clock | December 23, 2008What a Christmas present - there are 32 new articles in PLoS ONE today and they are amazing! 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:
Norepinephrine Controls Both Torpor Initiation and Emergence via Distinct Mechanisms in the Mouse:
Some mammals, including laboratory mice, enter torpor in response to…
clock | December 23, 2008It's hard to tell which one is the original, I think it's this one, as YouTube is full of well-done parodies of the Citroen Tranformers commercial. Of course, I am partial to this one:
clock | December 23, 2008Four Stone Hearth #26 is up on The Greenbelt
Carnival of Space Week #84 is up on Next Big Future
Grand Rounds 5.14 are up on Highlight HEALTH
clock | December 23, 2008Mechanism That Triggers Differentiation Of Embryo Cells Discovered:
The mechanism whereby embryonic cells stop being flexible and turn into more mature cells that can develop into specific tissues has been discovered by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The discovery has significant consequences towards furthering research that will eventually make possible medical cell replacement therapy based on the use of embryonic cells.
Genes May Influence Popularity, Study Of College Students Finds:
A groundbreaking study of popularity by a Michigan State University scientist has found…
clock | December 22, 2008The invention of the teenager was a mistake, in Miss Manners' opinion.... Once you identify a period of life in which people have few restrictions and, at the same time, few responsibilities - they get to stay out late but don't have to pay taxes - naturally, nobody wants to live any other way.
- Judith Martin
clock | December 22, 2008There is no clearer and better example of Artificial controversy than the War on Christmas, as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity re-invent it every year in order to boost their tanking ratings. What War on Christmas? Just drive along a street and see all the lights on houses, go into a store and look at the merchandise while listening to the Christmas music, peer into people's windows to see decorated Christmas trees and presents, or turn on any radio station - Christmas is everywhere.
But, believe it or not, there are people who are even stupider than O'Reilly and Hannity - people who really…
clock | December 22, 2008Lots of cool new papers in PLoS Biology, PLoS Medicine and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases today. My picks are under the fold, but you look around and see what you are interested in:
Historical and Philosophical Perspectives on Contemporary Biology by Evelyn Fox Keller:
The work of historians and philosophers of science has long benefited from conversations with practicing scientists, but to many scientific researchers--perhaps especially to those engaged in laboratory work--the value that such dialogue might have for their own endeavor is not nearly so obvious. There are of course…
clock | December 22, 2008There are 12 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:
A Meta-Analysis of Local Adaptation in Plants:
Local adaptation is of fundamental importance in evolutionary, population, conservation, and global-change biology. The generality of local adaptation in plants and…
clock | December 22, 2008Encephalon #61: Brain & Mind Reading for the Holidays is up on SharpBrains
Friday Ark #222 is up on Modulator
159th edition of the Carnival of The Green is up on Lighter Footstep
clock | December 22, 2008Snails And Humans Use Same Genes To Tell Right From Left:
Biologists have tracked down genes that control the handedness of snail shells, and they turn out to be similar to the genes used by humans to set up the left and right sides of the body.
Selflessness -- Core Of All Major World Religions -- Has Neuropsychological Connection:
All spiritual experiences are based in the brain. That statement is truer than ever before, according to a University of Missouri neuropsychologist. An MU study has data to support a neuropsychological model that proposes spiritual experiences associated with…
clock | December 21, 2008A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation.
- Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916)
clock | December 21, 2008There was a good reason why the form and format, as well as the rhetoric of the scientific paper were instituted the way they were back in the early days of scientific journals. Science was trying to come on its own and to differentiate itself from philosophy, theology and lay literature about nature. It was essential to develop a style of writing that is impersonal, precise, sharply separating data from speculations, and that lends itself to replication of experiments.
The form and format of a scientific paper has evolved towards a very precise and very universal state that makes scientist-…
clock | December 21, 2008Say It In Song: Researcher Deciphers Meaning Within Bird Communication:
To many people, bird song can herald the coming of spring, reveal what kind of bird is perched nearby or be merely an unwelcome early morning intrusion. But to Sandra Vehrencamp, Cornell professor of neurobiology and behavior, bird song is a code from which to glean insights into avian behavior.
Pain Hurts More If Person Hurting You Means It:
Researchers at Harvard University have discovered that our experience of pain depends on whether we think someone caused the pain intentionally. In their study, participants who…
clock | December 20, 2008Anytime I've gone to a movie for a first date, it's been bad.
- Tom Everett Scott
clock | December 20, 2008At the Western RCAC Symposium last week:
Rodd Lucier: Fertilizing the Grass Roots:
My personal suspicions are that most attendees will fail to make effective use of any of the many tools introduced today. Even with everyone recognizing that we have a long way to go: A significant knowing-doing gap will remain!
David Warlick: So Now What Do We Do?:
Then Rodd listed some comments that he overheard during the conference, that support his concern. I'm listing them here and will try to make some suggestions that may be useful. My suggestions are indented just a bit to better distinguish them…
clock | December 20, 2008Because the truth is that promoting science isn't just about providing resources--it's about protecting free and open inquiry. It's about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It's about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it's inconvenient--especially when it's inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States--and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work.
Read the…
clock | December 20, 2008It is rare that I pick the winners in any contest, but this time I picked three! Congratulations to all the winners of the 2008 EduBlog Awards, but especially to my friend David Warlick who led the session on 'blogs in science education' at the last year's Science Blogging Conference, and to Miss Baker's students who will lead a ScienceOnline09 session on Science online - middle/high school perspective (or: 'how the Facebook generation does it'?).
clock | December 20, 2008Happy Anniversary, PLoS ONE!
Today is PLoS ONE's second anniversary and we're celebrating by announcing that the winner of the second PLoS synchroblogging competition is SciCurious of the Neurotopia 2.0 blog.
"This fluent post captures the essence of the research and accurately communicates it in a style that resonates with both the scientific and lay community" - Liz Allen, PLoS.
Here is the winning entry, cross posted in its entirety:
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Einstein was smart, but Could He Play the Violin?
I already wrote one entry for PLoS ONE's second birthday, but I'm feeling sparky…