In the past few weeks, there has been a steady stream of stories highlighting major concerns over scientific evidence relating to climate change. One example has been the world-wide furore relating to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) assertion that all Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035. Going forwards, as the UK Government Chief Scientist Professor John Beddington has stated strongly, standards of openness about sources, verification and presentation must be at the highest level. The most regrettable implication of recent events is that further confusion has been sown amongst global publics about climate change. What I believe most people want now is enlightenment, not further argument, about what might be the gravest issue confronting humanity in the twenty first century. One of the key challenges for scientists and indeed politicians is communicating the reality of climate change to global publics in an accurate and intelligible way. Contrary to belief in some quarters, the leading models that forecast global climate temperature in decades ahead are reliable and this is strongly supported by satellite data. Dismissive views expressed about climate predictions are often based on the uncertainty of long range weather forecasts. […]
Nearly a third of Texans believe humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time, and more than half disagree with the theory that humans developed from earlier species of animals, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. The differences in beliefs about evolution and the length of time that living things have existed on earth are reflected in the political and religious preference of our respondents, who were asked four questions about biological history and God: ¢ 38 percent said human beings developed over millions of years with God guiding the process and another 12 percent said that development happened without God having any part of the process. Another 38 percent agreed with the statement ‘God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago.’ ¢ Asked about the origin and development of life on earth without injecting humans into the discussion, and 53 percent said it evolved over time, ‘with a guiding hand from God.’ They were joined by 15 percent who agreed on the evolution part, but ‘with no guidance from God.’ About a fifth – 22 percent – said life has existed in its present form since […]
Global warming skeptics are agog that President Obama is seeking to dramatically increase federal funding for global warming research in the wake of the Climate-gate scandals that have emerged during the last three months. The federal budget for 2011 proposes $2.6 billion for the Global Change Research Program, a 21 percent boost over 2010. It will bring funding to a level higher than under any administration dating back to 1989 — when global warming first attracted federal budget funds. In fact, critics note, overall climate funding is approximately as large as the entire federal government’s budget was in 1932 — $3.994 billion. (Additional money for climate science is apportioned to a number of federal agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.) Critics are lambasting the Obama administration, saying it remains unfazed by the revelations of Climate-gate: doctored research statistics by British environmental scientists, attempts to discredit skeptics of global warming science, and disclosures that the U.N.’s own Nobel-Prize-winning climate science research was based on faulty research about the Amazon rain forest and Himalayan ice caps. Some public policy experts are expressing outrage that the White House […]
A new type of cancer test can tell whether — and when — a tumor is coming back after initial treatment. The test uses a sample of the original tumor to identify unique cancer gene sequences. Later blood tests look for that genetic signature and tell whether surgeons removed the entire tumor, whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, or whether the cancer is coming back. It’s the brainchild of a team of Johns Hopkins researchers led by Victor E. Velculescu, MD, PhD. The team initially hoped to find markers that would identify cancers in any patient. Instead, they found that every patient’s cancer is unique. But that uniqueness turned out to be the key to a new tool that may revolutionize cancer care. ‘A person’s cancer is as individual as a fingerprint,’ study researcher Luis Diaz, MD, said at a news conference. ‘[The test] can clearly detect cancer in patients and monitor the burden of disease and response to treatment.’ Previous efforts to fingerprint tumors relied on sequencing each letter in the cancer’s genetic code. Even with modern genetic tools, that’s a formidable task. Velculescu’s team had a better idea. […]
The Obama administration announced a $1.25 billion settlement Thursday to resolve charges by thousands of black farmers who say that for decades the Agriculture Department discriminated against them in loan programs. Cabinet officials exhorted Congress to approve the deal by setting aside money for the farmers, who have fought through three administrations to secure a measure of justice. In the starkest cases, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, farmers lost their property after local administrators slow-pedaled loan applications, leaving them unable to plant key crops. The agreement is part of a wider effort by Obama and senior officials to dispense with lawsuits stemming from America’s checkered civil rights legacy. In December, the Justice Department led efforts to settle a long-standing case with Native Americans who accuse the federal government of mismanaging royalty payments for natural resources mined on tribal lands. A settlement is awaiting congressional action. Vilsack and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. took a personal interest in striking a deal with the black farmers, whose leaders have appeared regularly in the halls of Congress and in the White House. Vilsack predicted that Congress will approve the settlement. ‘I’m going to focus all my time and […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
