clock | October 23, 2008Study Of Polar Dinosaur Migration Questions Whether Dinosaurs Were Truly The First Great Migrators:
Contrary to popular belief, polar dinosaurs may not have traveled nearly as far as originally thought when making their bi-annual migration.
ADHD Appears To Increase Level Of Nicotine Dependence In Smokers:
Young people with ADHD are not only at increased risk of starting to smoke cigarettes, they also tend to become more seriously addicted to tobacco and more vulnerable to environmental factors such as having friends or parents who smoke, according to a study from Massachusetts General…
clock | October 23, 2008The 10th Edition of the Cabinet of Curiosities is up on Destination: Austin Family
The 97th Skeptic's Circle is up on The Uncredible Hulk
Grand Rounds Vol. 5 No. 5 are up on Pallimed
Carnival of the Green #150 is up on The Good Human
Carnival of Education - the Mole Day Edition - is up on TheInfamousJ
The 147th Carnival of Homeschooling is up on Melissa's Idea Garden
clock | October 23, 2008
Yes, this has been in the works for a long time, and a few hints have been planted here and there over the past months, but now it is official - NASA and The Beagle Project have signed a Space Act Agreement and will work together on a host of projects including scientific research and education. You can read the details on The Beagle Project Blog - space, oceans, biology, science education, history of science, exploration and adventure: all at once. How exciting!
The text of the agreement is under the fold:
NASA and the HMS Beagle Trust have signed a Space Act Agreement for cooperation…
clock | October 23, 2008 Time Lapse Of The Embryonic Development Of Drosophila Melanogast - Watch the top videos of the week here
clock | October 22, 2008Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.
- George Orwell
clock | October 22, 2008How many moles of Guacamole did Bishop Ussher consume on this day? How about Samuel S. Snow on the same day some years later? Not that this Epic FAIL is going to deter the True Believers - dealing with them is a "a repetitious and futile task" and they'll keep coming up with fresh dates. I bet many expect this November 4th to be one of those dates....
clock | October 22, 2008Under the fold, as it is a LOT of links....
I am the angry left:
It is a matter of survival of our way of life, of our basic values, of our democratic system, not to mention several important elements of that system such as education, affordable health care, social security, and a reasonable degree of peace among nations.
Getting Off Our Asses:
I don't believe in a shoe-in. I know better now. They cheat, they lie, they fix elections, they want to remain the select privileged while we get foreclosed on, our health insurance becomes unaffordable, and our young people die in a winless, needless…
clock | October 22, 2008
...and Natalie Portman Wants You to Have "The Talk":
In a sense, this is also one of the videos of scientists endorsing Obama.
clock | October 22, 2008There are 26 new articles published last night and 12 new articles published today in PLoS ONE. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Sexual Cannibalism: High Incidence in a Natural Population with Benefits to Females:
Sexual cannibalism may be a form of extreme sexual conflict in which females benefit more from feeding on males than mating with them, and males avoid aggressive, cannibalistic females in order to increase net fitness. A…
clock | October 22, 2008
Hmmm, let's see who is coming from really far away, crossing borders and such.....
Richard Grant is coming from Sydney, Australia.
Chris Rowan is coming from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Paula Signorini is coming from Sao Paulo, Brasil.
Carlos Takeshi Hotta is coming from Sao Paulo, Brasil.
Vedran Vucic is coming from Belgrade, Serbia.
Danica Radovanovic is coming from Belgrade, Serbia.
Bjoern Brembs is coming from Berlin, Germany.
Diana Pauly is coming from Berlin, Germany.
Martin Fenner is coming from Hannover, Germany.
Bob O'Hara is coming from Helsinki, Finland.
Enrico Maria Balli is…
clock | October 22, 2008Al Bundy is back! And after figuring out how much he earns selling shoes, and how much tax-break he would get with each candidate, he made a choice:
clock | October 22, 2008Voters In Battleground States More Ambivalent About Presidential Candidates:
Heavy advertising by both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates may actually make voters in battleground states more confused about which candidate to vote for, a new study suggests.
Amphibian Diversity Decreases Chances Of Parasitic Disease, Study Shows:
American toads who hang out with gray tree frogs reduce their chances of parasitic infection, limb deformation.
Earth In Midst Of Sixth Mass Extinction: 50% Of All Species Disappearing:
The Earth is in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of both…
clock | October 21, 2008Beware of sentimental alliances where the consciousness of good deeds is the only compensation for noble sacrifices.
- Otto von Bismarck
clock | October 21, 2008
If you look at the Program carefully, you will see there are three sessions specifically addressing the question of alternative careers at the ScienceOnline09. Here they are:
How to become a (paid) science journalist: advice for bloggers - This session is moderated by Rebecca Skloot and Tom Levenson:
Bloggers are bloggers because they like to write. But writing a blog is not the same as writing for a newspaper or magazine (or radio or TV). Most science bloggers have a background in science, not journalism. So, how does one become a science journalist? We'll ask some journalists for advice.…
clock | October 21, 2008Only 10 days to go!
Seed Overlords are pitching in some cool prizes for people who donate to any of the SciBlings DonorsChoose challenges, including mine.
Janet has the goods:
First, make a donation (from $5 on up) to any of the challenges mounted by ScienceBlogs bloggers.
After donating, forward your email receipt to scienceblogs@gmail.com.
If you've already donated to DonorsChoose, you're still eligible. Just send us a DonorsChoose receipt for a ScienceBloggers' challenge dated from 2008 to enter.
Winners will be chosen at random every Friday from now through the end of the DonorsChoose…
clock | October 20, 2008This is, I say, the time for all good men not to go to the aid of their party, but to come to the aid of their country.
- Eugene McCarthy
clock | October 20, 2008This I first posted on June 24, 2004 on www.jregrassroots.org, then republished on August 23, 2004 on Science And Politics. I love re-posting this one every now and then, just to check how much the world has changed. What do you think? Was I too rosy-eyed? Prophetic?
In the beginning there were grunts, tom-tom drums, smoke signals, and the guy on the horse riding from village to village reading the latest King's Edict. That is Phase I in the evolution of media.
Phase II was ushered in by Gutenberg. Remember the beginning of Protestantism? Luther nailing copies of his pamhlet on the doors…