Science

Henrika "Riki" Kuklick, 70, of South Philadelphia, a retired professor who taught at the University of Pennsylvania for 32 years, died Sunday, May 12, of unknown causes at her home. A friend found her body; an autopsy was being conducted late Monday, according to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office. Dr. Kuklick retired in 2012 as a professor in Penn's department of history and sociology of science, where she specialized in the history of sociology and anthropology, department chair Robert Aronowitz said.

At Dover Area High School in York County last week, administrators appeared before ninth-grade biology classes to read a statement. Evolution is no more than a theory, the statement said, and as a way to explain the origin of humans on earth, "intelligent design" theory is just as valid. The statement, approved by the Dover school board, was brief - but the intent is revolutionary. It seeks to discredit the science of evolution, backed by nearly 150 years of research and accepted by an overwhelming majority of scientists worldwide, and to encourage the acceptance of intelligent design, a theory with strong appeal to many religious people, but no backing in actual evidence or in science.

CHRISTINE M. Flowers' op-ed characterization of science as an evil plot forced on an innocent and unsuspecting citizenry is ludicrous. Science is a systematic method for understanding the world based on observations, experiments and testing. In no sense are scientific ideas "forced down people's throats. " Science is the most unbiased of any human activity. Scientists are literally ruthless in making sure that any proposed ideas are subjected to the most thorough scrutiny and testing before they are accepted.

Admittedly it was 20-some years ago when we last encountered anthropology (Anthropology 101, Tues.-Thurs, 7:45 a.m., Mr. Taylor, 3 credits), but we seem to recall there was a heavy emphasis on the tribal subcultures of South Seas islands. Apparently a lot has changed in this field. Consider the work James Schaefer of the University of Minnesota described recently at the American Anthropological Association convention. After 10 years of research, Mr. Schaefer and some colleagues have determined that patrons of country and Western bars consume more alcohol than their counterparts in bars that feature hard rock.

THE BELIEF that a Creator made the universe and now governs it by his providential control should be rationally deduced from what our senses tell us. The steam engine, the telegraph and the telephone, pasteurized milk, the airplane, and even peanut butter were invented by those who believed in God as creator, not to mention the cosmology of such intellectual giants as Newton and Galileo, whose work certainly influenced Einstein and other physicists....

In his Jan. 13 Op-ed Page article, Rivers Singleton Jr. devalued the support that science can give us in upholding moral values, by presenting the usual confusion of science with technology. Science is consistent with moral values based on humanity. This does not mean that ancient wisdom, religious or not, cannot be accepted and utilized; it implies only that such morality, when accepted, is accepted because of its worth and appropriateness for human beings. Because science supports the basic equality of individuals and requires freedom of speech and expression, it is entirely consistent with the bases for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

When a Psychology Today magazine blog appeared under the headline "Why Are African American Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?", some dismissed it as an isolated incident of racism and misogyny creeping into science. But history shows that racism has poisoned certain areas of science intermittently for several hundred years. Here in Philadelphia in the early 1800s, one of the world's leading anthropologists, Samuel Morton, was measuring human skulls and using his results to justify the continued enslavement of Africans.

From evolution to global warming to vaccines, science is under assault from denialists - those who dismiss well-tested scientific knowledge as merely one of many competing ideologies. Science denial goes beyond skeptical questioning to attack the legitimacy of science itself. Recent foment over stolen e-mails from a British research group inspired an American creationist organization to pronounce that "a cabal of leading scientists, politicians, and media" has sought to "professionally destroy scientists who express skepticism" about climate change.

Henrika "Riki" Kuklick, 70, of South Philadelphia, a retired professor who taught at the University of Pennsylvania for 32 years, died Sunday, May 12, of unknown causes at her home. A friend found her body; an autopsy was being conducted late Monday, according to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office. Dr. Kuklick retired in 2012 as a professor in Penn's department of history and sociology of science, where she specialized in the history of sociology and anthropology, department chair Robert Aronowitz said.

