July 6, 2007
This post has been written in advance and scheduled for automatic posting. At the time this post shows up, I'll be sleeping my first night in San Francisco. A few hours later, I'll be at PLoS offices and will hopefully have online access soon after so I can post my first impressions.
As most of…
July 5, 2007
When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. Sooooo, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!
- Brian O'Rourke
July 5, 2007
...Frisco.
The flights were smooth and uneventful.
I went straight to PLoS, met some people I knew from before and others I knew only over e-mail, did the requisite paperwork, got familiarized with my computer and the beginning of getting familiarized with the 'behind the scenes' of the software…
July 5, 2007
Tangled Bank #83 is up on Aardvarchaeology
64th Skeptics' Circle is up on The Sceptical Alchemist.
July 5, 2007
Understanding Smooth Eye Pursuit: The Incredible Targeting System Of Human Vision:
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shed new light on how the brain and eye team up to spot an object in motion and follow it, a classic question of human motor control. The study shows that two…
July 5, 2007
You really think I am going to put this above the fold? No way - you have to click (First posted on July 7, 2006):
Today's lesson is on the reproductive anatomy of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica), which probably applies to the wild species in the pig family as well. Although we may…
July 4, 2007
Be anchored to some ideal, philosophy or cause that keeps you too excited to sleep.
- Brian Koslow
July 4, 2007
I am about to go offline now, early to bed, early to rise...travelling to San Fran tomorrow at dawn. Hopefully I'll be able to get back online by tomorrow afternoon.
I have scheduled a lot of reruns of the old posts (twice a day) and new quotes (once per night), but I will post new stuff as well…
July 4, 2007
The July 4th edition of the Carnival of the Liberals is up on Zaius Nation.
July 4, 2007
Stressed-out African Naked Mole-rats May Provide Clues About Human Infertility:
A tiny, blind, hairless subterranean rodent that lives in social colonies in the harsh, semi-arid conditions of Africa could shed light on stress-related infertility in humans, the 23rd annual meeting of the European…
July 4, 2007
This post was a response to a decent (though not too exciting) study and the horrible media reporting on it. As the blogosphere focused on the press releases, I decided to look at the paper itself and see what it really says. It was first posted on August 09, 2005. Under the fold (reposted on…
July 3, 2007
# Diary, n. A daily record of that part of one's life, which he can relate to himself without blushing.
- Ambrose Bierce
July 3, 2007
And to my Yugoslav readers: "Srecan Dan Borca!"
July 3, 2007
Quixote (who some of you may know from Acid Test) has joined the growing stable of brilliant bloggers at Shakesville - check out the introductiory post.
July 3, 2007
Interview with Timo Hannay, Head of Web Publishing, Nature Publishing Group
Scientific Communications in Web 2.0 Context
Publishing Versus Posting: Nature Magazine Turns to a Conversational Content Model
July 3, 2007
I don't know, but Grrrl and Archy tried to answer that question...
July 3, 2007
A bunch of papers just went live on PLoS-ONE and, after a quick scan, these three papers caught my eye:
The Durability of Public Goods Changes the Dynamics and Nature of Social Dilemmas:
An implicit assumption underpins basic models of the evolution of cooperation, mutualism and altruism: The…
July 3, 2007
Blooking Central
Clear Thinking
History Hunters International
Crappy Graphs
RRRGroup
Average Earthman
Brad Buchsbaum's Blog
July 3, 2007
Surprise, surprise - a paper in Science is up there with a free online access (not the PDF, but the Full Text and that is something!):
A Molecular Basis for Natural Selection at the timeless Locus in Drosophila melanogaster:
Diapause is a protective response to unfavorable environments that results…
July 3, 2007
There is a new paper on PLoS-Biology describing a tit-for-tat-like reciprocal behavior in rats: Generalized Reciprocity in Rats:
The evolution of cooperation is based on four general mechanisms: mutualism, where an action benefits all partners directly; kin selection, where related individuals are…
July 3, 2007
Buyer beware! Not everything in science publishing that calls itself Open Access actually is so.
July 3, 2007
Wood Ant Queen Has No Egg-laying Monopoly:
The reproductive monopoly of the ant queen is not as strong as is often thought. Dr. Heikki Helanterä and Prof. Lotta Sundström, biologists working at the University of Helsinki, Finland, investigated worker ovary development and egg laying in nine…
July 2, 2007
All architecture is great architecture after sunset; perhaps architecture is really a nocturnal art, like the art of fireworks.
- Gilbert Keith Chesterton
July 2, 2007
Yes, Shakesville is online again, but the new dedicated server (that will repel the future Denials of Service) costs money. You can help it survive with a couple of bucks every now and then.
July 2, 2007
Circus of the Spineless #22 is up on Burning Silo.
July 2, 2007
The Seed Overlords have put up a survey for our blog readers. You can go here or just click on the green box on the right side-bar and tell them all how you use the site, what you like and dislike, etc., so the improvements can be made in the future.
Do we really need more sly sex on our blogs?
July 2, 2007
In all animals, vertebrate and invertebrate alike, one of the defining features of sleep is the "rebound", i.e., the making up for sleep debt after an acute sleep deprivation event. However, the problem of modern society is a chronic sleep loss in humans - when you loos a couple of hours of needed…
July 2, 2007
Encephalon #26 is up on Neurophilosophy.
Wait! What's that URL?
Yes, MC is our new SciBling!
He is officially moving (i.e., will be featured on the front page) tomorrow, but he is already all set up with some beautiful banners. So, go say Hello and if by some cosmic mistake you have not been…
July 2, 2007
Books: "Rainbows End" by Vernor Vinge.
It's 2025 - What happened to science, politics and journalism? Well, you know I'd be intrigued. After all, a person whose taste in science fiction I trust (my brother) told me to read this and particularly to read it just before my interview with PLoS. So,…
July 2, 2007
Carnival of the Green #84 is up on Bean Sprouts
