ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 753

Talk Show: Blake de Pastino & Corn Snakes!

Hank Green interviews Scishow’s Chief Editor Blake de Pastino who explains his interest in writing about science, paleontology & anthropology. Special guest Jessi Knudsen Castañeda brings corn snakes for everyone to play with.

http://westerndigs.org/

http://store.dftba.com/search?type=product&q=western+digs

https://www.youtube.com/user/Anmlwndrs

http://store.dftba.com/search?type=product&q=animal+wonders+

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Sources:

http://westerndigs.org/dice-gaming-utah-cave-prehistoric-gambling/

http://westerndigs.org/large-carnivore-is-first-dinosaur-discovered-in-washington-state

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127792

http://www.animalwonders.org/about.html

http://store.dftba.com/collections/western-digs

http://store.dftba.com/collections/animal-wonders

Your Gut Bacteria Don’t Like Junk Food – Even If You Do

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Gut bacteria don’t like. Matthew, CC BY

When Morgan Spurlock famously spent a month eating large portions of McDonalds for the purposes of his documentary Supersize Me, he gained weight, damaged his liver and claimed to have suffered addictive withdrawal symptoms. This was popularly attributed to the toxic mix of carbs and fat plus the added chemicals and preservatives in junk foods. But could there be another explanation?

Turns Out The Answer To Virtual Reality Sickness Is Right In Front Of Your Face

Technology





Photo credit:

It’s all in the nose. David Whittinghill/Purdue University, Author provided

Virtual reality (VR) equipment has tended to be cumbersome and expensive, all heavy headsets and awkward gloves. Until recently it’s been beyond the reach of the home consumer, but with the appearance of Oculus Rift (since bought by Facebook), Microsoft’s HoloLens, and even DIY options such as Google Cardboard, it seems VR is coming to a living room near you soon.

The Code of the Cosmos

Every year, the Institute of Art and Ideas organises HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest philosophy and music festival.  This year’s festival happens from the 21st-31st May in Hay, and the theme for 2015 is ‘Fantasy and Reality.’  How much of what we take to be reality is a fantasy of our own making? And which of our current fantasies should become the realities of the future?  In this article Chiara Marletto explores whether we should consider information, rather than matter as the fundamental building block of the universe ahead of her appearance at the festival in The Universe Code.
 
Information has come to play an increasingly fundamental role in our lives during the last few decades: billions of computers are now interconnected over the world, and our technology – and hence our survival and well-being – crucially rely on them.
It is much harder to argue that information plays a role in fundamental physics.
Traditionally, fundamental physics expresses predictions about where, s...

Rumbling From Ocean Trenches Could Be Sign That Japan Faces Mega Earthquake

Environment





Photo credit:

Ocean bottom seismometer floating after releasing its anchor on the seafloor. Yusuke Yamashita, ERI, Univ. of Tokyo, Japan

Researchers in Japan have for the first time detected and traced shallow tremors under the ocean that could be a sign that the country is heading towards a huge earthquake. But the technique itself may one day help us predict exactly when such an event would take place, which could save thousands of lives.

Hawaii Wants To Get 100% Of Its Electricity From Renewable Sources by 2045

Environment





Photo credit:

Alex Pix/ Shutterstock

No one likes to be lagging behind in trends, so it’s great to see that green is so in fashion right now. The EU has set renewable energy goals for 2020, but three countries have already met theirs, eight years ahead of schedule. Last year, clean sources were the biggest contributor to Germany’s electricity supply, accounting for 24% of the total amount produced.

New Type Of Stem Cell Discovered

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Human stem cell—shown in green—integrating into a mouse embryo / Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Scientists have stumbled upon a new type of human cell, capable of becoming any organ or tissue, that may help unravel the secrets of early embryo development. They may even open a new door into growing human organs in large animals for research and medicinal purposes.

Does God Exist?

Every year, the Institute of Art and Ideas organises HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest philosophy and music festival.  This year’s festival happens from the 21st-31st May in Hay, and the theme for 2015 is ‘Fantasy and Reality.’  How much of what we take to be reality is a fantasy of our own making? And which of our current fantasies should become the realities of the future?  In this piece Stephen Law explores the problem of evil ahead of his talk at the festival in The Evil God Challenge.
 
Welcome to Eth, a small planet circling a medium sized star on the far side of this galaxy. It's standing room only in Eth's Great Chamber as the debate of the age is about to take place. Eth's greatest intellectuals are trying finally to settle whether or not God exists.
 Garglefroth Blart, Professor Emeritus of Divinity at Eth's most prestigious university, is involved in vigorous debate with his opponent, Bogubus Donk, the Arch Logos Inquisitor. The audience comprises Eth's finest thinkers....

First Baby Conceived With New Fertility Treatment was Born Last Month

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Augment

The world’s first baby conceived with a breakthrough, though somewhat controversial, fertility treatment was born last month in Toronto, Canada. Called Augment, the technique is said to enhance in vitro fertilization by supplementing the eggs of the mother-to-be with mitochondria derived from her own cells. The first wave of babies whose parents received this treatment are expected to pop out this summer. 

Atheist Experience #910: Viewer Calls

The Atheist Experience #910 for March 22, 2015, with Russell Glasser and Martin Wagner. Viewer Calls. Russell and Martin take callers.

We welcome your comments on the open blog thread for this show.

► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/

YouTube comments are at present disabled in our channel, to the displeasure of some. However, each video has a prominent link to the associated open thread that appears on our blog. In the past we’ve tried opening up the channel to comments, but we found that a very high number of episodes wound up being flooded with a combination of spam, long winded apologists, and various obscene or misogynistic comments directed at various hosts by people with an axe to grind. This seems to be the nature of YouTube comment sections, in our experience.

We do moderate the blog, the same way that we moderate chat during the show, as well as comments on our Facebook group. For comment sections that are “officially” associated with our show (and, to a much lesser extent, channels that may give the unintended appearance of being official), we prefer not to play host to straight up ad hominem attacks and bigotry. As a general policy we do not block commenters simply on the basis of disagreement with our point of view. However, we do prefer discussion environments that don’t actively chase off more reasonable contributors.

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The most up to date Atheist Experience videos can be found by visiting http://atheist-experience.com/archive/

You can read more about this show on the Atheist Experience blog:

► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/

WHAT IS THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE?

The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin.

The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.

We define atheism as the lack of belief in gods. This definition also encompasses what most people call agnosticism.

VISIT THE ACA’S OFFICIAL WEB SITES

► http://www.atheist-community.org (The Atheist Community of Austin)

► http://www.atheist-experience.com (The Atheist Experience TV Show)

More shows and video clips can be found in the archive:

► http://www.atheist-experience.com/archive

DVDs of the Atheist Experience can be purchased via:

► http://www.atheist-community.org/products

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme song: “Listen to Reason,” written and performed by Bryan Steeksma.

► http://www.youtube.com/bryansteeksma

► http://www.myspace.com/bryansteeksma

NOTES

TheAtheistExperience is the official channel of The Atheist Experience. “The Atheist Experience” is a trademark of the ACA.

Copyright © 2014 Atheist Community of Austin. All rights reserved.