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Jamal Andress writes that creationists are grumbling about Neil deGrasse Tyson's "Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey" because the show doesn't include creationist theories about the universe's origins. "Do they ever give a creationist any time?" says creationist Danny Falkner who appeared on "The Janet Mefford Show" to complain. "I was struck in the first episode where he talked about science and how, you know, all ideas are discussed, you know, everything is up for discussion - it's all on the table - and I thought to myself, 'No, consideration of special creation is definitely not open for discussion, it would seem." Tyson recently said science reporting should not be balanced with nonscientific claims, so it seems unlikely he would offer creationism a platform for their views on his own show. "There was a time when science and religion kind of co-existed under the same roof," says Tyson. "I find it odd that we live in a time where people who are strongly religious want to make everyone else the same kind of religious way they are, and break down the door of the science classroom to put their religious philosophies in there." The good thing about science says Tyson is that it's true whether you believe in it or not.

Jeremy Rifkin writes in the NYT that the inherent dynamism of competitive markets is bringing down costs so far that many goods and services are becoming nearly free, abundant, and no longer subject to market forces and while economists have always welcomed a reduction in marginal cost, they never anticipated the possibility of a technological revolution that might bring those costs to near zero. The first inkling of this paradox at the heart of capitalism came in 1999 when Napster enabled millions of people to share music without paying the producers and artists, wreaking havoc on the music industry. Similar phenomena went on to severely disrupt the newspaper and book publishing industries. The huge reduction in marginal cost is now beginning to reshape energy, manufacturing and education. "Although the fixed costs of solar and wind technology are somewhat pricey, the cost of capturing each unit of [renewable] energy beyond that is low (PDF)," says Rifkin. As for manufacturing "thousands of hobbyists are already making their own products using 3-D printers, open-source software and recycled plastic as feedstock, at near zero marginal cost" and more than six million students are enrolled in "free massive open online courses, the content of which is distributed at near zero marginal cost."

But nowhere is the zero marginal cost phenomenon having more impact than the labor market, where workerless factories and offices, virtual retailing and automated logistics and transport networks are becoming more prevalent. What this means according to Rifkin is that new employment opportunities will lie in the collaborative commons in fields that tend to be nonprofit and strengthen social infrastructure like health care, aiding the poor, environmental restoration, child care, care for the elderly, and the promotion of the arts and recreation. "As for the capitalist system, it is likely to remain with us far into the future, albeit in a more streamlined role, primarily as an aggregator of network services and solutions, allowing it to thrive as a powerful niche player in the coming era. We are, however, entering a world partly beyond markets, where we are learning how to live together in an increasingly interdependent, collaborative, global commons."

Measles is spreading in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, according to public health authorities in New York as about 16 cases have turned up, including two that involved contagion in doctors' offices. Outbreaks have also been reported in the Boston area, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Now the LA Times reports that the first signs of a backlash against anti-vaccination falsehoods emerged last week, when that noted scientific authority and spokesmodel Jenny McCarthy, who has been spreading anti-vaccination drivel for years, got wasted by the Internet community when she left herself open to a reaction. On Thursday, McCarthy asked a question of her fans on Twitter to see what they'd say. What she got was a dose of the reality she helped spawn. The question: "What is the most important personality trait you look for in a mate? Reply using #JennyAsks" Just when you think that Internet commentary is nothing more than a wretched hive of scum and villainy, a light shines through so strongly it can help restore your optimism about people says Phil Plait as McCarthy received hundreds of replies including "They vaccinate their kids," "Someone who vaccinates, b/c I'd want our kids to survive," "Someone who respects that science isn't on some secret malicious crusade to screw us over and that vaccinations save lives," "What qualities do I look for in a mate? Science literacy and critical thinking skills," and "Ideal mate accepts scientific consensus & considers the elderly, infants & immune compromised b4 spreading baseless hysteria." McCarthy responded with a tweet saying "Thank you to all the haters who tweet my name. You make my Q SCORE higher and higher. It's because of you I continue to work. Thank you! : )" However, she did not address the substance of the tweets directed at her -- that her advocacy on behalf of the anti-vaccine movement has contributed to a dramatic rise in vaccine-preventable illnesses.

In 1973, when a solar panel and shield were torn from the Skylab Space Station, leaving the orbiting Skylab exposed to a dangerous level of solar heat, Jack A. Kinzler, chief of the all-purpose machine and tool shop at NASA's Johnson Space Center, turned to one of mankind's oldest sun shields: the parasol and fashioned a heat-resistant 24-by-28-foot makeshift sun umbrella for Skylab using telescoping fiberglass fishing rods to build his prototype. In 1971, when astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. wanted to test his golf swing on the surface of the moon, Kinzler helped design a 6-iron golf club head then had it attached to a lunar-sampling scoop. Emerging from his spacecraft, astronaut Shepard hit two golf balls with it. Sports trivia buffs remember that he shanked the first ball but connected solidly with the second. Shepard claimed the two golf balls traveled "miles and miles." Kinzler and his team also figured out a way to display the U.S. flag on the moon devising collapsible staffs that made the flags appear to be flapping in the moon's airless environment. Kinzler told the Houston Chronicle that he was distressed by conspiracy theorists who pointed to the rippling in the moon-planted flags as proof that the lunar landing by Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin in 1969 was a hoax. The moon, after all, has no air as we know it. "The reason for that ripple is so simple you wouldn't believe," said Kinzler. "I put an aluminum telescoping tube in the top, just like you have on some curtain rods. There's a latch on it, with a hinge that allows it to be pulled out, and as they extended the tube, the flag rippled. That's all."

