Closing in on the Dawn…before Darwin? In a paper released this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mansy and Szostak showed that the special membranes, fat bubbles essentially, were stable under a variety of temperatures and could have manipulated molecules like DNA through simple thermal cycling, just like scientists do in… Continue reading
My favorite physicist Stephen Barr makes a good point about the problem with single-issue politics: There is in conservatives a strong Romantic streak that loves the lost but righteous cause. They want to ride over the cliff with all flags flying. But that went out with the Jacobites—or should have. I hear some of my… Continue reading
Felicitous Implications
I would never describe myself as a theistic evolutionist, but John Wilkins (as always) has a thoughtful post on the implications of Darwin, God and Chance that is, as the late William F. Buckley might say, felicitous. There is a simulation program called Avida, which simulates a process of evolution by selection on “animats” or… Continue reading Felicitous Implications
Cynthia Ozick writes thoughtfully on why writers are–and should remain–invisible.
The Responsibility of Journalists. Dan Kennedy has some wise words for Andrew Sullivan on rumor-mongering.