amillikan

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January 29, 2009
ScienceBloggers are up in arms about the cover article of New Scientist which boldly proclaims "Darwin was Wrong." The article, authored by Graham Lawton, explains that occurrences such as horizontal gene transfer and hybridization transform the shape of Darwin's famous tree into something more…
January 29, 2009
The potential for various geo-engineering proposals to offset the effects of climate change is often not factored in to near- and long-term climate scenarios. In a study conducted by NOAA, released this week, the authors predicted "irreversible changes," but noted, "we do not consider geo-…
January 29, 2009
A notorious bacterial foe has made its first documented appearance in the U.S. and is jumping species around the farm scene. First, MSRA—methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus— was found in chickens. Just recently, research conducted by ScienceBlogger Tara Smith from Aetiology found that ST398…
January 27, 2009
ScienceBlogger Chris Mooney appeared on The Colbert report yesterday to discuss the Bush Administration's 'war on science.' According to Chris, the scientists won the war on science when President Obama was elected. */ The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Obama's New Science Policy -…
January 26, 2009
Last Thursday, I entered The Research Triangle for the ScienceOnline09 conference. It was a place of both shadow and substance, both things and ideas. It was a place where the cryptic elements of the blogosphere manifested in three dimensions; personalities known only through pixelated text…
January 24, 2009
Monday, January 26, ScienceBlogger Chris Mooney will be a guest on The Colbert Report, hosted by the one and only Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central. Mooney and Colbert will discuss Bush's "war on science" and how the Obama administration can change the scientific climate in America. Mooney is a…
January 24, 2009
In his inaugural address January 20, President Obama made a promise to America to "restore science to its rightful place." At Seed Media Group, we are firmly committed to President Obama's vision and will work to make it a reality. To this end, we have launched a new initiative we're calling The…
January 22, 2009
President Obama's inaugural address yesterday was met with enthusiasm by ScienceBloggers, who were particularly pleased by his promise to "restore science to its rightful place." But it was the inclusion of "non-believers" among the nation's religions that prompted the most discussion.William…
January 19, 2009
In this week's Science Saturday, science writers Chris Mooney and Carl Zimmer look ahead at the scientific controversies and discoveries of the coming year. Will Craig Venter finally produce artificial life in 2009? Will NASA find proof of Martian life? Will the public become even less informed…
January 17, 2009
Today kicks off the first day of events of the third annual ScienceOnline conference in North Carolina. Founded in 2007 by veteran ScienceBlogger, Coturnix from A Blog Around the Clock, ScienceOnline is the first conference devoted to discussing science as its role changes with the expansion of the…
January 16, 2009
Scientists across the globe have put out a call to help two AIDS researchers being held prisoner in Iran. Accused of forming a "velvet revolution" and charged with "communicating with an enemy government," the researchers were reportedly exchanging scientific information with colleagues—a crucial…
January 16, 2009
In the emergent era of Big Science, will the work of small-scale genetics labs be overwhelmed—or worse, rendered obsolete—by massive genome studies like the International HapMap Project? Dan MacArthur of Genetic Future thinks that a happy equilibrium could be reached between the two approaches. "…
January 13, 2009
It's been hypothesized that music may mitigate physical pain, a by-product of many medical procedures, but this has always been hard to test due to the wide range of music preferences. In a recent study that capitalized on mp3 player mania, researchers tested this theory by allowing subjects to…
January 12, 2009
This week, our regularly scheduled "Science Saturday" feature has become "Science Monday" due to some technical difficulties during our most recent upgrade. But the video is now up and features some of our very own bloggers, Janet (AKA Dr. Freeride) from Adventures in Ethics and Science, and Peter…
January 9, 2009
With rumors swirling that President-elect Barack Obama has offered CNN Chief Health Correspondent Sanjay Gupta the nomination of Surgeon General—a position that involves serving as the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps—ScienceBloggers are divided with respect to their…
