clock | March 18, 2008The IT/Web team has been hard at work to make TOPAZ, the platform for 5 out of 7 PLoS journals work smoothly again.
clock | March 18, 2008For becoming the 1000th member of the PLoS Facebook group. I think some swag will be going her way... ;-)
clock | March 18, 2008Grand Rounds Vol. 4 No. 26 are up on Polite Dissent
The Gene Genie Blog Carnival is up on DNADirect Talk
The 116th Carnival of Homeschooling is up on Janice Campbell's blog
clock | March 18, 2008
Hissing Cockroaches Are Popular, But They Also Host Potent Mold Allergens:
Their gentle nature, large size, odd sounds and low-maintenance care have made Madagascar hissing cockroaches popular educational tools and pets for years. But the giant insects also have one unfortunate characteristic: Their hard bodies and feces are home to many mold species that could be triggering allergies in the kids and adults who handle the bugs, according to a new study.
Tiny Wasp Used To Wipe Out Major Agricultural Pest In Tahiti:
A research team led by Mark Hoddle, a biological control specialist at UC…
clock | March 18, 2008My spring traveling schedule has now crystallized. This is my schedule - if you are in any of those places at just the right time, let me know and let's meet.
I'll be arriving in London on April 9 early in the morning. I'd like to have a huge bloggers' meetup that first night, if possible, as I will spend the rest of the time in UK at the PLoS offices in Cambridge (and if you live there, let's meet). I may also need a place to stay that first night in London (I have some family and friends there as well, so I may stay there). I'll stay in the UK until April 15th in the afternoon.
I'll…
clock | March 17, 2008You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.
- Charles F. Kettering, 1876 - 1958
clock | March 17, 2008Are you Okay?
A Definition of Insanity
Eastern Bunny
Imposter Syndrome and Imposter Syndrome part 2
Why, yes, it IS my job
Frog hot spots
This week's educational rant
Greener Grass
Wireless Balloons
The Problem of Growth
I'm a Wikipedia Inclusionist
KTU 1.114 - A Student Exercise?
Blood transfusion afterthoughts
On banning prostitution (of a particular sort)
That talking thing... smith-mundt edition
Argh! (A Play in Infinite Acts)
(Don't) Stand By Your Man!
Insanely overpowered hardware, and video games as art
Palm trees and crocodiles in the Arctic
The Frequency of Lunar Eclipses
Less heat…
clock | March 17, 2008Yuri's Night is in 25 days, commemorating the date, April 12, 1961, when the first human, Yuri Gagarin went out in space. There are 12-hour long overnight parties all over the world and you can probably find one near you.
If everything goes as planned, I will be in Cambridge, UK on that day and the nearest party is in London. Perhaps a bunch of Plossians, SciBlings, Nature Networkers, other science bloggers, non-science bloggers and friends will be interested in going as a big group?
clock | March 17, 2008Encephalon #41 is up on Pure Pedantry
Carnival of the Green #119 is up on Natural Collection
clock | March 17, 2008The wilding of the American West is definitely a controversial idea. Josh Donlan provides links to the details of the proposal and asks the readers to do a quick poll about it - go do it!
clock | March 17, 2008Loss of Egg Yolk Genes in Mammals and the Origin of Lactation and Placentation:
Egg yolk contains the nutrients required for the development of the nonmammalian vertebrate embryo. These nutrients derive by and large from a single set of proteins, vitellogenins, which are produced in the liver and provide or transport amino acids, lipids, phosphorous, and calcium to the egg. Mammals have evolved new nutritional resources for their developing and early offspring, such as lactation and placentation. However, the evolutionary timing and molecular events associated with this major phenotypic…
clock | March 17, 2008There is an ongoing Journal Club on the PLoS ONE article A Three-Stage Colonization Model for the Peopling of the Americas. You'll see that the first comments there have been posted by people you know - bloggers like Martin Rundkvist and Greg Laden and Kambiz Kamrani. Now it's your turn to add your thoughts. Or, if this is not a topic you are interested in, it is never too late to add your commentary to one of the previous Journal Clubs or to just any PLoS ONE article you are interested in.
clock | March 17, 2008Amanda Marcotte's book is (finally) out for sale. As she says:
Titled "It's A Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide To Politically Inhospitable Environments", and it's about what it seems to be about, a guidebook for those irritating situations that keep cropping up for a feminist in a still-sexist world.
I ordered myself a copy the other day. You should, too.
clock | March 16, 2008You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.
- Charles Buxton, 1823 - 1871
clock | March 16, 2008New Bird Species Discovered:
The announcement of the discovery of a new bird comes with a twist: It's a white-eye, but its eye isn't white. Still, what this new bird lacks in literal qualities it makes up for as one of the surprises that nature still has tucked away in little-explored corners of the world.
Flexible Mating Calls May Contribute To Ecological Success Of Species:
Katydid (or didn't she?) respond to the mating call of her suitors. According to scientists at the University of Missouri, one species of katydid may owe its ecological success and expanded habitat range to the ability…
clock | March 16, 2008Funny...
Facebook: Community for Loners
Would You Prefer Stupidity Or Apathy With Your Incompetence? and Birth Of A Nation
Paralyzed
Bad Science Journalism: The Myth of the Oppressed Underdog and Statisticians are verifiably insane
Do periods of rest improve learning?
Barnacle sex.
Second Life exhibition about the pleasure of the table in Roma
Snakes versus newts - FIGHT!
Gas passings
Harmony between humans and animals created via Photoshop
Misleading headline of the day: sea level is falling!
NY Times: Kafka's cockroach real! (Really?)
Sentencing Crack-down
Anyone have a spare Andy…