Video
jtoney | April 7, 2011
Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Linux with us. Watch the Story of Linux to remember - or learn for the first time - how Linux disrupted a market and has begun to change the world. Do you see yourself in its story?
The computer operating system Linux was introduced in August 1991. It was made available freely but has fueled a number of businesses. How can this be?
I encourage to watch this brief video to appreciate Linux as an entrepreneurial success story.
From the video, Linux provides users with:
The freedom to use the software for any purpose.
The freedom to change the software to…
jtoney | April 7, 2011
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Billionaire Donald Trump's recent announcement that he is considering running for President of the United States in 2012 has, if anything, generated a lot of media buzz. Could he apply his business acumen to become an effective national and global leader?
Meredith Vieira's interview with Donald Trump on the "Today Show" this morning provided another example of his braggadocio and revealed some disturbing and, yes, provocative {by design?} criticism of President Obama.
Mr. Trump's comments reminded me of a line from…
cagapakis | April 6, 2011Valerie Weiss is not just a film director with a fun new movie coming out, she's also a scientist. After getting her PhD from Harvard (from the same lab as me!) she created PhD Productions, and her newest film is a quirky romantic comedy look at the life of a neurotic graduate student. "Losing Control" "blurs the lines between science and love," as our grad student hero tries to decide whether her boyfriend in "the one" through a series of controlled experiments. Here's the trailer:
There's going to be a screening of the movie this Friday at Harvard, free with Harvard student ID. Maybe I'll…
jtoney | April 4, 2011
Can You Understand Our World Without Mathematics?
I could grapple with this question, but I'll let physicist Richard Feynman of the Manhattan Project and Nobel Prize winner in Physics, take it on.
This video {watch it here} was graciously shared by Sir Harold Kroto, excerpted from the BBC when he did a presentation for them {credit: BBC Horizon and producer Chris Sykes.}
I encourage you to watch this brief video. I find Dr. Feynman's perspective particularly refreshing after viewing a polar opposite, dismissive view of science and mathematics from former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent…
jtoney | April 4, 2011Find out what Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has to say about the weekly Prayer Meetings taking place in Room 219 of the U.S Capital. Also, her perspective of the sacrifices and faith of our Founding Fathers is sure to stir your heart. Find out more by visiting The Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation website at www.findroom219.com.
Since the national American Chemical Society meeting last week, I've had an ongoing dialogue with Sir Harold Kroto about his insightful seminar "Science, Anti-Science and Survival." He described the "power of irrationality" as one of the greatest challenges of…
jtoney | April 1, 2011
Is studying science and mathematics valuable for a general education? Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said it is a "waste of my time, waste of my teacher's time and a waste of space" - if your goal is to become a lawyer. His audience roared in laughter and applause. Is such an attitude entrenched in our society?
This brief video, shared by Sir Harold Kroto from his seminar at the American Chemical Society meeting this week, "Science, Anti-Science and Survival" exemplifies this caustic attitude towards education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) that…
jtoney | March 30, 2011
Disaster relief for Japan has taken on many forms, and I applaud artists when they use their talents and their broad outreach to help the victims and their families. The band Linkin Park has responded in their own way, using graphic design guided by their fans.
This effort is part of the "Music for Relief" campaign.
You can view the CNN broadcast here about their design.
Linkin Park - Not Alone Lyrics
I break down, fear is sinking in
The cold comes, racing through my skin
Searching for a way to get to you
Through the storm you...
Go, giving up your home
Go, leaving all you've known
You are…
jtoney | March 26, 2011
My son has been a Lego fanatic since he was about two years old. Our house is littered with those hard, plastic pieces on every floor, with various projects at different stages of completion - in some cases, merging into new hybrids. Legos are a great tool to encourage creativity. Who would have thought that they could be used to replicate an ancient Greek computer?
From Nature's video channel (if you have not already seen this amazing footage):
The Antikythera Mechanism is the oldest known scientific computer. Built in Greece around 100 BCE but lost for 2000 years, it was recovered from…
jtoney | March 24, 2011
This is a glimpse into the future of 3D technology, utterly fascinating.
From PopSci:
A new, truly 360-degree 3-D display has been developed by researchers at Osaka University. The fog display is created by three projectors each beaming a different image into a column of thin fog, making the resulting image appear 3-dimensional from all angles. This technique means that viewers can physically walk around the display to see it from different vantage points without losing the 3-D effect.
My colleagues at Kean University have been using CAVE⢠Virtual Reality for their research and teaching,…
jtoney | March 23, 2011Consider the realm of influence of Twitter itself, as a Twitterer - if there is such a term.
Twitter just celebrated its "5th birthday." Who is the CMO?
In just over five years, @Twitter has sent 1,056 Tweets, has 4,675,494 followers, and follows 436 (if you measure "Klout," that's a lot of Klout.)
This evening's Tweet was all about Lady Gaga:
This is no coincidence. Google, that other multi-billion dollar media giant, happened to air an exclusive interview yesterday with this diva of Pop {"Musicians@Google Presents: Google Goes Gaga"}:
Such an intersection of popular culture, online…
jtoney | March 18, 2011
Find out how to invest in energy stocks at EnergyAndCapital.com.
