1. Fossil of most primitive 4-legged creature found

Comment #200171 by Azven on June 27, 2008 at 2:41 am

Thought you might be interested in this:-

Venta, from the Venta river in western Latvia. Because of the flat topography of Latvia, most of the fossil localities occur where rivers have cut into the bedrock and exposed fossil-bearing strata. Of the two localities where Ventastega is known, one (Ketleri) lies on the bank of the Venta, whereas the other (Pavari, source of the material described in the Nature paper) lies on the bank of the Ciecere - a smaller tributary of the Venta.


stega, "roof", to be understood as "skull roof" i.e. the top of the skull. There is something of an established tradition of naming early tetrapods "Somethingstega" (e.g. Ichthyostega, Acanthostega), partly because of their distinctive skulls, so while the name Ventastega strictly means "skull roof from the Venta river" it also implies "early tetrapod from the Venta river".


curonica, "from Kurzeme". Kurzeme ("Curonia" in Latin) is the north-western part of Latvia where the Ventastega localities lie.


All the best, Per

2. Fossil of most primitive 4-legged creature found

Comment #199606 by Azven on June 26, 2008 at 4:10 am

Ventastega is the most primitive of these transition animals, but there are older ones that are oddly more advanced

3. Bacteria make major evolutionary shift in the lab

Comment #191504 by Azven on June 11, 2008 at 4:54 am

Does anyone have a web reference to any Creationists who have comented on this - I'd love to read it!

4. Loyal to Its Roots

Comment #191498 by Azven on June 11, 2008 at 4:41 am

No one's asked how all that information is integrated in a plant, partly because we've convinced ourselves that it isn't,"

5. Bacteria make major evolutionary shift in the lab

Comment #191108 by Azven on June 10, 2008 at 8:17 am

The first appearance of this:

http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,2669,A-New-Step-In-Evolution,Carl-Zimmer

6. Albinos, Long Shunned, Face Threat in Tanzania

Comment #190361 by Azven on June 9, 2008 at 12:57 am

I'm with phil rimmer (Comment #190190) let's start a rumour that the best cure is a Witch Doctor body part.

7. A New Step In Evolution

Comment #188419 by Azven on June 4, 2008 at 5:03 am

As bacteria make up most of life on this planet saying "it's just another kind of bacteria" is a bit like watching a lizard evolving into a bird and saying "it's just another kind of animal".

Lenski's patience seems phenominal and well deserving of a Nobel prize for observing the evolution of a new species in a laboratory.

Evolution by NS rules!

8. Missing matter found in deep space

Comment #182885 by Azven on May 21, 2008 at 5:07 am

The missing matter cannot be Baryonic so therefore these strands of Hydrogen and Oxygen [what?], if they exist, must have already been counted, just not previously observed.

9. Youngest galactic supernova (not aliens) found

Comment #180483 by Azven on May 15, 2008 at 4:54 am

I remember Isaac Asimov calculating that there ought to be 3 [visible] supernovas in our galaxy every thousand years, and commenting that, in the last thousand years, all three had occured before the invention of the telescope.

Now this is a very old calculation and it's pretty near certain that his assumptions have changed, but what ever the figure, isn't it a shame that our Victorian antecedents missed another one just because of a bit of dust?

10. The detail in the Devil

Comment #175839 by Azven on May 6, 2008 at 6:27 am

Black, among other theologians, was exploring the possibility of a satanic influence behind the Nazi atrocities during World War II

11. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #175828 by Azven on May 6, 2008 at 6:10 am

Aslan:

"that indicates the profound unsophistication that you have about this re[li]gion. You could not be more wrong" and claiming that I'd taken my view of Islam from "Fox News."

12. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #175826 by Azven on May 6, 2008 at 6:03 am

And these are British Muslims

13. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #175823 by Azven on May 6, 2008 at 5:58 am

In Afghanistan, women in burqas could be seen burning the Dutch flag

14. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #175810 by Azven on May 6, 2008 at 5:18 am

Islam is a religion of peace, and if you say that it isn't, we peaceful Muslims cannot be held responsible for what our less peaceful brothers and sisters do. When they burn your embassies or kidnap and slaughter your journalists, know that we will hold you primarily responsible and will spend the bulk of our energies criticizing you for "racism" and "Islamophobia."

