Events
bioephemera | March 10, 2009So I observed Pi day by baking a pie. But Representative Bart Gordon of Tennessee, Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, has a much grander idea: let's pass a resolution!
Witness H.Res.224, introduced yesterday:
Supporting the designation of Pi Day, and for other purposes.
Whereas the Greek letter (Pi) is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter;Whereas the ratio Pi is an irrational number, which will continue infinitely without repeating, and has been calculated to over one trillion digits;Whereas Pi is a recurring constant that has…
bioephemera | March 2, 2009If you're in New York tonight, head over to the mysterious new "Observatory" between Proteus Gowanus, Cabinet Magazine, and the Morbid Anatomy Library for
(1) a book release party for Confronting Mortality with Art and Science: Scientific and Artistic Impressions on what the Certainty of Death Says About Life;
(2) a film screening of Art:Science = Science x Art;
and (3) conversation with some really, really cool people. I'm jealous that i'm down here in DC - even if I do get to go see Adam Gopnik tonight at Politics and Prose. I'm going to have to pre-order this darn book on Amazon like…
neurophilosophy | December 14, 2008Professor Martha J. Farah emailed me recently to ask if I'd help spread the word about Neuroscience Boot Camp, which will take place at the University of Pennsylvania in August of next year:
What happens at Neuroscience Boot Camp?
Through a combination of lectures, break-out groups, panel discussions and laboratory visits, participants will gain an understanding of the methods of neuroscience and key findings on the cognitive and social-emotional functions of the brain, lifespan development and disorders of brain function.
Each lecture will be followed by extensive Q&A. Break-out…
neurophilosophy | September 14, 2008The Seed Media Group is offering a big prize to celebrate the millionth comment on the ScienceBlogs network. One lucky reader, selected at random from those who comment over the next few days, will win a four day trip to New York City, which includes four nights in a 4-star hotel and dinner with their favourite ScienceBlogger, who will also be flown in for the occasion.
Many of the bloggers on the network are also holding parties across the States and elsewhere in the world. Here in the U.K., Nick Anthis, Kara Contreary, Selvakumar Ganesan Ed Yong and I have planned a little get-together on…
scientificactivist | September 11, 2008As ScienceBlogs prepares to receive its one millionth reader comment, ScienceBloggers are planning parties around the globe in celebration of the event. For our readers in London, Mo Costandi (Neurophilosophy), Ed Yong (Not Exactly Rocket Science), Selvakumar Ganesan (The Scientific Indian), Kara Contreary (Pure Pedantry), and I have planned a party on Saturday, 20 September. So, if you are in the area, please come and join us at the Calthorpe Arms, a pub near Russell Square and King's Cross (see details here,) from 7:00 pm until close. ScienceBlogs has given us $100 per blogger ($500…
neurophilosophy | September 2, 2008
The past few days have been rather hectic, hence the lack of updates. On Saturday, I attended and took part in Europe's first science blogging conference, and there were also several other events which had been organized for those who came to the event from abroad.
Last Thursday evening, I was forced to go on a scientific pub crawl, and on Friday I joined a group of about 20 others for a London science tour. Both events were organized and led by Matt Brown, who pretended that it was part of his job rather than an excuse for him to indulge in his hobbies and show off his extensive knowledge…
neurophilosophy | August 6, 2008The Science Blogging Conference will be held at the Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS, on August 30th, 2008.
According to the organizers, the event has now reached its attendance capacity, but if you'd like to be placed on the waiting list, send an email to network[at]nature.com, with the subject line 'Science blogging conference', stating your job title, affiliation and a link to your blog if you have one.
Here's the conference programme, and below is a list of registered attendees, along with links to their Nature Network profiles and blogs/websites.
Registered…
neurophilosophy | July 25, 2008
Looking down from the steps of the Museu National d' Art Catalunya, we see the Fira de Barcelona, a complex of 8 large buildings which together make up one of the largest exhibition centres in Europe. One of these buildings, in the lower right of the above photograph, was the venue for ESOF2008.
The Palau de Congressos de Barcelona accommodated some 3,000 registered attendees and participants, among them scientists, journalists, business people, policy makers and students.
The building contained dozens of rooms spread out over 4 floors. Downstairs, one large room was filled with booths for…
neurophilosophy | July 22, 2008What are the difficulties facing science journalists in developing countries, and what can we do to support them? These were the main issues raised in a session I attended this morning.
Session: Building Networks: How to Support Science Journalists in Developing Countries
Organiser: Lynda Lich-Knight, German Science Journalists' Association (WPK), Germany
Abstract: Developing countries need science journalism just as much as developed countries. In order to reach the UN millennium development goals and to build open societies, they must be able to rely on independent sources of scientific…
neurophilosophy | July 22, 2008While wandering around looking at the outreach activities at ESOF2008, I came across this interesting booth for the PS3GRID project, by members of the Multiscale Lab, which is located in the University of Pompeu Fabra's Computational Biochemistry and Biophysics Laboratory at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park.
