Stupidity leads to deaths of 9 Infants

The following story might appear to be simply tragic … just one of those natural events that happens, but its not … its plain simple stupidly in action … LOS ANGELES — State health officials reported Thursday that California is on track to break a 55-year record for whooping cough infections in an epidemic that … Read more

Why I no longer believe religion is a virus of the mind

Don’t panic, I’ve not suddenly gone religious … no instead, new data is now available to suggest something else. Sue Blackmore, a leading expert in Memes, has written a very interesting article in todays Guardian (why is it always the Guardian with the really interesting stuff). So she starts off with an explanation of what … Read more

M87 – Mega Explosion

This is M87, as witnessed by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and NSF’s Very Large Array (VLA). At a distance of about 50 million light years, M87 is relatively close to Earth and lies at the center of the Virgo cluster, which contains thousands of galaxies. M87 derives its name because it was item 87 on … Read more

Science Stories in the news this week – 12 Sept

Here is this weeks collection of science news stories that triggered my “Hey, that’s cool” detector. As always, if I’ve missed anything that is truly cool, then drop a comment and I’ll do an update that includes a hat tip you. In honor of the Pope’s visit to the UK, lets start with this one … Read more

Mars may not be lifeless

This has just appeared on the BBC … a fascinating update … it looks as if the Viking landers on board experiment actually created a chemical reaction that destroyed all organic compounds … Carbon-rich organic molecules, which serve as the building blocks of life, may be present on Mars after all, say scientists – challenging … Read more

Quick, brush your teeth

Interesting article in Science Daily today … apparently … Plaque-causing bacteria can jailbreak from the mouth into the bloodstream and increase your risk of heart attack, says a scientist at the Society for General Microbiology’s autumn meeting in Nottingham. Professor Howard Jenkinson, from the University of Bristol explains how oral bacteria can wreak havoc if … Read more