August 28, 2007
Grist takes a look at all candidates from both parties and evaluates their stands on environmental issues, global warming and energy:
How Green Is Your Candidate?
August 28, 2007
Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma got out in paperback today, so if you have not read it yet, now is the time.
Also, in his mailing-list letter, Pollan announces that he has "...just completed a new book, a short manifesto about diet and health called "In Defense of Food." It's scheduled…
August 27, 2007
There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes.
- Dr Who
August 27, 2007
Echidna's Sex Life Under Study:
A University of Adelaide-led project will study the genetic makeup of one of Australia's most iconic animals, the echidna, to give an unprecedented insight into their sex life and behaviour. World echidna expert Dr Peggy Rismiller and geneticist Dr Frank Grützner…
August 27, 2007
Encephalon #30 is up on Neurofuture
Gene Genie #14 is up on MicrobiologyBytes
Carnival of the Green #92 is up on Greener Magazine
August 27, 2007
Here is the time-table if you want to watch the eclipse in the Eastern time zone:
As you can see, it is very late at night, and much of the good stuff is happening after dawn. Perhaps in other time zones, the eclipse will look better, so check out the timelines here.
August 27, 2007
There is a good reason why scientists in general despise MS Excel. It is cumbersome, non-common-sensical, and the stats cannot be trusted. The graphs are ugly. I am sure it took a lot of hard work to design Excel (and Word), but if I were Charles Simonyi, I would hide the authorship of those two…
August 27, 2007
Yesterday I had lunch (and coffee and another coffee - this lasted a while because it was so much fun) with Tanja and her husband Doug. Regulars here probably recognize the commenter who goes by the handle "tanjasova" - that's her.
They just bought a nice house in Winston-Salem and will…
August 27, 2007
Brian Russell, the tireless fighter for public wireless in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, recently wrote two blog posts on the widely read local blog Orange Politics: Chapel Hill WiFi Pilot needs different Hotspots and Where is the WiFi?
This received quite a lot of attention both before and during…
August 27, 2007
Mouse Vision Has A Rhythm All Its Own:
In the eyes of mammals, visual information is processed on a daily schedule set within the eyes themselves--not one dictated by the brain, according to a new report in the journal Cell. The researchers found in mice that the eyes' normal rhythmic response to…
August 26, 2007
To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armour, the apostles of the martial virtues, tend not to die fighting when the time comes. History is full of ignominious getaways by the great and famous.
- George Orwell
August 26, 2007
When technological or social changes start altering the business landscape in a particular industry, people involved in that business tend to respond in three general ways.
The visionaries immediately see where their world is going, jump to the front edge of it and make sure that the change is as…
August 26, 2007
Viagra Increases Release Of Key Reproductive Hormone, Study Finds:
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison report this month that sildenafil increases the amount of oxytocin released by stimulation of the posterior pituitary gland, a small structure directly underneath the brain that…
August 25, 2007
The modern American tourist now fills his experience with pseudo-events. He has come to expect both more strangeness and more familiarity than the world naturally offers. He has come to believe that he can have a lifetime of adventure in two weeks and all the thrills of risking his life without any…
August 25, 2007
This morning bright and early, I went to Weaver Street Market (the one in Carrboro, not the one a block away from me), where I met Paul Jones for coffee and a session of people-watching - a Saturday morning tradition.
Carrboro is like a miniature version of San Francisco in a sense. While Chapel…
August 25, 2007
What You're Doing Is Rather Desperate
Traction Lobe
It Has Come To My Attention
Jennomics
Inalienable Rights
Prehistoric Pulp
August 25, 2007
Oobleck and Semen are on Jennifer's mind these days. Obligatory Readings of the Day.
August 25, 2007
Radiology Grand Rounds XV are up on Sumer's Radiology Site
August 25, 2007
Crested Auklet Birds Rub Tick-repelling Perfume On Their Mates During Courtship:
Hitting it off with members of the opposite sex takes chemistry. University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Hector Douglas has found that, for crested auklets, chemistry has both amorous and practical applications. The…
August 24, 2007
Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.
- Louisa May Alcott
August 24, 2007
New on Seed Scienceblogs:
The ScienceBlogs 500,000th Comment Contest
PZ Myers explains
Now, where are the comments on this blog? Just type! It's easy!
New on PLoS - new articles have been published today on:
PLoS Genetics
PLoS Computational Biology
PLoS Pathogens
New on Hirschsprung's Disease:…
August 24, 2007
Dave announced that the contest for the icon for denoting posts covering peer-reviewed research is now open. Use your creative skills and/or spread the word.
August 24, 2007
James Randerson asks this question, but actually leaving only four slots open as "...If anyone plans not to include Darwin I'm going to have to ask them to step outside." a sentiment with which Peter McGrath agrees. So - your Top 5?
August 23, 2007
The last time I saw him he was walking down Lover's Lane holding his own hand.
- Fred Allen
August 23, 2007
Tracking Feline Memories On The Move:
When a cat steps over an obstacle with its front legs, how do its hind legs know what to do? A new study in Current Biology reveals that it is the foreleg stepping movement itself that leaves a lasting impression. By comparison, feline memories of having just…
August 23, 2007
Yup, a mention in The Inquirer! (see Wikipedia definition if unclear).
August 23, 2007
Change of Shift, Volume II, Number 5 is up on Nurse Ratched's Place
Carnival of Space #17 is up on The Planetary Society Weblog
August 23, 2007
There are some die-hards in the comment thread of this post on Evolgen who assert that the only thing that makes one an author of something is the act of writing, i.e., using writing materials to commit language to paper. Preferably English language... Thus, in their minds, there is something…
August 23, 2007
So, this is a perfect time to take another look at her Notes From Ukraine and check out the last several posts from there. I hope the blog will continue as Notes From Durham including the coverage of her science at Duke and all the local blogger events...
August 23, 2007
Matt did it first! And then he told more of us. I like the one Laelaps did. But this is more truthfull:
