I know the title of this post seems whimsical, but for really real, a group of researchers think we might actually be able to make a persistent flu vaccine — as opposed to the seasonal kind we can already produce — thanks to llamas. The way an ordinary flu vaccine works is by guesswork. It’s … Continue reading
New Scientist have just posted an exclusive (but not very exclusive, since the same info appears plenty of other places) article about a group who have criticised the results found at LIGO, the gravitational wave detector. There’s a fair amount of back and forth going round if you Google: some people think it’s blown out … Continue reading
I interrupt our normal posts to announce that finally, my degree is over, all my marks are in, and I’ve added a BSc in Natural Sciences (Biology) to my list of qualifications. I’m graduating with a First, though I won’t actually get to walk across the stage for a year due to the Open University’s … Continue reading
Every debate about sex or gender rolls out some high school biology somewhere along the line. There are two sex chromosomes, X and Y, and they combine in specific ways to produce two (and only two) different outcomes: XY = male, XX = female. Guess what? It’s more complicated than that. If you dig into … Continue reading
I think I’ve gone through this before in commenting on news articles, but it’s worth considering in general: how do you evaluate a paper to decide whether it’s worth paying attention to? It doesn’t matter the topic, or how expert you are in it, because to some extent the same issues apply, and just looking … Continue reading
“If humans evolved from chimpanzees, why are chimpanzees still around?” Further to the last post, okay, I’ll bite. Here is an explanation of how chimpanzees are still around even though the theory of evolution is true. There’s one really simple way to say this, which has its own weaknesses. Try this question: “If you come … Continue reading
“Scientists say all our genetic information is coded on DNA. But DNA is an acid! How can you write information in acid? You can write information on a hard drive, but not a liquid!” I was “dared” to try to answer “just one” of a list of stupid questions meant by fundamentalist Christians to stump … Continue reading
