sheril | September 23, 2008Science blogging. A couple years ago, I could never have imagined I'd try it, let alone share a site here at Sb. It's definitely changed the trajectory of my interests and pursuits, and it's an evolving medium that's proven extremely influential in some circles. John Wilkins recently had a paper in Trends in Ecology and Evolution analyzing how blogs function and now our sciblings Shelley Batts, Nick Anthis, and Tara Smith have an article in PLoS Biology proposing:
a roadmap for turning blogs into institutional educational tools and present examples of successful collaborations that can…
sheril | September 23, 2008From the New York Times to the LA Times, Obama's and McCain's answers to the 14 top science questions are getting great coverage, but the biggest question remains: Who's better for U.S. science?
Now's your chance to weigh in on their answers and tell the world what you think... Log on to www.sciencedebate2008.com/vote to give our presidential candidates an A - F grade and comment on how they responded.
- The Team at ScienceDebate2008
sheril | September 22, 2008From the New York Times to the LA Times, Obama's and McCain's answers to the 14 top science questions are getting great coverage, but the biggest question remains: Who's better for U.S. science?
Now's your chance to weigh in on their answers and tell the world what you think... Log on to www.sciencedebate2008.com/vote to give our presidential candidates an A - F grade and comment on how they responded.
- Sheril, Chris, and the rest of ScienceDebate2008.com
sheril | September 22, 2008
Three types of pigments are involved in leaf color.
- Chlorophyll is responsible for the green we see most of the year. It's necessary for photosynthesis which harnesses sunlight to make the sugars that plants need to grow.
- Anthocyanins result in magnificent reds and are produced in the fall as a response to bright light and excess sugars within leaf cells.
- Carotenoids produce yellow, orange, and brown and are present in the chloroplasts of leaf cells all year, but masked by chlorophyll.
During autumn, night length increases, and chlorophyll production stops. The carotenoids and…
sheril | September 21, 2008
More pics with readers, bloggers, and zoo critters from Bora and ScienceWoman... We had so much fun that I seem to have forgotten to step into photos.
* UPDATE: More pics here, here (where I actually make a cameo), and here.
sheril | September 19, 2008Don't forget to join Bora, Abel PharmBoy, Greta and Dave, James Hrynyshyn, ScienceWoman, Kevin Zelnio, SciCurious, Russ Williams and I at Scienceblogs one millionth comment party at the North Carolina Zoo!
Meet us tomorrow at the North America entrance at 1 p.m.
sheril | September 19, 2008Chris and I have been working on so many projects lately from our book to ScienceDebate2008 to several more we haven't yet mentioned here. Well, tomorrow is his 31st birthday and all I can say is, Chris, you're an inspiration. As we embarked on our newest endeavor earlier this week in the nation's capitol, I was reminded that amid all the writing, blogging, and collaborating, the best part is that no matter what we're up to, we always have a lot of fun in the process.
As I wrote last year, make sure you party like a rockstar down in New Orleans! I hope readers will join me in wishing a…
sheril | September 18, 2008The Red Cross is providing shelter, food, and emotional support for thousands in need after Hurricane Ike. Make a donation here.
Photo credit: USGS
sheril | September 18, 2008by Philip H.
DISCLAIMER - The opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author alone. They do NOT represent the official opinion, policy, or action of any governmental agency the author may work for or have ever worked for at the county, state or federal level. If you do not like the content or opinions, contact the author, not your Congressmen.
In my last post for The Intersection, I let folks in on the potential energy and carbon savings from software that would automatically turn off computers across various federal executive departments. At the time, I also referenced a…
cmooney | September 17, 2008So: I'm en route to Mississippi right now, for a panel discussion about science and the election that is to precede the first of three presidential debates, scheduled to be held on the Ole Miss campus September 26.
Our panel tomorrow is noteworthy because in some sense, it may be the closest we come to having an actual science debate during this campaign season--as I explain in my latest Science Progress column.
I'm very glad that Obama and McCain answered ScienceDebate2008's questions. I don't think it's nearly enough, though. And furthermore, the fact that we couldn't put something so…
sheril | September 16, 2008Once upon a time I was a grad student in the School of Marine Sciences at UMaine.
