Wildlife defies Chernobyl radiation

Interesting to see that wild life is making a big comeback in the radioactive Chernobyl region. Reading the article it sounds like the DNA was mutated but has had little visible effect on most of the animal species. While the lack of humans, and human associated materials such as pesticides has helped the animals which are apparently to radioactive to eat.
Amusing suggestion at the bottom is that maybe nuclear waste should be stored in regions where the ecology is endangered It'll kill or scare off the humans and leave the animals alone after the initial die back of those who can't adapt.
Wildlife defies Chernobyl radiation

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: The Knowledge - Technology Review

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: The Knowledge - Technology Review An interesting look at biotechnology and potential Bioweapons, some of the stuff is disturbingly simple.

Gospel of Judas

Looks like they've just finished translating a 1700 year old copy of a document called the The Gospel of Judas (free registration required), it's apparently a document that claims that Christ asked Judas to sell him to the authorities to help further his work on earth, and that Judas understood what Christ was doing better than the others. It certainly sounds interesting I'd be keen to read a copy if they when they get round to releasing it. The idea is certainly somewhat more appealing than the idea that Judas sold him out for his own gain and was thus forordained by God to do it (or for someone to do it).

The National Geographic Page has a link to a pdf of the full English and Coptic texts, Skim reading it, it looks a little bit wacko (at 2:40am) but still the idea is interesting.

Wikipedia has more info on it, apparently it was declared a Gnostic heresy in AD 180 by the Bishop of Lyons.

Any way what do people think?

A Couple of Science Articles

First up we have Red heads suffer more pain which is rather interesting.

Secondly we have quite a cool article on making non-light sensitive retinal neurons, light sensitive by using GE to introduce a light sensitive ion channel. (warning scientific paper, has some cool epi-flourescent images though!)

Inspired by Yet Another Internet Quiz

Found via Andrew admitedly when in doubt I choose yes rather than no.

You Are 50% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

Can you Believe?

• Can you believe in a God who saw all that could and might happen?
• Can you believe in a God who is not the Creator of the universe, but is the Initiator.
• Can you believe in a God who is inside time and is time?
• Can you believe in a God who initiated and set in motion a universe so complex and awe aspiring that life arose and evolved in it?
• Can you believe in a God who watched and waited, observing and delighting in that which formed?
• Can you believe in a God who saw life gain intelligence and reasoning, A God who loved so much that he stepped out and held out “his” hand in greeting and friendship?
• Can you believe in a God who saw what would come, and yet still allowed us free will? A God knowing what might happen allowed it in order to allow us to be real beings?
• Can you believe in a God who warned of what knowledge would bring yet still offered it?
• Can you believe in a God so holy and pure that even seeing what might come was surprised at how badly we fell?
• Can you believe in a God who saw us lose our way, fall into habits that hurt us, and refused to listen to “him” when he tried to point out that these things hurt us?
• Can you believe in a God who loved that which he had caused so much that he was willing to become one of us, mortal? A God who was willing to become us so he could truly understand us?
• Can you believe in a God who loved us so much that when taking our form and gaining a mind like ours was prepared to die so that we would actually pay attention to what he had said?
• Can you believe in a God who wishes the best for all, and sees what that might be, a God who loves the homeless, the sick, the poor, the weak, the helpless and the fool. And yet loves us and respects us so much that he cannot and will not force any one us to do what he sees is best, but only shows us the way letting us choose, letting us be real people?
• Can you believe in a God who waits for us to decided who and what we are, to experience many of the aspects of life, and who waits for us to leave behind the limitations of this cocoon of flesh and truly know him?
• Can you believe in a God who loved us so much he let us choose what we would become for better or for worse?
• A God so complex that this surely only touches on the most infinitely small facet of what he really is?

If not what can you believe in? Please feel free to post how you see God in the comments or on your own blog. I think the manner in which we see God and his actions differs for each of us and underlies all that we do and are. Therefore I'd love to get some idea of how others veiw God.

Also feel free to make any objections to items in this list you feel necessary, I'll try to explain it but, seeing the above is probably a reasonable overview of some of the bias's that underlie my understanding of God and therefore my faith. What I say may make little sense and likely in some areas lack a strong and strictly accurate logical structure.