Years

Not sure what to make of this one: ELON MUSK: Killer Robots Will Be Here Within 5 Years - Business Insider. Elon Musk has been ranting about killer robots again. Musk posted a comment on the futurology site Edge.org, warning readers that developments in AI could bring about robots that may autonomously decide that it is … Continue reading Elon Musk: Killer robots will be here within 5 Years →

Magnets in helmets might make American football safer

A few weeks ago, I linked to an article on the problems with concussions in American football, pointing out that it wasn't just the acute concussions you had to worry about, but the gradual damage from head blows that added up silently over the years.  My advice was, if you are a parent, to carefully consider whether … Continue reading Magnets in helmets might make American football safer →