ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 50

Across 10 Million Stars, Not a Single Whisper of Alien Technology

By Michelle Starr In a comprehensive search of a patch of the Southern sky, not even a hint of alien technology has been detected at low radio frequencies. Across at least 10 million stars that populate the Vela region – the deepest and widest survey for extraterrestrial intelligence yet – the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) …

U.S. bishop-elect resigns over abuse allegation weeks before taking office

By Philip Pullella An American bishop-elect has resigned just weeks before he was due to start the job, following an allegation that he had sexually abused a minor, Catholic Church officials said on Monday. Father Michel Mulloy, 66, was appointed by Pope Francis on June 19 to be bishop of Duluth, Minnesota and was due …

Another Former Creation Museum Staffer Speaks Out About Ken Ham’s Toxic Empire

By Hemant Mehta Last summer, a former employee of the Creation Museum, Ariella Duran, explained the “toxic culture” of that work environment in a lengthy Facebook post. She worked for Answers in Genesis for just over two years in “every single existing department,” finally leaving in 2017 for a variety of professional and personal reasons. She wrote about …

Georgia Church Leaves United Methodist Over LGBTQ Clergy, Same-Sex Marriage

By Scott Neuman A local church in Georgia that supports LGBTQ rights says it is splitting from the United Methodist Church, becoming the first congregation in the country to act on a growing rift between progressives and conservatives within the denomination. Asbury Memorial Church in Savannah announced Thursday that it was disaffiliating with the UMC, …

Quran’s prophecy of Covid-19

By Richard Dawkins “There are verses about corona in the Quran.” This was the e-mail I just received from a Muslim zealot. He didn’t name the prophetic verses themselves so I did a bit of Googling and came up with a learned article written by a Muslim “scholar”1: http://muslimmirror.com/eng/probable-... I read it and was bowled …

Coronavirus reinfections: three questions scientists are asking

By Heidi Ledford When news broke last week that a man living in Hong Kong had been infected with the coronavirus again, months after recovering from a previous bout of COVID-19, immunologist Akiko Iwasaki had an unusual reaction. “I was really kind of happy,” she says. “It’s a nice textbook example of how the immune …

Video from priest says Catholics who vote for Democrats will go to hell. One bishop approves this message.

By Bob Smietana A video by a Catholic priest in which he condemns Democrats as “godless” and warns Catholics not to vote for them has gained the approval of at least one American bishop. “Here’s a memo for ‘clueless, baptized Catholics out there,” said the Rev. James Altman, pastor of St. James the Less Catholic parish in …

Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with secular Israeli officials over coronavirus measures

By Steve Hendrix Israel’s rapidly escalating coronavirus crisis is aggravating a religious divide in the Jewish state, with ultra-Orthodox leaders accusing mostly secular health officials of discrimination and fostering anti-Semitism by focusing on outbreaks in highly observant communities. As the government struggles to contain the outbreak, ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbis, cabinet ministers and parliament members have resisted …

Thousands gather for Christian music concert at California Capitol, breaking COVID-19 rules

By Michael McGough Neither coronavirus restrictions nor record-smashing heat could stop a massive crowd from assembling outside the Capitol in Sacramento for a Christian music concert Sunday evening. Almost none of the thousands attending wore a mask during the hours-long event, and spectators were packed in about as tight as could be, photos and video …

Stunning new sun images show our star’s popcorn-like magnetic field structure

By Meghan Bartels Need a little more sun in your life? German scientists have just finished upgrading a solar telescope called GREGOR at the Teide Observatory in the Canary Islands, and the result is a spectacular new set of images of our star. “This was a very exciting, but also extremely challenging project,” Lucia Kleint, a scientist …