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Free Books To My Readers

Everyone loves free books, right? Well, I know I do, and since I've got a huge stack of books in my apartment that are seeking a loving home, I want to share them with you. These books are duplicates of review copies, advance reading copies and uncorrected proofs as well as some books that I purchased. All books are in excellent (like new) shape, unless otherwise noted. I am offering them to you several times per week for the next few months, free of charge, although I will ask you to pay the cost of the shipping envelope and postage for mailing each book to you. Below the jump is a list of…

Help Increase Science Education among Impoverished Classrooms throughout the USA!

tags: DonorsChoose, science education, teaching, fund-raising, poverty One of my donors, Hewlett-Packard, has notified me that they are willing to provide my Challenge classrooms with $2000 IF I manage to raise a total of $2500 by Sunday. That means we're only $1000 away from being able to nearly double our ability to help impoverished classrooms throughout the United States! I've already donated $300, so I am completely tapped out, so I am asking you: please donate to my DonorsChoose classrooms! In recognition of your kind gifts to help others, Princeton University Press is offering 2…

Plastic Pollution: Reduce is the Only Answer!

tags: plastics, oceanography, pollution, environnment, streaming video This is a message by Captain Charles Moore, an oceanographer who pioneered the study of plastic debris, and was recorded during the Strategic Council on Plastic Pollution convened at the Google Campus in Mountain View, California on June 4, 2009. It was the first meeting for the council on plastic pollution, which was recently formed to raise awareness of this rising threat to the world's oceans. Council member and marine biologist Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, noted that "we are finding plastic in the stomachs of sea turtles,…

The Other Bird is Victorious in 2009 Belmont Stakes

tags: Belmont Stakes, horse racing, race horses, Summer Bird, Mine That Bird, sports, streaming video From left, Summer Bird, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Mine That Bird, ridden by Calvin Borel, and Dunkirk ridden by John R. Velazquez, race toward the finish line in the 2009 Belmont Stakes. Image: Kathy Willens. Kent Desormeaux, the other Cajun jockey in the Belmont Stakes, rode the other son of Birdstone, Summer Bird, to victory in today's Belmont Stakes. (Birdstone was the upset winner of the 2004 Belmont Stakes). Summer Bird is a half brother to today's favorite, Kentucky Derby winner,…

Birdbooker Report 66

tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books "How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird literature." --Edgar Kincaid The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and…

Mystery Bird: White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii

tags: White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow] Image: Richard Ditch, 23 December 2007 [larger view]. Date Time Original: 2007:12:23 09:04:20 Exposure Time: 1/350 F-Number: 10.00 ISO: 400 Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes: Quick: what's the most abundant…

Antarctica: Others Think I'd do a Helluva Job, Too

Since I have recently developed quite a history of visiting cold and snowy places, often during the winter, I wish to preserve that tradition. I am competing for the opportunity to go to Antarctica in February 2010 -- a dream adventure that I've always wanted to pursue (and almost did pursue when I was an undergraduate researching Fin Whales and Crabeater Seals at the University of Washington). To enter, all candidates must publish a picture of themselves and write an essay explaining why we think we are the best choice, and solicit votes from the public. Whomever receives the most votes wins…

The Wall around Old Town, Part 1, Climbing the Wall

tags: Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia, cities The wall around Old Town. Photographed in Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia. Image: GrrlScientist, 22 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image) The Historic Center of Tallinn, known as "Old Town", was one of the best fortified cities in Europe, with 66 towers adorning the city wall. Today, only 20 or so of these cannon towers remain. The history of Talinn as a trading town is still evident in the beauty of its buildings (for example, refer to the lovely dragons that I photographed on this building, which is now an art gallery). Entrance to the Castle…

Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: Joy to the World . . .