January 9, 2009
Though it seems like I've been with Seed for an eternity, I've actually only been here for three months. I'm pretty excited to be joining some of the ScienceBloggers at ScienceOnline09, but must admit I am a tad nervous about giving a presentation to a whole room of them. That's why I was…
January 8, 2009
On Tuesday, President Bush garnered favor with marine conservationists in a last-minute move to protect over 195,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean—more than any president in history. The new marine reserve, which includes parts of the Mariana Trench in addition to several coral reefs and atolls…
January 7, 2009
When Dr. Isis first joined ScienceBlogs, she attracted attention with her bombastic commentary, gravity-defying shoes and a persona that steamrolled the stereotypical image of the safety goggle-wearing white male scientist. Those who oppose her are immediately forced to face their preconceived…
January 6, 2009
Recently, a discussion has sparked on ScienceBlogs over how the word "addiction," could be used to describe some substances that aren't necessarily harmful such as antidepressants. Scicurious from Neurotopia points out that if a substance changes one's physical self, there will be physical effects…
January 4, 2009
Since December 26, seismologists have observed over 400 seismic events at Yellowstone National Park—a record number of earthquakes for the hot spot which houses the largest supervolcano in North America. Data is still being analyzed to determine what this "swarm"—a sequence of earthquakes similar…
January 3, 2009
In this week's featured episode of Science Saturday from Bloggingheads, George Johnson and John Horgan returned with new insight on the controversy provoked by their last appearance, including some negative comments directed toward ScienceBlogger Abbie from ERV. Johnson admitted that he may have…
January 1, 2009
Science writer Rebecca Skloot—who contributes to Popular Science, the New York Times, and Discover, among other publications—is also a blogger, and starting this week she'll be moving her blog Culture Dish over to ScienceBlogs. Her blog covers a wide array of science issues, with a particular focus…
December 31, 2008
Aspiring scientists who have been conducting experiments form home labs have been encountering opposition. One DIY chemist was arrested for having a lab under the premise that it could be used to make bombs or drugs. Some biotech watchdogs fear that doing science outside of a lab may lead to…
December 30, 2008
It's not merely a theory that women are far outnumbered by men in the world of science—it's common knowledge. But opinions vastly differ on what should be done to change the status quo. Recently, ScienceBlogger Dr. Isis sparked a series of discussions eliciting descriptions of what some of the…
December 29, 2008
I came across this video floating in the ScienceBlogs back channels and decided it is way too cool to not post. Try watching this without feeling some kind of deep-seated nationalistic impulse stir within you. I never was much of a sporto, but I think this must be what frat boys feel when they…
December 27, 2008
This week's Bloggingheads.tv episode features philosopher Joshua Knobe and psychologist Elizabeth Spelke discussing the cognitive abilities of infants. Here are some more clips of the "diavlog" in addition to the one you can view on the ScienceBlogs home page. What do you think of this week's…
December 27, 2008
Scientists have long been torn about the exact evolution of birds since fossil and molecular dating techniques have yielded different answers. But by studying the DNA of birds in the parrot and cockatoo families, which do not migrate like most other birds, researchers were able to discern the times…
December 26, 2008
While attempts to explain the disproportionate number of women in math and science have resulted in the conclusion that women are innately inferior to men in these areas, the methodology has often—if not always—been flawed. By analyzing chess players to explain the lack of female grandmasters, one…
December 24, 2008
After an expedition through the Sarahan sands of Morocco, ScienceBlogger Darren Naish from Tetrapod Zoology has returned to share astonishing essays and photo documentation of his journey. "Our primary aim was to discover Cretaceous dinosaurs, pterosaurs and other fossil reptiles," Naish wrote in…
December 23, 2008
The advent of the science blogger is changing the way people talk about science. But along with new modes of communication and new rhetoric come new questions and opinions about how this evolution is affecting the scientific process. ScienceBlogger Coturnix from A Blog Around the Clock posted his…