Why We Flaunt Our Sexy Partners
Plenty of anecdotal evidence suggests that women are attracted to men who are already in a relationship. Psychologist Valerie Golden believes this is a real phenomenon, citing research which showed...
View ArticleWhy You Should Never Mix Different Drain Cleaners
Your humble correspondent had quite the predicament over the weekend. I had burned one of those fake logs in the fireplace, and after the fire went out I closed the flue and went to bed. Only the fire...
View ArticleWhich Bacteria Decompose Your Dead, Bloated Body?
Americans insist on experiencing "death with dignity." The reality, however, is that death is not even remotely a dignified process, particularly if nature is allowed to take its course unimpeded. Once...
View ArticleThe Wit And Wisdom Of Poland's Former President, Lech Walesa
Lech Walesa (written "Lech Wałęsa" in Polish and pronounced "Lek Vah-WEHN-sah") rose to fame when Poland was still under communist rule. He co-founded the Solidarity trade union and helped bring about...
View ArticleWhy Is Seattle Socialist Kshama Sawant Allowed To Teach Economics?
I don't cover economics regularly because it is not traditionally considered science. Furthermore, the field too often generates research and commentary that employs more voodoo than a witch doctor. It...
View ArticleScience And Scientific Journals Are Flawed. Can Better Statistics Help?
Science is going through a bit of a crisis. Thanks largely to the pioneering work of Dr. John Ioannidis, scientists -- particularly biomedical researchers -- are grappling with the reality that much of...
View ArticleEuropean Journalists Blame "Anti-Gravity" Spot On Magic, Not Physics
Many Americans think of Europe as something of a magical realm. The food is tastier, the people are sexier, and some parts of Poland don't experience gravity. Wait, what? European Journal, a fairly...
View ArticleBritish Prime Minister David Cameron's Horrible Idea
It is commonly quipped that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It's particularly discouraging when the history that is being repeated happened merely six years ago. Yet,...
View ArticleHumans Aren't At The Top Of The Food Chain
As a species, we have much to be proud of: We have tamed the wild beasts, we have built wonders of the world, and we have landed on the moon. Of course, we believe that we are quite deserving of our...
View ArticleHow to Understand Your Local Weather Forecast
Everybody in Seattle knows Jeff Renner. He's the weather guy on KING5 News, the local NBC affiliate. Each night at around 11:15 p.m., he provides us with little nuggets of knowledge, from the extended...
View ArticleUkraine Needs Europe, Not Putin
Ukraine is a nation torn between two competing influences: the European Union and Vladimir Putin. Step by step, Ukraine has been slipping toward Russia's orbit. Recently, the pro-Putin president,...
View ArticleAre Repeated Concussions Really Killing NFL Football Players?
Several high-profile suicides among former NFL players have stirred a debate over whether or not repetitive concussions in violent sports such as football can cause cognitive decline later in life....
View ArticleNelson Mandela And The Trouble With Deifying Historical Figures
Though only South Africans can legitimately claim "Madiba" as one of their own, Nelson Mandela was a widely loved figure whose death is being felt across the entire globe. Human beings of this sort are...
View ArticleTo Fix Racial Wealth Gap, U.S. Must Address Disparity In Teen Pregnancy Rates
The CDC has released rather sobering data on the large discrepancy between the races (white, black, Hispanic) in regard to teenage pregnancy and abortion rates. The data below is from 2009 and...
View ArticleWill China's Moon Landing Spur U.S. Into Action?
China has officially joined the "Moon Landing Club," which, until Saturday, was the exclusive domain of the United States and the former Soviet Union. China's rover will now putter around, doing what...
View ArticleDigital Currencies: Misadventures With Bitcoin Rival Ripple (XRP)
***Update: This article has been updated with relevant new information. See below. It would be quite the understatement to assert that digital currencies are growing in popularity. The frenzy...
View ArticleMerry Christmas, European Union -- Your Credit Rating Has Been Downgraded
Whether countries are willing to admit it or not, they take credit rating agencies seriously. Credit ratings measure confidence in a nation's ability to repay its debt. When the rating is lowered, it...
View ArticleBitcoin Meets Google Trends and Wikipedia
Bitcoin, the digital currency du jour, is a bit of an economic curiosity. Unlike gold, it has no intrinsic value. Unlike a currency issued by a country, its price is not affected by GDP, inflation,...
View ArticleWhy Are German Airports Better Than American Ones?
As an American citizen, I find it rather pathetic to be treated better in a German airport than in an American one.
