Carl Zimmer, bestselling writer about on parasites and evolution as well as a prolific columnist for the Science section of the New York Times, recently embarked on a journey into the secrets, the history and the intricate biology of his own genome. While some popular companies, such as 23AndMe, offer genotyping services (an abbreviated alternative…
A group of blogs and Internet forums, led by blogger Steve Sailer, have come together to embrace a successor to the pseudoscientific racist movements of the 20th century. “Human biodiversity” (HBD) is the term they have used to give their particular theories a policy-wonk zing. (Read an in-depth explanation of the human biodiversity phenomenon here.)…
The founders of an Israeli food tech startup want you to enjoy your meat without the guilt — in fact, without the animal. SuperMeat, which launched in December and began an online crowdfunding campaign Monday, is developing a method for bioengineering “cultured meat” from animal cells. Its tagline: “Real meat, without harming animals.” Imagine a…
Scientists have for the first time detected gravitational waves, ripples in space and time hypothesized by Albert Einstein a century ago, in a landmark discovery announced on Thursday that opens a new window for studying the cosmos. The researchers said they detected gravitational waves coming from two distant black holes – extraordinarily dense objects whose…
The Maharal of Prague brings the Golem to life / Tumblr (JTA) — Stephen Hawking is much in the news these days. His personal story, the subject of the recently released film “The Theory of Everything,” is already spoken of as an Oscar contender. Diagnosed in 1963 with the dreaded Lou Gehrig’s disease and given two…
Wikipedia If ever there was a good night to light Hanukkah candles, it’s tonight — one of the longest nights in human history. No, that’s not a figure of speech. It is literally one of the longest nights Earth has ever seen! You may already know that December 21-22 is the winter solstice, the longest…
The Nobel Prize committee has now announced the last of its science selections for 2014, and for the first time in this new century, there are no Jews among the laureates. This fact would hardly be worth noting if not for another fact: that three laureates a year have been Jews since 2000. And if…
For those who observe Yom Kippur and atone for their sins by fasting for roughly 25 hours, not drinking often proves to be the most challenging part. But for 27-year-old Shaina, who is 12 weeks pregnant with her third child, Yom Kippur won’t differ much from other days: “It’s not a nerve-wracking thing for me,…
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