His name is Richard Sternberg, and he's a prominent researcher at
the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in
Washington. His career, however, is in serious jeopardy,
simply because he published a peer-reviewed article by Dr. Steven
Meyer, a leading proponent of intelligent design promoting an
alternative to evolutionary theory.
Sternberg is still working at the museum's Department of Zoology,
but he has been kicked out of his office and shunned by his
colleagues, prompting him to file a complaint with the U.S. Office
of Special Counsel.
"I'm spending my time trying to figure out how to salvage a
scientific career," said Sternberg.
The Authority Explorer reported back in October (see article)
how Sternberg and Meyer came under fire for the publication of, "The
origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic
categories" in a well-respected journal.
Now, Sternberg is hanging by a thread.
The situation gets uglier. Sternberg's complaint writes how
the chairman of the Zoology Department, Jonathan Coddington,
called Sternberg's supervisor to look into the matter.
"First, he asked whether
Sternberg was a religious fundamentalist. She told him no.
Coddington then asked if Sternberg was affiliated with or belonged
to any religious organization. ... He then asked where Sternberg
stood politically; ... he asked, 'Is he a right-winger? What is
his political affiliation?'"
Indeed, the bias is only too clear.
Meyer's well-written, peer-reviewed article even cites mainstream
biologists and paleontologists from schools such as the University
of Chicago, Yale, Cambridge and Oxford who are critical of certain
aspects of Darwinism.
The words of Sternberg's supervisor best describe the Smithsonian
atmosphere. "There are Christians here, but they keep
their heads down."
The Fish With The Human Face
by Jonathan
Drake
S: Local6.com
(1-20-05)
A
fish with a human-like face on its body was recently discovered in
a pond in Chongju, South Korea, and has local folks abuzz.
The fish is the result of artificial insemination between a carp
and ayu sweetfish, and as it grew larger, the design on the fish
reportedly changed to look more like the face of a human being.
Interesting
enough, rare markings on a fish are considered to be a good omen
in many Asian countries.
News
of the fish spread to South Korea through the Internet after a
Japanese sports tabloid reported on it.
With its almost eerie appearance, it may not be the type of fish
one would naturally choose for his or her fish tank.
New Monkey Found In India
by
Josef
Long
S: BBC News (12-16-04)
It's a large mammal that has
been living in a heavily-populated country and yet has alluded
detection until only recently when scientists were able to photograph
it.
Named the Arunachal macaque, the new monkey is a significantly
large primate sporting a short tail. It's a member of the
macaque family, and was sighted in the state of Arunachal Pradesh,
which lies in India's remote north-eastern region.
Amazingly, the last species of macaque to be discovered in the
wild was the Indonesian Pagai macaque back in 1903. It took
over 100 years for the next one to be identified.
"What is also remarkable about our discovery is that few
would have thought that with over a billion people and retreating
wild lands, a new large mammal species would ever be found in
India, of all places," said Dr. M.D. Madhusudan of the New
York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
"This region of Arunachal
Pradesh, with its rugged mountains and extensive forest cover, is
truly one of India's last wild places, one that merits protection
at both regional and international levels."
The Arunachal macaque is one of the highest-dwelling primates in
the world, living in altitudes between 5,250 and 11,500 feet (1,600
and 3,500m) above sea level.
Thankfully, they are not hunted for sport, but local people do
kill monkeys in retaliation for crop-raiding
(understandably). Scientists don't yet know whether the new
macaque is endangered.
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