clock | June 8, 2009Finish each day before you begin the next, and interpose a solid wall of sleep between the two. This you cannot do without temperance.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
clock | June 8, 2009Bird Migrations Set To Increase: Added Distance Is 'Considerable Threat' To Some Species:
Bird migrations are likely to get longer according to the first ever study of the potential impacts of climate change on the breeding and winter ranges of migrant birds. The length of some migrations could increase by as much as 400 km. "The predicted future temperature changes and the associated changes in habitat could have serious consequences for many species", said lead-author Nathalie Doswald of Durham University (UK).
Prehistoric Whale Discovered On The West Coast Of Sweden:
The skeleton of a…
clock | June 8, 2009June Scientiae, part II, is up on Sciencewomen
iCephalon, aka, Encephalon #72 is up on Cognitive Daily
Carnival of the Green #183 is up on ooffoo
clock | June 7, 2009I wouldn't call it fascism exactly, but a political system nominally controlled by an irresponsible, dumbed down electorate who are manipulated by dishonest, cynical, controlled mass media that dispense the propaganda of a corrupt political establishment can hardly be described as democracy either.
- Edward Zehr
clock | June 7, 2009This one is much bigger than the one I saw last week. At least 12 inches long carapace (more pictures under the fold). What's the species?
clock | June 7, 2009
Here are the submissions for OpenLab 2009 to date. As we have surpassed 150 entries, all of them, as well as the "submit" buttons and codes and the bookmarklet, are under the fold. You can buy the 2006, 2007 and 2008 editions at Lulu.com. Please use the submission form to add more of your and other people's posts (remember that we are looking for original poems, art, cartoons and comics, as well as essays):
A Blog Around The Clock: Yes, Archaea also have circadian clocks!
A Blog Around The Clock: Why social insects do not suffer from ill effects of rotating and night shift work?
A Blog…
clock | June 6, 2009If you lead a country like Britain, a strong country, a country which has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have to have a touch of iron about you.
- Margaret Thatcher
clock | June 6, 2009Be Your Best Friend If You'll Be Mine: Alliance Hypothesis For Human Friendship:
University of Pennsylvania psychologists studying the cognitive mechanisms behind human friendship have determined that how you rank your best friends is closely related to how you think your friends rank you. The results are consistent with a new theory called the Alliance Hypothesis for Human Friendship, distinct from traditional explanations for human friendship that focused on wealth, popularity or similarity.
Easily Grossed Out? You Might Be A Conservative!:
Are you someone who squirms when confronted with…
clock | June 5, 2009Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer.
- Bruce Graham
clock | June 5, 2009Of course the Course description for JOMC 449 - Virtual Communities, Smart Mobs, Citizen Journalism and Participatory Culture is made in video. All the 'readings' are viewings of video, all assignments are video-making. So cool!
Fall 2009 MW 3:30 - 4:45, UNC Chapel Hill, Instructor: Paul Jones
clock | June 5, 2009Victor Bruce, a lecturer emeritus in biology at Princeton who conducted advanced studies for more than 25 years on the built-in cycles governing natural rhythms like the sleep-wake cycle, has died. He was 88.
Bruce, who despite a background in engineering became drawn to biological studies, died Friday, May 29, at his home in Princeton after a short struggle with cancer.
"He was an A-1 scientist who did some really neat work," said John Bonner, Princeton's George M. Moffett Professor Emeritus of Biology. "He was a wonderful colleague."
Bruce joined the Department of Biological Sciences in…
clock | June 5, 2009
An almost complete and beautifully preserved fossil of the Southern Mammoth, Mammuthus meridionalis was discovered a couple of weeks ago by a team of archaeologists led by Miomir KoraÄ from the Archaeological Institute Belgrade and the Director of the Archaeological park Viminacium in Eastern Serbia.
The fossil, pretty much articulated and all in one place, was discovered at a depth of 27 meters (about 88.5 feet) in sand, which indicates that this area did not experience a serious earthquake for at least a million years or more since the animal died. It was identified as a female. She was…
clock | June 5, 2009June Scientiae is up on Sciencewomen
Four Stone Hearth #68 is up on remote central
Friday Ark #246 is up on Modulator
clock | June 4, 2009Perfection of planning is a symptom of decay. During a period of exciting discovery or progress, there is no time to plan the perfect headquarters.
- C. Northcote Parkinson
clock | June 4, 2009As you may have noticed if you saw this or you follow me on Twitter/FriendFeed/Facebook, I spent half of Tuesday and all of Wednesday at the XXVI International Association of Science Parks World Conference on Science & Technology Parks in Raleigh. The meeting was actually longer (starting on Sunday and ending today), but I was part of a team and we divided up our online coverage the best we could do.
Christopher Perrien assembled a team (including his son) to present (and represent) Science In The Triangle, the new local initiative. They manned a booth at which they not only showcased…
clock | June 4, 2009Here are some titles, from all seven PLoS journals, that caught my attention this week. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Mendeley, Connotea, Stumbleupon, Facebook and Digg) with just one click. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Defining Global Neuroendocrine Gene Expression Patterns Associated with Reproductive Seasonality in Fish:
Many vertebrates, including the goldfish, exhibit seasonal…
clock | June 4, 2009Special, one-time carnival "Uncovering Ida" is up on Laelaps
Skeptic's Circle #112 is up on Cheshire
clock | June 4, 2009You may have noticed a couple of days ago that Caryn Shechtman posted an interview with me on the New York blog on Nature Network. Then, Caryn and Erin and I thought it might be a good idea to have the entire interview reposted here, for those who missed it. So, proceed under the fold:
1. What is your professional background?
Even as a little kid I always loved animals and thought that whatever I do when I grow up would have something to do with animals: perhaps work at a zoo or in a circus!. When I was in 6th grade or so, I read the entire series of books by James Herriot and decided to…
clock | June 4, 2009Changing Climate Likely To Make 'Super Weed' Even More Powerful:
Researchers at the University of Delaware have discovered a new reason why the tall, tasseled reed Phragmites australis is one of the most invasive plants in the United States.
Trading Energy For Safety, Bees Extend Legs To Stay Stable In Wind:
New research shows some bees brace themselves against wind and turbulence by extending their sturdy hind legs while flying. But this approach comes at a steep cost, increasing aerodynamic drag and the power required for flight by roughly 30 percent, and cutting into the bees' flight…