15. Judge orders La. school district to stop Bible giveaways

Comment #167167 by Azven on April 23, 2008 at 5:22 pm

Aquaria

You said, "However, not teaching religion doesn't mean it's not communicated to us, in thousands of ways, because it is".

But is it communicated in an unbiased way, or at least by people with no motive other than to teach?

Do they teach about religion or do they just preach?

And, when you say religion, do you mean Christianity?

16. Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital

Comment #166735 by Azven on April 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm

Serdan

They're just that stupid.

17. Judge orders La. school district to stop Bible giveaways

Comment #166717 by Azven on April 23, 2008 at 11:49 am

Thanks, Nentuaby and Celandine.

It's seems a shame that American children in public schools can only learn about religion in church, and therefore are unlikely to get an objective view. They are also unlikely to get a range of views. By the time I was 13 I had learnt about Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Shinto, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism...

There was no attempt to convert me, and no one religion was made out to be inferior (or superior) to any of the others.

As far as I know this was the standard London Board syllabus.

18. Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital

Comment #166668 by Azven on April 23, 2008 at 11:24 am

Give me the ocular proof!

19. Science 2.0 -- Is Open Access Science the Future?

Comment #166659 by Azven on April 23, 2008 at 11:19 am

Why would a competitive scientist post raw results so his peers can spot the pattern and write up a paper before him/her ?

20. Judge orders La. school district to stop Bible giveaways

Comment #166652 by Azven on April 23, 2008 at 11:15 am

The first bible I ever owned was given to me by my school. It was for my Religious Knowledge (sometimes referred to as 'RE') lessons and was therefore a school book. I was, however, educated in the UK.

One gets the impression that US schools do not learn about religion(s) as a subject. Is this true?

21. If God Is Dead, Who Gets His House?

Comment #165721 by Azven on April 22, 2008 at 6:05 am

I, personnally, have never called myself an atheist. I am a sceptic (and also a cynic, but that's another story).

22. If God Is Dead, Who Gets His House?

Comment #165712 by Azven on April 22, 2008 at 5:06 am

I like religions and many religious people. I also like Star Trek and most Trekkers.

I like the stories, the moral dichotomies, the characters with super-powers, I even like the villains.

I still laugh at the believers (to their face) if they get too involved.


I don't want a church for Atheists any more than I want a church for Star Trek.

(Or should that be a [Nurse] Chappel)

23. Sexpelled: No Intercourse Allowed

Comment #163256 by Azven on April 18, 2008 at 5:28 am

When did RD write "Woolly science writing"? I must rush out an buy it, what with me being a Woolly science reader.

24. The books that inspire me

Comment #157351 by Azven on April 9, 2008 at 1:05 am

Oh and 'Last Chance to See' by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwadine contains some of DNA's funniest work. See the poison snake expert in the Komodo dragon section.

25. The books that inspire me

Comment #157349 by Azven on April 9, 2008 at 1:02 am

So pleased to see The Black Cloud on the lists. I still sometimes say 'Devil in the cloud' to mean something (ie, a computer program) behaving as if it's alive - a kind of ghost in the machine comment. And it's over 30 years since I read this!

26. Evolution Of New Species Slows Down As Number Of Competitors Increases

Comment #150606 by Azven on March 27, 2008 at 6:58 am

I'd like to echo Andrew Stich here.

What, exactly, is a 'group'? What does speeding up or slowing down of evolution mean? If we're talking about the rate of increase in the number of species then what has this got to do with evolution's speed?

'Niches' implies species that are not in competition for resourses. It's fairly tautological that this means that there are a fixed number of niches. species that are competing for resources should evolve faster - but note - the number of species competing for over-lapping resouces will DECREASE over time.

27. Immune system differences found

Comment #145324 by Azven on March 17, 2008 at 1:33 pm

Wow! Populations that have been exposed to different bacterial environments for centuries show differences in their immune systems.

28. Ban anti-Catholic books in schools, says bishop

Comment #143455 by Azven on March 14, 2008 at 6:02 am

Is this aimed at Philip Pullman ?

