Science, Medicine, & Education

By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — No one will ever really know what goes on in the basement laundry of the children’s hospital in question.  That’s part of what makes “the blessing of the hands” so miraculous—it doesn’t involve publicity agents, news anchors, or RSS feeds.   But what I saw will never be

By Joel Moskowitz, M.D. SAN DIEGO — At a recent meeting of the Obstetrics and Gynecologic Society in the San Diego Convention Center, those entering were confronted by a myriad of anti-circumcisIon signs held by young males and females: “Circumcision is Unnecessary” A photo of a young baby boy “You’re gonna cut off what?!” “Circumcision

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — Last week it was asteroid mining, as Peter Diamandis and his partners showed us their bold new venture, Planetary Resources, aiming eventually to start harvesting trillions of dollars worth of materials that would then no longer have to be ripped out of Mother Earth. This glimpse of a vigorously

Dear Friends in the Community, It is with a mixture of joy and sadness that I inform you I will be retiring at the end of this semester.  Much of my decision is personal.  I began as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois in 1965, and, then spent my graduate years at the University

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — A look at how technology enables greater transparency…but not always both ways: Google Goggles… or Project Glass… is finally announced.  See the official preview… and an amusing satire. These futuristic Goggles would project information directly in your field of vision, offering updates on the time, weather, map directions, road

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — In some cool, exciting news, I can now formally announce the fruition of a project that I’ve been helping put together for some time, led by my colleague, UCSD professor Sheldon Brown. The University of California, San Diego and the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation have agreed to establish the

By Rabbi Steven Burg NEW YORK — The shocking news came over the Passover holiday. Five young men, all Jews, were found in a basement, bound together nearly naked, covered in welts and smeared with honey, hot sauce and flour. When they were rescued, the victims were shivering and described as having “horrified and fearful