Afternoon dip - Zombie fire ants, stereotype threat, bedtime routines, floating plastic, and tree-climbing bots : Neuron Culture

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I write articles on science, medicine, nature, culture and other matters for the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Slate, National Geographic, Scientific American Mind, and other publications, and am working on my fourth book, The Orchid and the Dandelion, which expands on my recent December 2009 Atlantic article. In August 2010, I'll be moving to London for a year to work on the book. I'll also serve as a senior fellow at City University London's MA science journalism program.

You're encouraged to check out my third book Reef Madness: Charles Darwin, Alexander Agassiz, and the Meaning of Coral, which traces the strangest but most forgotten controversy in Darwin's career; subscribe to Neuron Culture by email; see more of my work at my main website ; or track Twitter feed, my Google Reader shared items, or my Tumblr log, which gets it all.

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Afternoon dip - Zombie fire ants, stereotype threat, bedtime routines, floating plastic, and tree-climbing bots

Posted on: May 22, 2009 3:12 PM, by David Dobbs

Having lived with fire ants, stepped in fire ants, laid down with fire ants, and been bit just about everywhere by fire ants, the news that parasitic flies turn fire ants them into zombies by eating their brains pleases me immensely.

Speaking of pleasure: Vaughn whacks the dopamine = pleasure meme.

Sharon Begley says Obama may get a lot done, but he can't erase stereotype threat (so far).

We may be dozing, but Europe is ordering its swine flu vaccine. D'oh! Update: We're getting a start too.

"Good night, sleep tight, I love you." Why consistent bedtime routines work.

Why the best medical reporters aren't necessarily doctors.

GOOD makes a pretty map of ugly floating plastic, while Catherine Rampell calls out another nice oceanic map: parked freighters.

Now we're getting somewhere: A tree-climbing robot.

Revere puts up a fascinating post pondering whether there's something unusual about the swine-flu symptoms and considers why older people seem to be less at risk.

Rotten fridge cleanup sends 7 to hospital. Really.