clock | June 21, 2008Panthera studentessa
Mistress of science
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About: Biology
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[…
clock | June 20, 2008In times when the government imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also the prison.
- Henry David Thoreau
clock | June 20, 2008Birds Migrate Earlier, But Some May Be Left Behind As The Climate Warms Rapidly:
Many birds are arriving earlier each spring as temperatures warm along the East Coast of the United States. However, the farther those birds journey, the less likely they are to keep pace with the rapidly changing climate. Scientists at Boston University and the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences analyzed changes in the timing of spring migrations of 32 species of birds along the coast of eastern Massachusetts since 1970. Researchers at Manomet gathered this data by capturing birds in mist nets, attaching…
clock | June 20, 2008New issue of the Italian Journal of Science Communication is out with some excellent articles (some translated or abstracted from Italian, all in English):
Cultural determinants in the perception of science:
Those studying the public understanding of science and risk perception have held it clear for long: the relation between information and judgment elaboration is not a linear one at all. Among the reasons behind it, on the one hand, data never are totally "bare" and culturally neutral; on the other hand, in formulating a judgment having some value, the analytic component intertwines -…
clock | June 20, 2008From ProPublica: Coming Sunday: A 60 Minutes and ProPublica Investigation:
'60 Minutes' and ProPublica Investigation Finds the Government's $100 Million a Year Broadcasts to the Arab World are Woefully Mismanaged and Poorly Supervised Despite Complaints From Congress. In Their First Joint Investigation, They Uncover Internal Documents from Diplomats Complaining about the Poor Quality of Al Hurra's Broadcast and Its Lack of Transparency and Professionalism.
clock | June 20, 2008Repairing research integrity:
Misconduct jeopardizes the good name of any institution. Inevitably, the way in which research misconduct is policed and corrected reflects the integrity of the whole enterprise of science. The US National Academy of Sciences has asserted that scientists share an 'obligation to act' when suspected research misconduct is observed1. But it has been unclear how well scientists are meeting that obligation. In the United States, the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) evaluates all the investigation records submitted by institutions and plays an oversight role in…
clock | June 20, 2008You can get all the relevant information and link here:
ACTION ALERT: Ask your Congressman about science today!:
The November election will be a critical moment for U.S. science. It's important that voters know where their candidates stand on issues such as climate change, the environment, and soaring energy prices.
With one voice, SEA and 15 prominent scientific and engineering societies are asking all Congressional candidates 7 questions on the science and technology policies that affect all of our lives. These questions were created collaboratively, with input from SEA members. (Thanks…
clock | June 19, 2008Show me a guy who is afraid to look bad, and I'll show you a guy you can beat every time.
- Lou Brock
clock | June 19, 2008It's Friday - and time for new articles in PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Pathogens and PLoS Genetics:
An Evolutionarily Conserved Sexual Signature in the Primate Brain:
The contribution of genetics versus environment to behavioral differences between the sexes is a fundamental question in neuroscience. We hypothesized that some differences between the sexes might be partially explained by sexually dependent gene expression differences in the brain. We further speculated that if differences in gene expression between males and females are functionally important, they may be conserved in the…
clock | June 19, 2008As making historical papers OA is something I am very interested in, I am watching with great interest, as Jonathan Eisen attempts to make all of his father's scientific publications freely available. I think we will learn a lot from his experience about copyright, fuzzy laws, attitudes of different publishers, etc., and can use that knowledge to help more old papers see the light of day online for everyone to see, read and use.
clock | June 19, 2008Yesterday was Mrs.Coturnix' birthday. Over the weeks I led her on various goose chases regarding what kind of present she was going to get. In the end she had no idea, could not even guess. So, this was quite a surprise - I commissioned the mirror from Tanja (you have met her before here, here and here). Tanja has made a number of similar mirrors with owls and horses and cats, but for Mrs.Coturnix, we decided on butterflies - not just any vague butterfly shapes, but actual species, some quite endangered. So, the mirror came with a Key to species with Latin names, geographical information…
clock | June 19, 2008Five species of ferns, happily cohabitating in a single large flowerpot on my porch - I have four other species, but those appear to be happier when kept seperately, one in each pot:
clock | June 19, 2008Great Apes Think Ahead: Conclusive Evidence Of Advanced Planning Capacities:
Apes can plan for their future needs just as we humans can - by using self-control and imagining future events. Mathias and Helena Osvath's research, from Lunds University Cognitive Science in Sweden, is the first to provide conclusive evidence of advanced planning capacities in non-human species.
Female Chimps Use Copulation Calls Strategically:
Female chimps are more concerned with having sex with many different males than finding the strongest mate, according to researchers. The new study by University of St…
clock | June 19, 2008Microbiologist XX
Gramstain
Botswana Sceptic
Random Thoughts from Bennett Kankuzi
clock | June 19, 2008Carnival of Space #59 is up on Green Gabbro
The 89th Skeptics Circle is up on Ionian Enchantment
The 176th Carnival of Education is up on Pass the Torch
Carnival of the Liberals #67 is up on Situation Awareness
clock | June 18, 2008It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing.
- Gertrude Stein
clock | June 18, 2008Well, I cannot afford to go to Netroots Nation, I cannot fit NEW COMMUNICATION CHANNELS FOR BIOLOGY into my calendar, I do not have money for Science Blogging 2008: London, did not get an invitation to SciFoo 2008 and am unlikely to make it to National Conference on Science & Technology in Out-of-School Time. But after the romp through Europe back in April, and a powerful time at SRBR in May, I need some time at home, catching up with work and family. And I will be at the SciBling meetup in NYC, and at the Science in the 21st Century meeting in September, and at 2008 ConvergeSouth in…
clock | June 18, 2008If anyone is interested, Thompson has just released the new Impact Factors for scientific journals. Mark Patterson takes a look at IFs for PLoS journals and puts them in cool-headed perspective.
One day, hopefully very soon, this will not be news. What I mean by it is that there soon will be better metrics - ways to evaluate individual articles and individual people in way that is transparent and useful and, hopefully, helps treat the "CNS Disease". Journals will probably have their own metrics based on the value they add, but those metrics will not affect individual researchers' careers…
clock | June 17, 2008Sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down.
- Kobi Yamada