Tag Archives: Paris

Predators Drive the Evolution of Poison Dart Frogs’ Skin Patterns

Natural selection has played a role in the development of the many skins patterns of the tiny Ranitomeya imitator poison dart frog, according to a study that will be published in an upcoming edition of American Naturalist by University of Montreal biologist Mathieu Chouteau. The researcher’s methodology was rather unusual: on three occasions over three days, at two different sites, Chouteau investigated the number of attacks that had been made on fake frogs, by counting how many times that had been pecked. Those that were attacked the least looked like local frogs, while those that came from another area had obviously been targeted. (more…)

Read More

So You’re Planning a Trip to…..Paris

So you’re planning a trip to the ‘city of lights’, Europe’s most romantic city! Although the prospect of seeing famous sights such as the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Sacré Coeur is an exciting one, here are a few tips to keep in mind both before setting off and during your stay in Paris. (more…)

Read More

Sun and Planets Constructed Differently, Analysis from Nasa Mission Suggests

The sun and the solar system’s rocky inner planets, including the Earth, may have formed differently than previously thought, according to UCLA scientists and colleagues analyzing samples returned by NASA’s Genesis mission.

The data from Genesis, which collected material from the solar wind blowing from the sun, reveal differences between the sun and planets with regard to oxygen and nitrogen, two of the most abundant elements in our solar system, the researchers report in two studies in the June 24 issue of the journal Science. And although the differences are slight, the research could help determine how our solar system evolved. (more…)

Read More

For UCLA Expert on Chumash Indians, Roughly Hewn Beads are Child’s Play

As the world’s leading authority on beads manufactured from shells by California’s Chumash Indians, UCLA archaeologist Jeanne Arnold was stumped by a series of anomalous artifacts excavated at former settlements on the Channel Islands.

Pierced with more than one hole, often at unconventional angles or too close to the edges, the oddly configured multi-hole beads differ considerably from the smooth, round, precisely drilled beauties that served as currency among the Chumash prior to the arrival of Europeans in Southern California. (more…)

Read More

Harmful Illusions Bedevil Ideas About Free Markets and Imprisonment, UChicago Professor Writes

The United States prizes freedom above most other civic values, yet Bernard Harcourt believes the notion is widely misunderstood and inconsistently applied. 

Freedom from government interference is a key tenet of the free market system that the United States champions, but Harcourt notes that Americans expect vigorous government action in imprisoning criminals. The result is a deep inconsistency, he argues, for even as the United States preaches freedom in the marketplace, it maintains the world’s highest incarceration rate.  (more…)

Read More

Religion: Convergence of Cultures or Clash of Creeds?

With the beginning of Ramadan, the Ninth Month of the Islamic Calendar, come hot debates, as to whether Moslems should be allowed to slit the throats of sheep in public, to make the call to prayer (Adhan) in non-Moslem communities, to build a Mosque near Ground Zero.

(more…)

Read More