tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200725322011-12-14T21:50:41.105-05:00Don't get mad, get vigilant.<br><br>The Latin root of the word, vigil, indicates that a vigilante is one who watches or is observant, and indeed in Spanish, vigilante translates as 'watchman.'Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comBlogger541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-33260721280020191522007-05-20T23:14:00.000-04:002007-05-20T23:22:55.408-04:00

It would be almost unscientific of Science Vigilante to condone use of the term "moron," so you will perhaps indulge me as I direct you to this cleverly rageous (outrageous minus the 'out') writeup of the opening of the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY.Well, it's a silver lining at any rate, I guess...Why in God's name (well, I guess that's exactly in whose name, but) do these

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-66727433068988501462007-05-09T18:40:00.000-04:002007-05-09T18:46:41.087-04:00

Read about it on Boing Boing... Boing Boing: E. O. Wilson's Encyclopedia of Life gets over $50M in fundingRead about it on the TED Blog...View his TED wishOr just go there. Be sure to check out the cool video reminiscent of The Machine is Us/ing us (is there a meme for this style yet?).

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-48717698880497741322007-04-27T12:04:00.000-04:002007-04-27T12:17:43.820-04:00

Bloggers blogging about a published scientific paper, in order to further the scientific discussion, would appear to be fair use under any legal copyright. However, a Journal published by Wiley and owned by the Society of Chemical Industry gave blogger Shelley Batts a pretty hard time when she used a portion of an illustration from the Journal in her blog post on the paper in question. Read

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-43561160716620168172007-04-04T14:41:00.000-04:002007-05-20T23:29:39.766-04:00

HINT: It's not because it distracts pupils from class, wastes their time and money, or anything even remotely like that. It's because Pokemon, (I would pause here to laugh really really hard if this were not so warped) PROMOTES EVOLUTION.Those bastards!UPDATE: SO much for VIGILANCE, we got April Fooled!

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-440110584729919462007-03-13T22:16:00.000-04:002007-03-13T22:18:27.185-04:00

After an 8 month lapse, I thought I'd better get right to the hard-hitting science issues of the day. Like this analysis of The Muffin Joke, posited on science blog Cosmic Variance

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-48491358343842942942007-03-13T21:52:00.000-04:002007-03-13T21:57:53.912-04:00

Apparently you can actually digest too well... Certain microbes in the intestinal lining help you get the most energy from your diet (no actually, I could have skipped a few of those calories, thanks!). This used to be a very very good thing in the US. Still is, some places. So here & now, are these buggers actually causing obesity? Hard to tell.BUT, when they gave mice without the microbes

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1152923921179037842006-07-14T20:36:00.000-04:002006-07-14T20:38:41.190-04:00

I have been extremely un-vigilant lately. And, soon I will live nowhere in particular, so I may keep up the bad work. But I am thinking of you, oh vigilant one inside me. Here is something nice for you to read, and remember, and be yet again... vigilant.This is a wonderful idea... for any scientist or science-interested person. And the bonus of improving your communications and presentation

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1147374396629495832006-05-11T15:04:00.000-04:002006-05-11T15:06:36.643-04:00

So it would seem we've still got a long long way to go...

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1147018828609378092006-05-07T12:19:00.000-04:002006-05-07T12:20:28.620-04:00

This should make for fun reading -- top 25 things science hasn't figured out yet.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1146237016652333792006-04-28T11:04:00.000-04:002006-04-28T11:10:16.696-04:00

Science Vigilante is always fascinated by the intersections of science and politics, thus this piece on medical marijuana. But the real payoff here is that it ran in the Economist! (Another one of those alt-liberal, hippy-grass-smoking, crunchy hemp freak magazines, right?)

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1146066091081480932006-04-26T11:33:00.000-04:002006-04-26T11:50:04.766-04:00

Science Vigilante would love nothing more than to see popular culture embrace science (not mutilate or distort, embrace). Tribeca Film Fest Sweet on Science from Wired News Online"De Niro Seeks Science Scripts." That was the header of a press release sent out by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation when it launched a screenplay competition in conjunction with Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival...