We were a small, tight-knit co-hort of eight ladies and two fellows... including lobsterman Curt Brown. A bright, charming, and silly guy, Curt was always fun to catch a Red Sox game with at the Seadog and the one to help me get home when my car was buried under three feet of snow. So naturally, I was thrilled to see 'Captain Curt' on CBS Sunday morning with Catch A Piece Of Maine--a terrific community based fishery model that directly supports lobstermen and the working waterfront of Maine:
Catch a Piece of…
sheril | September 15, 2008
On August 30, Chris Mooney and I reported that Senator Barack Obama responded to ScienceDebate2008 and this morning we can announce Senator John McCain has as well.
The Senator from Arizona provided a glimpse into what the McCain-Palin administration would look like. Read his first answer below and all fourteen on our website. A side-by-side comparison of Obama and McCain is available here.
1. Innovation. Science and technology have been responsible for half of the growth of the American economy since WWII. But several recent reports question America's continued leadership in these vital…
sheril | September 15, 2008
On August 30, we reported that Senator Barack Obama responded to ScienceDebate2008 and this morning we can announce Senator John McCain has as well.
The Senator from Arizona provided a glimpse into what the McCain-Palin administration would look like. Read his first answer below and all fourteen on our website. A side-by-side comparison of Obama and McCain is available here.
1. Innovation. Science and technology have been responsible for half of the growth of the American economy since WWII. But several recent reports question America's continued leadership in these vital areas. What…
sheril | September 11, 2008originally published September 11, 2007
Dear New York,
We've been together a long time and although I'm terribly unfaithful, you always welcome me back with open arms because you know no matter how many states I've slept in, I'm yours. And truth be told, I love you. You're my city - center of the universe - and there will never be another to take your place in my heart. DC and Maine were fun, North Carolina's been good to me, and I'll never forget the college years in Boston.. but New York - you ROCK my world! You'll always be home.
Two years ago I composed an OpEd to commemorate the…
cmooney | September 10, 2008
[Ike gathering strength in the Gulf.]
With Hurricane Ike on course to--probably--slam Texas as a serious hurricane, I address my latest Science Progress column to the question of whether we can, defensibly, discuss global warming during hurricane season. My basic answer: Yes, but it's probably better to use other messages, particularly economic ones ("Green Jobs").
You can read the full piece here.
sheril | September 10, 2008This week's energy topic is geothermal and this one's not making the news as much... yet. But keep an eye on it, folks. Over at NexGen, I start with the basics:
Since I'm a closet classicist, let's start by breaking down geothermal from the Greek, Gus Portokalos style:
Okay. Geothermal comes from the Greek word geo, meaning earth, and therme, meaning heat. So, what do you energize your house with? You see: Heat from the earth. Geothermal. There you go!
So the source of geothermal energy is heat below the Earth's surface. Steam and hot water generated there provide electricity and…
sheril | September 9, 2008According to John Tierney:
It looks as if personality differences between men and women are smaller in traditional cultures like India's or Zimbabwe's than in the Netherlands or the United States. A husband and a stay-at-home wife in a patriarchal Botswanan clan seem to be more alike than a working couple in Denmark or France. The more Venus and Mars have equal rights and similar jobs, the more their personalities seem to diverge.
These findings are so counterintuitive that some researchers have argued they must be because of cross-cultural problems with the personality tests. But after…
sheril | September 7, 2008Go read my NexGen coblogger's post at Climate Progress. Romm's got a frightening interview with Barb Davis White, who's running for the 5th Congressional District Congress in Minnesota:
ROMM: Where are you on global warming?
WHITE: Well, global warming really has not been proven. There are 30,000 scientists, including Al Gore's professor, from Princeton, who says that we are now in a cooling stage. And ev-every -- also every other climate that has been warmed had better grapes.
ROMM: So you don't believe in global warming and you don't think that people caused it.
WHITE: No, I think global…
sheril | September 6, 2008A 2001 Unicef report said that the United States teenage birthrate was higher than any other member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The U.S. tied Hungary for the most abortions. This was in spite of the fact that girls in the U.S. were not the most sexually active. Denmark held that title. But, its teenage birthrate was one-sixth of ours, and its teenage abortion rate was half of ours.
Look, teens everywhere are dealing with a cocktail of hormones and emotions, a changing physique, and a myriad of social pressures. And yes, many are going to have sex. Thing is…