Sheril R. Kirshenbaum
sheril
Posts by this author
June 23, 2008
Meet Vanessa Woods... internationally published author, journalist, and [full disclosure] among my most interesting friends. I've just finished her latest book 'It's Every Monkey For Themselves: A true story of love sex and lies in the jungle' and cannot recommend it highly enough--An honest,…
June 22, 2008
The animals are difficult to see and the density of the populations of grass eaters is very low right now... it is the dry season.~ Nicolas Devos, Biologist and Wildlife Photographer
My favorite wildlife photographer, Nicolas Devos, is back in South Africa. This morning I was delighted to open…
June 20, 2008
NOAA's Conrad Lautenbacher describes it as 'science without borders': Scientists around the world are converging data on health, weather, behavior, and disasters to anticipate illness and prepare for pandemics.
It's called the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, recognizing that patterns…
June 18, 2008
Remember those disgusting vast areas of the ocean depleted of oxygen and devoid of fish, shrimp, and marine life?
They're getting worse.
June 17, 2008
No doubt all this excess CO2 in the atmosphere is mucking up the planet, throwing all sorts of plants, animals, and natural cycles off kilter.
Enter Craig Venter.
Yes, the very same fellow who decoded the human genome in 2000 faster than anyone. Eight years later, he's set his sights on something…
June 16, 2008
A 14-day mission to the International Space Station ended when Discovery touched down Saturday morning in Cape Canaveral, Florida. So what were seven astronauts doing up there for two weeks, 217 orbits, and 5.7 million miles? Details are now up in my post over at Correlations...
June 12, 2008
Carnival of the Blue is one year old! Check out the 13th edition over at Mark's place.
And ever ask yourself what's one thing YOU can do for the ocean? The EcoDaredevil himself, Wallace J. Nichols, has a terrific Op-Ed in Mercury News explaining how each of us has the power to make a difference…
June 11, 2008
From today's Science Daily:
ScienceDaily (Jun. 9, 2008) -- New evidence that chemical contaminants are finding their way into the deep-sea food web has been found in deep-sea squids and octopods, including the strange-looking "vampire squid".
The troubling findings are about to be published in the…
June 10, 2008
Well, it seems Facebook just wasn't cool enough for the aspiring Ph.D... Heard of Epernicus? According to the tagline, it's 'Where Science Meets.'
Only you have to be invited.
In fact, you must 'use the name under which you publish, if applicable', so the webhosts can review your request and…
June 9, 2008
On the political spectrum, regular readers know I'm pretty nonpartisan. Call me old fashioned, but the America I want to be a part of looks something like the vision of Marlo Thomas from 1974. I'll vote for a candidate supporting freedom, a green country, and a shining (healthy) sea. And most of…
June 9, 2008
Neil deGrasse Tyson is among the best science communicators of our time. I expect he wouldn't remember, but years ago when I was an undergrad fellow at the American Museum of Natural History, he encouraged me to pursue astrobiology. Eight years later, I cannot visit the Rose Center without…
June 5, 2008
From here in DC, it's day three of Capitol Hill Oceans Week 2008. With little time to blog, the highlight from Wednesday's session on coral reefs:
Notable panelists, impressive powerpoints and a clear message: Corals are in serious trouble. Speakers were excellent, but this wasn't new information…
June 4, 2008
My new pal Dr. Anthony Crider gave a fantastic talk at last month's AAAS Forum on Second Life and virtual worlds. Full disclosure: I was skeptical and even mildly anxious at the thought of wandering into a simulation I'd heard might rival scenes from Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut--only with vampires…
June 3, 2008
..back in the District for Capitol Hill Oceans Week (CHOW) 2008.