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1145749526797338682006-04-22T19:40:00.000-04:002006-04-22T19:45:26.893-04:00

Charity (and by that I mean change) begins at home. Elementary and secondary schools that suck, no matter what community they are in, set us up for failure across the board."In fact, the richest untapped source of future talent will likely be found in our underserved cities and among low-income and minority students who are failing to receive a good education in our public schools. A college

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1145502275608053652006-04-19T23:03:00.000-04:002006-04-19T23:06:08.413-04:00

But here is where it really gets good. Build, do, see, learn, play!

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1145502185375349252006-04-19T23:02:00.000-04:002006-04-19T23:03:05.386-04:00

Oh the fun we could have here.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1145017705978675582006-04-14T08:12:00.000-04:002006-04-14T08:28:26.046-04:00

Coming to a Museum near you, an exhibit of Darwin's artefacts, history and work. But it could have done more says Florida's State University's Michael Ruse.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1144946100393643042006-04-13T12:04:00.000-04:002006-04-13T12:35:00.503-04:00

SO glad this works differently for us: "An amphibious wormlike creature has been found whose young feed on their mother’s skin... Nursing mothers of Boulengerula taitanus transform the top layer of their skin from its usual flat, dead cells to a thicker layer of large cells rich in protein and fats. The nutrient content of this skin layer is similar to that of milk."

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1144359282188159722006-04-06T09:15:00.000-04:002006-04-06T17:34:42.256-04:00

Tiktaalik is so clearly an intermediate "link between fishes and land vertebrates," they said, that it "might in time become as much an evolutionary icon as the proto-bird Archaeopteryx," (and THIS from rivals of the team who published the finding...)YAY! Sweet. This is a very big deal.But... Naturally lots of the thinking sort of people are thinking this will help lay to rest a lot of ID/

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1144266787331820392006-04-05T15:49:00.000-04:002006-04-05T15:53:16.596-04:00

Unbelieveable. Click the link to read full Ottawa Citizen story...Excerpt from The LanceletThe Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) denied funding McGill professor Brian Alters on the following grounds: "The committee found that the candidates were qualified. However, it judged the proposal did not adequately substantiate the premise that the popularizing of Intelligent Design

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1144265415814468422006-04-05T15:28:00.000-04:002006-04-05T15:30:15.833-04:00

To get mass understanding of science, sometimes we need to be silly. Physics, Fabio and what happened to the poor duck...

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1144098208169835722006-04-03T17:01:00.000-04:002006-04-03T17:03:28.186-04:00

Evidently Global Warming is a pretty damn big train, and going to keep running long after we stop "making it worse". Great.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1144089609405299792006-04-03T14:39:00.000-04:002006-04-03T14:40:09.416-04:00

Darwin's Natural Heir? Big shoes, them.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1143826144851737762006-03-31T12:25:00.000-05:002006-03-31T12:29:04.866-05:00

Diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1996, the artist William Utermohlen created a series of self-portraits that hauntingly portray the perceptual losses he suffered as the disease progressed. Art as medical science...

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1143267075439142122006-03-25T01:10:00.000-05:002006-03-25T01:11:15.460-05:00

File under: but we enjoy this little nonsense and we believe in it, therefore its critics must be EVIL.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1142357578912074972006-03-14T12:32:00.000-05:002006-03-14T12:32:58.913-05:00

The DNA may remain the same, but the proteins and tissues it builds are oh so different...

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1142357299985858852006-03-14T12:25:00.000-05:002006-03-14T12:28:20.006-05:00

Perhaps a mother's body (and her fetus) are not as altruistic as we might think. "Genetic competition" within families, and the evolutionary pressures that result, are pretty darn interesting.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1141753545124046652006-03-07T12:44:00.000-05:002006-03-07T12:47:57.243-05:00

Amazing stuff, searching the genome for "recent" changes and what characteristics they gave us...

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1141140766656865082006-02-28T10:31:00.000-05:002006-02-28T10:33:09.326-05:00

May young ones ever be...

