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The Ocean is the Dog. Atmospheric Temperature is the Tail.
Posted by Greg Laden on June 19, 2013 
Let me ‘splain. If you want to know exactly where your dog is, you could put at GPS sensor in the middle of it’s body, perhaps near the pancreas. It would give you an average position for your dog, and would be most accurate most of the time. If you put the GPS sensor on…
5 Facts You Probably Don’t Know About the Cosmic Microwave Background
Posted by Ethan on June 19, 2013 
“Science cannot tell theology how to construct a doctrine of creation, but you can’t construct a doctrine of creation without taking account of the age of the universe and the evolutionary character of cosmic history.” -John Polkinghorne Out there in space, whether we look with our eyes or with a telescope — a far more…
SkepchickCON 2013 at CONvergence
Posted by Greg Laden on June 19, 2013 
CONvergence is the world’s largest fan run science fiction and fantasy convention held in Bloomington, MN on or around July 4th every year. An informal subset of the activities that occur at this huge gathering of people wearing costumes and stuff is a set of panels organized by Skepchick, focusing on various aspects of skepticism…
Why you sound so stupid when you say “global warming has stopped”
Posted by Greg Laden on June 19, 2013 
Science is good at seeing things that you can’t really see. For example, science can provide an accurate three dimensional model of a critically important molecule even though no one has ever directly seen what this molecule looks like. That three dimensional model of the molecule can be used to understand things such as a)…
Saturn’s hexagon
Posted by William M. Connolley on June 19, 2013 Isn’t this gorgeous? Its not new; BA blogged it last year, from Emily Lakdawalla, but I didn’t notice. I forget why I noticed now. Its all fluid-dynamicsy of course; and it (or something very similar) can be recreated in the lab. There’s another very nice image here. I think its gorgeous partly because you don’t…
Student guest post: Chirp, Chirp, Sneeze!
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 19, 2013 Student guest post by Julia Wiederholt I don’t think there is a single person that can claim to have never had the joyous experience (sarcasm intended) of suffering from the influenza. We all recognize the common symptoms that accompany this infectious little virus taking up residence in our bodies: the chills accompanying a fever, the…
CNBC stands for Could Not Be Correct?
Posted by Greg Laden on June 19, 2013 
… or Climate Noobs Bork Climate-science? … or Can’t News Be Correct? (add your own below) The thing is, CNBC, which is supposed to be a news station, is fueling public misunderstanding of climate science. This is bad journalism, and virtually criminal given the importance of climate change and the need for good science based…
After 10 years of PEPFAR, one million babies born HIV-free
Posted by Liz Borkowski on June 19, 2013 Yesterday, US Secretary of State John Kerry marked the 10th anniversary of the creation of PEPFAR, the US President’s Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief.
Around the Web: Cool linky stuff for science undergrads (6)
Posted by John Dupuis on June 19, 2013 I have a son who’s just finished his first year as a physics undergrad. As you can imagine, I occasionally pass along a link or two to him pointing to stuff on the web I think he might find particularly interesting or useful. Thinking on that fact, I surmised that perhaps other science students might…
Student guest post: Mission Impossible: Fighting Zoonotic Infections in Nicaragua
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 19, 2013 Student guest post by Brandon Woods A Dangerous Paradise From jungles with jaguars to crystal blue lakes with freshwater sharks, Nicaragua is one of the most beautiful and dangerous countries in Central America. The brilliant biodiversity attracts millions of tourists each year and the looming volcanoes that pepper the landscape can be an exciting yet…
Do you believe in magic in medicine?
Posted by Orac on June 19, 2013 Sometimes, between blogging, a demanding day (and night) job doing surgery and science, and everything else, I embarrass myself. Sure, sometimes I embarrass myself by saying something that, in retrospect, I wish I hadn’t. More often, I embarrass myself by letting things slide that I shouldn’t. For instance, when friends send me a prepublication copy…
Algae. Not just a soft drink any more.
Posted by Greg Laden on June 19, 2013 
Intel ISEF finalist Evie Sobczak creates viable algae biofuel without using chemicals in processing. ________________ Photo of Science Fair Credit: RinzeWind via Compfight cc
Student guest post: Are parasites causing a rise in the global HIV epidemic?
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 18, 2013 Student guest post by Carrie Ellsworth During the summer of 2010 I spent two months in Ghana studying a parasite called schistosomiasis. We worked in a small town called Adasawase to determine prevalence and treat the schoolchildren who were infected. We were told that schistosomiasis was not a major health concern for the people in…
What do flies, fish, mice and worms have to do with biomedical science?
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 18, 2013 A recent article posted in the BBC News provided a good explanation of why scientists commonly study these organisms as models for human diseases and conditions. Model organisms are chosen because their physiology is similar to other animals, including humans, in addition to other reasons: Visit the BBC News to see why researchers most often use flies, fish, mice and worms…
Do the creationist shuffle and twist!
Posted by PZ Myers on June 18, 2013 Don’t you hate it when you get up in the morning and the first thing you read on the internet is that the news that your entire career has been a waste of time, your whole field of study has collapsed, and you’re going to have to rethink your entire future? Happens to me all…
