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Technology and Life Science Weekly Updates 11/16/08

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:41:28 -0500

Technology

Technology channel photo. Nam June Paik's "Electronic Superhighway" at the National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian - Washington DC. From Flickr, by frozenchipmunk
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Medicine & Health and Brain & Behavior Weekly Update

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:29:23 -0500

Welcome to another Channel Update. In this post, you will find the large versions of the Medicine & Health and Brain & Behavior channel photos, and also the contextualized versions of the reader reactions from the aforementioned channels.

Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health channel photo. Image captured with an electron microscope of a six-day-old human embryo implanting in a womb. From Flickr, by LoreleiRanveig
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Education & Careers and Politics Weekly Update 11/12/08

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:09:20 -0500

Greetings ScienceBlogs readers. In this post: The large versions of the photos on the Education & Careers and Politics channels, and a recap of the channel quotes.

Education & Careers

Education & Careers channel photo. An enthusiastic submarine driver pops his head out of the hatch to smile for the camera. From Flickr, by jurvetson
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An Interview with John Wilbanks of Common Knowledge

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:30:00 -0500

If you don't think you are a brain in a vat, then there are certain things in life you regard as true—things that are also accepted as true by most other people. When events happen, there are generally highly efficient methods to convey information to the public so that the first-hand information gathered by a select few is transformed into "common knowledge" in an increasingly short period of time. But because currently accepted methods of establishing a consensus on scientific claims are lengthy and inaccessible to the public, "most of the knowledge in science is uncommon," according to John Wilbanks, author of the new ScienceBlog Common Knowledge.

An advocate of the OpenAccess movement and head of the Science Commons project at Creative Commons, Wilbanks believes in using the power of the Internet to create networks of scientific knowledge that are readily available to everyone. Read on to find out more about him!

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Environment and Humanities & Social Science Channel Weekly Update 10/28/08

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:19:16 -0500

Hello again, ScienceBlogs enthusiasts. Today we will be taking a look at this week's hot posts in the Environment and Humanities & Social Science channels. I'm Arikia Millikan, your ScienceBlogs intern, and I'll be your guide.

Environment channel photo. The PPL-owned nuclear cooling towers in Conyngham and Salem Townships, Luzerne County. As seen from the Council Cup scenic overlook. From Flickr, by Nicholas T
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Life and Physical Science Channel Update 10/27/08

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:32:49 -0500

Greetings ScienceBlogs readers, and welcome to this week's edition of the Life Science and Physical Science Channel updates! I'm Arikia Millikan, your local Sb intern, and I'll be providing commentary on today's "best of."

Life Science channel photo. A model representing the molecular structure of a DNA double helix. From Flickr, by net_efekt
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Technology Weekly Update 10/23/08

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:30:19 -0500

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That means, "Hey ScienceBlogs readers, and welcome to the weekly Technology Channel update!" in 1337. I'm Arikia Millikan, and I'll be your host.

Technology channel photo. A dramatic shot of a keyboard. From Flickr, by Martin Kingsley
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ScienceBlogs is Doubling our Impact

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:51:31 -0500

Those of you who have been following this year's DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge may know that ScienceBlogs has already raised over $18,000 for public school classrooms that lack adequate funding for science education. Our readers have been remarkably generous, averaging over $75 per donation. ScienceBlogs, too, has offered prizes to donors—Seed magazine subscriptions, custom USB drives, an Apple iPod Touch and more.

Now, ScienceBlogs has also donated $15,000 to DonorsChoose in Double Your Impact campaign. Each of our 21 participating bloggers will receive $715 to disburse among their chosen classroom projects.

If you haven't already donated to DonorsChoose this year, we encourage you to find a way to give, too—in any amount—for the sake of science education. (And then of course, forward your confirmation email to scienceblogs@gmail.com to enter one of our prize drawings.)

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Singularity Summit 2008- Register Today

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:11:37 -0500

What, then, is the Singularity? It's a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed. Although neither utopian or dystopian, this epoch will transform the concepts that we rely on to give meaning to our lives, from our business models to the cycle of human life, including death itself. Understanding the Singularity will alter our perspective on the significance of our past and the ramifications for our future. To truly understand it inherently changes one's view of life in general and one's own particular life.

