Fucose mutarotase is queer

Studies like these always worry me. While many people see in them the opportunity to decisively demonstrate that homosexuality is not a choice, I see them as both (a) further entrenching an ideology according to which sexuality is a binary determinate property that accurately draws the line down the middle of two different 'kinds' of person, and (b) offering up hope to parents that might want to prevent gayness through genetic engineering, and doctors that would like to profit off of them.

Twerp

I had a feeling we were overestimating that proton.

Not the Same, Jon

It's a sign of respect for a public intellectual that when they say something incautious, on any subject, no matter where their own expertise (if they have any) lies and how far it may be from the topic of conversation, that they are criticized. John Stewart interviewed Marilynne Robinson (whose novels i love, but whose forthcoming book about science and faith sounds self-indulgent) and said the following.

I've always been fascinated that the more you delve into science the more it appears to rely on faith. You know and they start to speak about the universe, they say..."Well, there's uh, it's actually, most of the universe is antimatter" "Oh really, where is that?" "Well, you can't see it"..."Well where is it?" "It's there." "Well, can you measure it?" "We're working on it."... and it's a very similar argument to someone who would say "God created everything" "Well, where is he?" "Well, he's there." And i'm always struck by the similarity of the arguments at their core.

The Knights of Cydonia confirm General Relativity

One of my favorite physics blogs reminds us of the perils of philosophers trying to legislate to the physicists. Though in this anecdotal case it was a physicist that wanted to deny the possibility of black holes on (from the sounds of it, pretty terrible) a priori grounds.

Epic win, mostly because of the Muse video.