clock | August 1, 2008The new blog carnival, covering the way science is changing (or not changing enough) in the 21st century - Praxis, is about to start. The call for submissions is now open - send them to me at Coturnix AT gmail dot com by August 14th at midnight Eastern.
The business of science - from getting into grad school, succeeding in it, getting a postdoc, getting a job, getting funded, getting published, getting tenure and surviving it all with some semblance of sanity - those are kinds of topics that are appropriate for this carnival, more in analytic way than personal, if possible (i.e., not "I will…
clock | August 1, 2008Actually, no news is not exactly good news, but it makes one think about the way media shapes our thoughts and worldviews [Thanks, Bex]
clock | August 1, 2008Go say Hello to Matt Springer at Built on Facts, the latest addition to The Borg!
clock | August 1, 2008Ruby reports:
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools just released a statement saying that the School Board selected a new principal for Carrboro High list night. Parents at the brand new school have been feeling shafted as their students have less advanced courses available, and their last principal was let go rather swiftly and unceremoniously. I wonder if people will be more satisfied after this new principal gets settled in.
Fortunately, both of our kids avoided having to go to the new Carrboro High School, so we have been watching this saga from the sidelines. It is, nonetheless, the local school…
clock | August 1, 2008August Scientiae is up on Faraday's Cage is where you put Schroedinger's Cat
Cancer Research Blog Carnival #12 is up on nosugrefneb
Friday Ark #202 is up on Modulator
clock | July 31, 2008I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked, and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.
- Oscar Wilde
clock | July 31, 2008Counter Minds
The Rough Guide to Evolution
Professor in Training
Stimulating Aliquot
clock | July 31, 2008
What Do Squid Hear? Scientists Learn How Sensitive The Translucent Animals Are To Noise:
The ocean is a noisy place. Although we don't hear much when we stick our heads underwater, the right instruments can reveal a symphony of sound. The noisemakers range from the low-frequency bass tones of a fish mating ritual to the roar of a motorboat. The study of how underwater animals hear is a growing topic in marine science, especially with regards to naval sonar and whales.
Improved Estrogen Reception May Sharpen Fuzzy Memory:
Estrogen treatments may sharpen mental performance in women with…
clock | July 31, 2008So, let's see what's new in PLoS Genetics, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Pathogens and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases this week. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Patterns of Positive Selection in Six Mammalian Genomes:
Populations evolve as mutations arise in individual organisms and, through hereditary transmission, gradually become "fixed" (shared by all individuals) in the population. Many mutations have essentially no…
clock | July 31, 2008There is a new study out there - Open access publishing, article downloads, and citations: randomised controlled trial - that some people liked, but Peter Suber and Stephan Harnad describe why the study is flawed (read Harnad's entire post for more):
To show that the OA advantage is an artefact of self-selection bias (or any other factor), you first have to produce the OA advantage and then show that it is eliminated by eliminating self-selection bias (or any other artefact).
This is not what Davis et al did. They simply showed that they could detect no OA advantage one year after publication…
clock | July 31, 2008Apparently, even journalists reporting on it learned the details (and how to properly frame it) from this episode of This American Life. Worth listening to (or reading the transcript).
clock | July 31, 2008Interesting idea:
"Save It" Global Warming message by 10 yr old from 1skycampaign on Vimeo.
[Via - read the post as well]
clock | July 31, 2008...does not mean we should. Actually, as their lying is supposed to be their downfall, we need to make extra care not to provide any contra-examples that they can use against us in order to immunize themselves from the charge.
clock | July 31, 2008Do you want to spend two hours chatting with Grrrl, Janet, Professor Steve Steve (or two or three of them), me and many more SciBlings and readers?
If yes, this is where you should go:
We'll be meeting at 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 9, at the Arthur Ross Terrace at the American Museum of Natural History in Central Park. Once there, please head to the cafe tables and chairs set by the trees on the upper terrace, facing the Rose Center. The terrace is accessible from the Theodore Roosevelt Park at 81st Street and Columbus Avenue.
This is an outdoor location with tables and shade, which we…
clock | July 31, 2008At Stripped Science. Here is one (I guess this is within the Fair Use principle, you'll have to click on the link and go there to see the other strips):