Festive greetings! I’ll begin with a post that’s just about everything a blog shouldn’t be – old news that’s been commented-on for years. But still, it’s an annual favourite read for me and might just tickle the uninitiated…

If you think that’s scientific rationalism gone mad, then check out the following article on the origins of Christ’s Y chromosome that posits the ingenious theory that Jesus got his DNA “by the power of God through the Holy Spirit.” Be warned though, you may need a PhD in both physics and metaphysics to follow it. And it’s rubbish.

You’ll be needing a very different take on the “origins of Christmas” after that: it’s a great stocking-season story from 2005.

Finally, if you’ve stumbled upon this, my debut blog entry, alerted by the tags “Christmas” and “science” and “genetics”, then perhaps you’re hoping to find top gifts for that special geneticist in your life. I duly point you towards both the North Pole and top gifts for science geeks.