- Ray Kurzweil, award-winning inventor and author of The Singularity is Near

Singularity has fascinated human minds since the concept first became popular in science fiction books and films in the 1980s. The term was introduced by mathematician and author Vernor Vinge in a 1983 issue of Omni magazine: the creation of artificial intelligence with the ability to improve upon itself, thus quickly and irreversibly surpassing the mental capabilities of humans.

Now, as artificial intelligence comes close to perfecting skills once thought to be uniquely human—speech recognition, for one—singularity has moved from science fiction into the mainsteam discussion of A.I. technology. In 2006, the first Singularity Summit was held at Stanford University for scientists and others to fully explore the subject with other interested participants.

Now in its third year, the 2008 Singularity Summit will be held this Saturday, October 25, in San Jose, California. Speakers include inventor and summit founder Ray Kurzweil, founder of the X PRIZE Foundation Peter Diamandis, and the Singularity Institute Director of Research, Ben Goertzel.

Registration for Singularity Summit 2008 is still open, and our readers can purchase tickets for the event at a discount by using this link: http://www.singularitysummit.com/registration/new/ss08blogscienceblogs. Footage from the previous two conferences can be seen below:

If you're around the Bay Area this weekend, you have a rare opportunity to hear and interact with some of the world's greatest thinkers. Check out the Summit's program and register today!

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Brain & Behavior Weekly Update 10/22/08

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:13:10 -0500

I'm going to try something a bit different with the weekly updates, so consider this the pilot episode. Since I read the majority of the blog posts pretty much every day, I want to use these updates to deliver a compact shot of information from the most important and interesting posts. I'll discuss what's most popular, but I will also try to point out some exceptional posts form lesser-known bloggers. Please use the comment boards and let me know what you like, what you don't like, questions, comments--anything at all!

Brain & Behavior channel photo. Psychologists at work. From Flickr, by tupwanders
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ScienceBlogs is giving away prizes to DonorsChoose donors

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:45:09 -0500

The DonorsChoose '08 Blogger Challenge has been wildly successful so far; you, our readers, have exceeded expectations with your generous donations, now totalling over $16,500. Whether it's the competitive aspect that's driving you to donate or simply the goodness of your hearts we don't know, but either way, ScienceBlogs would like to reward you.

If you forward the confirmation email from your donation to scienceblogs@gmail.com, we'll enter you in a contest to win an assortment of prizes: 50 subscriptions to Seed magazine, ScienceBlogs laptop sleeves, USB drives and mugs. Every Friday we'll draw names for a portion of the prizes. At the end of the contest, we'll also have a drawing for one Apple iPod Touch, from all the submissions we've received throughout the challenge.

Choose a project to donate to now, and send us your submission to enter next week's drawing!

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Celebrate One Million Comments!

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:20:32 -0500

As you've undoubtedly noticed by now, we've reached more than 1,000,000 comments on our network! W00t!

To celebrate, from September 14-29, our bloggers are setting up parties all over the U.S. and abroad. Click on the map below to see if there's a party near you.

Below the fold is the complete list of where the parties are happening, arranged by date. Check back often for links to party photos and film footage! (**Last update: 10/20**)

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Politics and Medicine & Health Weekly Update

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:19:13 -0500

Next up—the full-sized pictures featured this week on the Politics and Medicine & Health channels and some note-worthy posts.

Politics. Sarah Palin using technology. From Flickr, by asecondhandconjecture
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Dr. Maria Furtwängler on ScienceBlogs.de

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:34:38 -0500

For the past five weeks, the German-language arm of ScienceBlogs, Sb.de, has featured a specialty blog, For Women in Science. The blog, sponsored by L'Oreal, has posted several interviews with notable women in science, including the general secretary of the European Research Council and Dr. Marion Schick, president of the Munich University of Applied Sciences.

Their latest interview is with medical doctor Maria Furtwängler, who also happens to be one of Germany's top actresses. In the interview, she discusses the regrettable lack of child-care options available to working mothers, the push for a fixed quota of women in professorships, and how Marie Curie inspired her to pursue medicine.

Our German readers are encouraged to check out the interview now; for everyone else, an English translation will be available shortly.

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Environment, Humanities & Soc. Sci., and Education & Careers Weekly Update

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:44:23 -0500

In this entry, you will find: The large versions of the Environment, Humanities & Social Science, and Education and Careers channel photos and the best posts of the week.

Environment. From Flickr, by KhayaL
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