LiveScience | Andrea Thompson | Dec. 13, 2007
Global warming may not be the only thing melting Greenland. Scientists have found at least one natural magma hotspot under the Arctic island that could be pitching in.
In recent years, Greenland’s ice has been melting more and flowing faster into the sea—a record amount of ice melted from the frozen mass this summer, according to recently released data—and Earth’s rising temperatures are suspected to be the main culprit. [Read more…]
OCANews.org | Fr. Thomas Hopko | Dec. 11, 2007
A St. Nicholas Day Reflection
The Orthodox Church’s main hymn (troparion/apolytikion) for the feast of St. Nicholas of Myra is the general hymn for all of the Church’s holy bishops. As such, for example, it is sung the day after the feast of St. Nicholas for the celebration of St. Ambrose of Milan. This hymn tells us what a Christian bishop (and, by extension, also a presbyter) ought to be for his people. And so it also tells us how all Christians should be. [Read more…]
Newsmax.com | Philip V. Brennan | Dec. 11, 2007
As much of the U.S. is being blasted by vicious ice storms, a blockbuster report published in a prestigious scientific journal insists that the evidence shows that climate warming is both natural and unstoppable and that carbon dioxide (CO2) is not a pollutant.
Writing in the International Journal of Climatology of the Royal Meteorological Society, professor David H. Douglass (of the University of Rochester), professor John R. Christy (of the University of Alabama), Benjamin D. Pearson and professor S. Fred Singer (of the University of Virginia) report that observed patterns of temperature changes (“fingerprints”) over the last 30 years disagree with what greenhouse models predict and can better be explained by natural factors, such as solar variability. [Read more…]
CNSnews | Patrick Goodenough | Dec. 10, 2007
Having babies is bad for the planet, and parents of more than two children should be charged a birth levy and annual tax to offset the “greenhouse gases” their child will be responsible for over his or her lifetime. At the same time, those who use and prescribe contraceptives and sterilization procedures should earn tax relief for such greenhouse friendly services” that help to keep the population size down.
These proposals, by an Australian academic, were published in the country’s leading medical journal on Monday. They drew a sharp response from a pro-family group. [Read more…]
FIRE.org | Dec. 6, 2007
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) released its 2007 report on campus speech codes, revealing that American colleges and universities are teeming with restrictions on students’ freedom of expression.
For the report, Spotlight on Speech Codes 2007: The State of Free Speech on Our Nation’s Campuses, FIRE reviewed policies at 346 American colleges and universities and found that 75 percent of schools surveyed maintain policies that clearly restrict speech that—outside the borders of campus—is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. [Read more…]
Human Events | Armstrong Williams | Dec. 7, 2007
Recently a study was released by Paige Harden, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the University of Virginia, that claimed teenagers or pre-teens who have consensual sex are less likely than their virgin counterparts to engage in delinquent behavior later on in life. Then, last week I read about an author who was telling parents to encourage their youngsters to engage in sexual activity. And to top it off, just the other day I read about the results of a recent Associated Press poll which showed that 67 percent of American adults favor public schools providing birth control to students. All this after the nation’s teen birth rate rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006, which was the first increase in 14 years and births to unmarried mothers hit a record high (Center For Disease Control). [Read more…]
JunkScience.com | Steven Milloy | Dec. 6, 2007
Green has traditionally been the color of the deadly sin of envy. But this year, a trendy upstart mounted a serious challenge to envy’s claim. The one thing these honorees all have in common is that their real-life actions belie their carefully crafted green public images. If they don’t take their commitment seriously, why should you?
[Read more…]
Significant progress on the use of adult stem cells (non-embryonic) in finding cures.
AP/AAAS | Lauran Neergaard | Dec. 6, 2007
Scientists have the first evidence that those “reprogrammed stem cells” that made headlines last month really have the potential to treat disease: They used skin from the tails of sick mice to cure the rodents of sickle cell anemia.
At issue: Turning adult cells into ones that mimic embryonic stem cells, master cells that can turn into any type of tissue. When scientists announced last month that they had successfully engineered embryo-like stem cells from human skin, it was hailed as a possible alternative to ethically fraught embryo research. [Read more…]
FrontPage Magazine | Michael Reagan | Dec. 4, 2007
Nothing is more important to child welfare than living within the bosom of a stable family, and nothing is more destructive to their well-being than being forced to live in a fatherless household where dad is replaced by the live-in boyfriend, or as is often the case, by a series of live-in boyfriends.
Washington Post | Charles Krauthammer | Nov. 30, 2007
“If human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough.” — James A. Thomson
A decade ago, Thomson was the first to isolate human embryonic stem cells. Last week, he (and Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka) announced one of the great scientific breakthroughs since the discovery of DNA: an embryo-free way to produce genetically matched stem cells.
Even a scientist who cares not a whit about the morality of embryo destruction will adopt this technique because it is so simple and powerful. The embryonic stem cell debate is over.