I don't watch much network TV and I certainly don't watch Charlie Sheen's new show, Two and a Half Men. So I didn't know that the Christian Right is going bonkers over his mocking of Christ, Christmas and Christians earlier this week. At least that's their version. Apparently what he did is sing his own version of a Christmas Carol: "CBS approved Sheen's adaptation of the favorite Christmas carol, making it into a vulgar sex song," said Donald E. Wildmon, Chairman of AFA, in a statement. "The network and sponsors paid Sheen to mock Christ, Christmas and Christians. Many in the Christian…

Order in the court: the case of bird flu

Many readers of this site come here because they are interested in or worried about bird flu. Bird flu isn't the only thing people are worried about and no doubt there are sites that talk about each of them --asbestos or nanotechnology or genetically modified foods, for example. Most of us are glad we only have room for a few of these worries. But some people worry about all of them as part of their jobs. Actuaries -- the professionals who help insurance companies estimate their risks and what to charge for premiums -- do this for a living. While nanotechnology and bird flu are as different…

Dear Leader signs torture bill, habeas corpus screams in pain

Lindsay at Majikthise notes that Dear Leader has signed the torture bill, with these words: "It is a rare occasion when a president can sign a bill that he knows will save American lives," Bush said. "I have that privilege this morning." Bush signed the bill in the White House East Room, at a table with a sign positioned on the front that said "Protecting America." He said he signed it in memory of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. "We will answer brutal murder with patient justice," Bush said. "Those who kill the innocent will be held to account." [AP] Some observations. Yes, it has been…

The Surgeon General's new gig

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about the strange disappearance of the already invisible Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Richard Carmona. One day, July 29, he was there. The next day, July 30, gone. Appointment not renewed. Did he jump or was he pushed? We don't know. Lots of commenters here thought that now he was "out from under" the Bush administration, he would do what he didn't do as Surgeon General: say something. Yesterday we found out where he went in an article in the Wall Street Journal and heard what he had to say. Inspiring: Richard H. Carmona, who served as surgeon…

How Bush supports the troops

Trying to pick the most dysfunctional federal agency in the Bush administration is like trying to pick Bush's most vile idea. Where do you start? Since I've had some inside experience with it, I'll volunteer the Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA). I need to cut them a little slack, of course. They are underfunded. There are two reasons for this. One is that the Bush neocons don't really care about soldiers after they have served their purpose, so they don't ask for enough money, by design. The other reason is that they also don't ask for enough money by virtue of stupidity. It seems that…

A bad six months for bird flu

The first half of 2006 is coming to an end. So far it was the world's worst for avian influenza, as the disease spread to birds across Asia, Europe and Africa, with new human cases being reported every couple of days. Since January, at least 54 people have died from the H5N1 avian influenza strain in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq and Turkey, according to the World Health Organization. That compares with 19 fatalities in Vietnam and Cambodia in the first six months of 2005. Human cases create opportunity for the virus to mutate into a lethal pandemic form. [snip…

Bulldozers and forklifts at the VA

Old soldiers -- and young ones, too -- do die, but if there's a flu pandemic with a lot of absenteeism in the workforce, the VA has plans to let them just fade away. Or something like that. Families of veterans who die during a bird flu outbreak shouldn't count on burying their loved ones in any of the 120 national cemeteries. The Department of Veterans Affairs foresees closing the military graveyards in a pandemic because of staffing problems. The VA buries more than 250 veterans and eligible family members a day -- about 93,000 a year. Itoperates cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico.…

Those great BP ads

Some of the really good issues ads on TV these days come from oil giant British Petroleum (BP). They feature ordinary looking people who ask tough questions about energy policy to which BP just responds with a brief statement that they are working on it and "it's a start." Very understated, earnest and quite effective. Great website, too. Compare the BP ads to the annoying and terrible oil and gas industry ads that feature actors and quick cuts, repeated key words and plaintive entreaties (eyes rolled skywards), like "just tell us the truth," followed by a URL where presumably you will find…

...And That's A Wrap!

Margaret Turbull's comments about knowing when to build bridges between disciplines (and when not to) is an appropriate final installment of the RevMinds interview series. Over the last several months we've heard our multidisciplinary experts sound off on the following timely questions: The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear? Cross-disciplinary work has…

SYMBRION - Physical AIS Prototype

image: a proposed example of an immune-inspired network system, source: SYMBRION & REPLICATOR In identifying computer science as a nexus of interdisciplinary collaboration, Fernando Esponda cites Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) as research exemplifying this sentiment. Esponda describes AIS as an attempt by computer scientists and immunologists to "learn nature's algorithms for defending the body against pathogens and apply them as another security paradigm to other areas"—an intriguing notion. After a little investigation, one of the most incredible AIS initiatives that I came across…

