I think this video gets funnier the more you watch it.
Dutch poll needs a little help
1 hour ago
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Did Life Begin In Geothermal Vents?
Science Daily is reporting on a new paper in BioEssays that claims to overturn the long held understanding that life probably arose in the oceans of the early earth through processes mediated by ultraviolet sunlight. Proposed by J.B.S. Haldane, this idea has been used as a conceptual framework for modeling abiogenic processes for over 80 years. However, senior author William Martin from the Institute of Botany III in Düsseldorf is unimpressed with the model, and is proposing that instead life arose in geothermal vents at the bottom of the early oceans, and was powered through energy provided by the earth's core:
Unfortunately I don't currently have access to the paper itself, so I'm just going by this description. I know better than most people how science journalism can fail at communicating the nuanced complexity of scientific concepts after reducing them to mere sound bytes, but Science Daily generally does a respectable job of it. BioEssays has a mid-level impact factor around 5.3, but the fact that this research isn't in being presented in Science or Nature tells me that it's highly speculative and probably incomplete. Notwithstanding, it is an interesting idea. Team leader Nick Lane from University College London provides a nice description of the general concept:
I'm not ready to completely throw out my textbooks, but this is sure to become a progressive (and contentious) area of research as more evidence accumulates supporting or refuting this compelling hypothesis.
UPDATE: It seems this article will be coming in next month's issue:
Despite bioenergetic and thermodynamic failings the 80-year-old concept of primordial soup remains central to mainstream thinking on the origin of life, but soup has no capacity for producing the energy vital for life.
Unfortunately I don't currently have access to the paper itself, so I'm just going by this description. I know better than most people how science journalism can fail at communicating the nuanced complexity of scientific concepts after reducing them to mere sound bytes, but Science Daily generally does a respectable job of it. BioEssays has a mid-level impact factor around 5.3, but the fact that this research isn't in being presented in Science or Nature tells me that it's highly speculative and probably incomplete. Notwithstanding, it is an interesting idea. Team leader Nick Lane from University College London provides a nice description of the general concept:
We present the alternative that life arose from gases (H2, CO2, N2, and H2S) and that the energy for first life came from harnessing geochemical gradients created by mother Earth at a special kind of deep-sea hydrothermal vent -- one that is riddled with tiny interconnected compartments or pores.
I'm not ready to completely throw out my textbooks, but this is sure to become a progressive (and contentious) area of research as more evidence accumulates supporting or refuting this compelling hypothesis.
UPDATE: It seems this article will be coming in next month's issue:
How did LUCA make a living? Chemiosmosis in the origin of life
Martin, William; Lane, Nick; Allen, John F
Martin, William; Lane, Nick; Allen, John F
Monday, February 1, 2010
Chris Mooney to host CFI's Point of Inquiry
I just received the following email from the Center for Inquiry announcing three new hosts for its excellent podcast, Point of Inquiry.
P.O.I.'s original host, D.J. Grothe, recently accepted a position as President of the James Randi Educational Foundation. I credit this show as one of the major forces influencing my foray into skepticism and the way I think about communicating science. Its been off the air since November, when D.J. made the switch from CFI to the JREF. The first episode of his new podcast, For Good Reason, premiered last week.
Chris Mooney recently became infamous around the skeptic-blogosphere for his attacks on notable atheist writers like Richard Dawkins, Jerry Coyne, and P.Z. Myers. In his latest book, Unscientific America, Mooney argues that vocal atheism from scientists, is actually hurting the public understanding of science in a largely Christian American populous. This lead to a flood of atheist bloggers harshly criticizing openly atheist Mooney, labeling him an "accommodationist." Mooney has tried to defend himself at his blog, The Intersection, but having this new international platform may place a renewed spark in this debate. Stay tuned!
Center for Inquiry Announces Three New Hosts for its Popular Podcast, ‘Point of Inquiry’
The Center for Inquiry has announced that there will be three new hosts for its popular podcast, Point of Inquiry. Joining the podcast are Chris Mooney, Karen Stollznow, and Robert Price.“We are tremendously excited about having Chris Mooney, Karen Stollznow and Robert Price as hosts for our podcast,” said Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry. “All three are smart, articulate, witty individuals, with a depth of knowledge in their respective areas of expertise. We expect the podcasts to be thought-provoking and engaging—an entertaining intellectual feast. Moreover, given the scope of topics to be covered, we anticipate we will be able to broaden the audience for our podcast.”
Mooney is expected to host about half of the approximately 50 new shows per year, with the balance evenly split between Price and Stollznow. The first episode to feature this new format is scheduled tentatively for February 12.
The Center for Inquiry launched the weekly podcast in 2006, and it was hosted by CFI Vice President for Outreach D.J. Grothe until his recent departure from CFI to become president of the James Randi Educational Foundation.
About the hosts:
Chris Mooney is a 2009-2010 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and the author of three books, The Republican War on Science, Storm World, and Unscientific America. Mooney maintains a blog hosted by Discover magazine titled “The Intersection” with Sheril Kirshenbaum and serves as a contributing editor for Skeptical Inquirer magazine.
Robert M. Price is professor of theology and scriptural studies at Coleman Theological Seminary and professor of biblical criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute. He is a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion and the Jesus Seminar. Dr. Price is the author of a number of books, including The Reason Driven Life, Deconstructing Jesus, The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, and The Da Vinci Fraud. He has appeared widely in the media, and was featured prominently in the movie The God Who Wasn’t There. His latest book is Top Secret: The Truth Behind Today’s Pop Mysticisms.
Karen Stollznow is an author and skeptical investigator with a doctorate in linguistics and a background in history and anthropology. She is an associate researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and a director of the San Francisco Bay Area Skeptics. A prolific skeptical writer for many sites and publications, she is the “Naked Skeptic” Web columnist for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, the “Bad Language” columnist for Skeptic magazine, a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer, and managing editor of CSI’s Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice. Dr. Stollznow is a host of the Monster Talk podcast and writer for the Skepbitch and Skepchick blogs, as well as for the James Randi Educational Foundation’s Swift.
Point of Inquiry is the premier podcast of the Center for Inquiry, drawing on CFI’s relationship with the leading minds of the day, including Nobel Prize-winning scientists, public intellectuals, prominent authors, and social critics and thinkers. Each episode combines incisive interviews, features, and commentary focusing on issues of science and public policy, pseudoscience and the paranormal, and religion and secularism.
P.O.I.'s original host, D.J. Grothe, recently accepted a position as President of the James Randi Educational Foundation. I credit this show as one of the major forces influencing my foray into skepticism and the way I think about communicating science. Its been off the air since November, when D.J. made the switch from CFI to the JREF. The first episode of his new podcast, For Good Reason, premiered last week.
Chris Mooney recently became infamous around the skeptic-blogosphere for his attacks on notable atheist writers like Richard Dawkins, Jerry Coyne, and P.Z. Myers. In his latest book, Unscientific America, Mooney argues that vocal atheism from scientists, is actually hurting the public understanding of science in a largely Christian American populous. This lead to a flood of atheist bloggers harshly criticizing openly atheist Mooney, labeling him an "accommodationist." Mooney has tried to defend himself at his blog, The Intersection, but having this new international platform may place a renewed spark in this debate. Stay tuned!
