What makes most scientists most excited is the same thing that—if they’ve heard about it—makes many non-scientists wonder if scientists are nuts: Way more than half of “the stuff the universe is made of” is still a mystery to scientists. Which may strike you as a crazy thing to realize, and a crazy thing to say. […]
The ENCODE project (its stated goal is “to identify all functional elements in the human genome sequence“) has attracted much criticism. Dan Graur, a member of the Luxuriant Former Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS), and his colleagues made hearty contributions to that river of criticism: “On the immortality of television sets: ‘function’ in the human genome according to the evolution-free gospel […]
Eric Lander delivered one of the early 24/7 Lectures. A 24/7 Lecture is a lecture in two parts: first a complete technical description in 24 seconds, second a simple description anyone can understand in 7 words. At the 2003 Ig Nobel Ceremony, Professor Lander spoke on the topic: THE HUMAN GENOME. His seven-word summary has become a classic […]
By weird tradition, scientists use dull, obscure language when they criticize other scientists. Six scientists chose to stray outside that tradition. In a new paper, they criticize the people who did “The ENCODE Project: ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements”. They pull few, if any, punches. Thanks to Rolf (“pull no punches”) Zwaan for bringing this to our attention: […]
Steven Pinker, who in 2001 became the first member of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS), has had his genome sequenced. The New York Times has published Pinker’s firsthand account of the adventure. (Photo below is from the Times article)