ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 177

Woman Claims Evangelical Seminary Leader Shamed Her When She Reported Campus Rape

By Carol Kuruvilla Paige Patterson, a prominent Southern Baptist who was fired from a Texas seminary last year for mishandling sex abuse allegations, is now being sued by a former student who claims he failed her when she sought help after multiple campus rapes. The former student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), identified in …

Supplements for Brain Health Don’t Work, According to Neurologist

By Steven DeKosky Americans and others around the world have turned increasingly to dietary supplements in order to maintain or preserve their brain health. A recent study found that a quarter of adults over 50 take a supplement for brain-related health. But that same study, done by experts convened by the AARP, suggests that seniors should spend …

Archbishop revokes school’s Catholic designation over refusal to fire gay teacher

By Jack Jenkins The archbishop of Indianapolis has revoked the Catholic designation of a Jesuit high school in the city after administrators refused to fire a teacher who is married to a same-sex partner. According to a statement released by the archdiocese on Thursday (June 20), Archbishop Charles C. Thompson has sent a canonical decree …

SCOTUS’ Bladensburg Cross Ruling is a Church-State Mess

By Andrew L. Seidel The 40ft tall Christian cross, crumbling though it is, will remain in its traffic circle in Bladensburg, Md., because it’s been there for a long time and removing it would make people angry. The conservative bloc on the Court went into this case seemingly united in an effort to bring “some clarity” to the …

Alleged Child Molester Roy Moore Will Run for Senate Again in 2020

By Hemant Mehta During a press conference this afternoon, disgraced two-time Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice and multiple-time creepster and alleged pedophile Roy Moore said he plans to run for U.S. Senate in 2020. (Watch the video below around the 17:15 mark.) Assuming Moore wins the GOP primary, which he no doubt will, Republicans will be putting …

Researchers use DNA to take pictures of cells

By Mitch Leslie To look at a cell, you used to need a microscope. Now, researchers have found a way to view cells by using their own genetic material to take snapshots. The technique—called DNA microscopy—produces images that are less clear than those from traditional microscopy, but that could enable scientists to improve cancer treatment …

Supreme Court rules that Maryland ‘Peace Cross’ honoring military dead may remain on public land

By Robert Barnes The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 40-foot cross erected as a tribute to war dead may continue to stand on public land in Maryland, rejecting arguments that it was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The vote was 7 to 2, but the ruling prompted an outpouring of individual opinions as the …

Atheist ashram on Lord Krishna’s home turf roils India’s Hindu nationalists

By Priyadarshini Sen In this major pilgrimage center for the Hare Krishna movement, Purnendu Goswami survives as a rare atheist. Goswami, 44, runs the Bindu Seva Sansthan ashram in this northern Indian town that is considered sacred in Vaishnavism, one of Hinduism’s main branches. Dressed in a white robe like any local guru, the plain-speaking …

Meet the New York couple donating millions to the anti-vax movement

By Lena H. Sun and Amy Brittain A wealthy Manhattan couple has emerged as significant financiers of the anti-vaccine movement, contributing more than $3 million in recent years to groups that stoke fears about immunizations online and at live events — including two forums this year at the epicenter of measles outbreaks in New York’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Hedge …

Voracious Black Holes Could Feed Alien Life on Rogue Worlds

By Mara Johnson-Groh Black holes are engines of destruction on a cosmic scale, but they may also be the bringers of life. New research on supermassive black holes suggests that the radiation they emit during feeding frenzies can create biomolecular building blocks and even power photosynthesis. The upshot? Far more worlds roaming the Milky Way and beyond …