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1141063083524851052006-02-27T12:55:00.000-05:002006-02-27T12:58:03.580-05:00

Create a fertile, stimulating environment for your mind... and don't forget those mental pull-ups and crunches. An engaging trip through the origins of neurogenesis theory from Seed.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1140632780884249272006-02-22T13:21:00.000-05:002006-02-22T13:28:26.593-05:00

Democr-I mean "hypocracy" in action: Seems like a $23 million budget cut is a pretty clear signal to me.And, um, when you call something an ADDICTION, have direct ties to the cartel that sells the substance, and cut "treatment" research budgets at the same time, that makes you look, um what's the word here? Bad?At least the pres understands the importance of translating science into plain speech

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1140540816129997352006-02-21T11:30:00.000-05:002006-02-21T11:56:31.513-05:00

Great resource, from a great site brings 3 great stories today:Great story, very weird title (AIMS at???). We loved: "to heighten public understanding and support for science and to preserve the distinctions between science and religion in the public sphere," rock on with that goal, Alliance for Science guys!Further evidence anti-stem cell politicoes may help kill us all.Is 514 really a big

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1140492235972259752006-02-20T22:21:00.000-05:002006-02-20T22:23:55.993-05:00

Survival of the cooperative-ist?Shit, do I need to buy two shaggy guys dinner with Mango salsa now?

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1140029192847953452006-02-15T13:43:00.000-05:002006-02-20T22:30:56.720-05:00

Good show, Ohio. Except, bummer the STATE Board of Education let this language get in there in the first place.Big Shout Out to Casey Luskin for my new favorite quote... Evidently NOT lying to school children is censorship. Who knew?

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1140028203998517722006-02-15T13:23:00.000-05:002006-02-15T13:48:07.810-05:00

S.V. swears she didn't start this blog just to overshare her medical history. But after a recent mini-stroke this article was doubly-interesting. Speaking of stroke, know that 34 y.o. chicks w/ NO risk factors CAN have strokes. Be careful out there, and it's baby aspirin + 911 if you have any stroke symptoms. They're really not kidding.Super-lucky S.V. is not suffering any major deficits since a

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1139325737011556852006-02-07T10:17:00.000-05:002006-02-07T10:22:17.030-05:00

Richard Sparks: "This time around, science should contribute to a systemic long-term plan that will better accommodate the natural forces that shape the Mississippi Delta."

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1138937879537101352006-02-02T22:34:00.000-05:002006-02-20T22:31:53.080-05:00

(yeah, the subject line is ironic)Is www.arn.org to be believed? Here I am reading this relatively articulate (albeit hysterical and alarmist) 'medical' article when I stumble over: "Along the way, keep in mind that those who promote the validity of macroevolution, expect us to believe that this interdependent, extremely complex system for controlling bleeding in the body, developed one step at

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1137983791913106302006-01-22T21:34:00.000-05:002006-01-22T22:03:11.313-05:00

Me and J. Bolton Maddox. ID and ISKCON.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1137683367427339672006-01-19T10:00:00.000-05:002006-02-20T22:32:29.880-05:00

This grabbed me for the most personal reason ever. My left arm had a PICC line inserted (but not usable yet) and 8 IV holes in 10 days, my right arm had given several blood cultures, two samples, withstood 5 IV attempts by 3 nurses and started to blow up. They went for hands, knuckles, whatever they could find. I wanted them to get the nurse who could start IVs on my 4 1/2 pound daughter! They

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1137427448730209992006-01-16T10:55:00.000-05:002006-01-16T11:04:19.243-05:00

S.V. has not seen the show in question, but resents that being too shrill undermines an opportunity to bring science to broader audiences. Shouting "YOU'RE WRONG" will always make a certain % suspect your very message...

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1137195152919707882006-01-13T18:26:00.000-05:002006-01-13T18:32:32.933-05:00

These guys managed to be the first ones to (really) clone a dog, notwithstanding the big bucks spent in Texas on Missiplicity, etc. THAT WASN'T PRESTIGE ENOUGH? Nope, let's publish a big fat lie and just end our promising career RIGHT NOW. Ooops.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1137170391528228152006-01-13T11:33:00.000-05:002006-01-13T11:39:51.553-05:00

On the importance of challenging (even medical and scientific) conventional wisdom. SciVig had a bit of a blood infection this summer and had 6 different IV antibiotics when all was said and done. Asked the infectious disease specialist if yogurt helps repopulate the intestinal flora and got a pat "if you believe bacteria can survive in stomach acid" (and if you believe in flying purple people

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1137008243404950422006-01-11T14:35:00.000-05:002006-01-11T14:37:23.416-05:00

10 most beautiful experiments

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1136914287751440382006-01-10T12:30:00.000-05:002006-01-10T12:31:27.753-05:00

The Space Show

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1136913740262605772006-01-10T12:20:00.000-05:002006-01-10T12:34:50.880-05:00

Brilliant. Worth registering. I am proud of them for refraining from the obvious quip. I won't tho: Monkey See, Monkey Do. (Feel?)

