Where I Was From

Science Friday!

So, it's Friday at last. It's been a chore of a week for me and I'm about ready to go home, host that Heroes vs. Villains shindig, sleep in...and learn about science! Woo! Friday niiight!

In honor of tonight's party theme, here are a couple of interesting articles that touch on a couple of old rivalries: men vs women and science vs religion. This isn't to say that either side in said conflict is necessarily a hero or villain in my opinion.

Well.

Okay.

*cough*

On to the educational content...

An article in The Independent says us girls might soon be able to conceive babies with each other:

Women might soon be able to produce sperm in a development that could allow lesbian couples to have their own biological daughters, according to a pioneering study published today.

Scientists are seeking ethical permission to produce synthetic sperm cells from a woman's bone marrow tissue after showing that it possible to produce rudimentary sperm cells from male bone-marrow tissue.

The researchers said they had already produced early sperm cells from bone-marrow tissue taken from men. They believe the findings show that it may be possible to restore fertility to men who cannot naturally produce their own sperm.

Read science editor Steve Connor's full article here.

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And on a more theoretical note, here's an interesting one about the problem of attempting to reconcile science and religion.

Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion:

I once asked a distinguished astronomer, a fellow of my college, to explain the big bang theory to me. He did so to the best of his (and my) ability, and I then asked what it was about the fundamental laws of physics that made the spontaneous origin of space and time possible. "Ah," he smiled, "now we move beyond the realm of science. This is where I have to hand you over to our good friend, the chaplain." But why the chaplain? Why not the gardener or the chef? Of course chaplains, unlike chefs and gardeners, claim to have some insight into ultimate questions. But what reason have we ever been given for taking their claims seriously?

Here's the full text of one of his essays on religion, pseudoscience, actual science, and the irreconcilability of the three. (Originally published in FORBES ASAP, October 4th, 1999)


"We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further."

Labels: politics, science

posted by Leah @ 11:38 AM