As Above, So Below: Astronomical Medicine

I erroneously titled the post that contained Michelle Borkin's final answer "Collaboration and Hemodynamics" and this definitely reflected an oversight on my part. In addition to discussing hemodynamics Michelle also touched on the Astronomical Medicine project, a venture that definitely deserves some attention as it is a great example of interdisciplinary collaboration. What exactly is the mandate of the project and around which circumstances or scientific problems might astronomers and medical imaging specialists collaborate? Data Visualization. At this moment in time that answer isn't…

The Cognitive Life of Things

Below, Lambros Malafouris answers the second of our three questions. In recent decades cross-disciplinary work has flourished in many research areas. One scientific field which I believe provides immense opportunities for productive and innovative research is that of the mind and brain sciences. Important changes brought about by the new technological breakthroughs in neuroscience have revolutionized our understanding of the human brain and opened up new avenues for fruitful cooperation with philosophy, anthropology, and archaeology of mind. Old problems can now be seen under new light, and…

The Art of Conversation

Conversation may be compared to a lyre with seven chords - philosophy, art, poetry, love, scandal, and the weather Thus stated the nineteenth-century writer Anna Jameson and the truth of these words certainly still resonate today, perhaps even more so. It is definitely an honor to have been invited into the Revolutionary Minds Think Tank fold as I find these kind of collaborative conversations essential in overcoming the boundaries that frame individual disciplines. Strange and wonderful things happen when experts make lateral moves and start to assess and schematize other domains. How does…

As Above, So Below: Astronomical Medicine [Revolutionary Minds Think Tank]

I erroneously titled the post that contained Michelle Borkin's final answer "Collaboration and Hemodynamics" and this definitely reflected an oversight on my part. In addition to discussing hemodynamics Michelle also touched on the Astronomical Medicine project, a venture that definitely deserves some attention as it is a great example of interdisciplinary collaboration. What exactly is the mandate of the project and around which circumstances or scientific problems might astronomers and medical imaging specialists collaborate? Data Visualization. At this moment in time that answer isn't…

Sleep Learning with Smell Could Reduce Addiction

Get rid of your addictions while you sleep? Weizmann Institute researcher Dr. Anat Arzi is not promising this yet, but she and Prof. Noam Sobel have shown that changing bad habits through sleep conditioning could someday be possible. After just one session in the Neurobiology Department’s sleep lab, volunteers reported smoking on average 30% fewer cigarettes over the course of a week. Volunteers given the same conditioning while awake did not reduce their nicotine consumption. Arzi and Sobel had first demonstrated true sleep learning in 2012. This is the same conditioning that Pavlov…

2010 Lane Anderson Award Shortlist: Celebrating the Best Science Writing in Canada

I just got an email from the administers of this award: $10,000 Lane Anderson Award Shortlist Announced Celebrating the Best Science Writing in Canada The six finalists competing for the 2010 Lane Anderson Award were announced today by Hollister Doll and Sharon Fitzhenry, Directors of the Fitzhenry Family Foundation. The annual Lane Anderson Award honours two jury-selected books, in the categories of adult and young reader, published in the field of science, and written by a Canadian. The winner in each category will receive $10,000. Winners will be announced on 14th September. "We want to…

TEDxLibrariansTO Countdown Questions: Day 2: On the qualities of a thought leader

Following on from the last three days, here are my answers for today's TEDxLibrariansTO Countdown Questions: Question 1: What are the similarities or characteristics of thought leaders that you know? Tell us about the attributes that your ideal thought leader would have. I don't think any one person could actually have all the qualities of the idea thought leader but there are some commonalities across the ones I've encountered. Originality. A thought leader needs to bring something new to the public sphere, or at very least take an established idea and present it in a fresh, original…

Best Science Books 2016: Popular Mechanics

As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I've done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,2014 and 2015. And here we are in 2016! As in previous years, my definition of "science books" is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion. Today's list is Popular Mechanics Gift Guide For The…

Friday Fun: Nation Not About To Start Giving A Sh*t About Canadian Politics

It's been a really bizarre and surreal week (and month and three years) to be a resident of Toronto. Each day brings a series of more outrageous revelations about our beloved and not-so-beloved mayor, Rob Ford. But if there's anything that warms a Canadian's heart more than attention in the American press, well, I don't know what that is. And The Onion?! The Onion loves us, it really loves us! Oh, the mixed feelings, how they wound. Nation Not About To Start Giving A Shit About Canadian Politics WASHINGTON—Despite Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s recent controversial admission to having smoked crack…