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1136317619177698592006-01-03T14:45:00.000-05:002006-01-03T14:46:59.186-05:00

"The Edge Annual Question — 2006WHAT IS YOUR DANGEROUS IDEA? The history of science is replete with discoveries that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally dangerous in their time; the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious. What is your dangerous idea? An idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1136303318403508272006-01-03T10:46:00.000-05:002006-01-03T10:48:38.410-05:00

http://www.nature.com/news/specials/2005/index.htmlScience Vigilante will be honest now and say I did not score well, as prior to starting this blog my vigilance had sorely lapsed.

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135874246701223572005-12-29T11:28:00.000-05:002005-12-29T14:57:58.486-05:00

Intelligent Designosaurs??What is it with ID and Dinosaurs anyway? Isn't that something like building a Judaica gift shop around a giant statue of Jesus?Jesse Walker at reason.com writes: As a card-carrying evolutionist, all I can say is this: Keep the faith, Dinny. Roadside attractions should be weird. And better a private park than a public school."

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135697613604106722005-12-27T10:16:00.000-05:002005-12-27T10:34:38.396-05:00

"They" say the dems would do much better politically if they'd stop making such painstaking analyses of each other and just hang together as a team. The same could be said of popularizers of science, i.e., the nits picked in this review of Jennifer Ouellette's new book Black Bodies and Quantum Cats. To review a popularization book from an "is the science perfect?" perspective, you miss a lot

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135695523427709072005-12-27T09:43:00.000-05:002006-02-20T22:30:00.453-05:00

Got this one in my inbox today. Poor FCC. Makes Science Vigilante wonder if we have "sicced" any social scientists on the question of why and how chain letter hoaxes (GLURGE) fare so well with their poorly constructed reasoning, desperate emotional pleas and low standards of evidence. (Someone MUST be studying this, right?) Kind of reminds me of other ignorant arguments that thrive despite their

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135693505872003152005-12-27T09:19:00.000-05:002005-12-27T09:25:05.886-05:00

Science Vigilante IS SO TORN. On the one hand, kudos to Science for putting evolution into the headlines the way it belongs -- in a context of science and evidence. On the other hand, things are bad enough that evidence of evolution (okay new information on how evolution works -- obviously the authors weren't merely looking for evidence of evolution) is a "top breakthrough?" Ipe!Science "top 10"

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135273204369941082005-12-22T12:33:00.000-05:002005-12-22T12:40:04.390-05:00

Jerry Large makes a good point in the Seattle Times. Better science education is of course crucial (and among many things hamstrung by NCLB), but we also need to work for basic science literacy in the media, entertainment and engaging public speakers. Lifelong science learning must become accessible and enjoyable...From If everyone got a better...">>What's important is to at least know what

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135221764599158292005-12-21T22:20:00.000-05:002005-12-21T22:22:54.533-05:00

"The" Salon Article

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135210215571232572005-12-21T19:05:00.001-05:002005-12-21T19:59:14.356-05:00

Here's a challenge for science: LEARN TO SPEAKP.Z. Meyers Posted this quote from Salon, and his own excellent analysis: ___________________________________________________________________________________(Salon quote)>>At one point, as Elsberry was zipping through his talk about the synthesis of species, the young woman next to me muttered "Jesus" in exasperation before abandoning her frantic

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135190869302520512005-12-21T13:46:00.000-05:002005-12-21T13:57:26.220-05:00

Would a great big "AMEN!" be overly ironic? "It's Over in Dover"

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20072532.post-1135189539287070552005-12-21T13:16:00.000-05:002005-12-21T13:44:04.316-05:00

Dear not-yet-existant readers,Please don't ever let me forget this: Greetings from Idiot America, by Charles P. Pierce. I'm sorry you have to pay $2.95 to read it at that site. If I had a bazillion dollars I would buy the rights from Esquire and mail it to everybody. In America. Twice.C'mon bunky, you can figure out how to use Google to read it where someone has (illegally, but c'mon it's a

Science Vigilantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09622308583672347125noreply@blogger.com0