Two new studies show that widely used pesticides – more specifically neonicotinoids, which are more common in Europe, and coumaphos, which are more common in the U.S. – are damaging the brain of honey bees.

They are used to make “medicinal” soup, but there may be less than a thousand of them left in the Province.

The arrest of a wildlife smuggler in Thailand proves just how easily a handful of criminals could bring about the demise of an endangered species.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sampled around 2,000 rivers and streams, and what they found is not good…

When recording seismic activity on the ocean floor, researchers unwittingly recorded whale songs, creating decades worth of data on songs for science.

Ah homeopathy, how we’ve missed you here at DWR. It has been at least a year since we excoriated your incredulous claims with the biting scourge of rationality, but let’s refresh our memories and let Cool Hard Logic, with his most apropos music selection, remind us how bugfraking nutz Homeopathy is.

Filed under: Quackery, Science Tagged: Fail, homeopathy, Quackery, Science, Snake-oil

Some people would like you to believe that global warming has been slowing down in the past 15 years, but it has actually accelerated.

Ash trees are under attack in the UK, a deadly fungus is causing a lot of damage and so far there’s not much we can do.

Can the dead speak to us from beyond the grave? No, of course not. But that doesn’t stop literally millions of superstitious people from believing they do. And some think they can use technology to facilitate the conversation. Of course, … Continue reading →

James Fallows at The Atlantic interviewed Eric C. Anderson, a co-founder and chairman of Space Adventures, a company focused on sending people to space. Mining asteroids is seen as a key component to making such travel possible, says Anderson.

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Ruy Teixeira discusses Branko Milanovic’s finding that on a global scale, income inequality is almost entirely locked in based on an individual’s place of birth and parents’ income:

Milanovic asks “How much of your income is determined at birth?”  The answer: 80 percent of your income can be accounted for by the country of your birth and the income level of your parents.  That leaves just 20 percent for age, sex, race, luck and, of course, hard work.  Wow.

In the final section of his book, Milanovic looks at global inequality in the broadest possible context—the level of inequality among all individuals in the world, irrespective of nation.  These levels are very high.  The world gini is around 70, higher than even such profoundly unequal societies as Brazil and South Africa which are “only” around 60.  Given such a high level, it is perhaps not a surprise that, according to Milanovic, the bottom 77 percent of the world’s population receives only 20 percent of the world’s income.  At the other end, the richest 1.75 percent of the world’s population also receives 20 percent of the world’s income, as does the next richest 3.6 percent.  So a little more than 5 percent of the world’s population receives 40 percent of total world income.  Now that’s inequality!

- Of course, one of the most sure ways of smoothing out global imbalances is to allow people to change location. And Natalie Brender writes about the Cons’ moves to instead stigmatize immigrants at every turn – including by turning raids into reality TV.

- Meanwhile, Unmuzzled Science documents the Cons’ whipped Parliamentary vote against the very idea of science.

- Barbara Yaffe overlooks the obvious problems in political non-competition pacts by pitching yet another version – with the sole “analysis” consisting of adding together raw 2011 vote totals in the absence of any recognition that all non-Con votes are not necessarily interchangeable. But Chantal Hebert recognizes that Labrador is yet another example where the elimination of voter choices figures to do more harm than good.

- Finally, Erin Weir makes the point that both Saskatchewan’s overall fiscal picture and the economic case for Keystone XL would look a lot better if the Wall government cared about getting a fair return for publicly-owned resources.

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Ruy Teixeira discusses Branko Milanovic’s finding that on a global scale, income inequality is almost entirely locked in based on an individual’s place of birth and parents’ income: Milanovic asks “How much of your income is determined at birth?”  The answer: 80 percent of your income can be accounted for by the country of your birth and the income level of your parents.  That leaves just 20 percent for age, sex, race, luck and, of course, hard work.  Wow.

In the final section of his book, Milanovic looks at inequality in the broadest possible context—the level of inequality among all individuals in the world, irrespective of nation.  These levels are very high.  The world gini is around 70, higher than even such profoundly unequal societies as Brazil and South Africa which are “only” around 60.  Given such a high level, it . . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links

“I really hope they get that ‘Science’ thing figured out. It should be easy after that.”God

Filed under: art Tagged: brains, distribution, God, science

It’s no secret that poaching can have devastating impact on protected wildlife. But, as it turns out, the human heart which commits this crime might sometimes be the slowest to recover from its own misdeed.

A report from The American Geophysical Union found evidence that water will be the source of Middle Eastern conflict in the coming years.

Saudi Arabia’s youngsters are craving the freedom enjoyed by their counterparts in the West.  Here’s hoping and wishing they trample each and every mullah and imam into the glassy sand in their quest to gain  personal liberty.

Saudi Arabia is considering a ban on several communications technology programs, including Skype and WhatsApp, local media reported Sunday.


“The Communications and Information Technology Commission has requested companies operating the applications to meet the regulatory requirements to avoid their suspension in the kingdom,” sources told Saudi news site Sabq.


Companies were given one week to respond to the commission’s demands.


The commission has cited concerns over encrypted communications, saying that such technology could not be monitored and hindered Saudi Arabia’s efforts to “fight terrorism and crime.”


Skype, WhatsApp and applications like Viber allow users to communicate for free anywhere around the globe through messaging or calling.


In 2010, the Gulf kingdom had briefly banned BlackBerry phones over similar fears…..

and the big bucks guys know not when to expect them …but all’s well folks, don’t you worry about a thing.
Now please excuse me while I go drink a barrel of cool-aid.

The American Meteor Society here has a sequence of meteor events.

INHABITAT reports that clever young people exist, with an article you should read, by Morgana Matus, "17-Year-Old Builds Algae Biofuel Lab in Her Bedroom to Win $100K Intel Science Talent Search Prize".

Sara Volz

Scientists from Dubai’s Central Veterinary Research Laboratory say they have succeeded in using one species to produce another, a new technique which could be used to bring extinct species back to life.

Is it simply a coincidence that the Syrian revolution was sparked at the same time the country was still reeling from its worst drought ever recorded? Unsurprisingly, a new study finds evidence it is not.