Science & Environment http://vision.org/rss/ Copyright 2010, Vision http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en-us Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:01:41 -0700 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:00:51 -0700 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) http://www.feedforall.com In his act, Welsh comedian, singer and poet Max Boyce tells tales relating to his beloved Wales. These often involve the national rugby squad beating the English team in an epic match. At times he concludes with a statement meant to add gravitas to the account: “I know ’cos I was there.” In more formal settings, such as a court of law, great value is placed on an eyewitness account. Similarly, news reporters often try to interview someone who actually saw or heard something. Historians, too, seek out first-hand experiences; hence the importance of documents such as the diaries of Samuel Pepys and Anne Frank. But when we go back beyond recorded history, indeed to a time before humankind existed, we run into difficulty: where is the first-hand account to which we can turn? http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/science-environment/In-the-Beginning/31294.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+vision%2FYGhC+%28new+articles+from+vision%29 47366132-CB15-45ED-9F70-C4D5CEE47202 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:00:51 -0700 Introduced by its creator, J. Craig Venter of the J. Craig Venter Institute, the bacterium JCVI-syn1.0 takes center stage as the first human-created organism. It may be only one piece of the puzzle, but it is potentially a pivotal one in humanity's continuing bid for power over life. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/science-environment/synthetic-genome/30412.aspx BB08A4C5-E887-4343-A720-133411CEDBE3 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:02:55 -0700 In celebrations around the world on April 22, 2010, the earth's nearly seven billion inhabitants were asked to ponder our individual and communal conduct. Is humanity's current course sustainable? http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/environmental-issues/28726/state-of-the-planet.aspx http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/environmental-issues/28726/state-of-the-planet.aspx Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:00:00 +0000 By the 1800s there was little doubt that life had changed over the course of the earth's history, but the question soon became how and why? In a world where prevailing opinion held that evolution was divinely ordered, how did Darwin's theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest become the dominant worldview? http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/science-environment/descent-of-darwinism.aspx http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/science-environment/descent-of-darwinism.aspx Tue, 9 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000 Sir John Polkinghorne began his distinguished career as a physicist and ended it as an Anglican priest and the president of Queen's College Cambridge. He talks to Vision's Dan Cloer about some of the deficiencies of science without religion. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/john-polkinghorne-interview/holes-in-the-net.aspx http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/john-polkinghorne-interview/holes-in-the-net.aspx Tue, 2 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000 One century after the introduction of artificial nitrogen fertilizers, we are beginning to understand some negative effects of the discovery that was previously so lauded by science. And environmentalists are sounding the alarm. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=25466 http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=25466 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000 Ecology has become a term that sets people at odds. Some avidly support the new ecological movement of our time and others suspect that various agendas underlie it. What is the appropriate foundation for a relationship between humans and the environment? http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=25075 http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=25075 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:00:00 +0000 Eric Montie is a research associate specializing in marine sensory biology at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science. In 2006 he completed his doctorate in biological oceanography in the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Montie was the lead author of a study published in the August-September 2009 issue of the journal Environmental Pollution. The study outlined his team's findings with regard to chemical pollutants such as DDT found in the brains of stranded marine mammals. He spoke with Vision contributor Lindsay Keefer regarding the research and its implications. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=21832 http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=21832 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0000 Astronaut Michael Massimino has traveled to space twice to help repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Vision contributor Dan Cloer recently spoke to "Astro Mike" about his latest historic journey and about his views on (and of) our amazing planet. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=21833 http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=21833 Tue, 8 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0000 Environmentalism is the subject of ongoing heated debate all over the globe. But let's set aside the political and commercial aspects of the discussion in order to ask, Where does God stand on the issue? http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=21839 http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=21839 Fri, 4 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0000 Science Daily November 17, 2009: "Using ESO's Very Large Telescope and its ability to obtain images as sharp as if taken from space, astronomers have made the first time-lapse movie of a rather unusual shell ejected by a 'vampire star,' which in November 2000 underwent an outburst after gulping down part of its companion's matter. This enabled astronomers to determine the distance and intrinsic brightness of the outbursting object." http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=21514 http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=21514 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000 Our planet shows increasing signs of succumbing to the assault we and our technologies have launched. Although there's no shortage of far-out ideas on how technology can also help fix the problem, including finding a new planet in case we break this one, the real solution lies close to home. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=18199 http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=18199 Wed, 7 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000