After all, nearly every aspect of our continued existence relies on science, from climate control, to curing existing diseases and preventing new ones. New advances rely on a great deal of funding from the federal government and support from the public at large. Why is it that at best science is an ignored industry when candidates are running for office? The only time science is brought up is in reaction to public religious pressure (stem cell debate) or corporate pressure (global warming).

Maybe Al Gore screwed us! He was one of the only candidates ever to talk openly about and support science. Maybe since he never made it into office people think its a bad idea? In reality though, we've been living under a fundamentalist anti-science administration for the last 8ish years. Researchers have been moving over seas to do important stem cell research, climate science has been directly manipulated by the Bush administration, and researchers in all fields have had tremendous difficulty attaining grants from federal funding sources. It's time to fix this stone age of science funding the Bush administration has knocked us into.

To remedy this problem the science community has gathered together to demand the 2008 presidential candidates publicly debate about science.

Science Debate 2008 is a grassroots initiative spearheaded by a growing number of scientists and other concerned citizens. The signatories to our "Call for a Presidential Debate on Science & Technology" include Nobel laureates and other leading scientists, presidents of Universities, congresspersons of both major political parties, business leaders, religious leaders, former presidential science advisors, the editors of America's major science journals, writers, and the current and several past presidents of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among many others.

Support this great cause by visiting their webpage and pledging you support.

Yeah you heard me right... there is no good reason why Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, or any of the other tabloid celebs are so payed attention to. They contribute nothing to society - and they aren't even that attractive. Dr Torkel Klingberg and Fiona McNab have come up with a potential explanation as to why these celebrity vampires have come to take over the press - inability to filter out irrelevant stimuli. Basically... the U.S. is undergoing a pervasive bout of ADHD.

Here's some of the study details from BBS news (which of course over blows the significance of this research just like I just did):

Scientists believe they have located a new brain area essential for good memory - the "irrelevance filter".

People who are good at remembering things, even with distractions, have more activity in the basal ganglia on brain scans, the Swedish team found.

The work in Nature Neuroscience could help explain why some people are better at remembering things than others.

Clinically, it could also aid the understanding of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

So what we here at Omni Brain recommend for the pervasive Britney Spears problem is a large scale distribution of Ritalin. Perhaps inserted into twinkies, cheap beer, potato chips, and all McDonalds food.

Oh hey... by the way... did you guys see that Britney got caught stealing a lighter from a gas station the other day? Check it out! People Magazine says:

Britney Spears walked out of a Sherman Oaks, Calif., gas station on Friday and joked to cameras that she stole a lighter.

Now, the gas station owner wants her to come back... and pay $1.39.

Chevron owner Jatinder Kaur tells PEOPLE: "Yes, Britney stole a blue lighter here last night. The lighter is $1.39. I'm hoping maybe the next time she comes back she will pay for it. I know she can afford to pay for it, but I'm not planning to file a police report. It's still not right for her to steal the lighter. I hope she will do the right thing the next time she comes here."

What do you guys think of this? Should she get in trouble? I can't wait to find out what happens over this most recent incident!

This will probably never be made into an anti-drug ad campaign, but I can't imagine a stronger deterrent.

Angel's Trumpet is a flower that contains scopolamine and other alkaloids. It's known as a "biogenic drug" and presumed by naive recreational drug users to be harmless because it's a plant. However, it can cause psychosis, delirium, visual hallucinations, agitation, incoherence, aggressive behaviour, memory problems and "convulsive sobbing" as well as somatic symptoms and well, things like this incident.

A case study describes an 18-year-old male with no history of mental disorders who consumed Angel's Trumpet and snipped off his penis and his tongue with garden pruning shears. He was rushed to hospital but the amputated parts could not be re-attached. He later had complete amnesia for the event. "... illustrating that consuming this beautiful flower with the name of an angel and the poison of the devil can be very dangerous."

Self-amputation of penis and tongue after use of Angel's Trumpet. Marneros et al., European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 2006 Oct;256(7):458-9 [paywall]

Stunning vector art by Brazilian illustrator Guilherme Marconi. Marconi is a fabulously talented designer who has created a number of unique works related to thought and brain. Check out this contribution to the Vector Magazine calendar in a href="http://www.vektorjunkie.com/kalendar/uv07/PDF07/UV-OCT-2007.pdf">pdf, and view more of his portfolio (including an Absolut Vodka ad) at his web site.