clock | January 23, 2009Frank Swain just moved in this morning, so the boxes are still unpacked. You can see his old work on sciencepunk.com, Guardian Science Blog and Sence About Science, but from now on, he'll be writing on Science Punk, so go there and say Hello!
clock | January 23, 2009Carnival of Space #87 is up on The Martian Chronicles
Friday Ark #227 is up on Modulator
clock | January 23, 2009
After the Museum tour and dropping by Radisson briefly to see who else has arrived in the meantime, I went home to see the family and walk the reconvalesecent dog for a few minutes (thus choosing to miss Friday Fermentable except for the last few minutes), then back to Sigma Xi for the WiSE networking event.
The place was packed (my estimate - 300 people) with women in science and engineering from local universities (Duke, NCSU, UNC, NCCU and others) as well as many participants of ScienceOnline09. This was an opportunity for local women in science not just to meet and network with each…
clock | January 23, 2009New Sperm Shaker Set To Improve IVF Success Rates:
Scientists have developed a ground-breaking method for testing the quality of a sperm before it is used in IVF and increase the chances of conception.
Racial Bias Can Be Reduced By Teaching People To Differentiate Facial Features Better In Individuals Of A Different Race:
There may be a simple way to address racial bias: Help people improve their ability to distinguish between faces of individuals of a different race. Brown University and University of Victoria researchers learned this through a new measurement system and protocol they…
clock | January 22, 2009Statues of marble or brass will perish; and statues made in imitation of them are not the same statues ... But print and reprint a thought a thousand times over, and that with materials of any kind ... the thought is eternally and identically the same thought in every case.
- Thomas Paine
clock | January 22, 2009
After coffee cupping, still pretty frozen, we went back to Radisson to see who else has arrived for ScienceOnline09 in the meantime. I set up my temporary field Headquarters in the lobby (photo by Lenore):
After a quick lunch, it was time for Lab Tours (check blog posts and pictures for other people's experiences). A bunch of us went to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences where Roy Campbell, the Director of Exhibits, gave us a fantastic whirlwind tour through the Museum and the vaults, the secret basement chambers that general public cannot access.
I've been going to the Museum for 17…
clock | January 22, 2009This is the question that Seed is asking:
Restoring science to its rightful place in government and in society will be no simple task: it will demand fresh ideas, the engagement of America's scientists and engineers, the re-engagement of the public, and the collaboration of other cultural and social communities. It will not happen overnight, but we will witness in 2009 a U-turn back to the future. History will call this the birth of our scientific renaissance.
And you are all encouraged to respond, in any format you like:
Seed and SEEDMAGAZINE.COM have invited responses to the question from…
clock | January 22, 2009From Center for Science Education:
When: Friday, January 30, 2009 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Where: LSRC B101 Love Auditorium
Description: Bruce Alberts, a prominent biochemist strongly commited to the improvement of science education, began service as Editor-in-Chief of Science in March 2008. He is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. Alberts has been instrumental in developing the National Science Education standards implemented in school systems nationwide. He is a major proponent of "science as inquiry" teaching that…
clock | January 22, 2009Every now and then I bump into a brand new science blog that immediately grabs my attention for some or other aspect of total coolness (or is it 'hotness' these days?). And then I want to promote, promote, promote until everybody and their mother reads that blog. Here is the latest brilliant discovery I made - FYI: Science!
Check out some of the first posts, for instance:
Of pedigrees and people
....But those mutations have to come from somewhere... specifically, my parents.
So my parents had to know about all of this. I sat them down and explained everything to them. I drew them a pedigree…
clock | January 22, 2009From a current freshman:
In college, one lecture class has about 250 students in it and the information goes by really fast. We would cover about 3 chapters in an hour, about three days a week. At first it took me a while to get used to the speed and the way the professors taught. In high school, the teachers are very careful about making sure the students understand and take in the subject but in college, the professors don't really care whether you're in class or not. This realization hit me like a ton of bricks because finally, after years of supervision from teachers and parents, it was…
clock | January 22, 2009
Friday morning was really, really cold (for North Carolina), so what better way to start off ScienceOnline09 than at Counter Culture Coffee where about 25 or so participants (and several other people - this is an open event) showed up bright and early to learn about the science (and business) of coffee.
Coffee is one of those things that you just drink, unthinkingly, at the time of the morning when it is hard to think anyway. So this was quite an eye-opener - learning what happens between the moment the coffee plant is planted and the moment when you taste the coffee. And there are many…
clock | January 22, 2009I and the Bird #92 is up on The Marvelous in Nature
Change of Shift: Vol. 3, Number Fifteen is up on Emergiblog
clock | January 22, 2009
Frogs Are Being Eaten To Extinction, Experts Say:
The global trade in frog legs for human consumption is threatening their extinction, according to a new study by an international team including University of Adelaide researchers.
'Hobbit' Skull Study Finds Hobbit Is Not Human:
In a an analysis of the size, shape and asymmetry of the cranium of Homo floresiensis, Karen Baab, Ph.D., a researcher in the Department of Anatomical Scienes at Stony Brook University, and colleagues conclude that the fossil, found in Indonesia in 2003 and known as the "Hobbit," is not human.
New Imaging Method Lets…
clock | January 21, 2009You'll eventually lose someone you'll love & love someone you never thought u'd find. People are going to hate you, love you, love to hate you, and hate to love you, but the ones that mean the most will always be there.
- Sex in the City
clock | January 21, 2009There are 10 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Connotea, Stumbleupon, Facebook and Digg) with just one click. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Mineral Preservatives in the Wood of Stradivari and Guarneri:
Following the futile efforts of generations to reach the high standard of excellence achieved by the luthiers in Cremona, Italy, by variations of design…
clock | January 21, 2009 I am still trying to recover from the previous week. It was quite busy for me, as you may have guessed. But I can start slowly posting my own hazy recollections and pictures now, I think, starting with the first day, Thursday. After meeting with Anton at Sigma Xi to unload the swag, I went over to Radisson hotel to see who was already there and found Blake, Pal, Bob, Grrrl and gg in the bar:
A couple of hours later we got in the car and went to the Early Bird Dinner to Town Hall Grill - another tradition at our conferences (we ate there both in 2007 and 2008 as well). I was very happy to be…
clock | January 21, 2009Rethinking The Genetic Theory Of Inheritance: Heritability May Not Be Limited To DNA:
Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have detected evidence that DNA may not be the only carrier of heritable information; a secondary molecular mechanism called epigenetics may also account for some inherited traits and diseases. These findings challenge the fundamental principles of genetics and inheritance, and potentially provide a new insight into the primary causes of human diseases.
This wasn't new 50 years ago...
Adaptation Plays Significant Role In Human Evolution:
For…
clock | January 20, 2009If at times our actions seem to have made life difficult for others, it is only because history has made life difficult for us all.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy