clock | September 8, 2007If you were here last June, you'll remember the scienceblogs.com-wide action to fund science and math teaching projects in underfunded schools through DonorsChoose.
This year, we'll do it again. There is twice as much of us, and we will also challenge bloggers outside of scienceblogs.com to join us in this. And we'll try to do even more than that, but you will have to wait a few days and keep monitoring Janet's blog and other blogs for more information. Stay tuned.
clock | September 8, 2007The first blogger meetup of the season will be this Wednesday, September 12th, at 6pm at Tyler's Tap Room in the American Tobacco Warehouse District. Come in large numbers, bring your friends!
To stay informed about this and other local bloggy events, sign up for the BlogTogether mailing list.
clock | September 8, 2007It is not unusal to write an obituary when a great scientist passes away. It is much more unusual to do so when a lab animal does so. But when that animal is not just an experimental subject, but also a friend, colleague, teacher and collaborator, than the species boundaries lose importance. And Alex, the famous African Grey Parrot, was just that, and more, to Irene Pepperberg and to the entire field of cognitive ethology. He died yesterday, unexpectedly, at the age of 31 (about half the normal life expectancy for the species) and he will be sorely missed. You can send donations, that…
clock | September 8, 2007I rarely wish to be 14 again, but I certainly did when I read this news today, that N.C. Zoo and the Asheboro City Schools have just started something called AHS Zoo School. As Russ Williams explains:
"Students have unprecedented access to a 1500-acre, world-class facility ideal for environmental and biological exploration. Beyond routine science, the zoo offers relevant experiences in zoology, horticulture, marketing, retail, hospitality and art as well as wildlife and plant conservation and research. The AHS program is only the fourth zoo school in the country with similar schools located…
clock | September 8, 2007Back in January, there were rumors around town about Google opening an office in Chapel Hill. Then, a couple of days ago, I went up to the John Edwards HQ to pick up some bumper stickers for my new car and I noticed there was construction in the offices next door. The sign on the door sported the "Google" logo.
I told Paul about this and so he got in his car and provided the photographic evidence:
clock | September 7, 2007My ancestors were Puritans from England. They arrived here in 1648 in the hope of finding greater restrictions than were permissible under English law at that time.
- Garrison Keillor
clock | September 7, 2007A Balanced Memory Network:
A critical component of cognition is memory--the ability to store information, and to readily retrieve it on cue. Existing models postulate that recalled items are represented by self-sustained activity; that is, they are represented by activity that can exist in the absence of input. These models, however, are incomplete, in the sense that they do not explain two salient experimentally observed features of persistent activity: low firing rates and high neuronal variability. Here we propose a model that can explain both. The model makes two predictions: changes in…
clock | September 7, 2007Carnival of Space #19 is up on Universe Today
The 44th Carnival of Feminists is up on Reproductive Rights Blog
Friday Ark #155 is up on The Modulator
clock | September 7, 2007'Alien' Jaws Help Moray Eels Feed:
Moray eels have a unique way of feeding reminiscent of a science fiction thriller, researchers at UC Davis have discovered. After seizing prey in its jaws, a second set of jaws located in the moray's throat reaches forward into the mouth, grabs the food and carries it back to the esophagus for swallowing.
More here and here (you can see the video on both places).
Migrating Squid Drove Evolution Of Sonar In Whales And Dolphins, Researchers Argue:
Behind the sailor's lore of fearsome battles between sperm whale and giant squid lies a deep question of evolution…
clock | September 6, 2007When Klaus-Martin Schulte attacked Naomi Orestes and she responded, there was quite a lot of blosopheric response to it. If you look no further than scienceblogs.com, there were no less than eight direct responses (and some lively comments as well): one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight.
What I was unaware of until today is an earlier article in Guardian by Jonathan Wolff about an outsider's look at the "controversy" around her 2004 Science paper. I saw it first on this post by Kaitlin Thaney (who also writes on the Science Commons blog), which links back to a post by Maxine…
clock | September 6, 2007Over the past several months, Alvaro of SharpBrains blog interviewed eleven neuroscientists on the topic of the ability to use various techniques to affect the way our brains function - brain training. He has now put together a collection of key quotes from the eleven interviews, each quote linking to the interview itself. Interesting reading on the cutting edge of neuroscience.
clock | September 6, 2007I and the Bird #57 is up on A DC Birding Blog
New edition of Change of Shift is up over at How I Spent My Nursing Education
The Carnival Of Education: Week 135 is up on The Education Wonks
The 93rd Carnival of the Green is up on Organic Authority
Carnival of Homeschooling #88 is up on Consent Of The Governed
clock | September 6, 2007Bjoern Brembs placed his latest manuscript about the generation effect in fruitflies on Nature Precedings before resubmitting it to PLoS Biology. He is seeking feedback to make the manuscript better. So, if you think you can, go and try to help him out.
clock | September 6, 2007Danica:
If you receive the invite from friends or anyone to join social networking site Quechup, don't do it! Disregard that Quechup email and don't visit the website. Last night I was caught up by invitation of reputable friend, didn't know for this spam, and this morning I got alert email about this. I tried now to log into the site and delete my account - but I failed. Such a fraud. I don't know how to delete my account as I am afraid that my address book will be spammed by this Quechup site!
clock | September 5, 2007Nothing can be more incorrect than the assumption one sometimes meets with, that physics has one method, chemistry another, and biology a third.
- Thomas Henry Huxley
clock | September 5, 2007Before we focus on science, and while the weather is still nice, we (and by "we" I mean "bloggers in the Triangle area of North Carolina") will have some other kind of bloggy fun, the one that involves taste buds!
Yes, join us for a three-day Foodblogging event on September 23-25, 2007, with the special guest-star: the famous chef-author-blogger Michael Ruhlman. We'll eat, drink, read, chat and blog while celebrating and promoting the locally grown food prepared by local chef celebrities.
Anton has all the details - the seating is limited so sign up quickly. Yummy!
clock | September 5, 2007Far too busy today, so just news in brief....
New on science blogging:
You can now subscribe to the ScienceBlogs Weekly Recap:
Bonus: people who sign up now will be automatically entered in the ScienceBlogs 500,000 Comment contest, for a chance to win a trip to the greatest science city.
Our friends on The Intersection are looking for a new banner. There are prizes to be awarded! Can they possibly get a banner prettier than mine? Give it a try!
Another blogging contest! Win real money for student blogging. Nominate your favourites today. Let's have some science bloggers up in the…
clock | September 5, 2007Check out this screenshot of the front page of PLoS ONE:
See the banner on the top right? Looks familiar?
There are several rotating ads, so you may have to click around several papers until you get to see it yourself (and while looking around, of course you are allowed to read papers, rate them., etc....)