ksharpe | July 25, 2006Today on ScienceBlogs:
The Chronicle of Higher Education is running a symposium on the benefits of academic blogging
When vocalizing, rhesus macaques use regions of the brain that correspond to language centers in the human brain
A medical anthropologist in Minnesota undertakes a study "to examine the ways in which ideas about everyday life in American society are shaped by and shape ideas about sleep"
Why Indonesia's bird flu policy should make you nervous
Is science just 'common sense' writ large?
The math of zero
What's the difference between carbon dioxide and the common housefly? (Hint:…
ksharpe | July 24, 2006Today on ScienceBlogs:
Genetically-modified mosquitoes to control mosquito-borne diseases?
Mirror neurons: why have these flashy little cells received "massive, overblown publicity"?
Giant, gross, super-cool close-ups of bugs!
PZ Myers waxes lyrical about growing older, along with one's kids
A view of the post-Katrina medical infrastructure in New Orleans
Germany joins a coalition of European nations opposing embryonic stem cell research
Why "energy drinks" won't help you stay awake
ksharpe | July 20, 2006Eight new posts of note, hand-picked for your blog-reading enjoyment:
Abel Pharmboy reports that the FDA is (finally!) recognizing the potential for negative interactions between antidepressants and migraine medications
At Pure Pedantry, Jake says "so what?" to newly-released letters shedding light on Einstein's - many! - extramarital affairs
Alex at The Daily Transcript has two items up that come with graphs and discuss important science-funding issues. One describes why increased demand for biomedical postdocs hasn't translated into decent wages for these positions. The second is about…
ksharpe | July 19, 2006It's the latest and the greatest of them all!
Jake Young reports breaking news from the AP: President Bush does veto the stem cell bill
Dr Free-Ride follows up on a story about allegations of widespread plagiarism in the Engineering Department at Ohio University
Shelley Batts on New Orleans doctors being prosecuted for second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of hospital patients during Hurricane Katrina
Chad Orzel chimes in to the growing debate about the future of nuclear energy in America
Orac punches some holes in a study blaming iPods and cell phones for a rise in autism…
ksharpe | July 19, 2006If you could have practiced science in any time and any place throughout history, which would it be, and why?
ksharpe | July 18, 2006Eight of the freshest (in both senses) from the last 24 hours:
Framing Science takes a look at the relationship between hot weather, and news-media attention paid to global warming
PZ Myers offers his gloss on pending stem cell legislation
Pure Pedantry reports that getting enough sleep appears to lower your chances of obesity
Dr. Joan Bushwell eagerly anticipates the premiere of the SciFi Network's newest series, a small-town drama with overtones of 'Twin Peaks'
Evolgen conjectures about developing "a community of armchair molecular genetics data miners"
Cognitive Daily wonders whether…
ksharpe | July 17, 2006It's an embarrassment of riches on ScienceBlogs today. Below, your quick guide to a few of the posts that are making us feel so flush.
Benjamin Cohen at The World's Fair links to an article about the portrayal of physicists in film, and talks up the Society for Arts, Literature, and Science, which is planning an interesting annual meeting in NYC in November (the theme is "Evolution: Biological, Cultural, and Cosmic").
On the subject of The World's Fair (those guys are on fire), the third and final clue to the Puzzle Fantastica #1 is up. Shelley has posted an intriguing bid for a solution the…
ksharpe | July 16, 2006A few weekend posts worth digging back for:
Shelley and Evil Monkey discuss the theory that exposure to environmental toxins such as pesticides could be responsible for the rise in prevalence of Parkinson's disease, especially among the young.
Janet continues the discussion of the position of women in the sciences with a post on a Boston Globe story about the intimidation of a (female) MIT job candidate by a (male) nobel laureate.
Joseph describes an uproar in Peru over promising anti-diarrheal drugs; naysayers oppose the drugs on the grounds that they are manufactured using gentic…
ksharpe | July 12, 2006Is every species of living thing on the planet equally deserving of protection?
ksharpe | July 12, 2006Did you know about the network banner?
