Greg Laden is a biological anthropologist and science communicator. His research has covered North American prehistoric and historic archaeology and African archaeology and human ecology. He is an OpenSource and OpenAccess advocate. Greg's wife, Amanda, is a High School biology teacher, his daughter Julia is a world traveler and his son Huxley is 2.
A joint project by Democrats has flipped traditional fund-raising on its head, by starting a campaign aimed at collecting $1 a day from supporters "to make Norm Coleman go away."
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a new group working to get like-minded candidates elected, has teamed up with…
From a University of Chicago Press Release.
The genetic toolkit that animals use to build fins and limbs is the same genetic toolkit that controls the development of part of the gill skeleton in sharks, according to research to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on…
During the election campaign, the Palin/Whatshisname ticket made hay over Obama's statements that he would engage in international conversations with unsavory knee-jerks such as the president of Iran. I call these people knee-jerks because they invoke a knee-jerk response in right wing and even…
As expected, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) unveiled legislation Thursday morning to allow same-sex couples to marry in the Empire State.
Standing beside New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R), openly gay Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D) and state leaders and union leaders, Paterson said "…
Or, more exactly, where are they all going to go during the next two or three months?
I'm sitting here between a large frozen lake and a small "pond" (connected to the lake with a channel) that has patches of open water on it. (The melting on the pond is probably because the bioactivity at the…
Eric Black of MinnPost Dot Com has made an interesting observation. Last week the three judge panel charged with hearing Norm Coleman's "Election Contest" (that's a thing ... an election contest is a kind of suit claiming that an election did not go properly) finished their job. They ruled…
As many as 107 Tennessee public school districts could be illegally preventing students from accessing online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, according to a letter to sent to school officials by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The letter demands that Knox County…
An agreement stating that girls under 18 will not undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone was recently signed by village chiefs and other community leaders, including women who perform FGM. The agreement affects the Kambia district, which is in the northernwestern part of the…
Update: See this: CIA exemption is the wrong thing to do
I do not disagree with Obama's decision to pre-pardon CIA agents who tortured people at Gitmo and elsewhere. (See this.) The only reason to not pardon them is to use them to get to higher-ups who should actually be prosecuted. These on…
"The commies have infiltrated our country as part of their fifty year plan! I know what I'm talking about, I'm in the marketing business! Only the FOX network knows the truth!" ... and so on and so forth.
These are real people. Be afraid. Trust no on. I am not joking even a little. You must…
... there is no way to turn way from it, but we are often poorly prepared to deal with it, especially when it involves teenagers. Face it: adults like it when teenagers finally learn to hide some of their emotions. Maturity = knowing how to leave other people out of your bad shit. We reward…
"Building a permenant home in the political wilderness" ... brilliant, Rachel.
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This is totally unbelievable. The Imams were polite yet annoyed. Reasonably annoyed.
Here's the Imam story from way back when:
MINNEAPOLIS…
A young couple wished to get married (19 and 21 years of age)against their parent's wishes, so they tried to elope. They were tracked down by their parents, who had them arrested. Monday, they were shot to death by a firing squad.
The couple had violated the religious beliefs of their families…
One of the nice things about Linux -- but by no means the most important -- is the enhanced security that comes along with running it. That doesn't mean Linux never runs into security issues, though, and this week, the vulnerability in question centers around a nifty little service called udev.…
Same-sex domestic partners would have all the rights and benefits that Washington state offers married couples under a bill passed Wednesday by the state Legislature.
The Democratic-controlled House approved the Senate-passed measure on a mostly party-line 62-35 vote after nearly two hours of…
From a Michigan State University Press Release:
A Michigan State University researcher has developed a working vaccine for a strain of E. coli that kills 2 million to 3 million children each year in the developing world.
Enterotoxigenic E. Coli, which is responsible for 60 percent to 70 percent of…
Eight of Scotland's primary police department have listed their religion as Jedi.
Strathclyde Police said the officers and two of its civilian staff claimed to follow the faith, which features in the Star Wars movies.
The details were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by Jane's Police…
The Episcopal Church has filed a lawsuit seeking to regain control of church property from the breakaway Diocese of Fort Worth.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Tarrant County district court. Defendants include Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker, who led the theologically conservative diocese to split…
Lynn Fellman, the Ira Flatow of the Twin Cities, has a guest post at Quiche Moraine about her recent trip to the Origins Symposium.
Rusty-red rocks against an electric blue sky were an exact color match for the mix of brilliant intellect I knew to be in Phoenix on Monday. I had just flown into…
Texas is going to secede from the union! Seriously! The governor of Texas has laid down the gauntlet, and unless we get rid of that Black Guy as president and that Damn Woman as speaker of the house, it's vamoose for Texas!
And I couldn't be happier. Texas should not be part of the Union. Why…
"Just in time for the bicentennial observance of Charles Darwin's birth, a new survey of Louisiana residents shows 40 percent of the respondents believe evolution is not well-supported by evidence or generally accepted within the scientific community," the Baton Rouge Advocate (April 14, 2009)…
I am not an anti-Semite. But I did learn how to be one in school. Catholic school, that is, which I attended for first, second, and third grade, in that order.
I was reminded of this by a conversation with a cousin-in-law who had similar experiences. We exchanged our Catholic school stories at…
