ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 183

OPEN DISCUSSION JUNE 2019

This thread has been created for discussion on themes relevant to Reason and Science for which there are not currently any dedicated threads. Please note it is NOT for general chat, and that our Comment Policy applies as usual. There is a link to this at the foot of the page. If you would like …

‘Fettuccine’ may be most obvious sign of life on Mars, researchers report

By Diana Yates A rover scanning the surface of Mars for evidence of life might want to check for rocks that look like pasta, researchers report in the journal Astrobiology. The bacterium that controls the formation of such rocks on Earth is ancient and thrives in harsh environments that are similar to conditions on Mars, said University …

Listen to the Void: Why Cosmic Nothingness Has So Much to Say

By Paul Sutter At the very largest scales — zooming out from solar systems, stellar clusters and even galaxies — a surprising pattern emerges in nature. When you zoom out far enough that entire galaxies (each one home to hundreds of billions of stars) are just single dots of light, you’ll find … a web. …

Survivors Of Sexual Abuse By Nuns Want Greater Visibility For Their Accusations

By Laura Benshoff When Patricia Cahill was 15, she received an unexpected request. A nun who taught at a Catholic high school near her home in Ridgewood, N.J., called her at home and invited her to perform at an upcoming “hootenanny” Mass. “This was [the] 1960s, you know. Peter, Paul and Mary and all that,” …

The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

By Vicky Baker Televangelist Todd Coontz has a well-worn routine: he dresses in a suit, pulls out a Bible and urges viewers to pledge a very specific amount of money. “Don’t delay, don’t delay,” he urges, calmly but emphatically. It sounds simple, absurdly so, but Coontz knows his audience extremely well. He broadcasts on Christian …

Neanderthals May Have Been Driven to Extinction by a Tiny Drop in Fertility Rates

By Charles Q. Choi Neanderthals could have gone extinct due to a slight drop in their fertility rates, a new study finds. The last of the Neanderthals, the closest extinct relatives of modern humans, disappeared from Europe about 40,000 years ago. Previous research estimated that at its peak, the entire Neanderthal population in both Europe and Asia …

A Neptune-Like Planet Has Been Spotted in a Place Where It’s Not Supposed to Exist

By George Dvorsky An international team of astronomers is reporting the discovery of a Neptune-like planet located some 920 light-years from Earth. Dubbed the “Forbidden Planet” by the researchers, this celestial object is locked in a freakishly close orbit with it host star in a configuration rarely seen. New research published today in Monthly Notices of the …

He Incited Massacre, but Insulting Aung San Suu Kyi Was the Last Straw

By Hannah Beech and Saw Nang SITTWE, Myanmar — Ashin Wirathu, a radical Buddhist monk in Myanmar, has been charged with sedition over what prosecutors say are defamatory remarks he made about the nation’s civilian leader, the Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The most notorious of a band of extremist monks, Ashin Wirathu …

Civil Rights Groups Sue Trump Admin Over Anti-LGBTQ “Denial-of-Care” Policy

By Hemant Mehta Donald Trump announced earlier this month that his Department of Health and Human Services had finalized a rule that would allow doctors, nurses, insurance providers, and employers to refuse service to LGBTQ people if it violated their religious beliefs. (He first discussed the rule more than a year earlier. The actual “rule” was a 440-page document laying …

United Nations Says 80 Countries May Ramp Up Climate Pledges

By Somini Sengupta UNITED NATIONS — About 80 countries want to increase their climate pledges ahead of schedule under the Paris climate accord, the United Nations said Tuesday, signaling that some of them would do so at a summit of world leaders in September. Luis Alfonso de Alba, a Mexican diplomat who is currently the …