ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 136

Curiosity Finds Mysterious Oxygen Fluctuations on Mars

By Ryan F. Mandelbaum NASA’s Curiosity rover sniffed out an unexpected seasonal variation to the oxygen on Mars, according to new research. Curiosity has long been returning some appropriately curious results. After locating methane on the planet, studies from its spot in Gale crater found regular changes to the methane unexplainable by the environmental factors that scientists …

Islamic exorcisms used as a ‘cure’ for homosexuality in Indonesia: ‘If I am Muslim, I can’t be gay’

By Emily Johnson JAKARTA, Indonesia – It was in December 2017, as anti-LGBTQ sentiment was peaking in Indonesia, when Acep Saepudin’s father decided something needed to be done about his son. He sought out a spiritual teacher in their town of Purwakarta in West Java Province and asked the ustad to give the young man …

The Many, Many Reasons a Federal Judge Blocked Trump’s ‘Conscience’ Rule

By Lisa Needham A federal judge in the Southern District of New York threw out the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) “conscience” rule last week in a victory for reproductive and LGBTQ rights. The rule, finalized in May, would have allowed both individual workers and health-care entities to refuse to provide care based on …

Muslim Survivors Of Domestic Violence Need You To Listen

By Rowaida Abdelaziz SAN FRANCISCO — It was three days after high school graduation when it happened. Nour Naas, then 18, stood in the alleyway outside her home and watched her father shoot seven bullets into her mother’s chest. Naas, now 24, recalled that day between deep breaths, under a mask of stoicism, seemingly afraid …

Great apes pass a false-belief test, hinting at a theory of mind

By Diana Gitig Theory of mind is the recognition that others have mental states, just as you do. It is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to acknowledge that their mental state—their beliefs, their perspectives, how their experiences have shaped them—differs from your own. And therefore that, when people act a certain …

Tony Evers seeks science-related ornaments for the Capitol’s renamed ‘Holiday Tree’

By Molly Beck MADISON – In a subtle rebuke of his predecessor, Gov. Tony Evers is asking Wisconsin school children to send him science-related ornaments to hang on a two-story tall evergreen in the state Capitol he’s calling a “Holiday Tree.” Evers announced Friday the theme of this year’s tree is “Celebrate Science,” which the Democratic governor …

Nine Evidence-Based Guidelines For A ‘Good Life’

By Gary M. Bakker For over two millennia, people have been offering or imposing lists of “rules for living,” whether they be the Ten Commandments; lists of seven, twelve, or fifty Golden Rules; Essential Rules for Living or for Living “Your Best Life” or for a “Happy and Fulfilled Life”; or, very recently, Jordan Peterson’s …

Nonedecision 2020: Four Decades of the None Vote

By Juhem Navarro-Rivera In many states today is Election Day, and millions of people will be going to the polls. Of course, next year voters across the country will be deciding on the next president of the United States. In the intervening twelve months I will be looking at different aspects of secularism and politics …

A Tiny Species That Looks Part-Deer, Part-Mouse Was Missing for Nearly 30 Years. Scientists Just Found It.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu A tiny creature that looks part-deer, part-mouse hadn’t been seen in nearly 30 years. Now, with a series of camera traps, researchers have caught the silver-backed chevrotain, also called the Vietnam mouse-deer, meandering about its tree-filled home. With the distinguishing silver line down its back that starts just behind its shoulders, the …

Angry parents protest LGBTQ books in Virginia classrooms

By Samantha Schmidt When students in Loudoun County started school this fall, they found their classroom shelves stocked with new collections of books. The “diverse classroom libraries” installed in elementary and high schools across the Northern Virginia school district were intended to expose students to stories about young people of different cultures, races and religions. …