One of the features of Seed Media Group websites (that's ScienceBlogs.com, Seedmagazine.com, and Phylotaxis.com to you) is called the network banner. It's the thin gray strip you see at the top of your screen.
What is the network banner? What does it do?
Well, because the banner is the same across all the sites, it helps you know you're in Seed Media country. But it's more than just a visual marker. The network banner is updated every day with links to blog posts, magazine articles, and other features that the Seed editors think you'd enjoy. If you're in…
ksharpe | July 11, 2006There's so much good stuff on ScienceBlogs today that I'm moved to do something drastic: namely, to post, and point out the contributions that have been rocking my morning.
This one got by me the first time, but I'm glad I found it: a Retrospectacle article about how to cook up your own vitamin C. Shelley says the store-bought stuff loses potency over time (any chemists out there who can support or debunk this claim?) Wild...and very DIY.
Pharyngula reveals that the annoying, cranium-penetrating sound that mosquitoes make is actually a love song of sorts - a fact that only increases his…
ksharpe | July 10, 2006The ScienceBlogs Donors Choose Challenge officially ended on July 1. By the final count, the ScienceBloggers raised $23,005.16 for educational projects in public-school science teachers' classrooms. The $23,005 will be joined by $10,000 in matching funds donated by Seed. And DonorsChoose has announced that it will reward individual blog challenges that met their funding goals with DonorsChoose gift certificates worth 10% of the amount raised in those challenges, sweetening the pot even more.
Nineteen of the ScienceBlogs participated in the funding drive. Six blogs--Pharyngula, The…
ksharpe | July 6, 2006On July 5, 1996, Dolly the sheep became the first successfully cloned mammal. Ten years on, has cloning developed the way you expected it to?
ksharpe | June 28, 2006What are some unsung successes that have occurred as a result of using science to guide policy?
ksharpe | June 28, 2006Earlier this month, ScienceBloggers Jake Young of Pure Pedantry and Shelley Batts of Retrospectacle got to talking about how, given how many neuro-philes now blog at Sb, it could be fun to start a homegrown neuroscience blog carnival.
Jake picked up the ball and ran, organizing most of Sb's other neuro-bloggers and a healthy handful of bloggers from outside the network to create the first edition of the brand-new neuroscience carnival. The ScienceBloggers agreed on the name 'The Synapse' (also-rans included 'Organ of Destiny,' 'Wider Than the Sky,' and the utilitarian 'Carnival of…
ksharpe | June 16, 2006Looking around ScienceBlogs today and yesterday, you may notice a crop of new, blue-and-white buttons on many of the blogs. No, it's not the latest in blog-homepage fashion (though they are pretty spiffy looking). The badges signify blogs that are participating in the ScienceBlogs/DonorsChoose fundraising challenge, a drive to raise some money for public-school science educators to take their teaching to the next level--using friendly competition among the blogs and a stash of fabulous prizes to help get the job done.
So what's the ScienceBlogs/DonorsChoose fundraising challenge all about?…
ksharpe | June 15, 2006How is it that all the PIs (Tara, PZ, Orac et al.), various grad students, post-docs, etc. find time to fulfill their primary objectives (day jobs) and blog so prolifically?
ksharpe | June 12, 2006Hi there. If this is your first visit to the newly-designed ScienceBlogs homepage, welcome. And if you're a return visitor, welcome back.
I want to take a moment to walk you through the new features and functionalities on the page, but first, a reminder.
If you're feeling disoriented by the new design, and are aflame with nostalgia for ScienceBlogs Classic®, I urge you to check out the 'Last 24 Hours' channel, in the upper left-hand corner of the page. Clicking 'Last 24 Hours' will take you to an "alternate homepage" that works exactly as the 'old' ScienceBlogs did: it's an uncluttered space…
ksharpe | June 9, 2006Assuming that time and money were not obstacles, what area of scientific research, outside of your own discipline, would you most like to explore? Why?