Science & Society

Laws banning marriage between first cousins are based on outdated assumptions about a high degree of genetic risk for offspring and should be repealed, according to a population genetics expert. In an opinion article published in the US open-access journal PLoS Biology, University of Otago Department of Zoology Professor Hamish Spencer and Professor Diane Paul, a Research Associate at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, argue that laws against cousin marriage are ill-advised. "Neither the scientific nor social assumptions behind such legislation stand up to close scrutiny," says…

Coturnix at ScienceBlogs.com had an interesting post yesterday on part of the reason they (Science Blogs)  do things the way they do them and the way he says more science writers should - shock value and, at the end of it all, maybe a shot at a greater science democracy.   To set that up he makes an outstanding comparison to a Kabuki dance in the science establishment and how that is reflected in journal papers, where the form is part of the function.  The shock value science blogging brings, he says,  is violating the form, and rattling the people who want to put the form…

To be honest, I don't really care about the answer to this question. But read this Kristof NY Times column, and see if you're convinced of the answer. It's time to practice your critical thinking skills - questions you should ask about the claims presented in this column are exactly the sorts of questions you should ask when you read a press report about any statistics-based study, especially medical research. Here is the basic result Kristof is talking about: Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, “Who Really Cares,” cites data that households headed by conservatives give…

Teenage sexuality spiked in the 1970s and 1980s and then began to decline.   Part of the reason is targeting alcohol, drugs and smoking.  It turns out that while sexual behavior can vary considerably among teens, nonsexual risk behaviors are similar among them, according to study findings from the Journal of Adolescent Health . Adolescent health risk behaviors often occur together, suggesting that youth involvement with one risk behavior may inform understanding of other risk behaviors, but in a study to examine the association between involvement in non-sexual risk behaviors and…

Earthquakes have aftershocks — not just the geological kind but the mental kind as well. Just like veterans of war, earthquake survivors can experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.  In 1988, a massive earthquake in Armenia killed 17,000 people and destroyed nearly half the town of Gumri. Now, in the first multigenerational study of its kind, UCLA researchers studying survivors of that catastrophe have discovered that vulnerability to PTSD, anxiety and depression runs in families.  Earthquakes have aftershocks — not just the geological kind but the mental…

Chose my chemistry picksKnew it was coming.Let's see Science's tricksGot the list humming? 1. Cellular reprogramming2. Exoplanets3. Cancer genes4. High temperature superconducting materials5. Proteins' work6. Excess renewable energy storage7. Embryo video8. Good fat to fight9. World weight calculation10. Genome sequencing ScientificBlogging.com has been plugging Quite well, on plottingExcept one, World's Weight*Who knew "that" quantum(ing)! *http://chinese.eurekalert.org/en/pub_releases/2008-11/aaft-two111708.php

When I learned that Barack Obama had picked John Podesta as his transition chief, I was not impressed, being that he has a crank belief the government is hiding UFOs. The folks at ScienceDebate don't necessarily agree, though I think they are going to bless anything Obama does, because about Podesta they wrote a few days ago "Clearly, this is a man who gets it, working, it seems, for a president who gets it."(email, no link on their website) Well, does he get it for all science?  Appointing physicist Steven Chu as energy secretary was certainly a good sign.   But we have Larry…

If you haven't seen the Dugger Family show, you are missing a great real-time experiment in sustainability. Mom Michelle, 42, had her 18th baby today, according to AP.  She told a local news writer that "as long as God wills it" she will "continue to add to the brood." Without rendering any judgment on Michelle and her family, is this sustainable? Not just for the economy and the environment, but the kids' psychological development? I recall reading that you should only have as many children as there are parents. (For another take on the less is more, check out Hank's blog on small…

In small towns in the Midwestern United States, people who eat out often at buffets and cafeterias and who perceive their community to be unpleasant for physical activity are more likely to be obese, says a studt in Preventive Medicine. Thirty percent of U.S. adults are obese, which increases their risk for health conditions such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Rural adults have higher levels of obesity and are less active in their leisure time than urban and suburban U.S. adults, says Ross Brownson, Ph.D., senior author of the study and a professor at the George…

You can't make this stuff up. Or maybe you can, but still, I think it's mind-boggling. A doctor in Colorado found a surprise when removing what he thought was a benign growth from a newborn's brain. Instead of a microscopic tumor, out popped a tiny foot, partially formed hand, a thigh and another partially formed foot.   The doc said "he could not tell whether the miniature limbs were from a benign stem cell tumor called a teratoma or the remnants of an identical twin that did not split off and survive, a condition called fetus in fetu." "It looked like the breach delivery of a baby…