Free Republic

Months after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos had the same legal status as children, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination is set to vote on whether to take a stand against in vitro fertilization. Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker cited verses from the Bible and Christian theologians in his Feb. 16 concurring opinion that sparked national debate and left lawmakers scrambling to keep the state’s in vitro fertilization clinics running. Parker argued that the court was merely enforcing a principle that has “deep roots that reach back to the creation of man ‘in the image of God,’” Parker...

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced new guidelines for ensuring the integrity of carbon credits or offsets. While the practice of buying carbon offsets or credits is voluntary, the administration says it hopes to help ensure that credits being sold are actually credible. Individuals, businesses and other entities can buy these credits to try to “offset” their emissions as part of an effort to achieve net-zero. This can entail things like paying organizations to plant trees or prevent them from being cut down. But, markets for carbon credits have been plagued by issues including double counting. Questions have also been...

Most people by now are familiar with the narrative that our planet faces a dire crisis due to rising temperatures.In January 2023, former Vice President Al Gore provided a graphic depiction during a World Economic Forum summit, informing attendees that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are “now trapping as much extra heat as would be released by 600,000 Hiroshima-class atomic bombs exploding every single day on the Earth.“That’s what’s boiling the oceans, creating these atmospheric rivers, and the rain bombs, and sucking the moisture out of the land, and creating the droughts, and melting the ice, and raising the sea level,...

Voyager 1 is once again returning data from two of four science instruments onboard. Things are looking better for one of NASA’s longest running deep space missions. After a several-month period of problems, engineers have announced that the Voyager 1 spacecraft is not only back online but also transmitting useful data from two of four science instruments. Work is now underway to bring the remaining two instruments up to operational status. Problems began last November, when Voyager 1 suddenly began sending a repeating gibberish signal instead of the science and engineering data it typically sends. Troubleshooting on the 46-year-old spacecraft...

The Nazi occupying forces massacred civilians in Crete. Credit: Bundesarchiv, CC BY-SA 3.0 de/Wikipedia Greek scientists have recently identified 18 people who were executed by the Nazis in Crete through DNA analysis. In the Battle of Crete during the World War II occupation of Greece, the German forces faced substantial civilian resistance. The inhabitants of Adele, a prosperous lowland village in the northeastern part of the Rethymnon regional unit, resisted fiercely and had formed an armed resistance group. As a consequence, the German forces surrounded the village on June 2, 1941, and arrested 18 male civilians (including two fathers with...

Explanation: Made with narrowband filters, this cosmic snapshot covers a field of view over twice as wide as the full Moon within the boundaries of the constellation Cygnus. It highlights the bright edge of a ring-like nebula traced by the glow of ionized hydrogen and oxygen gas. Embedded in the region's expanse of interstellar clouds, the complex, glowing arcs are sections of shells of material swept up by the wind from Wolf-Rayet star WR 134, brightest star near the center of the frame. Distance estimates put WR 134 about 6,000 light-years away, making the frame over 100 light-years across. Shedding...

Key Findings * Small modular reactors still look to be too expensive, too slow to build, and too risky to play a significant role in transitioning from fossil fuels in the coming 10-15 years. * Investment in SMRs will take resources away from carbon-free and lower-cost renewable technologies that are available today and can push the transition from fossil fuels forward significantly in the coming 10 years. * Experience with operating and proposed SMRs shows that the reactors will continue to cost far more and take much longer to build than promised by proponents. * Regulators, utilities, investors and government...

Scientists hope the study of it and other giant genomes will shed light on species resilience. The New Caledonian fork fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolate) possesses the largest genome yet found. ORIANE HIDALGO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The human genome is made up of 3 billion base pairs of DNA. But that’s nothing compared with the New Caledonian fork fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolate), a leafy, tendrilled plant native to several Pacific islands. Its genome contains an astonishing 160 billion base pairs, making it the largest genome ever discovered, researchers report today in iScience. The finding could help scientists understand how genomes grow so large, and how...

The most distant galaxy discovered to date, JADES-GS-z14-0, less than 300 million years after the Big Bang. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Brant Robertson/UC Santa Cruz, Ben Johnson/CfA, Sandro Tacchella/Cambridge, Phill Cargile/CfA) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A newly discovered galaxy has just smashed the record for the earliest seen yet, presenting a major challenge to our current models of galaxy formation. It's called JADES-GS-z14-0, and its brightly gleaming in the early Universe, as it looked less than 300 million years after the Big Bang. A second recent discovery, called JADES-GS-z14-1, was confirmed to be nearly as distant. The detections, astronomers say, are now "unambiguous",...

Gliese 12 b is a newly discovered rocky exoplanet, between Earth and Venus in size. It orbits a red dwarf star 40 light-years away..."Transiting" means this world passes in front of its star from our earthly perspective. That fact makes it possible to observe with TESS, whose full name is the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite...The uncertainties about Gliese 12 b center on its possible atmopshere. If it doesn't have an atmosphere, computer models indicate its average surface temperature are slightly warmer than Earthlike, with an average temperature of only around 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). That's in contrast to...

