Nigersaurus taqueti

A dinosaur with a strange jaw designed to hoover-up food grazed in what is now the Sahara Desert 110 million years ago. Remains of the creature that "flabbergasted" paleontologist Paul Sereno went on display Thursday at the headquarters of the National Geographic Society, where they will remain until March.

I am looking forward to reading more about it in the December issue of National Geographic.

Teach the controversy

For 15 years Doug Cowan has taught the scientific evidence for and against Darwinism to biology students at Curtis High, a large public school several miles southwest of Tacoma, Wash.

This fall, the 34-year teaching veteran will restructure his evenhanded presentation around a new textbook from the Seattle-based Discovery Institute. Explore Evolution: The Arguments for and Against Neo-Darwinism (Hill House Publishers, 2007) does not address alternative theories of origins but succinctly lays out the scientific strengths and weaknesses of the most critical elements of Darwinism. "It's made my work a lot easier," Cowan said.

Explore Evolution encapsulates a "teach the controversy" paradigm that the Discovery Institute has advocated for the better part of the past decade.

Read the rest at World Magazine.

Could we just teach SCIENCE, please.

What is an evolved homeschooler?

A friend noticed the evolved homeschooler emblem on my blog and she asked me what it meant. For me it simply means that I TEACH EVOLUTION. It's really tiresome when people assume I am a creationist simply because I homeschool, this is my way of letting them know that there are homeschoolers that believe in evolution.

Past post on evolution.

Evolved Homeschooling Webring

I miss Eireann and I hope she is OK. I found her personal blog amusing and intellectually stimulating. While no one can fill the void her personal blog left Yellow House Homeschool has thoughtfully resurrected the Evolved Homeschooling Webring. Click here for directions on how to join/rejoin.

If anyone knows how Eireann is doing please leave a comment.

Farm School: I typed this all by myself with my opposable thumbs

Farm School: I typed this all by myself with my opposable thumbs cute post, but the real gem is the information Becky provided about museums and links to evolution sites.

I was lucky enough to get to visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Alberta (which offers home school discounts). And if you have the chance to visit it, it is wonderful! We also visited the badlands where many of the dinosaur fossils at the museum were found. One day, I'll try to post the pictures. My only regret was the kids were not with us. (OK, I don't really regret they weren't with us, but I do regret they didn't get to tour the museum).

Another Nutcase

"The church has failed to see the importance of the history of the past," Baird said. "All of a child's education from kindergarten all of the way through is based on evolution, which is not only wrong and unscientific, it leads them away from the God of the Bible and the Bible. And that is why I think we're losing so many of our kids once they get into high school. Well, they're already indoctrinated and fully engrossed in humanistic, naturalistic reasons and answers for everything and they don't see how the Bible fits."

Baird started his ministry as field trips for churches and homeschool groups to "edify and equip" the saints, he said.

I homeschool and we teach evolution. This is one amusement park/museum I'll steer clear of. And prey tell how is evolution unscientific, it's this nonsense that is unscientific.

Normally a given statement is either wrong or it is not wrong

As a science "geek," I am always interested in new discoveries which expand the horizons of human knowledge. With that in mind, I recognize Jack Hanbury for his discovery and application of "wrongness."

Read the rest in The Hattiesburg American.

Science Resources

Visit School of Thought for some secular science resources.

NanoXtreme Produced by Homeschoolers

Young-Earth Creationist Gets Ph.D....

I agree completely with Phil Plait, Larry Moran and PZ Myers that this stooge is going to start saying, 'Look, I have a Ph.D. in Geosciences and I think that the world is 6,000 years old!!!'. It's rather ironic that his actual Ph.D. will not say that at all. In fact, the hypocrisy of the situation will be that his Ph.D. actually supports the scientific view of the earth's age. That's pretty fricking disturbing.

Read Carlo's post. He explains succiently why the University of Rhode Island made the right choice in awarding Marcus Ross his Ph.D but admits it's disturbing for the above reasons.

Science & Homeschooling

The Greater Sioux Falls Homeschool Association took first place in the South Dakota Regional Science Bowl in Huron on Saturday, earning a spot at the national event in Washington, D.C., this spring.

Way to go Homeschoolers!!!!!
This should show people that most homeschoolers do teach their children 'real' science.

The Cat With The Bionic Eye

- Frisky 4-year-old Ginger Snap doesn't know it, but she could become the cat with the bionic eye.

The auburn Abyssinian is part of a cohort of cats at the University of Missouri with a hereditary condition that slowly causes blindness. This makes them ideal subjects to test a silicon microchip that holds promise for restoring at least partial sight to people who are robbed of vision by retinal diseases.

Rafflesia arnoldii

Rafflesia arnoldii - or Rafflesiaceae, as the group is formally known - has long baffled researchers interested in trying to understand their evolutionary relationships.They are "totally bizarro," said Charles Davis, a botanist at Harvard and lead author of the paper.Lacking stems, leaves and proper roots, this group of plants - with the largest flowers on the planet - foiled all early attempts for taxonomic classification.

Click here to read more.

Alzheimer's Gene

Scientists have made a breakthrough discovery that could someday help doctors beat back Alzheimer's disease in the elderly. Researchers from Columbia University and other institutions have identified a gene that appears to play an important role in the development of late-onset Alzheimer's. DNA samples from more than 6,000 volunteers taken over five years show that variations in a gene called SORL1 may be responsible for triggering many cases of the devastating brain disorder. As with many gene discoveries, it holds little practical use in the short run - but scientists are excited that it could lead to treatments or cures down the line.

Lunar Module Pilot Speaks To Students

Astronaut Fred Haise paid the children of St. Martin Upper Elementary an out-of-this-world visit to speak about his lifetime of adventures. Haise, 73, entertained the fourth-graders Thursday with tales of his trip into space as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 13 in 1970.

Monarch Butterflies

Monarch Butterflies are being tagged by scientist in order for their migration route to be traced.

Seasonal migrations are essential to monarch survival, said Frey, beginning with their annual fall trips from cold climates to seek more temperate wintering grounds in coastal California. Once here, the monarchs roost in eucalyptus trees, Monterey pines and Monterey cypresses, sheltered by their dense canopies from wind and rain.

From Homeschool Hacks

Shannon at Homeschool Hacks offers this nifty website Home Science Tools.

Free Science & Video Lectures Online

I just found a wonderful new science resource.

Evolution Outreach Projects

Be sure to check out their resources for teachers, textbook disclaimer stickers, and Darwin Stickers.

February 12th is Darwin Day, click here for some neat ways to celebrate.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Why Homeschool has a lovely post on APOD.