Science

Exxon Allegedly Paid for Climate Misinformation Drive

Staff / Truthdig Jan 8, 2007 Following in the footsteps of big tobacco, ExxonMobil paid 43 ideological groups $16 million to attack the science behind global warming, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. The real scandal isn't that Exxon paid such groups to pimp its version of "reality," but that the media felt obligated to take an "on the other hand" approach in reporting those fringe assertions about climate change. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Golden State’s Green Law

Staff / Truthdig Dec 25, 2006 California's Global Warming Solutions Act requires the state to cut emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Industrialists and environmentalists alike are watching intently as the world's seventh-largest economy prepares to meet that goal -- assuming the landmark law survives numerous court challenges. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Animals Pictured in the Womb

Staff / Truthdig Nov 22, 2006 Using a cutting-edge array of 3-D ultrasound scans and tiny cameras, a British production team has produced images of the entire gestation process of many different animals, like this developing elephant (above). The images are to air on National Geographic next month. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pollution-Eating Cement

Staff / Truthdig Nov 12, 2006 An Italian cement company has developed a treatment for building materials that transforms pollutants into less harmful substances, such as water and carbon dioxide. Experts suggest that covering 15 percent of a smog-choked industrial city like Milan could reduce pollution by 50 percent. (h/t: Engadget) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Science Misused as Propaganda, Says Nobel Laureate

Staff / Truthdig Oct 20, 2006 Dr. Peter Agre of Scientists and Engineers for America condemns Washington's exploitation of fake science: "Good science has something to do with reality, and reality is sometimes very useful." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush Marks His Territory in Space

Staff / Truthdig Oct 18, 2006 Bush's new space policy, the first major overhaul in 10 years, reserves the right to prevent access to space to anyone "hostile to U.S. interests." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fertility Clinics Offer Brave New World

Staff / Truthdig Sep 4, 2006 Doctors on the frontier of in vitro fertilization now offer to test embryos for predisposition to treatable cancers and other ailments using the same technique that detects some serious childhood maladies. As scientists learn more about the code that builds human life, critics warn of an age when the wealthy will be able to buy a healthier brood. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Maher: Scientists ‘Cut and Run’ on Pluto

Staff / Truthdig Aug 28, 2006 Bill Maher sends up conservatives' war on science, abortion and the United Nations in this planetary riff during the first new episode of his HBO series "Real Time with Bill Maher." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Win-Win for Stem Cell Research

Staff / Truthdig Aug 24, 2006 A U.S. research team has developed a method for creating stem cell lines without destroying human embryos by removing a single cell, leaving the embryo intact. If the technique proves to be effective, it should deflate the nonsense rhetoric of right-wing strategists who argue that the surplus embryos used by scientists?destined for disposal anyway?should not be used for lifesaving research. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cosmic Collision Reveals Dark Matter

Staff / Truthdig Aug 22, 2006 And it's quite striking (pictured above), wouldn't you agree? The explosion collision that created it is, like, apparently the biggest thing to hit the galaxy since the Big Bang So we're posting it Politically flavored righteous indignation will return to this space soon Update: The dark matter's gravitational presence was rendered observable by the impact of the collision . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

There Goes the Solar System

Staff / Truthdig Aug 17, 2006 A committee of the International Astronomical Union, the body responsible for the naming of planets and other celestial objects, has decided to allow at least three new ?planets? into the solar system. The group made the recommendation after it was asked to resolve the Pluto controversy. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Soldiers Sue Army Over Mysterious Illness

Staff / Truthdig Aug 14, 2006 A number of American troops from the same unit in Iraq recently discovered they were all suffering from a mysterious set of illnesses. Though their doctors couldn?t determine the source of the sickness, the soldiers came to believe their exposure to depleted uranium munitions was to blame, and decided to sue the U.S. Army. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )