Research by a team of scientists from UCLA shows that intelligence is largely inherited.
In a study published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience, UCLA neurology professor Paul Thompson and colleagues used a new type of brain-imaging scanner to show that intelligence is strongly influenced by the quality of the brain’s axons, or wiring that sends [...]

Egyptian author and Islamic philosophy scholar Youssef Ziedan has been awarded the second annual International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his historical novel Azazeel (“Beelzebub”, or “Lord of the Flies”). Set in 5th-century Egypt, the book focuses on violent conflicts and divisions among Christians over the nature of Jesus Christ and sympathises with those [...]

The list of websites banned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) was supposed to be a big secret. No more: The list was leaked to and posted at Wikileaks. ACMA responded by blacklisting the whistle-blower website. Any Australian internet site that links to Wikileaks risks a fine of A$11,000 per [...]

Brendan O’Neil has just seen one of the worst films ever: The Age of Stupid.
Imagine a film which played so promiscuously fast and loose with the ‘scientific facts’ that it strongly implied that the Asian businessman’s penchant for flying was responsible for fatal rainstorms in Mumbai, and that Bedford Council’s rejection of our heroic wind-turbine [...]

Speaking at a meeting in the British House of Lords on Tuesday, renowned comedian Rowan Atkinson strongly opposed a scheme to remove free speech protection from the offence of “homophobic hatred”.
Mr Atkinson, famous for his roles in Blackadder and Mr Bean, told Peers in the House of Lords: “Do I think that I would risk [...]

The collect for today, the Feast Day of Saint Joseph, Guardian of Our Lord, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patron of Canada (source):
God our Father,
who from the house of thy servant David
didst raise up Joseph the carpenter
to be the guardian of thine incarnate Son
and husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
give us grace to follow [...]