clock | October 30, 2007The Boneyard #8 is up on Hairy Museum of Natural History
Carnival of the Green #101 is up on Money and Values
Grand Rounds Volume 4, Number 6 are up on Running a hospital
Radiology Grand Rounds XVII are up on Sumer's Radiology Site
The 96th Carnival of Homeschooling is up on Spritibee
clock | October 30, 2007Another Tuesday night, another embarrassment of riches on PLoS ONE (yeah, yeah, I work there, OK). There are 35 new articles published today and it is hard for me to pick and choose as so many are interesting to me, including a couple I may have to write separate posts about (and test the new BPR3 icon). If any of these, or any of older ONE articles (or any of yet-to-be-published articles - ask me by e-mail) are in your area of interest/expertise and you would like to volunteer your group (research lab group, graduate seminar, honors class, whatever counts as a "group" of scientists) for a…
clock | October 30, 2007Last week's PLoS ONE paper, Analysis of the Trajectory of Drosophila melanogaster in a Circular Open Field Arena, is the subject of the newest Journal Club. It is an interesting methods paper, showing the way a camera and some math can be used for a much more sophisticated analysis of animal behavior than it has traditionally been done.
The Journal Club this week is being led by Bjoern Brembs from the Institute of Biology - Neurobiology, Freie Universitat Berlin. You may be familiar with his name because Bjoern also writes a science blog.
The group has now posted some initial commentary, in…
clock | October 30, 2007There is just a couple of more days left and my challenge is still at 50% (just 6 donors!) so I am panicking. There are several projects that are completely funded and several others that are still far away from the goal, but lots and lots of small donations can make it happen.
Every challenge that reaches its goal gets additional 10% from DonorsChoose. The chances of getting one of the Seed prizes, including the iPod Nano, are very, very good! Chances of getting a prize from me are even better! All the relevant information is here.
Just click here on the thermometer. Please! And…
clock | October 30, 2007If it was Friday and if I still had the time, energy and inspiration for Friday Weird Sex Blogging, I would definitely write something snarky about this latest study - of a four-headed penis of the Echidna. But the topic fits nicely into the Halloween theme if things like these scare you ;-)
In short, the spiny anteater, a Monotreme (an egg-laying mammal living in the Australian bush), has four heads on its penis. Two of those are functional and these two are used alternately, i.e., one ejaculation through the left one, the next through the right one and so on. Dr.Joan produces the Quote…
clock | October 30, 2007Rockridge Institute published a set of articles (and a video ad) that I found quite interesting about the way to frame health care. See for yourself:
Introduction to Rockridge's Health Care Campaign:
Framing for Rockridge is about the honest expression of the progressive moral view based upon empathy and responsibility for oneself and others. It is about recognizing government's role to protect and empower citizens. In other words, we want to communicate our moral view as directly as possible. We want to make sure the moral view is not lost in the fog of complex policy proposals.
The Logic…
clock | October 30, 2007There are 81 days until the Science Blogging Conference. The wiki is looking good, the Program is shaping up nicely, and there is more and more blog and media coverage already. There are already 112 registered participants and if you do not register soon, it may be too late once you decide to do so (we'll cap at about 230). Between now and the conference, I am highlighting some of the people who will be there, for you to meet in person if you register in time.
Erika Wittchen is a postdoc in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at UNC - Chapel Hill and the veteran of the first…
clock | October 29, 2007You must remember this,
A kiss is still a kiss,
A sigh is just a sigh;
The fundamental things apply,
As time goes by.
- Herman Hupfeld
clock | October 29, 2007Do you agree that Naked Mole Rats are beautiful? Does it irk you to no end when you hear someone state that they are ugly? Does it make you mad when the MSM, oblivious, ignorant and insensitive, repeats that standard denialists' trope? Are you sick-and-tired of the "he-said-she-said" journalism that just HAS to, every time, quote some anti-naked-mole-rat bigot whenever these lovely animals are mentioned? Are you aware that a Heterocephalus glaber is not allowed to run for office in 27 states of the USA? These days, you cannot even slander atheists in a political speech any more without…
clock | October 29, 2007Mo the Neurophilosopher awarded me with a coveted prize - the Intellectual Blogger Award, bestowed to....
...those bloggers who demonstrate an inclination to think on their own. This is what I think is needed in today's blogosphere. The term 'Intellectual' has often been derided in recent times, and this is one way to resurrect the true meaning: "An intellectual is one who tries to use his or her intellect to work, study, reflect, speculate on, or ask and answer questions with regard to a variety of different ideas."
So, although this may be for the old stuff and the way my blog used to be…
clock | October 29, 2007Big Fossil 'Raptor' Tracks Show Group Behavior:
Everyone knows that "raptor" dinosaurs walked with their deadly sickle-shaped foot claws held off the ground and that they moved in packs ... right? After all, it was in "Jurassic Park." But until now, there was no direct evidence of either of these things. Now, an international team of Chinese, British, American and Japanese paleontologists reported fossilized footprints made by two different kinds of "raptors" from 120 million year old rocks in Shandong Province, China.
Resistance To Thoughts Of Chocolate Is Futile:
A research project carried…
clock | October 29, 2007If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have seen this, this and this, i.e., an effort to design an icon that a blogger can place on the top of a post that discusses peer-reviewed research. The icon makes such posts stand out, i.e., the readers will know it is not a discussion of a press release or media reporting, or fisking of a crackpot, a meme, or showing a cute animal picture.
So, I am please to announce that the icons are here! Dave Munger explains.
Pick up the codes for icons on this page. Carefully read the Guidelines before you start using the icon.
See who is using the…
clock | October 29, 2007There are 82 days until the Science Blogging Conference. The wiki is looking good, the Program is shaping up nicely, and there is more and more blog and media coverage already. There are already 109 registered participants and if you do not register soon, it may be too late once you decide to do so (we'll cap at about 230). Between now and the conference, I am highlighting some of the people who will be there, for you to meet in person if you register in time.
Jennifer Ouellette is a former English major turned science writer. She has published articles in places such as Discover, New…
clock | October 28, 2007I don't have time to distinguish between the unfortunate and the incompetent.
- Charles de Gaulle
clock | October 28, 2007World's Hottest Chile Pepper Discovered:
Researchers at New Mexico State University recently discovered the world's hottest chile pepper. Bhut Jolokia, a variety of chile pepper originating in Assam, India, has earned Guiness World Records' recognition as the world's hottest chile pepper by blasting past the previous champion Red Savina.
Decoding Effects Of Toxins On Embryo Development Apparent:
Changes in gene expression patterns in zebrafish embryos resulting from exposure to environmental toxins can identify the individual toxins at work, according to research published in the online open…
clock | October 28, 2007Back at ConvergeSouth, Leonard Witt did several short video interviews with cool participants.
Among others, you should definitely see brief interviews with Anton Zuiker, Kirk Ross and Ruby Sinreich.
clock | October 28, 2007Local elections are next week.
This is my official endorsement for Sally Greene for Chapel Hill Town Council.
And not just because she is a blogger.
Or because she was endorsed by The Independent.
But because of what Brian said.
clock | October 28, 2007The Triangle Malaria Symposium will be on Thursday, November 15, 2007, at 1-7 pm at the Duke University Searle Center. At first I thought it was this week, but now I see it is the week after, so perhaps I can make it to it. Even if I don't, Anton is going for sure and intends to liveblog it. So far, the speakers include Peter Agre, Margaret Humphreys and Steve Meshnick so the symposium looks VERY promising.