clock | September 2, 2007The August blogger BBQ traditionally kicks-off the new blogging season (see the pictures from the BBQ on Flickr). So, we now have a new schedule for the 07/08 meetups. Instead of having all the meetups in Carrboro, we will rotate between two venues each month: the second Wednesday of the month in Durham, the fourth Wednesday of the month in Chapel Hill/Carrboro.
Anton has all the details on places, dates and times.
So, if you live in the area, or are just visiting, please come by. It is informal and fun. You don't have to write a blog of your own - you can just be a reader or a fan. If…
clock | September 1, 2007The funny thing is that everything is science fiction at one time or another.
- Gene Roddenberry
clock | September 1, 2007One Species' Entire Genome Discovered Inside Another's:
Scientists at the University of Rochester and the J. Craig Venter Institute have discovered a copy of the entire genome of a bacterial parasite residing inside the genome of its host species. The finding, reported in Science August 30, suggests that lateral gene transfer--the movement of genes between unrelated species--may happen much more frequently between bacteria and multicellular organisms than scientists previously believed, posing dramatic implications for evolution.
More...
Fruit Flies Prefer Fizzy Drinks:
That fruit fly…
clock | September 1, 2007Beautiful green lawn that covers up the water shortage, kills all insects and irritates the asthmatics!
clock | September 1, 2007Chaoslillith alerts:
Environmentalists Challenge Political Interference With 55 Endangered Species in 28 States, Seek to Restore 8.7 Million Acres of Protected Habitat Across the Country:
The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Department of the Interior for political interference with 55 endangered species in 28 states. The notice initiates the largest substantive legal action in the 34-year history of the Endangered Species Act.
At stake in the suit is the illegal removal of one animal from the endangered species list, the refusal to place three…
clock | September 1, 2007Scientiae #12 is up on Thus Spake Zuska
Circus of the Spineless #24 is up on Naturalist Notebook
Boneyard #4 is up on When Pigs Fly Returns
Bio::Blogs #14 is up on My Biotech Life
What's Up, Postdoc? #7 is up on The Ways and Means of the Immune System
Carnival of Mathematics #15 is up on johnkemeny.com - a mispelt bog
Friday Ark #154 is up on Modulator
Festival of the Trees #15 will be up later today on Raven's Nest
clock | August 31, 2007Late last night we opened the registration for the 2nd Science Blogging Conference, to be held on January 19th, 2008 on the Sigma Xi campus (publishers of 'American Scientist') in the Research Triangle Park which is officially on the territory of Durham, NC.
To register, go to the registration form and fill out the details.
To see who is already registered, go here.
If you will be here on day before, on Friday, January 18th and want to join us for dinner, add you name to this list.
If you are on Facebook, join the Conference Event and invite your friends. Some of the news will be…
clock | August 31, 2007Naomi Oreskes, the author of the 2004 paper in Science about the scientific consensus on global warming, recently had her work attacked by regressive denialists (including on Senator I-hate-science-Inhofe's blog). Her full response is now available on Stranger Fruit. Go and read it. Now.
clock | August 31, 2007If you were amazed the other night to find I was not online for a long time, not blogging, not commenting, not responding to e-mail, not on Facebook, now you know where I was - spreading Brotherhood and Unity in the Triangle area blogging community. And if the same phenomenon happens tonight, here's a hint where I can be found.
clock | August 31, 2007In a commentary and a blog post, the editors of PLoS Medicine ask:
....is there still a reluctance to accept that anything useful can be learned from research without numbers?
An old question that tends to generate a lot of heat. Where do you stand on it, within medicine or within your own area of research?
clock | August 31, 2007As you may have heard, the public rollout of SciVee was inadvertent and premature - seen by everyone at the time there were only one or two movies up and not all the capabilities in place yet. It is nice to hear that more functionalities are about to go up later today:
In response to all your great feedback and requests, we are rolling out several new features starting this afternoon. We apologize because our site will be temporarily down for about a day. We appreciate your patience and hope you enjoy the new features on your next visit. The new features that you can expect to see include:…
clock | August 31, 2007
Today is the third annual BlogDay. Pick five blogs and tell your readers why they should check them out. It is nicely undefined, i.e., what constitutes "new", but I guess DailyKos is out of the running. Also, instead of pointing you to any of my Sciblings, just go to the scienceblogs.com front page, and check every single one of them on the blogroll there as every one of them is worth your time and energy. Anyway, I have been far too busy lately to go around exploring new blogs, so here are five of my more recent favourites that I manage to check on every day anyway:
Pondering Pikaia is…
clock | August 30, 2007Skeptics' Circle #68 is up on Aardvarchaeology
Carnival of Space #18 is up on Out of the Cradle
Carnival of the Liberals #46 is up on Truth in Politics
clock | August 30, 2007The next journal to be launched by the Public Library of Science is PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
To whet your appetite, two papers were published in advance, both on the cause of River Blindness and the evolution of resistance to the anti-parasitic ivermectin: a research paper Genetic Selection of Low Fertile Onchocerca volvulus by Ivermectin Treatment and a commentary Ivermectin Resistance in Onchocerca volvulus - Toward a Genetic Basis.
Shabnam Sigman gives more details about the launch on the PLoS Blog. You can get more information about the new journal here.
clock | August 30, 2007Geologists and other Earth/planetary science bloggers have gotten together and started The Accretionary Wedge. First edition will be this Sunday night so send your entries. Spread the word on your blogs. Also, think about the logo and make one if you have artistic talents.
clock | August 30, 2007I went to my old blog to see if and what I blogged about during and after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast two years ago. I was astonished at just how much I posted! My blogging style is, like, so different today.
Of course, I made a big linkfest of the best that was written on blogs at the time, a useful reminder of some of the details if you are looking for inspiration for your own posts:
Best Katrina Blogging (so far)
But, check this torrent of posting! I can't believe I did it! Some are one-liners with links, some are long quotes from others, some are provocative and sharp-tongued thoughts…
clock | August 30, 2007Mystery Of A Third Olfactory System Unlocked:
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have found a "nose within the nose," a unique olfactory system within the noses of mice that is able to "smell" hormones involved in regulating water and salt balance in the body. This research may lead to new insights into the complex system of "chemical communication" between individuals.
First Orchid Fossil Puts Showy Blooms At Some 80 Million Years Old:
Biologists at Harvard University have identified the ancient fossilized remains of a pollen-bearing bee as the first hint of orchids…
clock | August 30, 2007Tangled Bank #87 is up on Balancing Life
Four Stone Hearth #22 is up on Hominin Dental Anthropology
The 134th Carnival of Education is up on Matthewktabor.com.
The latest Carnival of Homeschooling is up on The Common Room.