clock | November 19, 2006Brummell continues to review the last issue of Seed Magazine. Part III is here and Part IV is here. You can read most of the articles online now - just go to the very bottom of my blog and click on the links on the bottom bar.
clock | November 19, 2006Imagine an ecosystem in which all the players are groups defined by their religion: fundies, liberal believers, apathetics, atheists, etc. Then, use the ecological and evolutionary priniciples, e.g., competitive exclusion, niche-construction, arms-races, parasitism, camouflage, symbiosis, etc. to model the interactions between these entities ("populations").
Amanda made a first stab at it. Can you do more?
How do Unitarians fit in that environment? Or Humanist Jews? How does the US ecosystem differ from that of other countries (island biogegraphy?)? What are the lessons for atheists…
clock | November 19, 2006Of all the coverage of the Murtha-Hoyer duel and what it means for Pelosi, the only one that put into words the way I felt about the episode is Mary Beth. Of course the Kewl Kidz of the media got it upside down (but they have their own sinister motivations for it). I am not worried for her at all.
clock | November 19, 2006
Nick Greene is coming to the 2007 North Carolina Science Blogging Conference. Are you?
Technorati Tag: sciencebloggingconference
clock | November 18, 2006You may have noticed that the posting lately has been reduced mainly to quick links and reposts. I've been busy (in a good way). I will try to produce something longer soon. The review of The God Delusion is forming in my mind and just needs to be spilled onto the virtual paper - perhaps some time next week. And a few more posts are in a similar semi-baked state. Soon.
In the meantime, if you have a couple of bucks go see Grrrl and hit her PayPal button. I am broke, but she is more broke and in much more dire situation and if you can help her, please do.
clock | November 18, 2006* Monkeys using perfume? Study investigates:
Some wild spider monkeys dab on a chewed-leaf paste that may act as a sort of cologne, researchers say.
* Red wine ingredient found to boost endurance:
A substance earlier linked to long life in animals, also "re-programs" muscle to double endurance, a mouse study indicates.
* Neanderthal DNA partially sequenced:
Scientists have preliminarily mapped out when the stocky human cousins diverged from our species.
* 'Dark energy' an age-old phenomenon, study finds:
A weird force pushing our universe outward has existed since near the beginning,…
clock | November 18, 2006If you are interested in the saga of the Bosnian pyramid, it may be difficult for you to follow it as the members of the Anti-Pyramid Webring write mainly in some version of Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian language. But now, they have started a new, central blog for posts in English - the APWR Central. Contributors are needed.
clock | November 18, 2006
Citizen Will Raymond is coming to the 2007 North Carolina Science Blogging Conference. Are you?
Technorati Tag: sciencebloggingconference
clock | November 17, 2006Glenn and Dave on eliminationist rhetoric and the complicity of the media in it. So, what to do with the media? Glenn describes, Sara prescribes.
clock | November 17, 2006Remember Amanda Doerty, the so-called Hot Abercrombie Chick? Just one of many bloggers to be shown to be a hoax?
Now, do you think that this Rachel Brenc is real? I'd rather believe that this is a man in disguise. I hope no young woman really thinks the way she does. Zuska, Janet and John explain why, so I don't have to. The child of privilege, despising everyone under her, self-assured of her own success because her self-professed attractiveness will help her nab a husband who can step into her father's shoes and continue protecting her white, conservative privilege.
clock | November 17, 2006First - great news! Jennifer and Sean are getting married! They found each other online, blogging physics. Now, I know they are not the first people to find each other online and get married, but, to my knowledge, this is the highest-profile pair of bloggers to do so. And the first I know in the specifically science blogosphere. Is that true? Anyway, go say Hi to both of them. Congratulations!
Second, after a very long hiatus (but I kept checking often, always hopeful), everyone's favourite artist of extinct mammals and other charismatic megafauna, Olduvai George is back to blogging…
clock | November 17, 2006Have you ever read a paper in your field and wondered "how'd they done it?!" You read the "Materials and Methods" closely, again and again, and still have no idea how exactly was the procedure done. You want to replicate the experiment, or use the same technique for your own questions, but have no clue how to go about it.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I guess that a video is worth a thousand pictures. So, learn the experimental techniques by watching videos of people actually doing them. You can do that on the brand new journal, just starting November 30th:
Journal…
clock | November 17, 2006Another one on psychology of political ideology (form April 08, 2005):
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Ezra Klein, Majikthise and Revere of Effect Measure are having another round of discussion of the Lakoff's scheme.
One of the problems in this discussion, I think, is the confusion between Conservatism Vs. Liberalism as Systems of Government on one hand, and Conservatism vs. Liberalism as Personality Traits on the other.
Going back in history and arguing for or against the two archetypes by invoking Nixon, Reagan, McCarthy, Stalin, Hitler, Clinton, Carter, whoever...misses the…
clock | November 17, 2006The new edition of Animalcules, the microbiological carnival, is up on Baumhaus
For somewhat larger animals, visit Friday Ark #113 up on Modulator
clock | November 17, 2006
Congogirl (yup, I know her real name but am not telling) is coming to the 2007 North Carolina Science Blogging Conference. Are you?
Technorati Tag: sciencebloggingconference
clock | November 16, 2006Here is the third BIO101 lecture (from May 08, 2006). Again, I'd appreciate comments on the correctness as well as suggestions for improvement.
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BIO101 - Bora Zivkovic - Lecture 1 - Part 3
The DNA code
DNA is a long double-stranded molecule residing inside the nucleus of every cell. It is usually tightly coiled forming chromosomes in which it is protected by proteins.
Each of the two strands of the DNA molecule is a chain of smaller molecules. Each link in the chain is composed of one sugar molecule, one phosphate molecule and one…
clock | November 16, 2006
My SciBling Zuska is coming to the 2007 North Carolina Science Blogging Conference. Are you?
Technorati Tag: sciencebloggingconference
clock | November 15, 2006The 2006 Weblog Awards are now taking nominations in a variety of categories, including science blogs, medical blogs, liberal blogs, etc. Go make some nominations. This is a warm-up for Koufaxes next month!