May 11, 2008
Category:
Seed Magazine editors, now hard at work on the next issue, want to see the typical or not-so-typical places where our bloggers (and their readers) do science.
For the chance to get your scientific work space featured in Seed, please send a photo of it to art@seedmediagroup.com by Tuesday, May 13th at 5:00pm EST. Please write "Where I Do Science Photo Submission" in the subject line, and send as high a resolution image as you can.
Read more here.
Written by Karen Ventii at 6:21 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 8, 2008
Category: Technology
I recently started writing for a new website called TechPedia Atlanta which will launch in Summer 2008.
TechPedia Atlanta is a wiki-style site that will let anyone create or edit encyclopedic entries about the Atlanta technology scene.
I like the idea of an Atlanta-centric technology site because the city has a burgeoning biotech industry that remains under-the-radar. I think it would be a great place to showcase the innovative research being done at local universities and act as a networking tool for people aspiring to work or invest in the Atlanta biotech industry.
Having a wiki-style site that can be edited by anyone goes well with the culture of Atlanta's biotech industry, which is rather young and very much home-grown.
Similar sites may exist in other tech hubs around the country but I am not aware of them.
Written by Karen Ventii at 11:00 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
April 28, 2008
Category: Global health
India will account for approximately 60% of heart disease cases worldwide within two years, according to new research published in the journal Lancet.
The study, led by Dr Denis Xavier of St John's National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore and other researchers from Canada says one major problem is that Indians are unable to reach hospitals quickly in an emergency. Other risk factors in India were the same as elsewhere including tobacco use, high levels of lipids in the blood due to diets rich in saturated fat, and hypertension.
"As the Indian economy grows, there is a possibility for further increase in cardiovascular disease before we see a decline similar to that being witnessed in developed countries," US cardiologist Kim Eagle wrote in a commentary in the Lancet.
Read more in this BBC story
Written by Karen Ventii at 7:08 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
April 22, 2008
Category: Technology
This post from one of my favorite blogs, AfriGadget, highlights interesting ways that Africans are modifying cell phones for their unique technological needs. It is based on the author's (Erik Hersman) conversation with Jan Chipchase, a design and usability ethnographer for Nokia, who travels around the world to explore how mobile phones are used worldwide and then reports his findings back to Nokia's design team. He explains:
While exploring in Africa [Jan] found a booming market of hackers and mobile phone mechanics who are doing all kinds of interesting things such as creating new mobile phones from old phone parts. Another interesting innovation is the development of a dual SIM card hack so that users can access multiple carriers.
Read more here.
Image from Jan Chipchase's website
Written by Karen Ventii at 8:59 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
April 17, 2008
Category: Public Health
This NPR report describes how researchers in Oregon have adapted a technique to administer citywide drug tests using sewage. The research team, led by Dr. Jennifer Field, is part of a relatively new field of science called "sewage epidemiology".
Read on »
Written by Karen Ventii at 6:20 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
April 14, 2008
Category: Sex
Researchers at Penn State have concluded that satisfactory sexual intercourse for couples lasts from three to 13 minutes, contrary to popular fantasy about the need for hours of sexual activity. They arrived at these conclusions by conducting a survey of U.S. and Canadian sex therapists and published their findings in the May issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
In this blog entry, Val Willingham, Medical Producer at CNN, echoes my feelings about this type of research:
"I realize sex studies will continue," he says. "But wouldn't it be nice if the money they put into this kind of research could go to finding the cure for breast, prostate or cervical cancer? Who cares if you go three minutes or three hours? If you wake up smiling, that's all that counts. Put the stopwatches away, and get down to some real research."
Written by Karen Ventii at 7:54 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Technology
The largest road safety research project ever launched in Europe will usher in a series of powerful road-safety systems for European cars. But, in the long term, its basic, experimental research could lead to a car that is virtually uncrashable.
Read the rest of this Science Daily article.
ICT Results (2008, April 12). Road Safety: The Uncrashable Car?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 14, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
Written by Karen Ventii at 7:03 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
April 8, 2008
Category: Science Journalism
I recently co-founded a group called the Science Writers Association of Emory (SWAE). It was created out of an overwhelming interest in science journalism and medical writing among Emory graduate students.
We were lucky enough to get the support of our Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences as well as the Journalism Department.
With their support we decided to create (write, edit & publish) a science magazine that would provide Emory grad students the opportunity to showcase their science writing skills and build up their writing portfolios.
To date, we have organized an editorial team (I am editor-in-chief), identified a theme for our first edition and started soliciting writers.
It's been a very exciting journey so far and while I am confident in our ability to pull this off, it's still a bit-actually, VERY-scary.
Have we bitten off more than we can chew? Are we on the right track? I am very confident in our editorial team and believe we will succeed. I'll keep you all posted on our progress.
Any advice, information or tips are welcome.
Written by Karen Ventii at 7:31 AM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 27, 2008
Category: Science Journalism
The March 2008 issue of Nature has a great editorial piece on the current (and future) state of science in news media. The article draws heavily on new information released by The Pew Research Center in a report called The State of the News Media 2008.
It discusses the glaringly evident problem of waning science coverage in news media.
Read on »
Written by Karen Ventii at 12:00 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Hi there. I am a science/ medical writer based in Atlanta GA. I am currently getting my Ph.D. in the field of cancer biochemistry at Emory University. The purpose of this blog is to write about current and interesting science news that may affect people's lives. I hope you enjoy my posts.
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