Wednesday, October 8, 2003

New Model of the Universe: It's Shaped Like a Soccerball. "Since antiquity, humans have wondered whether our universe is finite or infinite. Now, after more than two millennia of speculation, observational data might finally settle this ancient question." By Dennis Overbye. [New York Times: Science] This may not have much to do with "sustainability" in the time scales of humans and nations and civilizations, but it sure is fascinating stuff, imho. 10:30:11 PM    comment []  trackback []

Once again, it's not as simple as it seems First jumping genes, now this. A Pregnant Mother's Diet May Turn the Genes Around.Scientists have long known that what pregnant mothers eat can profoundly affect the susceptibility of their offspring to disease. Now they know why. By Sandra Blakeslee. [New York Times: Science] The historically recent certainty in genes as the fundamental drivers of the human condition -- so consistent with a mechanistic world view, so convenient to those wedded to selling things to cure all things -- may soon become the former certainty. Part of the story, not the answer to all questions. Necessary but not sufficient condition, as our mathematician friends like to say. 10:20:54 PM    comment []  trackback []