Is the Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster getting too much publicity because of this? Surely no one is going to take this seriously and start removing books from schools and libraries?

29. Revealed: Secrets of the Camouflage Masters

Comment #133347 by Azven on February 26, 2008 at 5:25 am

Donald

Nice theory - and testable (the best kind).

I would like to try this experiment...
At the bottom of a tank have a circular disc embedded in a board of the same material. Cover the board and disc with a pattern such that if the disc is rotated the pattern will be disrupted. Wait 'til a cuttlefish covers the board and changes to match the pattern - then rotate the disc.

My prediction would be that the cuttlefish will ignore the new disrupted pattern because it can't see that it has changed.

30. Evidence can't shake your faith if your faith excludes it as evidence

Comment #132672 by Azven on February 25, 2008 at 5:36 am

Dear Paul Campos

For God (or an angel of same) it doesn't seem that much of a miracle to regrow an amputee's leg / arm etc. After all, all the tissue is there it just needs to grow.

So there you are God (Yes, I'm talking to you) re-grow every missing arm, leg, finger, toe, kdney, lung, appendix, etc, plus throw in a few teeth and I'll believe in you.

Then eliminate some of those nasty congenital diseases and a few viral, bacterial, fungal and protozoan based illnesses and we're away.

See if you can do it before I click on the Submit button.

I'm about to do it...

31. Revealed: Secrets of the Camouflage Masters

Comment #132210 by Azven on February 24, 2008 at 1:17 pm

Epinephrine

Well said. At least no one brought up "octopi", yuk! I just love the way that "Octopodii" ripples off the tongue in five syllables.

PS, like the new avatar.

32. Revealed: Secrets of the Camouflage Masters

Comment #131247 by Azven on February 22, 2008 at 5:37 am

It's still not clear to me how the animal 'sees behind itself' in order to present, to my line of sight, a pattern on its skin similar to the background. I've obviously made an assumption here, but I don't know what it is!

Also, I think the descriptors "mottled" and "disruptive" are a bit vague, and so it's quite easy to shoe-horn any pattern into these linguistic groups. Is there a more scientific description of theses patterns? I suspect not, as it seems to me that there ought to be a [at least one] continuous sequence of change from "mottled" to "disruptive".

Otherwise, an excellent article and a superb video that I can't wait to show my daughter.

33. Revealed: Secrets of the Camouflage Masters

Comment #131238 by Azven on February 22, 2008 at 5:20 am

Pedant's corner: "octopuses"

Oh, dear!

34. The Search for Truth, God and Braver Scientists in 'Expelled'

Comment #129425 by Azven on February 19, 2008 at 5:46 am

Does any body else feel that this article ends rather suddenly?

35. Council pays psychic for exorcism

Comment #127253 by Azven on February 15, 2008 at 5:25 am

I read as far as this, before I solved the mystery of the poltergeist…

Miss Fallon had even called police after hearing bangs which terrified her children Shannon, nine, and Amie, one.

Shannon, nine

36. Earliest bats did not 'see' with sound

Comment #126740 by Azven on February 14, 2008 at 5:05 am

I believe that Douglas Adams had his character Dirk Gently give 10 for himself (ie, for humans). I have counted 11 in myself, but given that there's no real difference between smell and taste I could be argued down to 10.

37. Why multiculturalism must be abandoned

Comment #125817 by Azven on February 12, 2008 at 5:39 am

It's time that these 'courts', where participants agree beforehand to accept the decision of the 'court', are stamped out under Britsh Law. Crown Law belongs in Crown courts. This may upset Muslims, Jews and TV producers (who can create Judge Judy type TV shows under the same rules) but it will protect the likes of Nasirin Iqbal who may not realize what is happening and who, more than most, need the protection of an impartial legal system.

38. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #125810 by Azven on February 12, 2008 at 5:12 am

Send Hallmark.com a suggestion for Darwin Day 2009, the 200th anniversary. They always seem to leap on any excuse to create an event that can celebrated with cards.

Let's see which wins out, making money, or seeming to align themselves with atheists?

