Sunday, May 27, 2007

U. Va. article on NDE's

The University of Virginia Magazine has published a very informative and well-written article on the work of the Dr. Bruce Greyson and other researchers at the Division of Perceptual Studies on near death experiences.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

OpenSourceScience.net Seeks Dogs and their Owners

Researchers at OpenSourceScience.net have issued an open call for dogs that know when their owners are coming home.

Many dog owners claim their pets anticipate their arrival by going to wait at a door, window, or driveway. Some claim their dogs do this even when they arrive home unexpectedly, or at odd hours. While some researchers, including Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist, and former Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge University have investigated this phenomena, many scientists remain unconvinced that it really occurs. Now, a new website located at www.opensourcescience.net is tackling the question though a collaborative efforts of researchers and skeptics.

The researchers are encouraging dog owners who have noticed this behavior in their dogs to take part in the experiments. The original researchers, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake and skeptical scientist Dr. Richard Wiseman, both support this collaborative re-examination of their experiment and have called it, “the best way forward”.

About OpenSourceScience

OpenSourceScience is the first scientifically oriented website to bring the power of open source methods to the skeptical examination of controversial areas of science such as telepathy, psi, parapsychology, near-death experiences, reincarnation, and after-life encounters.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

New Site: Open Source Science

For the past few weeks, Alex Tsakiris (the host of Skeptiko) and I have been developing a new site called OpenSourceScience. The site is the first scientifically-oriented website to bring the power of open source methods to the skeptical examination of controversial areas of science such as telepathy, psi, near-death experiences, reincarnation, and after-life encounters.

OpenSourceScience officially launches its new website located at www.opensourcescience.net today. The website offers a variety of tools for managing scientific experiments and provides a place for visitors to discuss and participate in the research process. Besides promoting scientific collaboration, OpenSourceScience offers financial grants to researchers working within the areas featured on the website.

The site is built on wiki technology, and according to Alex Tsakiris, the open source model is well suited for this task: “The open source model has proven to be a powerful enabling technology because it promotes collaboration. When you look at some of the controversial areas of research, like whether our consciousness is separate from our brain, there has been very little collaboration between researchers and those with opposing views. Everyone seems to agree that collaboration is necessary, but until now, it just hasn’t happened.”

OpenSourceScience is suited for scientifically-minded skeptics as well as those interested in controversial subjects such as parapsychology and human consciousness. The site’s first experiment examines whether dogs can anticipate their owners coming home in a way that is currently unexplained by science. The first two researchers of this phenomena, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake and Dr. Richard Wiseman, have offered their support in this collaborative re-examination of their experiments, and are looking forward to the results. Please join us in our efforts to replicate these studies.

Friday, May 11, 2007

New Electronic Journal: AntiMatters

There's a new journal developing in the hallowed halls of cyberspace called AntiMatters, and looking at its editorial team, I think it is going to be a promising venture. The focus of AntiMatters is to address issues in science and the humanities from non-materialistic perspectives. The journal is now inviting submissions, and hopes to have its first issue out by August 2007. True to the spirit of the world wide web, the journal "provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge."

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

This Is London Article

Here's an article in This Is London about current parapsychological research. It's not bad for a press article...I actually learned a couple of things while reading it!

Cartoon from IONS