Contaminating space

In April, 2019, Israel's Beresheet spacecraft landed on crashed into the Moon. It later emerged that it was secretly carrying a supply of live tardigrades -- microscopic creatures known for their hardiness. Naturally, many observers, joking or not, brought up the idea of accidentally contaminating the Moon with destructive Earth life. I worry about a …

Are humans descended from monkeys?

Are humans descended from monkeys? It's an interesting question. Too many well-meaning scientifically-minded individuals are quick to reply with a defensive "No! We just have a common ancestor!" But that's not a very good answer. It ignores the fact that the question is ambiguous, and that the definition of "monkey" is ambiguous. Sometimes the answer …