39. What he wishes on us is an abomination

Comment #125232 by Azven on February 11, 2008 at 5:21 am

It goes without saying that the Archbishop did not seek the opinion of a Muslim re his speech - more specifically, not of a Muslim woman. The fact that this white, western, Christian male did not, speaks VOLUMES about his lofty view from his ivory tower.

40. An Altar Beyond Olympus for a Deity Predating Zeus

Comment #122784 by Azven on February 6, 2008 at 4:37 am

Mike

I heard it commented that the reason you get so few Hindus converting to Christianity is that they've heard it all before - that there is nothing new (to them) in Christianity.

41. Dusty Clues: Study suggests no dearth of Earths

Comment #122280 by Azven on February 5, 2008 at 4:51 am

Was the picture of "an earthlike planet orbiting a star outside the solar system" really necessary? Strangely enough, I know what an Earth-like planet could look like, even (or is that especially) a made up one!

42. God the psycho

Comment #121769 by Azven on February 4, 2008 at 5:38 am

I've always said that God's love is the love of a stalker...

He LOVES you and wants you to LOVE Him back. He WATCHES you. He wants you to KNOW who He is. He wants you to WORSHIP him. He gets JEALOUS if talk to anyone else.

He KNOWS WHAT YOUR THINKING.

He will TORTURE and KILL to get what he wants...

God is decidedly creepy. Thanks be that He doesn't exist...

43. God vs. Gridiron

Comment #121765 by Azven on February 4, 2008 at 5:27 am

It's unfortunate that the NFL has given exception to sports bars," Mr. Shuler says. "If they're going to give exceptions, let's give one to faith groups that are having a positive influence on people's lives.�

Using the phrase Super Bowl on church fliers or Web sites implies an NFL affiliation, say league lawyers. That's trouble if people are led to believe that the neighborhood church is an NFL sponsor, for example, or that the league endorses the Immaculate Conception.

44. Documents detail church coverup

Comment #121759 by Azven on February 4, 2008 at 5:08 am

In the UK at the moment there is a case going before the House of Lords concerning a rape victims claim to part of the raper's £7 million lottery winnings.

The Catholic church is worth a lot more than £7 million. They better get there house in order (at least in the UK) soon.

45. Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights

Comment #118878 by Azven on January 31, 2008 at 5:35 am

Maulavi Muhammad Asif, said: "This decision is for disrespecting the holy Koran and the government should enforce the decision before it came under more pressure from foreigners."

46. Atheism and Violence

Comment #117968 by Azven on January 30, 2008 at 5:14 am

BTW: My daughter read this author's name as Edward T. Cakes (Edward Tea Cakes), which made me chuckle, so I thought I'd share.

47. Atheism and Violence

Comment #117966 by Azven on January 30, 2008 at 5:11 am

The first article is so full of errors and misunderstandings and, I suspect, downright deliberate obfuscations that is was hard to wade through it. I don't need to point out any of the problems because I'd be preaching to the choir. However, why is it that theists seem to think that no new arguments for atheism (even if that's true) is a point for theists?

But … [atheist's] arguments are shopworn, stale hand-me-downs and threadbare heirlooms inherited from an era that was fading away even before the French Revolution

possibly the longest ellipsis known to scholarship.

48. Scientists want rewrite of Earth's time line

Comment #117796 by Azven on January 29, 2008 at 4:53 pm

Jonathan Dore

So you're using "yo" interchangeably as both a second-person and a third-person pronoun?

And this would aid comprehension how?

49. Scientists want rewrite of Earth's time line

Comment #117571 by Azven on January 29, 2008 at 6:12 am

Jonathan Dore
You're assuming that I meant 'you' as in a personal note to Opisthokont. But this is a public forum and in fact I meant "he or she, as appropriate".

[However, the above IS a personal note to you, even though this is a public forum, hence the use of "you're".]

[The above sentence is also a personal note to you, hence the use of "you".]

[etc]

50. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #117568 by Azven on January 29, 2008 at 5:59 am

ianmkz

I was initially tempted to do just that, but I suspect a successful giveaway might induce a publisher to print more of the damn things in expectation of huge sales to come.