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27 votes
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Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient
43 votes -
Phosphine discovered in Venus' atmosphere, which could be evidence of microbial life
53 votes -
Cow magnets
24 votes -
By selectively breeding forty generations of silver fox over the course of sixty years, researchers managed to make them as friendly as dogs
64 votes -
Meet Kelpy, the deep tech startup swapping single-use plastics for seaweed
25 votes -
We might have accidentally killed any life we collected in samples on Mars nearly fifty years ago
43 votes -
What animal or insect going extinct would have the greatest impact on the ecosystem?
Curious on some replies here. I always hear having bees go extinct would be horrible for us. Curious if that’s the worse?
36 votes -
No, you don't have a "lizard brain": Why the Psychology 101 model of the brain is all wrong
7 votes -
Rats have an imagination, new research finds
57 votes -
Researchers may soon isolate the genetic roots of homosexuality. As a scientist, that excites me. But as a gay man, I worry about what might happen next.
15 votes -
An invasive fish with teeth, that can breathe air, live up to three days outside of water, move short distances on land, and grow three feet long has been found in Louisiana
30 votes -
Octopuses sleep—and possibly dream—just like humans
36 votes -
Growing living rat neurons to play... DOOM?
20 votes -
Open scientific research is a foundation of our age, but do you think that we may be coming to a time where it may become an existential threat to humanity?
Openly published research makes science advance at a wonderful rate. In my experience scientists and researchers support open research in a nearly dogmatic fashion. Personally I am generally for...
Openly published research makes science advance at a wonderful rate. In my experience scientists and researchers support open research in a nearly dogmatic fashion. Personally I am generally for it. However here is my concern.
I believe that humanity is in a terrible race. One of the competitors is the advancement of science, which of course can sometimes be used in a dangerous ways. The other competitor is our society moving towards murder and war becoming obsolete. The science is obvious and needs no examples. Societies move towards the sanctity of life is shown here.
"Violence has been in decline over long stretches of time", says Harvard professor Steven Pinker, "and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence."
Now to get to my point. In the past scientific advancement has created some really scary things. Atomic weapons, bio and chemical warefare, etc. However, those weapons took a lot of people and capital to produce, and had relatively un-scalable effects. Now with open research on advancements like CRISPR, we are nearing a time where in the near future a smart high school biology student with a few thousand dollars and an internet connection will be able to create self-replicating custom viruses that could kill millions. The asymmetric threat has never been greater.
Do you agree with my assessment and concerns?
If so, do you believe that there should be limits on publication of research in certain areas?
Edit: I should have said CRISPR and gene drives. Here is a TED talk on how gene drives can change and entire species, forever.
7 votes -
Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find
50 votes -
Cambridge-Caltech team of scientists claim to have created synthetic human embryos from stem cells at conference; work not yet published
29 votes -
Campaign launched on Thursday to boycott the Faroe Islands over their highly controversial slaughter of pilot whales and dolphins
38 votes -
Still snarling after 40,000 years, a giant Pleistocene wolf discovered in Yakutia
14 votes -
Private dog cloning, what are your thoughts?
I had a discussion today about the ethics of cloning your pets. It's a thing you can currently pay (a lot) of money for, but I don't really see much discussion about it, even though it's absurdly...
I had a discussion today about the ethics of cloning your pets. It's a thing you can currently pay (a lot) of money for, but I don't really see much discussion about it, even though it's absurdly sci-fi and a little crazy to me that it's a real business.
So what are your thoughts? Is it ethical? Is it a bit weird? Is it perfectly healthy?
17 votes -
Wuhan scientists planned to release coronaviruses into cave bats eighteen months before outbreak
7 votes -
Sea turns blood red as more than 250 whales slaughtered in 'barbaric' hunt in Faroe Islands – environmental activist calls for boycott
14 votes -
Wasabi linked to ‘substantial’ memory boost
28 votes -
The reshuffling of neurons during fruit fly metamorphosis suggests that larval memories don’t persist in adults
27 votes -
Female octopuses throw things at males that are harassing them
20 votes -
Can lab-grown brains become conscious?
13 votes -
Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds Don't misread the headline like I did when I saw it! This isn't about extinctions: we haven't killed off 60% of species. We...
Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
Don't misread the headline like I did when I saw it! This isn't about extinctions: we haven't killed off 60% of species. We have reduced the population of all animals by an average of 60%.
23 votes -
The fish doorbell
17 votes -
Genetic engineering was meant to save chestnut trees. Then there was a mistake.
23 votes -
Human ancestors nearly went extinct 900,000 years ago
51 votes -
We might need to reevaluate the sexual harassment allegations against David Sabatini
11 votes -
Why prehistoric humans needed no braces: Crooked teeth are a modern phenomenon and a telltale sign of an underlying epidemic
19 votes -
Ethics questions arise as genetic testing of embryos increases
19 votes -
New study - scent of tears from female humans reduces revenge seeking and aggression in males, similar to patterns observed in other mammals
31 votes -
Scientists are totally rethinking animal cognition
12 votes -
Bioluminescent houseplant hits US market for first time
46 votes -
Mexican Congress holds second UFO session featuring Peruvian mummies
23 votes -
Creatures that don't conform: Slime molds and their fascinating existence
28 votes -
Researchers grew tiny plants in moon dirt collected decades ago
8 votes -
New type of ultraviolet light makes indoor air as safe as outdoors
5 votes -
Why Koko the gorilla couldn't talk
13 votes -
First clinical trial confirms HIV vaccine using Moderna inoculation
22 votes -
Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta
21 votes -
Man with 5.5-inch horn growing on his back slipped "through the net" docs say
18 votes -
A gene for our big brains was rescued from DNA garbage bin
9 votes -
Apparently snow lepoards bite their tails more than you'd think
@payoletter: snow leopards biting their tails: a thread
20 votes -
Analysis of Ludwig van Beethoven’s DNA revealed that he had a low genetic predisposition for musical ability
10 votes -
The world inside you
11 votes -
Tokitae, the star of Miami Seaquarium, dies after half a century in captivity
32 votes -
Nine of the weirdest penises in the animal kingdom, from the echidna’s four-headed unit to the dolphin’s prehensile member
17 votes