View ArticleWhen's The Best Time To Launch A Cyberattack?
The three factors that favor patience are low Stealth, high Persistence, and large stakes.
View ArticleHow Ukraine's New Government Could Destroy the Country
The crisis in Ukraine took an unexpected turn this weekend. After a deal was struck between President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition, Mr. Yanukovych ran away. Quite literally. Nobody (except,...
View ArticleHow Should U.S. And NATO Respond To Russia Over Ukraine?
Russia is now in control of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. The West should respond accordingly. But how?
View ArticleCatholic Pro-Life Magazine Compares Me To A Nazi For Supporting Biotechnology
"Celebrate Life Magazine" -- a Catholic, pro-life publication -- in a recent article by Terrell Clemmons, has compared me to a Nazi. But, not just any run-of-the-mill, "Springtime for Hitler" kind of...
View ArticleUkraine Crisis: Vladimir Putin's "Baghdad Bob" Tactic
How do you negotiate with somebody who denies reality?
View ArticleChina's Disastrous One-Child Policy
While it may be true that the one-child policy averted immediate disaster, it was a bad government solution to a problem largely created by bad policies.
View ArticleA Possible Cure for Ebola Virus Infection?
A small molecule rescues rodents and monkeys from various hemorrhagic fevers.
View ArticleMonkeys Can Do Basic Math Using Symbols
Researchers have trained rhesus macaque monkeys to recognize two sets of symbols, with 26 symbols in each set. And the monkeys demonstrated an ability to add them together!
View ArticleWhy We Should Never Completely Destroy Smallpox
Smallpox stockpiles should not be destroyed for the foreseeable future.
View ArticleBlack Death: The Upside To The Plague Killing Half Of Europe
Once again, the adage, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," turns out to be accurate.
View ArticleRichard Dawkins Is Wrong About Religion
Thanks to his new autobiography, Richard Dawkins is making the media rounds again. Recently, he appeared on theMichael Medved Show. The host, who is a friend of mine, is also an adherent of Orthodox...
View ArticleIn Hyper-Partisan America, It's "My Facts vs. Your Lies"
The government shutdown has dragged a nasty skeleton out of America’s closet and put it on full display for the world to see: Americans are bitterly divided, and there is little hope on the horizon for...
View ArticleWill Quantum Dots Revolutionize Solar Power?
The sun will hopefully be the energy source of the future, but currently, solar power provides less than 1% of global energy. The reason isn't due to a conspiracy among fossil fuel companies, as some...
View ArticleWhy Good Wine Tastes Like Buttery Popcorn
My wife and I regularly travel to Eastern Europe. Last time we were there, we went to Bonyhad, Hungary, a small town about two hours outside of Budapest. The nominal purpose of our trip was to visit...
View ArticleBroccoli Chemical Saves Mice from Radiation Death
Your mother (or perhaps your spouse) always reminds you to eat your broccoli. Indeed, it is quite good for you. Not only is it packed full of vitamins, but it also contains cancer-fighting compounds,...
View ArticleIran's Nuclear Weapons: A Lesson in Diplomacy from 'Civilization'
Fans of the incredibly popular series of computer games called Civilization will recall the strange acts of diplomacy in the early iterations of the game. For instance, whenever a rival civilization...
View ArticleGermany's Coalition Talks: Can Angela Merkel Build a Government?
Angela Merkel's monumental victory on election night wasn't quite big enough to allow her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party to govern on its own. The party won 311 seats, just five seats shy of an...
View ArticleJerry Coyne's Twisted History of Science and Religion
This article was co-authored with Dr. James Hannam. Jerry Coyne is an esteemed evolutionary biologist. But, together with the other New Atheists, he vehemently berates religion in a way that can...
View ArticleBee Sting Allergy Might Actually Be Useful
The adaptive immune response is the branch of our immune system that most people are familiar with. It's the reason vaccines work. When exposed to a molecule that triggers an immune reaction (known as...
View ArticleThe NSA Probably Spied On Angela Merkel, And Germany Probably Spied On...
In 2010, a Russian spy ring was caught in the United States. It made big news, mostly because one of the spies, Anna Chapman, looked like this -- confirming in the minds of hopeful young males all over...
View ArticleSummertime Sadness: Urinary Tract Infections Are Seasonal
In many ways, women got the raw end of the biological deal. Not only must they wrestle with the discomfort of pregnancy and the pain of childbirth, they are also far likelier than men to contract and...
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