clock | July 14, 2008What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education by Paul Anderson:
The report establishes that Web 2.0 is more than a set of 'cool' and new technologies and services, important though some of these are. It has, at its heart, a set of at least six powerful ideas that are changing the way some people interact. Secondly, it is also important to acknowledge that these ideas are not necessarily the preserve of 'Web 2.0', but are, in fact, direct or indirect reflections of the power of the network: the strange effects and topologies at the micro and macro level that a billion…
clock | July 14, 2008Henry Gee has published drafts of his new SF trilogy The Sigil on Lulu.com. Apparently, publishers have no problem with this tactic - the final version will be published by them in the end.
I have ordered the trilogy and all three books arrived here about a week ago. I'll let you know what I think once I find some time to read them.
clock | July 14, 2008Speaking of educational science videos, how about advertising? Many science bloggers are commenting about this ad by Eppendorf (and I got the link by e-mail a few times as well):
We had manual pipetters, battery-operated pipetters and an automated pipetter in the lab. I have no idea who the manufacturer was - must have been one with the best price when we were shopping. So, what do you think - will this be effective?
clock | July 13, 2008No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes deserves to be called a scholar.
- Donald Foster
clock | July 13, 2008Who Dares Sings, And Who Sings Wins: Bold Birds Get The Girl:
Humans often choose partners based on behavioural keys that are displayed during social interactions. The way we behave in different social contexts can reflect personality traits or temperament that may inspire long-term love. Behavioural norms that we perceive as sexually attractive are not culturally or evolutionarily arbitrary.
Disproving Conventional Wisdom On Diversity Of Marine Fossils And Extinction Rates:
It took a decade of painstaking study, the cooperation of hundreds of researchers, and a database of more than 200,000…
clock | July 13, 2008You know I love and often eat at Town Hall Grill in Southern Village. This is where we had our Friday Night Dinner during the last Science Blogging Conference (photographic evidence here, here, here and here) and more recently a little local meetup (see also Lenore's review of the evening, and note she was nearby recently again).
Anyway, Town Hall Grill now has a new website (with a new URL), and the chef, Chris Burgess recently completely redesigned the menu: my old favourites (lamb kebab, chopped salad, chicken-under-the-brick, filet mignon and NY strip) are still on the menu, but there…
clock | July 13, 2008Georgia Harper saw an interesting article in USA Today about Open textbooks and, among else, says:
Open access is just one part of a much bigger and more complex picture. I am very optimistic that open access will find its way into the book market (or what we call books today), but again, it's not like that will cut off the flow of revenues. Quite the contrary. It just makes it possible for a lot more people to benefit from the work of authors while authors and those who help them ready their works for public consumption still reap sufficient financial rewards to make creating worthwhile.…
clock | July 13, 2008Anne-Marie is in Belize, doing some field-work, including chasing jaguars with specially trained dogs (scat-sniffers). Although electricity is rare and sporadic, she manages occasionally to post a quick dispatch on her blog. I wish I was there to see her (and those of you who have met her at the Science Blogging Conference may also have a hard time imagining the scene, as she is so nice and gentle) indulging herself in Machete Therapy:
I have discovered the wonders of Machete Therapy. If you have anything bothering you, stressing you out, weighing on your mind, just take on 100 m transects…
clock | July 13, 2008Here are some old photos of the Ashkenazi synagogue that my grandfather designed and built some time between the two World Wars. This is just one of the many buildings he built in Sarajevo at that time, including the first skyscraper in the Balkans. This is the first time I see these pictures and I will try to find more information about the building later:
Update: Apparently some or all of the information above is erroneous. While my grandfather built a lot of buildings in and around Sarajevo, the synagogue was not one of them - perhaps another building in these pictures? The person who…
clock | July 13, 2008Now that the spirited debate about the comparative business models of Nature and PLoS has died down, it is nice to take a little break from it all, and then start a new round - this time about publishing models, not business, and what it means for the future of the scientific paper - how the peer-review, impact factors, researcher evaluation, etc. are changing. Of course I am biased, but I love what Cameron Neylon just posted on his blog: What I missed on my holiday or Why I like refereeing for PLoS ONE:
To me the truly radical thing about PLoS ONE is that is has redefined the nature of peer…
clock | July 12, 2008Chocolate is the greatest gift to women ever created, next to the likes of Paul Newman and Gene Kelly. It's something that should be had on a daily basis.
- Sandra Bullock
clock | July 12, 2008There is an interesting discussion on [edit: Richard's blog on] Nature Network about the usefulness of science videos, like those published in JoVE, where methods and protocols are performed in front of the cameras and intentionally designed to be educational.
If you are a cell biologist, learning a new-to-you (but standard in the field) technique while studying at a Big Research University in the western world, it is likely that there will be several other cell biologists in your building who can guide you through the process better than a movie can, step-by-step, answering your questions,…
clock | July 12, 2008The deadline for your entries for the first edition of The Giant's Shoulders is the end of July 15th (deadline is midnight EDT). Your posts should cover one of the following:
Classic Papers - your blog post should describe what is in a paper that is considered to be a classical paper, or explanation why you think the paper should be considered classical, or foundational, or monumental, or seminal, or mind-boggling/earth-shaking/paradigm-shifting, or just plain cool. Then place the work in some kind of context: historical, philosophical, theoretical, technological, political, social. Try to…
clock | July 12, 2008Triggered by noticing who was very obviously missing from the most recent Dawkins' book that collects the best essays in modern science writing, Larry has been writing recently about other people who are excellent science writers. I have been a fan, for a long time, of the writings by Richard Lewontin, Niles Eldredge, David Raup, Jacques Monod and Steven Vogel. I am afraid I did not read enough by Eugenie Scott and should also check out Brent Dalrymple, Helena Curtis and David Suzuki.
And of non-modern science writers, I always found Darwin fun to read.
So, who do you like? Carl Sagan,…
clock | July 12, 2008Nick Matzke wrote an excellent update on what we know about the Origin of Life:
Here is a short list of things we have discovered or confirmed in the last 50 years or so pertaining to the origin of life. In my opinion all of these points have reached high enough confidence that they are unlikely to change much with future discoveries, and our confidence in them does not depend in uncertainties in the remaining unanswered questions.
I agree with him that, in confrontations with Creationists, we should not secede the origin of life to then (i.e.., "evolution only covers what happens once Life…
clock | July 12, 2008Voters Care About Science!:
Scientists and Engineers for America just released the results of a poll of over 1,000 Americans on how likely they would be to support candidates based upon their positions on key science and technology issues. SEA anticipated a positive reaction to the questions, but was stunned by the overwhelmingly affirmative response. Eighty-six percent of those polled, for example, say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who is committed to preparing students with the skills they need for the 21st Century through public investments in science and technology…
clock | July 12, 2008Abbie and PZ chat about the recent discoveries in biology, how exciting those discoveries are, and how annoying it is when Creationists try to put a damper on such excitement:
clock | July 12, 2008I was busy, so I did not have time to take a look until now at what is new this week in PLoS Genetics, Computational Biology, Pathogens and Neglected Tropical Diseases. Go take a look at these papers and others:
Evolution of Evolvability in Gene Regulatory Networks:
A cell receives signals both from its internal and external environment and responds by changing the expression of genes. In this manner the cell adjusts to heat, osmotic pressures and other circumstances during its lifetime. Over long timescales, the network of interacting genes and its regulatory actions also undergo…