clock | November 26, 2008Peggy Kolm wrote a book review in Nature of Academeology by Female Science Professor.
My copy arrived some weeks ago, but it will have to wait until I read at least three other books I promised to review....eh. Anyway, Peggy says:
FSP's stories of being a woman in a male-dominated field are engrossing. She describes the casual sexism, such as being ignored or treated as a secretary by visiting scientists, or having male colleagues comment that she received an award "because she is a woman". These tales might be disheartening to some. But FSP also relates her successes as a scientist and in…
clock | November 25, 2008If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the new stand side by side ... when the glories of the old can be compensated by the rich possibilities of the new era? This time ... is a very good one.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
clock | November 25, 2008There are 11 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 is my pick for the week - you go and look for your own favourites...and in the meantime try your hand at making the funniest LOLCat to go with this article:
Whole Body Mechanics of Stealthy Walking in Cats:
The metabolic cost associated with locomotion represents a significant part of an…
clock | November 25, 2008Ever since I first discovered it, I loved the idea of the Moodgrapher and I wish it continued to be developed (not all the functions work any more). What it does is plot, in various ways, changes in "moods" as reported by users of LiveJournal.
For instance, you can see the spike of "ecstatic" on the evening of November 4th, when Obama's victory became official:
Or you can track cyclic trends - here is "awake":
I wish the tools could be refined even better, for instance narrowing down the time to just an hour or two or broadening it to months or years.
It would be also nice to narrow it…
clock | November 25, 2008Paul Sunstone: Why Bother to Promote A Healthy Attitude Towards Nudity?
On the other hand, there are at least two, broad reasons for somewhat caring how nudity is viewed (shameless pun intended). First, the notion that nudity is scandalous, immoral, and even dangerous contributes to all sorts of socio-political absurdities.
--------------------------
Perhaps another reason we should be a little concerned about how nudity is thought of are the many studies that suggest a more healthy attitude towards nudity has profound benefits -- especially for women. Here are the results of just three…
clock | November 25, 2008....drumroll....
Peggy Kolm! You can find Peggy on Biology in Science Fiction and Women in Science blogs.
The prize is a trip to NYCity, a brunch with bloggers, museum trips, lab tours and a big SciBlings-made gift basket.
Congratulations!
clock | November 25, 2008Scienceblogs.com is...
...hosting a limited-run group blog called What's New in Life Science Research, which will cover four separate topics in biotechnology: stem cells, cloning, biodefense, and genetically modified organisms. The blog is sponsored by Invitrogen, but like the Shell-sponsored Next Generation Energy blog, the bloggers (including our own Janet Stemwedel and Mike the Mad Biologist) will have complete editorial control over the content of their posts - we will merely provide questions about each topic to guide the conversation.
Go forth and comment....
clock | November 25, 2008For instance, the Earth going around the Sun instead of vice versa. Or Copernicus starting the Scientific Revolution which eventually brought about the technology - DNA fingerprinting - that could be used to positively identify Copernicus' remains.
clock | November 25, 2008From Museum 2.0, a marvelous blog I discovered last night:
Self-Censorship for Museum Professionals:
There are lots of things visitors can't do in museums. But what about the things that museum professionals can't (or feel they can't) do? This week at the ASTC conference, Kathy McLean, Tom Rockwell, Eric Siegel and I presented a session called "You Can't Do That in Museums!" in which we explored the peculiarities of self-censorship in the creation of museum exhibitions.
-----------------------------
1. Self-censorship is different in different museum types. In science and technology…
clock | November 25, 2008Change.org/ideas (not the official Change.gov) is a place where people can post ideas for the Obama administration and readers can, Digg-like, vote the ideas up and down. This is how it works:
What is Ideas for Change in America?
Ideas for Change in America is a citizen-driven project that aims to identify and create momentum around the best ideas for how the Obama Administration and 111th Congress can turn the broad call for "change" across the country into specific policies.
The project is nonpartisan, and invites all political points of view. It is not connected to the Obama campaign or…
clock | November 25, 2008You have only 6 days left to dig through your Archives for your best posts since December 20th 2007 and submit them. Submit one, or two, or several - no problem. Or ask your readers to submit for you.
Only submissions received through this form are valid.
Then take a look at your favourite bloggers and pick some of their best posts - don't worry, we can deal with duplicate entries. Do not forget new and up-coming blogs - they may not know about the anthology - and submit their stuff as well.
As we did last year, we encourage you to also send in original poems and cartoons.
Keep in mind that…
clock | November 25, 2008Grand Rounds 5:10 are up on Canadian Medicine
The 59th edition of Encephalon is up on Ionian Enchantment
clock | November 25, 2008Old Flies Can Become Young Moms:
Female flies can turn back the biological clock and extend their lifespan at the same time, University of Southern California biologists report. Their study, published online this month in Molecular Genetics and Genomics, casts doubt on the old notion of a tradeoff between reproduction and longevity.
Flies May Reveal Evolutionary Step To Live Birth:
A species of fruit fly from the Seychelles Islands often lays larvae instead of eggs, UC San Diego biologists have discovered. Clues to how animals switch from laying eggs to live birth may be found in the well-…
clock | November 24, 2008The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is.
- James Matthew Barrie
clock | November 24, 2008There are new articles published tonight in PLoS Biology, PLoS Medicine, PLoS ONE and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - here are my picks:
A Social Amoeba Discriminates in Favor of Kin:
Though seemingly simple life forms, microorganisms can display surprisingly complex behaviors, such as altruism and cheating, that are more often associated with "higher" organisms. This paradox makes microorganisms--which are more amenable to laboratory investigations than, say, dolphins or elephants--ideal for investigating social evolution. Take the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. When food is…
clock | November 24, 2008Science Communicators of North Carolina:
Connect with SCONC in a cool Co-Working Environment!
Monday, November 24 at 6:30 p.m.
Join your fellow SCONC members for a casual evening in Carrboro on Nov. 24. Headlining this month's meeting -- remotely -- will be SCONC's ambassador to Norway. Tour the area's first co-working venture (and a great place for freelance folks!) - Carrboro Creative Co-working. Details: www.carrborocoworking.com