jtoney

Sheril Kirshenbaum has studied why we kiss and what happens biologically. One artist, Natalie Irish, has taken this to a whole new level. She paints using her lips! Her creative method is demonstrated in this video: I wonder what's going on biologically as she creates these paintings? From…

Those late nights of coffee-induced creativity sessions. Whether they're a memory or a recurring event, how we share them has changed dramatically. In our 24 hour/seven days per week cycle of news media and activity in general, there is yet another mode of expression and sharing of what's going…

When I saw the message below from Charles Blow, columnist for The New York Times, and listened to the audio from Rep. Bachmann, I considered writing a commentary about the position of the American Psychiatric Association on the use of "reparation therapy" to "cure" homosexuals in light of Dr.…

Source. Disagreements can arouse passions. The blogosphere can be a battlefield, with rapid fire blog posts and comments flying to and fro, sometimes helpful and thoughtful, sometimes off point unbridled ranting. There's been a lot of discussion amongst my fellow Sciblings and our sponsors on…

Winners (from left to right): Lauren Hodge, Shree Bose, Naomi Shah Girls swept all three age categories at Google's first science fair! CONGRATULATIONS! * Lauren Hodge in the 13-14 age group. Lauren studied the effect of different marinades on the level of potentially harmful carcinogens in…

The 3D reconstruction [(A) to (E)] of coxa (green) and trochanter (yellow) of left hind leg of T. oblongus. (A) Depressed position. (B) Elevated position. (C) Coxa cut horizontally along rotation axis; dorsal aspect of trochanter while leg depressed. (D). Isolated trochanter showing external…

Ridue's Flickr photostream. This is not an endorsement for use of marijuana. I've always known that scientists and the news media don't get along so well, but this is a bit much. A study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes how fatty foods can increase…

If it's too loud nearby a river in Paris, you can blame M. scholtzi singing a raucous love song, exclusively by males wooing females. From National Geographic Daily News: {Note: A loud rock concert is at about 115 decibels...} Engineers and evolutionary biologists in Scotland and France recorded…

Beauty can be everlasting, ephemeral {internet sensations} and above all else, in the eye of the beholder. Poets and artists have explored this mystery for centuries, but can science reveal new insights? Ed Yong at DiscoverBlogs recently wrote about a fascinating brain imaging study done that…

Love can be explosive. This may be a bit much, or it may be just right. From Molla Space: War is destructive and bombs take away lives. But these beautifully sculpted ceramic love grenade coin banks are designed and made to plant seeds for future growth and prosperity. Convert your love to…

Photo source. This is a guest post co-written with Nathaniel Epstein-Toney. SpongeBob and Patrick's episode "Idiot Box" (2002) brillinatly portrayed imagination games inside a cardboard box. Could it (Did it?) inspire the 3D virtual box or the 3D virtual CAVE? We believe it could have. No,…

Why do we itch? Is there a cure? Counterirritation is an effective treatment, used for decades, based a simple idea: Pain masks the itch For example, if you're suffering from poison ivy, taking a very hot shower can bring some relief, or ingesting something with capsaicin, the pain-inducing…

I've written about Going Gaga, but this is a curious turn.... Republican Presidential Candidate Tim Pawlenty Goes Gaga. Is he becoming a "little monster"? Can anyone explain a Republican candidate for President of the United States providing ad lib supportive commentary on a pop superstar, known…

How educated is your state legislator? The answer varies considerably from state to state. While many lawmakers hold a college degree, support of public higher education, it seems, has always been a challenge. Consider this scenario: Sufficient funds have been raised to support initial…

Can animals be immortal? This question is explored by RocketBoom in an interesting way - providing examples of regeneration in nature, from fungi to jellyfish to...well, I'll let Molly explain. Nothing lasts forever, but the animals on today's episode stick around a lot longer than the rest of us…

Cristina Grande and Nipam Patel DIFFERENCES In this pair of land snails, the one on the right, with the shell opening on the right, is the more common of the species. My children and I recently "caught" a mud snail off the coast of New Jersey, and it got me thinking... I've always been fascinated…

Stop smoking? Absolutely. Easy as swallowing a pill? Think again. A study just published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by my colleague Dr. Sonal Singh indicates that Chantix can lead to "increased risk of a major harmful cardiovascular event" by 72% compared to placebo. "People…

A Reading in the Salon of Mme Geoffrin, 1755 Madame Geoffrin's 18th Century salons, as a gathering place for public discourse, are regarded as Renaissance versions of online social networking. Such collective knowledge and discussion has found numerous creative uses, including fresh approaches to…

Photo Source, D W S' Flickr Photostream. Dr. Cynthia Boaz, an assistant professor of political science at Sonoma State University, published a thoughtful article at Truthout that deconstructs an example of a news media outlet that is not "fair and balanced." I would like to share her analysis as…

My last post "How Tea Party Members Don't Always March to the Same Beat" generated some strong opinions from readers. My goal was to add nuance to the political discourse, reminding us that voters labeled by one particular group are not a monolith, marching in lock step - despite the caricatures…

This is an anonymous guest post for the 4th of July and is not an endorsement of a political party. It is presented for the purposes of a civil discussion about the complexities of American politics. Amidst the media storm about the Tea Party, often labeled as uneducated extremists letting off…

Photo source su-lin's Flickr photostream Millions of American families will be celebrating July 4 by grilling hamburgers and hot dogs before enjoying the evening's fireworks. This is a good opportunity to think about the real cost of that burger. Yes, burgers can make an inexpensive and fast meal…

Photo source. The blogosphere can be a strange world for writers, offering vistas as broad ranging and fickle as human nature itself. Bloggers relying on pageviews for sustenance, even those who do not, face the challenge of attracting as many readers as possible, sometimes at the cost of…

American taxpayers are supporting more and more private faith-based schools, including anti-science creationist curricula, whether you like it or not. Consider this, from an article draft that I am currently writing with Sir Harold Kroto: From 1980 to 2001, the opening of private schools outpaced…

Wolfram Meier-Augenstein Tragic Trajectory Forensic researchers used this 14-cm lock of hair to map a dead man's route to the U.K. Measuring isotopes has come a long way. Recent reports describe an emerging field of environmental forensics. Where did those illegal drugs come from? Is that $1,…

Photo source. My recent post "Inquiring Readers Want to Know: "Why is My Poop Green?" generated an extraordinary amount of interest. Why? In the previous post, I was exploring search terms that ScienceBlogs readers most commonly use as an indicator of their interest. I could have chosen any…

Chris Wallace Asking Michele Bachmann if she is a flake. Fox News Sunday. "I've worked in serious scholarship..." Rep. Michele Bachmann. Really? I am no fan of personal attacks on politicians. In the case of Rep. Michele Bachmann, her own words are, sadly, fulfilling the same function. During…

My colleague Prof. Mark Boguski at the Harvard Medical School shared a provocative quote: True? Not all psychopaths are in prison. Some are in the Boardroom. Over at MedPageToday, they just completed an intriguing and informative series of articles about the psychology of psychopaths. According…

This is a guest post by Prof. Robin Landa, Distinguished Professor, Robert Busch School of Design at Kean University and author of "Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media." Natural movement is a matter of survival for animals. We rely heavily on natural…

Liquid mountaineering. Photo source. Curiouser and curiouser... Intrigued by your interests on ScienceBlogs, I did an experiment. I took a look at what you were searching for a year ago, during the month of June 2010 and uncovered some curious things. As in my last post {Inquiring Readers Want to…