Megann Gannon reports that nearly 200 scientists are attending a conference, called "The Search for Life Beyond the Solar System: Exoplanets, Biosignature & Instruments," co-hosted by the Vatican Observatory with the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory. The goal of the conference is to bring together the interdisciplinary community required to address this multi-faceted challenge: experts on exoplanet observations, early and extreme life on Earth, atmospheric biosignatures, and planet-finding telescopes. "Finding life beyond Earth is one of the great challenges of modern science and we are excited to have the world leaders in this field together in Tucson," says Daniel Apai. "But reaching such an ambitious goal takes planning and time. The goal of this meeting is to discuss how we can find life among the stars within the next two decades." According to the organizers, the conference will cover the technical challenges of finding and imaging exoplanets and identifying biosignatures in the atmospheres of far-flung worlds. Other presentations will discuss the study of life forms that live in extreme environments on Earth, which could be apt analogs for life on other planets. Scientists will give more than 160 research presentations (PDF) during this week's conference and NASA's Astrobiology Institute will broadcast a live feed of the sessions. Catholic leaders say that alien life can be aligned with the Bible's teachings. 'Just as a multiplicity of creatures exists on Earth, so there could be other beings, also intelligent, created by God,' says Father Jose Funes

Time Warner Cable Inc. has stirred anger over its hike in subscription rates for customers and its efforts to extract hefty fees from rivals to air the L.A. Dodgers channel. Now Meg James reports at the LA Times that the city of Los Angeles has sued the cable giant, alleging Time Warner Cable stiffed the city on franchise fees over four years through 2011. The city seeks nearly $10 million in fees, money it said could have helped ease its budget problems during the financial crisis. "Time Warner owes L.A.'s taxpayers millions of dollars for the privilege of having its franchise," says City Attorney Michael Feuer. "This is a day where we are standing up and saying enough is enough." The 24-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, contends that Time Warner Cable "blatantly refused to live up to its obligations to the city" (PDF) to pay franchise fees to operate its cable network over city-owned rights of way while collecting more than $500 million a year from customers in the city. The city is seeking $9.7 million from Time Warner Cable which includes $2.5 million in franchise and PEG (public, educational and government channel) fees and support for 2008 and 2009, plus another $7.2 million owed for 2010 and 2011.

The lawsuit comes just a few weeks after Time Warner Cable alerted its Southern California customers that it planned to hike rates by an average of about 6% a month for homes that are not covered by a promotional package. Time Warner Cable, in a statement, denied the allegation that it had cheated the city. "As a major job creator, tax contributor and service provider in the city of Los Angeles, Time Warner Cable is an active and responsible corporate citizen," the company said in a statement. "We are disappointed the city has chosen to bring this action, which we strongly believe is without merit." Jonathan Kramer, a Los Angeles-based telecom attorney and a member of the California chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, said it was "inevitable that [more] of these types of lawsuits will be filed" and that other cities are considering similar action, but that "Los Angeles is first to pull the trigger." "It's the devil you know," Kramer said. "We know Time Warner. But Comcast is much more aggressive when it comes to pushing back (against) local jurisdictions."

Megan Gannon reports on Live Science that according to a new poll although most Americans believe global warming's effects will take hold during their lifetime, they don't expect these changes to pose a serious threat to their way of life. A Gallup survey found that 54 percent of Americans believe global warming is already impacting the planet; another 3 percent think these effects will occur in a few years and 8 percent think these effects will occur in their lifetime. Meanwhile, 16 percent think global warming's effects will happen sometime after they die, and 18 percent don't expect these effects to ever take hold. But the way the public perceives the reality of global warming seems to be somewhat disconnected from how they perceive the threat of a warming world. Just 36 percent of people in the United States think global warming will eventually disrupt their way of life, they survey found. Age also affected how people saw the effects of a changing climate. Among Americans ages 18 to 29, Gallup found that 78 percent thought the effects of global warming were already occurring or would occur during their lifetime. Just 47 percent of seniors (those 65 and over) said the same. Gallup officials say their poll's results could explain why Americans don't politically prioritize environmental issues; instead, their top concerns are issues that will affect them immediately, like the economy and health care. "Whatever the reasons, those who argue climate change is the top problem of our age are no doubt aghast that even now, in 2014, Americans are not more worried or concerned than they are. A lot of the efforts to raise concern levels and awareness to date have obviously not worked well. It may be that new tactics are needed. So far, however, even if it is a case of whistling past the graveyard, Americans are clearly more focused on other issues."