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)[The following is a chapter of Lori Weintz’s book, Mechanisms of Harm: Medicine in the Time of Covid-19.]There’s a lot of buzz on the internet about…hydroxychloroquine [a drug that] has been approved for decades, very cheap, used in malaria and certain autoimmune diseases.Anthony Fauci, NIAID DirectorWhite House Covid Task ForceMarch 19, 2020Fauci, back in April of 2020 couldn’t just ignore HCQ, despite his preference for the profitable remdesivir – not with all that “buzz on the internet.” “The buzz” most likely had to do with doctors who were having success treating Covid patients with hydroxychloroquine. Plus on March 28,...

LOOMIS DAY | May 30 Each year on May 30th, Loomis Day recognizes the man who received the patent for wireless telegraphy in 1872. The Washington, D.C. dentist, Mahlon Loomis, received US patent number 129,971titled “An Improvement in Telegraphing” on wireless telegraphy in July of 1872 beating Guglielmo Marconi's United Kingdom patent by nearly 25 years. #LoomisDay Born on July 21, 1826, Loomis was also the inventor of artificial teeth and one of the earliest inventors of wireless communication. Loomis died on October 13, 1886. Leading up to his patent, Loomis conducted many experiments in electricity using kites flying miles...

Charge up to 80% in just 9.8 minutes! Gotion High-tech showcases its latest battery technology innovations Gotion High-Tech, is a leading global player in battery technology and energy solutions, specialising in the research, development, and production of lithium-ion batteries and energy storage systems. The company, which Volkswagen holds a significant stake in, focuses on innovation and sustainability, Gotion aims to advance the EV industry and renewable energy sectors through cutting-edge battery solutions that not only enhance performance but also reduce carbon footprint, contributing to a greener future. Gotion hosted its 13th Technology Conference on 17 May, during which it unveiled...

>A clean energy company accidentally discovered a technology using iron-air batteries that could decarbonize the steel industry. >Form Energy's battery purifies iron ore for steelmaking with a low-emission process, potentially replacing high-polluting coking coal. >This innovation could significantly reduce emissions across various industries that rely on steel. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While the global clean energy transition is well underway, there are still some unsolved technical hurdles standing between our current energy industry and our ability to meet global climate goals by mid-century. Most of the more obvious and accessible items on the decarbonization to-do list – pushing electric vehicle adoption, installing solar...

The world's first human trial of a drug that can regenerate teeth will begin in a few months, less than a year on from news of its success in animals. This paves the way for the medicine to be commercially available as early as 2030. The trial, which will take place at Kyoto University Hospital from September to August 2025, will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. The intravenous treatment will be tested for its efficacy on human dentition, after it successfully grew new teeth in ferret and mouse models with no significant side...

Explanation: What happens if you ascend this stairway to the Milky Way? Before answering that, let's understand the beautiful sky you will see. Most eye-catching is the grand arch of the Milky Way Galaxy, the band that is the central disk of our galaxy which is straight but distorted by the wide-angle nature of this composite image. Many stars well in front of the Milk Way will be visible, with the bright white star just below the stellar arch being Altair, and the bright blue star above it being Vega. The air glows green on the left, just above the...

I always recommend visiting the Park of the Aqueducts and the Ostia Antica archeological site.But I think the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and Mouth of Truth attractions are overcrowded...I would never say certain attractions have no merit. But after years of interacting with travelers, I understand that people want alternatives.Luckily, Rome has priceless art and artifacts around every corner.Here are five popular attractions that are worth visiting... The Capitoline MuseumsBasilica di San Giovanni in LateranoThe Park of the AqueductsBasilica of Sant'AgostinoOstia Antica ...and five you might want to skip.. Vatican Museums are overcrowdedYou can get a good view of the Colosseum...

The Romans Invented Trains....... Almost | 15:28Paul Whitewick | 117K subscribers | 204,600 views | November 19, 2023

An experiment inspired by Homer's description of combat in The Iliad tested the capabilities of the Dendra armour suit from Greece's Bronze AgeModern military volunteers donned replicas of ancient Greek armour and engaged in exercises inspired by Homer's epic poem The Iliad. The demonstration shows how elite Bronze Age warriors could have fought in heavy protective gear during sustained combat.The experiment's results strongly suggest that the 3500-year-old Dendra armour suit – one of the oldest complete suits of metal armour from Europe's Bronze Age – was indeed suitable for battle. Some scholars have argued that it was merely a ceremonial...

Dawkins the New Cultural ChristianRichard Dawkins has an endearing habit of rewriting history. For almost four decades, from the mid 1970s onward, he wrote of the human genome as mainly junk. It suited his Darwinism to do so, underscoring how evolution cobbles living forms together opportunistically, and that waste and inefficiencies in the genome are simply part of the messy process that is Darwinian evolution, focused as it is on natural selection acting on random variations. And then in the early 2010s the results of the ENCODE project were announced, showing that hardly any human DNA, and perhaps none of...