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My small attempt to celebrate science and to make it interesting and fun by giving jargon, confusion and elitism a solid beating with the stick of good writing.
Ed Yong is an award-winning science writer based in London. Not Exactly Rocket Science is his attempt to make the latest scientific discoveries interesting to everyone by beating jargon, confusion and elitism with the stick of good writing. He finds writing about himself in the third person strange and unsettling.
"One of the best sites for in-depth analysis of interesting scientific papers" - The Times
"A consistently illuminating home for long, thoughtful, and thorough explorations of science news" - National Association of Science Writers
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May 31, 2009
Category: Animals
Six million years ago, the skies of Argentina were home to fearsome predator - Argentavis magnificens, the largest bird to ever take to the air. It weighed in at 70kg and had a wingspan of 7m, about the same...
Posted by Ed Yong at 8:06 AM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 29, 2009
Category: Evolution
Mice with "humanised" versions of the Foxp2 gene couldn't speak like their cartoon equals, but their calls were subtly altered, their central nervous system developed in different ways, and they showed changes in parts of the brain where FOXP2 is usually expressed.
Posted by Ed Yong at 8:30 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 28, 2009
Category: Bacteria
Your butt microbes have more in common with mine than they do with your elbow microbes.
Posted by Ed Yong at 2:00 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 27, 2009
Category: Psychology
Despite what self-help books say, repeating positive statements about yourself can backfire badly, especially for people with low self-esteem, who are most likely to rely on such statements.
Posted by Ed Yong at 8:30 AM • 34 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 26, 2009
Category: Technology
The infofuse is a strip of flammable paper patterned with metal salts. As it burns, the metals change the colour of the flames, creating coded pulses of light that can be used to send messages. Such as "LOOK MOM NO ELECTRICITY".
Posted by Ed Yong at 8:30 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 25, 2009
Category: Corals
Hurricanes may physically harm corals, but by drawing cooler water from the sea floor, they can provide corals with valuable respite from the effects of climate change.
Posted by Ed Yong at 12:22 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 24, 2009
Interesting tidbits from around the blogosphere.
Posted by Ed Yong at 5:20 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 23, 2009
Category: Altruism
Contrary to previous studies, research by Felix Warneken showed that chimps behave altruistically in a very human way. They help out unrelated strangers without expectation of reward, and even go to great lengths to do so.
Posted by Ed Yong at 12:00 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 21, 2009
Category: Eye evolution
The owl monkey has adapted its retina for nocturnal life simply by changing the timing of its development. It illustrates an increasingly familiar message - you can get big results by very subtly tweaking the way that bodies develop, without any need for large-scale tinkering.
Posted by Ed Yong at 8:30 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 20, 2009
Category: Technology
Shawn Douglas has found a way to turn DNA into the equivalent of sculptor's clay, using specially constructed strands to fashioned a series of nano-sculptures. Some can even be joined together.
Posted by Ed Yong at 1:00 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Neurophilosophy 11.19.2009
The Island of Doubt 11.20.2009
Greg Laden's Blog 11.20.2009
The World's Fair 11.19.2009
Laelaps 11.20.2009
