ejohnson
Posts by this author
May 15, 2009
With the levels of obese individuals continuing to rise worldwide, new research hopes to illuminate some interesting associations related to this epidemic. On Gene Expression, Razib discusses an abstract that explores the idea that obesity might be related to the acquired genetic ability to…
May 14, 2009
For more video book reviews by Joanne Manaster, check out her YouTube page.
May 5, 2009
For more video book reviews by Joanne Manaster, check out her YouTube page.
May 1, 2009
With the recent addition of Patricia Fitzgerald to The Huffington Post's editorial staff as "Wellness" editor, ScienceBloggers are ripping apart the medical articles pushed through to the public eye by HuffPo and Fitzgerald--whose biography states is a "licensed acupuncturist, certified clinical…
April 9, 2009
Welcome to ScienceBlogs' new photo blog, Photo Synthesis.
While doing our usual browsing of the blogosphere, we've become aware of the vast number of excellent blogs featuring science imagery, from neural networks captured with a light microscope to images of supernovae billions of light-years away…
March 25, 2009
If climatologists saved the world and nobody experienced the alternative, would it make an impact? New research conducted at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center suggests that it should. The Center used cutting-edge computer modeling technologies to address the question: "What if the Montreal…
March 19, 2009
Over the two weeks leading up to Pi Day, ScienceBloggers prepared by baking their tastiest pies for the first ever ScienceBlogs Pi Day Pie Bake-Off. Their submissions ranged from traditional—like the Stemwedel family's end-of-winter fruit pie—to patriotic, quirky, and flat-out, albeit mouth-…
March 18, 2009
ScienceBlogs Brazil brings together the most original and influential voices within the Brazilian science community, some of whom have already won accolades for their blogging. Edited from São Paulo by Carlos Hotta and Atila Iamarino, ScienceBlogs Brazil launched Tuesday with 23 Portuguese-…
February 10, 2009
In this week's Science Saturday, George Johnson chats with Louisa Guilder, author of The Age of Entanglement, about the history and science of quantum entanglement and why we should care about conversations between great physicists decades ago. They also discuss the latest alarming twist on self-…
January 26, 2009
If you happen to have been to the ScienceBlogs homepage recently, you will have noticed that Sb has a new look! Yes, in the spirit of the times, we decided a little change would do us good.
From an editorial standpoint, we're pretty excited about the flexibility this new design gives us- those…
January 22, 2009
Recently, ScienceBlogger Jonah Lehrer pondered if the Bush Administration's stifling of climatology data did more than influence the scientific process—if it effected American psychology as well. But with a new administration comes a chance for free scientific expression, and as President Obama was…
January 21, 2009
The annual ScienceOnline convention held in North Carolina concluded on Sunday after a weekend of rousing conversations on a variety of science- and blogging-related topics, and the blogosphere is abuzz in reflection. As pioneers in the science blogging comunity, ScienceBlogs 'Sciblings' were quite…
January 14, 2009
Lately some ScienceBloggers have taken to tackling the age-old philosophical question, "What is science?" The ScienceBlogs mothership itself, Seed Media Group, has tackled this definition by assuming the mantra "Science is culture," while Matt Springer from Built on Facts argues the simplistic yet…
January 9, 2009
Hi folks,
ScienceBlogs has grown an incredible amount since we got started—our 75 bloggers have composed over 88,000 posts, and as a community we have generated over a million comments. With all this activity, we've been feeling some growing pains recently, so this weekend we will be upgrading the…
January 7, 2009
It's common for students to take tests in large groups, but a new study suggests being exposed to greater competition may inhibit individuals from excelling. ScienceBlogger Jonah Lehrer attributed this finding to a common tendency of the brain to shut down when intimidated instead of working harder…
December 17, 2008
Getting prosthetic body parts to feel real to an amputee typically requires invasive surgery. But now, using an illusion similar to the body swap illusion, Swedish researchers have demonstrated a noninvasive way to allow hand amputees to experience rubber prosthetic hands as part of their own…
December 10, 2008
Give the dog a bone—or else he might not be willing to sit and shake for one again. Researchers have observed that when a dog sees another dog getting a treat for a similar task but does not receive one itself, he is less likely to cooperate in the future. This suggests that animals may have a…
October 23, 2008
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.…
October 23, 2008
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…
October 20, 2008
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…
October 17, 2008
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…
October 16, 2008
No one is in a better position to understand how policy affects science than working scientists themselves. Scientists & Engineers for America Action Fund and ScienceBlogs asked several well-known figures in science—including recent Nobel Prize winner Martin Chalfie and "father of the Internet…
October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14th marked the world's first Open Access Day. The open access movement has revolutionized the way that scientific research results are shared; anyone with the Internet can view scientific journal articles at no cost through open access journals like Public Library of Science (PLoS…
October 15, 2008
Women in science contend with a unique set of issues in addition to those shared by all working scientists: how to break into what are often strongly male-dominated fields; how to contend with rampant stereotyping and expectations of female scientists; and how to handle pregnancies in the workplace…
October 14, 2008
On October 7, ScienceBlogs readers, bloggers, and editors gathered in the Lower East Side for a night of rooftop revelry to celebrate the posting of our millionth comment. We ate, drank, and talked about all things science. In reader Kevin's words, "the party was a big hit! management wasn't even…
September 30, 2008
After much anticipation, a date and location for the New York Millionth Comment party have been chosen! The festivities will take place on the evening of Tuesday, October 7 at the Delancey (168 Delancey Street) in the Lower East Side. We will commence the merrymaking at 7:00 and continue til...?…
September 11, 2008
In this post: the large versions of the Medicine & Health and Brain & Behavior channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Brain & Behavior. From Flickr, by Kyknoord
Medicine & Health. From Flickr, by riot jane
Reader comments of the week:
On the…
September 9, 2008
In this post: the large versions of the Environment and Humanities & Social Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Environment. The ocean off of Jamaica. From Flickr, by rappensuncle
Humanities & Social Science. A crowded boardwalk in Venice Beach,…
September 8, 2008
In this post: the large versions of the Life Science and Physical Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Physical Science. Sparks jump from a flickering campfire. From Flickr, by Kirrus
Life Science. From Flickr, by Snap®
Reader comments of the week:
In…