It hardly seems that a year has passed since last the marine policy crowd converged upon the nation's capitol. CHOW an annual event where we share stories of success, lessons learned, discuss impending trouble, and figure out what…
June 2, 2008
It seems the previous post has inspired the call for a special dedication to our distinguished boy band-loving scibling over at Gene Expression. So it's time to sport your fanny pack and get those fluorescent Reebok pumps out of the closet! Yes Razib, just for you... the premiere of New Kids On…
June 2, 2008
As tickets are going fast for the New Kids On The Block tour, Harrison Ford is starring as Indiana Jones in the summer's first blockbuster and a movie about Batman and the Joker nears premiere. Big hair is in and we await a President named George Bush out. There's conflict in the Middle East…
May 30, 2008
From up in Juneau, Alaska, my pal Nick Bonzey at the US Forest Service thought I'd appreciate a good dose of nudibranchs, claiming 'these guys are MUCH cuter than your average sea cucumber.'
Admittedly, with photos like these from National Geographic's David Doubilet, Nick might just be onto…
May 30, 2008
Yes, there are jobs that offer women 'man sized paychecks', but I'm not encouraged looking at mean salaries in the sciences. While we ladies recently experienced a sightly higher percentage increase than the fellas, it seems to me something still doesn't add up:
May 29, 2008
From the Washington Post:
NEW YORK, May 28 -- Some of the nation's leading scientists, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top science adviser, today sharply criticized the diminished role of science in the United States and the shortage of federal funding for research, even as science…
May 29, 2008
Go visit AAAS for their news release on my recent panel at the 33rd Annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy.
New Media Pioneers Convey the 'Cool' of Science
[27 May 2008]
Speaking at the 2008 AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy in Washington, D.C., the speakers showed off…
May 28, 2008
Ocean acidification illustrated by David Fierstein (c) 2007 MBARI
Ocean acidification is intimately connected to our changing climate and as important as global warming. We're just not hearing about it in the news enough because the media has all but ignored the problem. So we must make the case…
May 27, 2008
After a 423 million mile journey, Phoenix touched down on Mars. The first pictures have been beamed back, and so far, it's nothing like my my favorite Heinlein novel.
The immediate goals of the Phoenix mission are to study the geologic history of water, and to search for evidence that Mars may…
May 23, 2008
It's a rumor that has been percolating about the Hill for months... and now may be moving toward reality rapidly! Yes folks, it's time to get behind the Bush Administration on something.
It seems George W. Bush has plans to leave a 'blue legacy' and to that I say, go for it Mr. President!
No…
May 23, 2008
At 2:22 pm tomorrow, I'll have circumnavigated that spectacular star of ours exactly 28 times.
Despite the traditional hullabaloo and fanfare every twelve months, it's easy to argue that counting orbits is rather arbitrary. Our year results from the happenstance masses of earth and the sun, the…
May 22, 2008
Fact: According to the National Postdoc Association, between 1972 and 2003, the percent of recent Ph.D. holders hired into full-time faculty positions fell from 74% to 44%.
Fact: During the same period, the number of post docs in science and engineering has increased from 13% to 34%.
Fact:…
May 22, 2008
Today I begin a series of posts on the tremendous challenges facing graduate students--with some illuminating data that sheds light on what's really going on in the ivory towers during the 21st century. To get started, here's The Simpsons perspective on the pursuit of an academic tenure track…
May 21, 2008
Last week I participated in a panel discussion on 'The Agenda with Steve Paikin.' The evening's show was called The Assault On Science so obviously it wasn't complete sans Chris.
Topics included climate change, the theory of evolution, science in the media, and religion (complete with a clip…
May 20, 2008
Over at Correlations, Cifford predicts I'll 'love' his post on these inhabitants of the Macquarie Ridge near New Zealand, adding:
I really hope the scientists said that* when they found this. Really. It's a mountain, underwater, colonized by millions of starfish. Amazing.
[*Pop quiz: Without…
May 19, 2008
Buongiorno readers! One revolution ago, I began a journey I certainly didn't anticipate... For a week I was to 'guest host' this Scienceblog called 'The Intersection' while Chris was away in Italy. And so began my first post:
And then something unexpected happened--I never left. And nothing's…
May 18, 2008
It's that special time of year again when high school students around the globe have the opportunity to shine at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Nearly 15,000 students from 47 countries competed in the 2008 competition and the winners are....
So much for the ladies…