The University of the Sciences defeated Philadelphia University, 4-3, after falling to Georgian Court, 5-0, Thursday in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference softball tournament at Georgian Court in Lakewood, N.J. In the Philadelphia U. game, Haley Kavelak's walk-off single capped the Devils' comeback from a 3-0 deficit. Courtney Spina (Garnet Valley) became the Devils' all-time leader for strikeouts with 334. Jackie Keifer (Archbishop Prendergast) hit her first collegiate home run in the second inning, a two-run shot.

Children's nonfiction author Vicki Cobb brings her one-woman science show to the Free Library on the Parkway Sunday as part of the Philadelphia Science Festival. Children will discover science through Cobb's interactive show, including illusions and challenges based on her books. Cobb, author of 85 books including the best-selling series Bet You Can! and Bet You Can't! , has appeared on Late Night With David Letterman and Live With Regis and Kathie Lee . The program is part of the Parkway Central Library's Margaret S. Halloran Family Literacy Programming Series.

WHY DO bars serve nuts? I'd always assumed it was to make you thirsty so you'd drink more beer. But that's only half right, as the taste and smell experts from University City's Monell Chemical Senses Center proved to me on a recent afternoon of sudsy experimentation. The center's researchers were gearing up for the Philadelphia Science Festival, the citywide nerd expo that runs through Sunday. Beer drinkers in particular will want to dip into Monell's fun presentation tomorrow at Yards Brewery, where they'll explain the chemistry behind beer-and-food pairings.

Jerrold Meinwald is one of the founding fathers of a field called chemical ecology, often speaking in large lecture halls about how insects and other animals repel predators with toxins. On Tuesday at the Franklin Institute, he had to defend his life's work in a less-formal setting - face-to-face with inquisitive high-schoolers. How are the toxins made? students asked. How concentrated are they? Which creatures emit the most toxic poisons? "You have to ask, 'Poisonous to whom?

Families pushing a brigade of strollers, teens clutching skateboards, and other science lovers of all ages descended on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Saturday for a daylong celebration of hands-on learning, experiments, and fun. The Science Carnival on the Parkway, which drew thousands, was the centerpiece of the third annual Philadelphia Science Festival, a 10-day event that aims to spark interest in science and technology across the region....

They've got chocolate. The latest news on hallucinogenic drugs. Espionage, jazz, and weathered gravestones. Plus video games for autistic kids. Where else but the third annual Philadelphia Science Festival? The 11-day extravaganza starts Thursday, with 110 events aimed at all ages, many in locations not normally associated with science. At restaurants, branch libraries, and even cemeteries, people can examine dinosaur fossils, gaze at the stars, build rockets, and learn about the science of beer, cheese, or honey.

GIZMO GUY took a Sound Walk around Rittenhouse Square the other day with an iPhone, listening to a just-launched, crowd-sourced app called "The Empty Air" that puts the park in a new creative light. Spawned by the music group The Mural and The Mint, fronted by soundscapist Michael Kiley, "The Empty Air" is a kinetic aural installation that uses iPhone GPS to trigger sounds at certain locations within the park. The effect can be pretty cute, but occasionally, the reaction is "What the heck were they thinking?"

James J. Markham, 84, of Glenside, a chemistry professor and former associate dean of sciences at Villanova University, died Thursday, April 4, of a heart ailment at home. Dr. Markham's long association with Villanova began when he enrolled there in 1946 to study chemistry. He graduated in 1950, and returned to the campus as a lecturer on Sept. 1, 1952. He was named an assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1957; he rose to become associate professor four years later.

When she arrived at the University of the Sciences, Helen F. Giles-Gee was impressed with the beautiful oil paintings in the president's office, which she was about to occupy. But something struck her: "There was no painting of a woman. So I asked: Is there someone distinctive that I could put on the wall that would be representative of the women at this institution?" Up went a portrait of Susan Hayhurst, the first female graduate of what was then known as the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.