ejohnson | December 10, 2008Give 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 sense of inequity aversion similar to humans. But tangible rewards aren't the only motivating forces in cooperation. A study on punishment in game theory found that "people were more likely to cooperate with one another in games when they had the option to punish cheats," wrote ScienceBlogger Ed Yong.
ejohnson | October 23, 2008Those 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. ScienceBlogs, too, has offered prizes to donors—Seed magazine subscriptions, custom USB drives, an Apple iPod Touch and more.
Now, ScienceBlogs has also donated $15,000 to DonorsChoose in Double Your Impact campaign. Each of our 21 participating bloggers will receive $715 to disburse among their chosen…
ejohnson | 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 to our lives, from our business models to the cycle of human life,
including death itself. Understanding the Singularity will alter our
perspective on the significance of our past and the ramifications for our
future. To truly understand it inherently changes one's view of life in
general and one's…
ejohnson | October 20, 2008The 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 either way, ScienceBlogs would like to reward you.
If you forward the confirmation email from your donation to scienceblogs@gmail.com, we'll enter you in a contest to win an assortment of prizes: 50 subscriptions to Seed magazine, ScienceBlogs laptop sleeves, USB drives and mugs. Every Friday we'…
ejohnson | October 17, 2008For 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 Schick, president of the Munich University of Applied Sciences.
Their latest interview is with medical doctor Maria Furtwängler, who also happens to be one of Germany's top actresses. In the interview, she discusses the regrettable lack of child-care options available to working mothers, the push…
ejohnson | October 16, 2008No 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" Vint Cerf"—who they plan to vote for in the upcoming presidential election. They've recorded YouTube videos explaining their answers, which you can see on the AVoteForScience YouTube channel.
But we are also asking for contributions from you—whether you're a post-doc, chair of your department,…
ejohnson | October 15, 2008Tuesday, 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).
As part of the inaugural Open Access Day, PLoS teamed up with the Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resource Coalition (SPARC) and Students for Free Culture to sponsor a blogging competition. The contest asked bloggers to respond to four questions, including "Why does open access matter to you…
ejohnson | October 15, 2008Women 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 are a few of them.
L'Oreal, in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), recognize the achievements of women in science every year with a prize for a woman who has had made a remarkable impact on science. This year, our German counterparts at…
ejohnson | October 14, 2008On 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 around and we were the only people in the entire bar!"
GrrlScientist chats it up with readers
More pics below the fold!
Grrl and Kevin
Reader Scott with some Seed staffers and bloggers
Talking about particle physics, probably
The lush rooftop of the Delancey
Table of swag
Table of food (one…
ejohnson | September 30, 2008After 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...? Who knows with the rowdy bunch of bloggers and Seed staffers we've invited.
We've rented out the top floor of the place for the event and will be providing food and a bar tab up to about $600. The Delancey will be suspending their usual cover charge. In attendance will be GrrlScientist, PhysioProf,…
ejohnson | September 11, 2008In 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 Medicine & Health channel, Revere of Effect Measure poses the question, Who uses alternative medicine and for what? The most recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released by the CDC revealed that over 15 percent of adults in the U.S. use some form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM…
ejohnson | September 9, 2008In 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, California. From Flickr, by Joseph.S
Reader comments of the week:
Over at Deltoid, Tim Lambert brings everyone's attention to a story about the Jasons. The Jasons were a group of physicists who banded together to try and save the world. Think the Justice League, but pastier and skinnier. Turns out…
ejohnson | September 8, 2008In 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 Giant Antarctic Marine Worm - Parbolasia Corrugatus, Andrew Bleiman of Zoillogix introduces the cuddly creature below:
This Nemertean, or proboscis worm (proper name Parborlasia corrugatus) is a resident of Antarctic waters, and according to Andrew,
eats almost anything, including sponges, jellyfish…
ejohnson | September 5, 2008In this post: the large version of the Brain & Behavior and Technology channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Technology. Radio telescope on the Plains of San Agustin, New Mexico. From Flickr, by Fort Photo
Brain & Behavior. Academician Andrei Sakharov. From Flickr, by dbking
Reader comments of the week:
On the Brain & Behavior channel, Jonah of The Frontal Cortex discusses the importance of Daydreams. In the age of television, he explains in an excerpt from his latest column in the Boston Globe, kids don't have "empty time" to let their…
ejohnson | September 4, 2008In this post: the large version of the Politics and Medicine & Health channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Politics. The 2008 Democratic ticket for the White House. From Flickr, by bobster1985
Medicine & Health. From Flickr, by Scoro
Reader comments of the week:
The Politics channel is all over Sarah Palin this week, but Mike the Mad Biologist reminds us she's not the only one running in From Food Stamps to the Presidency? Maybe a Safety Net Isn't TEH EVIL. While the Republican party often criticizes Barack Obama for supposed elitism, Mike points…
ejohnson | September 3, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Humanities & Social Sciences and Education & Health channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Humanities & Social Sciences. From Flickr, by Fevi Yu
Education & Careers. From Flickr, by dboo
Reader comments of the week:
On the Humanities & Social Sciences channel, Razib of Gene Expression insists that Science is rational; scientists are not. It is not the "acuity of any given individual" that enables scientific insight and achievement, he argues, but rather "the intersection of the communal wisdom of…
ejohnson | September 2, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Life Science, Physical Science and Environment channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Physical Science. Thunderstorm over Toronto, Ontario. From Flickr, by krunkwerke
Life Science. From Flickr, by Noël Zia Lee
Environment. From Flickr, by lexdenn
Reader comments of the week:
In Animal Rights Extremists kill at least a dozen mink, The Evil Monkey of Neurotopia v. 2.0 laments the ignorance of a group of animal rights activists who released 6,000 mink from a fur farm; farm-raised animals, he stresses, are unprepared…
ejohnson | August 29, 2008In this post: the large version of the Technology channel photo, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Control panel of a Soviet B-39 submarine in San Diego, California. From Flickr, by Jeff Kubina
Reader comment of the week:
In Memo to Windows Vista, Chad of Uncertain Principles vents his frustration with Microsoft's newest operating system. After Chad changed a setting, to prevent his computer from automatically restarting every time it required "critical" updates, he found it had mysteriously been reset.
Chad leveled a threat:
If this arbitrary re-setting of settings…
ejohnson | August 28, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Medicine & Health and Brain & Behavior channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
This week's Medicine & Health photo was kindly submitted by one of our own bloggers, the Neurophilospher.
Brain & Behavior. The blurred colors of plastic Easter eggs. From Flickr, by josef.stuefer
Medicine & Health. From Flickr, by Gaetan Lee
Reader comments of the week:
On the Medicine & Health channel, Orac discusses a contentious issue, sure to become more prominent as more parents buy into anti-vaccinationist claims…
ejohnson | August 27, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Education & Careers and Politics channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Politics. A Georgian man squats amidst the aftermath of a Russian bombardment. From Flickr, by k.tseradze@yahoo.com
Education & Careers. From Flickr, by zone41
Reader comments of the week:
On the Education & Careers channel, DrugMonkey asks himself Should I hire a postdoc or a technician? While both will end up performing many of the same tedious tasks in a lab, they differ in relationship to the PI, eventual career track, availability…