Everyone knows that Genghis Khan was a ruthless conqueror who founded the Mongolian Empire, which eventually became the largest contiguous empire in history. Now Matthew Stinson reports that according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Central Asia's steppe shifted from drought conditions to a warm, wet climate that coincided with and possibly aided the Great Khan's domination of massive swaths of territory. The study details that when Genghis Khan united the Mongols, he did so during an extremely dry period marked by drought. Thereafter, an incredible period of wet, warm climate change began, aiding the swelling of Khan's empire in Asia. "What makes our new record distinctive is that we can see 15 straight years of above-average moisture," says Neil Pedersen. "It falls during an important period in Mongol history and is singular in terms of persistently wet conditions." Why did warm, wet weather matter for the Mongols? One of the keys to Genghis Khan's military strategy was mobility, both in travel and battle. Mongolians are nomadic and so rely on the natural ecosystem, rather than agriculture, to survive. The wet weather allowed vegetation to grow abundantly, which was necessary as Mongols relied heavily on livestock and horses for sustenance, including mare's milk, which was a common meal in extreme situations. "The transition from extreme drought to extreme moisture right then strongly suggests that climate played a role in human events," says Amy Hessl. "It wasn't the only thing, but it must have created the ideal conditions for a charismatic leader to emerge out of the chaos, develop an army and concentrate power. Where it's arid, unusual moisture creates unusual plant productivity, and that translates into horsepower. Genghis was literally able to ride that wave."

Michael Schulson writes that if you want to write about spiritually-motivated pseudoscience in America, you can drive hundreds of miles to the Creation Museum in Kentucky but that America's greatest shrine to pseudoscience, the Whole Foods Market, is only a 15-minute trip away from most American urbanites. For example the homeopathy section at Whole Foods has plenty of Latin words and mathematical terms, but many of its remedies are so diluted that, statistically speaking, they may not contain a single molecule of the substance they purport to deliver. "You can buy chocolate with "a meld of rich goji berries and ashwagandha root to strengthen your immune system," and bottles of ChlorOxygen chlorophyll concentrate, which "builds better blood." There's cereal with the kind of ingredients that are "made in a kitchen-not in a lab," and tea designed to heal the human heart," writes Schulson. "Nearby are eight full shelves of probiotics-live bacteria intended to improve general health. I invited a biologist friend who studies human gut bacteria to come take a look with me. She read the healing claims printed on a handful of bottles and frowned. "This is bullshit," she said, and went off to buy some vegetables." According to Schulson the total lack of outrage over Whole Foods' existence, and by the total saturation of outrage over the Creation Museum, makes it clear that strict scientific accuracy in the public sphere isn't quite as important to many of us as we might believe. "The moral is not that we should all boycott Whole Foods. It's that whenever we talk about science and society, it helps to keep two rather humbling premises in mind: very few of us are anywhere near rational. And pretty much all of us are hypocrites."

Scott Smith reports at AP that 26-year-old Sergio Patrick Rodriguez has been convicted of pointing a green laser at a Fresno Police Department helicopter and sentenced to spend 14 years in federal prison. "This is not a game. It is dangerous, and it is a felony," says US Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. "Those who aim lasers at aircraft should know that we will seek to convict them, and we will seek to send them to prison. The safety of aircraft and the people in them demands no less." According to evidence presented at trial, Rodriguez and his girlfriend, Jennifer Lorraine Coleman, 23, used a high-powered green laser pointer 13 times more powerful than common pointers to repeatedly strike the cockpit of Air 1 during a clear summer night in 2012. In imposing the sentence, Judge O'Neill considered not only the severity of the offenses but Rodriguez's criminal history, numerous probation violations, and Bulldog gang affiliation. An expert said that the laser pointer that Rodriguez used was an instrument capable of inflicting serious bodily injury and death due to a high potential for crash caused by visual interference. A jury found Rodriguez guilty of attempting to interfere with safe operation of aircraft and aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft. "Lasing aircraft is not a joke or a casual prank," says Special Agent in Charge Monica M. Miller of the FBI's Sacramento field office. "Rodriguez's sentence clearly demonstrates the seriousness of his actions and that the FBI will work with its law enforcement partners to locate and arrest those who engage in dangerous, improper use of hand-held lasers that puts us all at risk."

On February 11, 2014, in 12 cities, the FBI, in collaboration with the Air Line Pilots Association International and the FAA, announced the Laser Threat Awareness campaign, a nationwide effort to alert the public to the threat that aircraft laser illumination poses and the penalties for such activity. The FBI will offer up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of any individual who intentionally aims a laser at an aircraft. The program is being rolled out in Albuquerque, N.M.; Houston and San Antonio, Texas; Los Angeles and Sacramento, Calif.; Philadelphia; Phoenix, Ariz.; Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; New York; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.