The ongoing human tragedy in Japan, now centered on the Fukushima nuclear power plants, highlights the need for innovative approaches to meeting our energy needs. This "peak oil clock" could provide some perspective into how much oil the world is consuming. Will this be a wake up call?
As I write this, the year to date consumption is more than 5.5 billion barrels.
jgoldman | March 18, 2011
Via the Smithsonian Channel:
Gudrun Pflueger, first seen in A Woman Among Wolves, returns to wolf country after a grueling and terrifying bout with cancer.
Determined to fight for the wolves who gave her the strength to survive her illness, Pflueger battles freezing temperatures and personal setbacks to track the wolves in the wild. The data she collects in the wolves' dwindling habitat may one day help stave off extinction of this keystone species. Witness the dramatic story of survival and endurance that culminates in nothing less than a scientific miracle.
Throughout the month of March…
jtoney | March 15, 2011A breakthrough infant formula for babies 0 to 12 months * The first infant formula with BIFIDUS Bâ¢--beneficial cultures like those found in breastmilk to help support Baby's healthy immune system1 * Gentle 100% whey COMFORT PROTEINS® designed to be easy to digest * Complete nutrition in a milk-based formula * DHA & ARA for Babys brain and eye development
There's a classic saying in the advertising industry: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak."
Gerber's "Good Start Protect Plus" baby formula commercial, shown in the video above, is an example. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the…
jtoney | March 11, 2011
Uploaded by NOAAPMEL on Mar 11, 2011
Propagation of the March 11, 2011 Honshu tsunami was computed with the NOAA forecast method using MOST model with the tsunami source inferred from DART® data. From the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research, located at NOAA PMEL in Seattle, WA. See http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/honshu20110311
Amidst the flurry of our 24 hour news cycle, with the pettiness of the U.S. National Football League clashes {is it not a game, after all?}, and intense debates on union rights in Wisconsin, it's time for some perspective: we are all connected, and "mother nature" does not…
jtoney | March 10, 2011
If you're interested in the complexities of our brain, a glimpse into the incredible complexity and beauty of how connections between our neurons can lead to ultimately what makes us human, this video is a must. Take five minutes, and prepare yourself to be awestruck.
On a personal note, I am not a neuroscientist but have been following this literature lately, simply because I am drawn to trying to understand how our brains work. I am humbled by the superb job done by Charlotte Stoddart in integrating several key studies to paint a picture of our brains that can be understood, and…
jtoney | March 9, 2011
Juvenile Cowfish
Photograph by Chris Newbert, Minden Pictures
A photographer's strobe gives a violet sheen to this translucent juvenile roundbelly cowfish off the coast of Kona, Hawaii. Also known as the transparent boxfish, the roundbelly cowfish has two short horns in front of its eyes.
Stunned by the beauty of these photographs of translucent undersea creatures by National Geographic, I would like to share a few of my favorites.
Pelagic Octopus
Photograph by Chris Newbert, Minden Pictures
A pelagic, or open-ocean, octopus gives off a neon glow in Hawaii. Most species of octopus have no…
jtoney | March 3, 2011
Lady Gaga's new perfume - could it be an intersection of art, fashion, marketing, desire, pheromones, molecular biology? Perhaps.
From The New York Times interview posted today, "Lady Gaga at Paris Fashion Week":
Lady Gaga:
It's a smell of many different things, I don't want to give too much away. But I do want to say that I took a sample of my own blood and extracted the molecular structure and the scent of that, and injected it into the perfume so it would smell like and feel like me.
Fascinating - how does one "extract molecular structure" of blood and "inject" into the perfume? I am…
jgoldman | March 3, 2011The narrator laureate of the science world, David Attenborough, describes the birth of a baby grey kangaroo.
Our friends at BBC Earth describe the video:
In this video a kangaroo is born, crawls up to its mother's pouch where a camera captures it's development from tiny, naked, grub-like newborn into a fully grown Joey.
It's amazing how the baby worm-like kangaroo is born automatically knowing how to get up into the mother's pouch. Incredible.
drorzel | February 25, 2011Since people have asked about the lack of Thursday Toddler Blogging to this point, here's an update: We had a bit of a meltdown last night at dinner, which ended with SteelyKid asking to go to bed an hour earlier than usual. This morning, she slept in, and we got a bunch more snow overnight, so there wasn't time to get any pictures. We'll get something later tonight, I hope.
If you're desperate for a cute toddler fix, here's a rerun:
That was at a Union basketball game a few weeks ago. Sadly, the season is over, so we'll have to find another venue to drill SteelyKid on her ball-handling…
jtoney | February 18, 2011
If you've ever wondered how a single neuron fits into the incredibly complex structure of a living brain, I highly recommend this three minute video. Be prepared to be awestruck.
This video won Honorable Mention in Science's 2010 Visualization Challenge featured in the February 18 issue.
According to the paper in Science:
Animator Drew Berry and his neurobiologist colleagues take you on a journey deep inside the mouse brain. The video brings to life data from the Whole Brain Catalog, a massive database of microscopy and other data sets on the mouse brain, under development at the…