clock | September 27, 2007Solving A Dragonfly Flight Mystery:
Dragonflies adjust their wing motion while hovering to conserve energy, according to a Cornell University study of the insect's flight mechanics. The revelation contradicts previous speculation that the change in wing motion served to enhance vertical lift.
Mice Teeth Explain The Troubles With Human Wisdom Teeth:
During evolution, many of a species' properties are shaped by ecological interactions. This is readily evident in mammalian teeth, whose many features closely reflect what each species eats. However, for a long time scientists have suspected that…
clock | September 26, 2007No man whose sex life was satisfactory ever became a moral censor.
- Mina Loy
clock | September 26, 2007
Now that the registration for the Science Blogging Conference is open, it is time to remind you that the new edition of the Science Blogging Anthology, "Open Laboratory 2007", is in the works and is accepting your suggestions.
Although the entire process, from the initial idea all the way to having a real book printed and up for sale, took only about a month, the Open Laboratory 2006 was a great success. This year, we have much more time so we hope we will do an even better job of it.
More than 100 entries have come in so far (see under the fold) and we are looking for more. I have read…
clock | September 26, 2007Back in July, the House of Representatives passed a bill that requires all the NIH-funded research to be made freely available to the public within at most 12 months subsequent to publication.
The equivalent bill has passed the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this summer and will be up for vote in the Senate very soon! In advance of this important vote, The Alliance for Taxpayer Access has issued a Call for action:
As the Senate considers Appropriations measures for the 2008 fiscal year this fall, please take a moment to remind your Senators of your strong support for public access…
clock | September 26, 2007This was Anton's idea, at the dinner the other night, but I will get it started here anyway.
An interesting animal I had
I never owned an unusual species of animal. As a little kid I had small turtle named Aeschillus. Later I had two horses, half-brothers, whose names meant the same in two different languages - Meraklija in Serbian and Kefli in Hebrew both mean "one who truly enjoys life and good things in life". My wife was a better namer of horses - her last one, the one she brought into the marriage, she named Double Helix and his barn nickname was Watson. A cat and a dog also became "…
clock | September 26, 2007Advances in the History of Psychology
SES: Science, Education & Society
Urban Science Adventures!
Feminist undergrad
CarrieBlogKelly
clock | September 26, 2007Four Stone Hearth #24 is up on _Paddy K_
Tangled Bank #89 is up on Aardvarchaeology
The 138th edition of the Carnival of Education is up on Global Citizenship in a Virtual World
Carnival of the Liberals #48 is up on Liberal England
The 91st Carnival of Homeschooling is up on The Voice of Experience
clock | September 26, 2007You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks -- With The Right Diet:
These supplements, acetyl-l-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid, are continuing to be studied in work with humans, and scientists believe they may provide a new approach to the neurodegeneration and cognitive decline common with aging.
Amazon Forest Shows Unexpected Resiliency During Drought:
Drought-stricken regions of the Amazon forest grew particularly vigorously during the 2005 drought, according to new research.
New Species Of Bacteria Feeds On Natural Gas:
A German-American research team of biologists and geochemists has discovered…
clock | September 25, 2007Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.
- Jerry Seinfeld
clock | September 25, 2007The highlight of this week's foodblogging event must have been last night's dinner at Piedmont restaurant in Durham.
Anton has several posts about the events of the past couple of days, including a detailed description (including the menu, and exactly who was there - about 30 people) of the dinner itself. I came a little late (because I always get lost in Durham as the layout of that city always stumps Google Maps), but as soon as I started chatting with the wonderful people there and eating the wonderful food, my mood changed for the better and I really enjoyed the evening (yes, while…
clock | September 25, 2007These were taken the day after the pseudo-move, as soon as the cats came back from a weekend at the vet. Biscuit was hiding, but the other two explored the new environs:
clock | September 25, 2007Steve Irwin's last paper is not the only exciting article to appear on PLoS ONE today - there are 40 more, and here are a few I am excited about - a veritable embarassment of riches! When am I ever going to find time to read them all!
Oxytocin in the Circadian Timing of Birth (hey, it's by Erik Herzog, so you know I'll blog about this paper in a separate post later):
Very little is known about the molecular components that determine the timing for birth in mammals. This study compares the timing of births between mice with and without the chemical oxytocin (OT) when exposed to shifts in the…
clock | September 25, 2007Just published about an hour ago (if it was in hardcopy, it would still be hot off the presses). And it is a wonderful paper! Australian crocs can and will travel much longer distances than was previously thought and their homing instinct is strong and navigational capacity excellent, even in a case where a large obstacle (Cape York Peninsula) needed to be navigated around:
Satellite Tracking Reveals Long Distance Coastal Travel and Homing by Translocated Estuarine Crocodiles, Crocodylus porosus:
Crocodiles are widely distributed and can usually be found in remote areas, however very little…
clock | September 25, 2007Johanna Dehlinger writes:
In September, PLoS Computational Biology begins a series entitled "Developing Computational Biology" about the pursuit of scientific endeavors in computational biology around the world. Each country has unique features in areas from educational programs, types of research being undertaken and the ways that research is funded. The series starts with a perspective on computational biology in Mexico, followed by contributions about Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, China, and South Africa.
This will be interesting to watch - tune in.
clock | September 25, 2007This is why you should attend ConvergeSouth. OK, Anton will lead a session, and so will I, but check out the entire program - it is just getting more and more amazing every year! And it is probably the most pleasant and enjoyable conference in any given year.
clock | September 25, 2007And it is hard to find anyone better than Brian:
I am now available for hire to consult on the creation, care, and feeding of online communities. Plus I can create audio and video for the web. To get an idea of my professional experience you can check out my resume here and my portfolio here.
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I'm interested in working for non-profits, businesses, and progressive political campaigns. I can help you make your own media and demonstrate how it will strengthen your mission and benefit your organization financially. But most important is communicating with customers,…
clock | September 25, 2007What's Up, Postdoc? September Carnival is up on ... ponderings of a fool.
Grand Rounds is starting its 4th year of existence up on Kevin MD's blog. Congratulations!
Carnival of the Green #96 is up on Karavans.
clock | September 25, 2007A bunch of new articles got published in PLoS Medicine and PLoS Biology yesterday. Here are my two picks, and you go and check the rest:
Brain Dynamics Underlying the Nonlinear Threshold for Access to Consciousness:
Understanding the neural mechanisms that distinguish between conscious and nonconscious processes is a crucial issue in cognitive neuroscience. In this study, we focused on the transition that causes a visual stimulus to cross the threshold to consciousness, i.e., visibility. We used a backward masking paradigm in which the visibility of a briefly presented stimulus (the "target…