A conserved ancient domain joins the growing superfamily of 3′–5′ exonucleases

analysis of the race-and-intelligence debate, and an absorbing tale of the bizarre cult that gathered around the novelist Ayn Rand, described by one of her followers as " the greatest human being who has ever lived. " Shermer's generalizations are less compelling. It scarcely needs a quotation from Sydney Hook (who he?) to instruct us that " Raphael's Sistine Madonna without Raphael, Beethoven's symphonies and sonatas without Beethoven, are inconceivable. In science, on the other hand, it is quite probable that most of the achievements of any given scientist would have been attained by other individuals working in the field. " Shermer is more laboured and less incisive than (among many others) Bertrand Russell in his numerous essays. Nor does he answer the question of the title. The Flat Earth Society still thrives, and I do not doubt that many people believe that garbage is collected twice a week by the leprechauns and that the moon is the repository of broken vows and unfulfilled desires (which, as we now know, is not the case). These propositions differ little from the conclusion (dressed up in the language of science) of Arthur Koestler and Sir Alastair Hardy, latterly Professor of Zoology at Oxford, that life's coincidences had supernatural origins. Dr Johnson said that wonders are willingly told and willingly heard, and so the majestic dictum of eighteenth century philosopher David Hume, which Shermer quotes with approval — that " no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavours to establish " — is disregarded. The improbable is just more interesting, and there's an end of it. has voiced a concern that many of us in academia share. In my experience, a medical textbook might be five years out of date, but middle and high school textbooks are often 25 years out of date. To make matters worse, the 'teaching life' of a medical textbook is only a couple of years, until the latest edition of a competing book comes out. In middle and high schools, however, this teaching life extends well beyond a decade in reasonably well funded districts — even more in poorer ones. As a parent, it is frustrating to have to watch my children learn absurdity upon falshood, and not to be able to correct the errors because they …