Religion

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SF artist makes a temple to science

Do you feel like biology and physics have done more for you than Allah or Jesus? Observing that "the essence of religion is stained glass and song," San Francisco-based artist Jonathon Keats is transforming a two-story Berkeley building into a makeshift temple for people who worship science called the Atheon. Instead of telling the story of baby Jesus, the Atheon's stained glass windows will show cosmic microwave background radiation made from NASA satellite data. And since the interior of the building is still under construction, templer-goers will have to either pray from the sidewalk or in front of a glowing web site from their computers at home. Keats even made a song of worship; he collaborated with Virginia astronomer Mark Whittle to come up with a canon of sounds from three hypothetical universes called Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? They won't be playing it live at the temple, but you can listen to it on your cell phone by calling a special phone number. Church service starts on September 27. Listen to Keats' scientific hymn The Magnes Museum main page (Thanks, Mark R!) ( Lisa Katayama is a guest blogger.)...

Is Lover Boy a Louse? It May Be Genetic

News from Portfolio.com Also on Portfolio DNA Identification More Sophisticated, Scarier TV's New Kingpins: the Cable Guys Can New CEO Revive Sprint Nextel's Flagging Fortunes? Subscribe to Portfolio magazine We have heard about the God gene and the gay gene -- though each has been met with significant skepticism. Now comes news of a gene that Swedish researchers are touting as a possible biological basis for why some guys won't settle down. Credit a young researcher at Sweden's Karolinska Institute for discovering a link between a variation in the AVPR1A gene -- which has been linked to autism and how people interact socially -- and a propensity for men to skip out on women, or to have marital problems if they do tie the knot. In a photograph on the Karolinska's website, the researcher, Hasse Walum, looks a little like rocker Kurt Cobain. Walum did not report if he carries the tell-tale gene, although in a study of 552 sets of twins, all in relationships, Walum found that 40 percent of the men carried the Ramblin' Man variation of this gene. The couples filled out questionnaires that asked questions such as: I feel anxious when someone gets too close. Have you ever regretted getting married/moving in? Do you kiss your partner? Researchers then ran genetic screens of the subjects, discovering that a line of code at position 334 in the gene had a statistical correlation with the less committed men. Women married to men who carry one or two copies of the suspect code were, on average, "less satisfied with their relationship" than were women married to men who didn't carry this code, Walum said. This same gene has also been linked in a different study to dictatorial behavior, and the hormone, called vasopressin, made by this gene has been found to be plentiful in voles that mate for life. But before women rush out to test their men for this genetic variation -- or we run DNA screens of John McCain and Barrack Obama to see if they have an autocratic bent hidden in their genes -- we need to realize that these tests are very preliminary statistical links. No one has physiologically linked this genetic variation to behavior in a relationship, or to Stalinistic behavior. Walum is well aware of this, and pointed out that the effect of the genetic variation is "modest," and cannot be used to predict the future behavior of someone in a relationship. A caveat that makes one wonder why researchers, institutes, and the media keep trotting out these preliminary associations between genes and profoundly important human behaviors like religion and relationship management in this way. One reason is that they can be fun, like reading Tarot cards can be fun. These studies can also point scientists in a possible direction towards where to look for serious maladies such as autism, which is what Walum's work is focusing on. "There are, of course, many reasons why a person might have relationship problems," Walum told the BBC. Indeed, there are.

Private bedroom in quiet 2BR house. (Marin Avenue) $50

Private bedroom in quiet 2BR house on Marin Avenue. Shopping, drugstore, and public transportation all within a few blocks. One story California bungalow. Nice neighbors. I have a second BR I have started renting to guests, and it has worked out well. Most recently, a graduate student. She is studying philosophy and theology. $50/night, or $700/month...all utilities included, wireless, laundry room, yard, garden, parking. Let me know a bit about your situation, how long you need a place, and send your resume. You can be male or female, any race, any age, any religion or no religion, etc. Everyone is welcome. Thanks!