January 30, 2012
If you are a snake. And, what causes some island dwelling boas to be smaller than the mainland variety?
If you want to know the answer to these two burning questions, click here and visit Smithsonian's Surprising Science where I'll be guest blogging for a couple of weeks. For the first question…
January 30, 2012
I suspect that the complexity of global climate change is under-appreciated. If you live in a cold climate and I tell you that things will get warmer, you may see this as good news and look forward to a future where you no longer have to get your antifreeze checked and replace your old battery in…
January 29, 2012
Since the Daily Mail is a British thing and the latest form of entertainment in Britain is Libel Tourism, I won't say to you that the Daily Mail is a rag full of lies and deceit. Instead, I'll let you be the judge.
These studies:
Decline in solar output unlikely to offset global warming
23…
January 28, 2012
Quiet possibly. Ocean acidification caused by the same CO2 that causes global warming is causing them to die.
You might think you can take solace in the idea that coral reefs have been with us forever even when ocean chemistry changes, that there must be some way in which coral reefs survive…
January 28, 2012
This week, we're talking about what may be the most stigmatized facet of human reproduction. We're joined by Dr. Kate Clancy, anthropology professor and science blogger, to learn about the physiology and function of menstruation, and the history of how it's been considered in medicine and myth. And…
January 27, 2012
The Wall Street Journal has published one of the most offensive, untruthful, twisted reviews of what scientists think of climate change; the WSJ Lies about the facts and twists the story to accommodate the needs of head-in-the-sand industrialists and 1%ers; The most compelling part of their…
January 27, 2012
I met Amy Shira Teitel at the Science Online 2012 conference, and we had an interesting conversation about the risks of spaceflight. Have a look at this extensive coverage by Amy of the Apollo 1 fire, which happened 45 years ago.
January 27, 2012
An anti-science climate denialist "think" tank (the word "think" clearly does not actually applyl here) is said to have received a big chunk of money from some anonymous source, and an effort has been made to find out who that source is. This is all happening in Britain where all the legal systems…
January 27, 2012
... or can you???
January 26, 2012
Kepler has discovered 11 new "solar systems" with 26 confirmed planets among them. They:
Range from 1.5 Earths in radius to bigger than Jupiter
15 are between Earth and Neptune in size
They have years ranging from 6 to 143 days.
Their rockiness or gaseousness remains unassessed to date.
This…
January 26, 2012
That question and others will be addressed on Friday, January 27.
January 26, 2012
It is called NuStar, for "Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array," and NASA will be launching this giant thing that looks like a dumpster on March 14th.
NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, mission is seen here being lowered into its shipping container at Orbital Sciences…
January 26, 2012
I would have used a different script, in part, but the animation is good and it makes the point.
Hat Tip: Deanna Joy Lyons
January 26, 2012
Did you know that there is an entire group of birds called "Tube Noses" because they have tubes on their noses? Well, to be more exact, the term is "tubenoses" and the noses are beaks. The tubes are tubular nostril-like thingies that most (all?) birds have which are extra tube-like in the…
January 26, 2012
Live Scribing is like live blogging or note taking but it is done in the form of drawing. To get an idea of what this is all about, check out this blog.
Science Online 2012 was "Live Scribed" which meant that for most (all?) sessions, someone was making a drawing which built a stylized visually…
January 26, 2012
From a Press Release:
Asia-Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association and Cambridge University Press launch new Open Access journal
The Asia-Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association (APSIPA) and Cambridge University Press announced today the launch of the APSIPA…
January 25, 2012
'Round here, people are using phrases like "That's Crazy Talk" and "Outlandish" and other quaint Aphorisms of the Great Plains. Why? Because the USDA has just released its new Planting Zone Map. It turns out that all the climate zones have moved north permanently. Thus the new map. You can…
January 25, 2012
From Google:
We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across…
January 25, 2012
Last week, I attended the Science Online 2012 Un-Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. You've probably heard of it. This is a fairly new conference, having run for only the last few years, and was masterfully run and organized by Bora Zivkovic, Anton Zuiker and Karyn Traphagen. Most of the…
January 25, 2012
Vesta is the second biggest asteroid in the famous asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It has generally been thought that Vesta would get enough sun over its entire surface that water would not survive, but a recent survey of the surface indicates that deeply buried water has a chance of…
January 25, 2012
In a very interesting way.
As a regular reader of this blog, you know that IQ and similar measures are determined by a number of factors, and for most "normal" (modal?) individuals, one's heritage (genes) is rarely important. Putting it another way, variation across individuals in IQ and other…
January 25, 2012
I liked Obama's State of the Union Address, and I liked the fact that a lot of other people seemed to like it. He made strong and positive statements about energy.
Imagine what we could accomplish ... A future where we're in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren't so…
January 24, 2012
Google will now follow you around the internet, as you use e-mail, search, YoutTube, and so on and so forth, as you use web browsers or your Android phone, and you can't opt out. This starts March 1st.
I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not. It depends on exactly what they are doing. It…
January 24, 2012
Can you imagine driving around on roadless terrain with a four wheel drive vehicle for eight years and not ever changing a tire, getting a tuneup, adjusting the suspension, replacing the hydraulics or brakes, or doing any other service whatsoever on your vehicle? I've actually done that, and I'm…
January 24, 2012
... over This Billboard.
January 24, 2012
Go look at this:
PUPPETS ON A STRING: US THINK TANK FUNDS NZ SCEPTICS
The Heartland Institute, the US organisation that plays a key role in organised climate denial, has directly funded New Zealand's most prominent sceptics, a search of US Inland Revenue Service documents has revealed. In 2007,…
January 24, 2012
Free-Dos Fearless Leader and IT Manger Jim Hall has a post at Almost Diamonds that some of you will be interested in.
Some time ago, I posted an online poll to survey the relative importance of four qualities at various levels in an IT organization. With the help of other bloggers, and through…
