News to Note, September 29, 2007

1. Feathered Raptors: Not the Birds

Bumps on the forearm bone of a velociraptor fossil are creating considerable excitement for advocates of the dinosaurs-to-birds hypothesis.

2. Hobbit by Birth or Disease?

Another study about the famous (or is it infamous?) “hobbit,” further stokes the debate: diseased or different?

3. Chimp Filing for Person-hood

His name notwithstanding, the current legal case for the personhood of Mr. Matthew Hiasl Pan (a chimp) is in jeopardy, reports the Associated Press from Vienna, Austria.

4. European Council to Vote on Anti-Creationism Education Resolution

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly will spend part of next week debating and voting on a resolution that opposes the teaching of creation and intelligent design in science classes, saying attacks on evolutionary theory are based on “forms of religious extremism” that attack both science and human rights.

5. Birds: Better Than the Compass

According to a new study published in PLoS ONE, the ability to see the earth's magnetic field may be more than fantasy for birds.