LiberatedMind » Science

Why do Women Menstruate?

LiberatedMind.com — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:47:35 +0000

Not that this makes Menstruation any more fun to deal with, but as always, now that I know the scientific reason behind the function, I feel better about this monthly ordeal. From Pharyngula: Menstruation is a peculiar phenomenon that women go through on a roughly monthly cycle, and it’s not immediately obvious from an evolutionary …

Babies Know Who is Trustworthy, Studies Show

LiberatedMind.com — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:00:42 +0000

From Science Daily: “Babies love to imitate. Ask any parent and they’ll report how infants mimic sounds, facial expressions and actions they observe. Now new research from Concordia University, published in the journalInfant Behavior and Development, has found that infants can even differentiate between credible and non-credible sources. Simply put, most babies won’t follow along …

What is Life?

LiberatedMind.com — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:59:24 +0000

Another Great Debate was held at ASU. This time pulling in Richard Dawkins and Craig Venture, to name a few. The first panel, back in November 2010 featured Sam Harris and Steven Pinker discussing the question “Can Science Tell us Right from Wrong?” I had my share of complaints about the lack of definitions of …

Left Handed People have More Brains than the Rest of Us.

LiberatedMind.com — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:02:02 +0000

Left handed people have always fascinated me. At one point I thought it was their disposition to be different that made them creative, independent and successful people. Left handers make up between 8 and 12% of the population, the majority of those being men. Scientists have been able to look into the brains of lefty’s …

Can Science Tell us Right from Wrong?

LiberatedMind.com — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 03:46:50 +0000

This weekend, the Origins Project hosted an academic discussion at Arizona State University. The topic, title "Can Science Tell us Right From Wrong" was presented by Sam Harris, Simon Blackburn, Lawrence Krauss, Steven Pinker, Peter Singer and Patricia Churchland. In my opinion, the evening went awry from the moment it began. The topic, being as vague as possible, gave no inference as to the definitions of morality or the perimeters of the sciences being suggested. There is an immense difference in the traditional definition of morality and the definition of ethics. Half the panel seemed to be speaking to the former and half to the latter.

Book Review: “Why Evolution is True” – Jerry Coyne

LiberatedMind.com — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 21:01:40 +0000

Despite its coverage of all the ways in which evolution can be demonstrated, Why Evolution is True provides a compact read of all the evidence for evolution. Only at the very last chapter does the author address creationism directly. Coyne suggests that anti-evolutionists do not oppose the idea of evolution solely, but rather reject the science because of the implications evolution has on the meaning of their personal religious beliefs. In short, evolution more than adequately explains how humans and our surroundings developed into what we are today. It leaves no gaps for a god to fill. To combat this rejection for the sake of religion, Coyne says: "Evolution is simply a theory about the processes and patterns of life's diversification, not a grand philosophical scheme about the meaning of life. It can't tell us what to do, our how we should behave."(p. 225)

Toddlers trust things adults tell them, even when they know it is false.

LiberatedMind.com — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:21:45 +0000

This study comes out of the University of Virginia, looking at why toddlers believe something they are told, when they know the truth is the opposite of what the adult said. ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2010) — Little kids believe the darnedest things. For example, that a fat man in a red suit flies through the …

A Summary of Evidence for Evolution

LiberatedMind.com — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:00:08 +0000

This is a compilation of the basics of evolution and a broad brush of the sources of evidence for evolution. Prompted by requests from friends and family to procure evidence for evolution, this is the summary of some of the most controversial subtopics of the evidence for evolution. It is meant to be a springboard for those who know little about evolution or have been told that evolution is just a belief like creationism. EVOLUTION BASICS In biology, evolution is the change in the inherited traits of a population of organisms through successive generations. Evolution does not explain how life first began, nor is it a science of cosmology, dealing with what occurred before the beginning of the known universe. Evolution is the science of how different organisms have developed and diversified since life first appeared on earth. ... continue reading

Craig Venter has Created Artifical Life!

LiberatedMind.com — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:31:46 +0000

This is HUGE. This gives scientists the capability to make ANY protien. Some of the possibilties include: Making organs from scratch that fit a person’s individual DNA with the “bad” parts replaced with “good” code; creating a new biofuel that is genetically designed to be as efficient and clean as possible… From the BBC: Scientists …

Nature by Numbers VIDEO

LiberatedMind.com — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:44:48 +0000

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