Run by volunteers, the project involves building computer simulations of molecules to study protein dynamics and interactions. This is done using gaming hardware such as the PlayStation 3 and NVIDIA graphics card, which have more processing power than the CPUs found in standard…
neurophilosophy | July 20, 2008If you're at all familiar with Ben Goldacre's Bad Science blog and Guardian column, you'll have some idea of what his talk was about - debunking nutritionists, the multi-billion dollar industry nutritional supplement industry they have built, and the overblown claims about the benefits of various food products.
Title: Food, Fads & Fantasies
Abstract: We are frequently bombarded with very specific claims on food and health by the media, the food supplement pill industry, the "functional foods" industry, and the new unregulated "nutritionists". Diet is undoubtedly one of many important…
neurophilosophy | July 18, 2008
I landed in Barcelona at around 10am local time, and, after checking in to my hotel, made my way towards Placa d'Espanya to find the conference hall. This magnificent building - an art gallery I think - is right next to the venue at which ESOF2008 is being held.
I'm sitting in one of the conference rooms right now, where the keynote speech for "The Human Mind and Behaviour" theme is about to begin. I'll report back on the session later...
scientificactivist | March 29, 2008Scientists and Engineers for America has announced a workshop for scientists interested in running for office or working on a political campaign. The workshop will be held at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, on May 10th. Despite the focus of my blog, I would have still thought that training scientists to run for office would be quite a niche area--to say the least. However, considering how fundamental science and technology are to the issues that elected officials face today (from scientific funding to energy and the environment to agricultural policy), having more scientists in…
scientificactivist | October 14, 2007Tomorrow, 15 October, is the inaugural Blog Action Day. This means that thousands of bloggers from across the internet will publish posts on a single topic: the environment. So far over 14,000 blogs have signed up, with an estimated audience of over 12,000,000 readers. And, especially considering the outcome of the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday, the topic couldn't be more relevant.
Check out the official site for more details:
Hat tip to A Blog Around the Clock
scientificactivist | October 1, 2007It's that time of the year again, when us bloggers take a moment away from our posturing to actually do some good for this world. Yes, that's right: today DonorsChoose is kicking off its 2007 Bloggers Challenge. And, just like last year, several of us at ScienceBlogs have put together our own challenges to raise money for science classrooms.
Last year's challenge was such a success here at ScienceBlogs (raising $26,938.80 for science classrooms) that we're doing it again this year... for twice as long! The challenge starts today and will continue until the 31st of October. So, please,…
scientificactivist | October 1, 2007This announcement is related to another bigger one that's coming in just a few hours.
Six Apart (who runs MovableType, the blogging platform we use at ScienceBlogs) is giving away $30 philanthropic gift certificates for use on DonorsChoose. The only catch is that you have to contact Six Apart by noon today (Monday, October 1st)!
At DonorsChoose, teachers submit short proposals for classroom projects that need funding, giving potential donors a wide array of worthy causes to contribute to. Today is also the beginning of the 2007 DonorsChoose Bloggers Challenge, but there will be more on that…
cevans | September 13, 2007
This is almost certainly irrelevant, last-minute information, but for those of you readers who are both a) Portland residents, and b) free this evening, I will be presenting a once-ever-only immersive Power Point environment at PICA's Time-Based Arts festival tonight. It will be around 10:30pm at this year's "The Works," the Wonder Ballroom, at 128 NE Russell St.
This event presumably costs some money, but will be excellent. Other than myself, Lucky Dragons, Hooliganship, and Mean Age will present information and music. Also screening will be a pantheon of animated films from such luminaries…
scientificactivist | September 3, 2007This one is for my readers at Texas A&M University.
I'm currently visiting Texas for a couple of weeks, and I'll be speaking at the first meeting of the semester of the Texas Aggie Democrats this Wednesday, 5 September, at 8:30 pm in Rudder 502. I'll be talking a bit about the Democratic Party in general and about the work that my colleagues and I did when I was a student there. Most importantly, though, I'll be talking about the emerging role of blogs in politics. So, if you're at Texas A&M, I hope to see you there.
scientificactivist | August 6, 2007This one is for my readers in Oxford. The Oxford Internet Institute is hosting what could be a semi-relevant and interesting talk this Wednesday at noon. Here are the details:
Title: Political Blogging in Campaign and Political Communication: Campaigning for Political Leadership 2.0?
Speaker: J. Ignacio Criado (OII Visiting Fellow)
When: Wednesday 8 August 2007 12:00 - 13:30
Abstract:
The extended use of Internet facilities within the generalization of social access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the advanced societies has contributed to both the diffusion and…
scientificactivist | July 15, 2007This one is for my readers in Texas, particularly those in the greater Houston area. Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science and blogger at The Intersection, will be in Houston this week to promote his new book Storm World. Here are the details:
July 18, 20077:00 P.M.Barnes & Noble12850 Memorial DriveHouston, Texas
Check out the book's website for more info. If you're in the area, it should be interesting to hear what Mooney has to say about a topic that I know is near and dear to his heart: hurricanes and global warming.