The Funny Thing about Protein Folding

Proteins are strung together from amino acids attached in long chains, one after the other. But for most proteins, this is just the beginning - next they must fold. "Folding" is the general term for the way that a protein strand twists, coils, winds, pleats and creases into an intricate three-dimensional structure. Only then can it go to work. The sequence of amino acids is what determines the final shape of the protein: Molecules assembled on the same plan will end up in the exact same configuration. The funny thing is, they don't all go through the same set of steps to arrive at their…

Every Smell Has Its Place

The olfactory membranes in your nose are densely packed with smell receptors. These receptors come in some 400 different subtypes; complex odors like that of rose petals can waft around 175 distinct kinds of odor molecules in the direction of your nose. In other words, the number of discrete odors we can perceive runs to the tens of thousands. No wonder scientists had thought that the whole smell arrangement was basically random. But research by Prof. Noam Sobel and his team in the Weizmann Neurobiology Department is bringing our noses into line with our other sensory organs. The arrangement…

The Social Life of Phytoplankton

Some of the best moments in my job as a Weizmann science writer are the times when a scientist I'm interviewing slips in a finding that shifts my understanding of how the world works. Not long ago, for instance, I was speaking with a researcher about his work on phytoplankton. Now, the fact that phytoplankton release about half of all the free oxygen on the planet should be an eye-opener to anyone, and a reminder of the importance of ocean health. (But that wasn't the surprise.) Dr. Assaf Vardi researches the chemicals that phytoplankton produce to communicate. Of course, all sorts of…

What Do You Know About the Weizmann Institute of Science?

For us at the Weizmann Institute of Science, joining the Scienceblogs site is something of an experiment: a blog for a whole institute. As we envision it, there will be several kinds of contributors. The Institute's leadership will add their thought-provoking views about science, both at the Institute and around the world. Other top scientists will be invited to contribute guest posts, as well. Finally, our team of Weizmann science writers will be blogging on some of the latest research that we write about in our magazines and press releases. If you have never heard of the Weizmann…

It's a crazy world out there

It isn't so good for a fellow's sanity to get the full dose of my inbox all at once, rather than spread out over four days. I got my mail working again a little while ago, and just browsed through some of the crazy stuff you people send me. Be amused. A priest dared to ordain women. He's getting a reward, though: he's being excommunicated. A priest denies communion to Obama supporters. He's intrinsically evil. I have to give the Pastor Ray Mummert award to the Bishop of Lancaster, who has declared that the problem with the church is all those darned educated people who aren't attending…

The Barry Bonds of storms

The other day I found myself looking for reading material in a clinic waiting room and for the first time ever I picked up a copy of Bloomberg Businessweek. It's not that I never used to care about business. I just found business publications and business journalists rarely demonstrated a decent level of understanding of the forces behind the financial numbers that dominated their reports. (And yes, I include The Economist in that generalization.) But BBW was different. The edition contained a half dozen science, environment and technology stories that tweaked my interest and all of them were…

Give it time?

More than a few writers have gotten a lot of mileage out of comparing the tobacco and fossil-fuel industries' propaganda efforts to counter rapidly rising mountains of science that counter their "it's all good" message. Al Gore featured it in his slide show. Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway wrote an entire book, Merchants of Doubt. The fact that not only were the denial tactics similar, but so are some of the PR firms and even individuals involved makes for compelling storytelling. But maybe we haven't taken the analogy far enough. Über-foodie Michael Pollan just wrote a piece in The Nation that…

Getting in on the ground floor of the U.S. Climate Service

Hard as it is for someone who isn't familiar with intricacies of U.S. government-run climate science to believe, there is no climatology analog of the the immigration or revenue services, something responsible for overseeing the big picture. Sure, there's NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, but that does a lot of things other than measure and model the climate. There's NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, but it's mostly a number-crunching lab, and not really set up to engage the public. That's about to change, and the folks tasked with overseeing the creation of the new Climate…

Same old same old in the denialsphere

Much has been written of late about the nature of denialism. New Scientist a couple of issues back produced a special report on the subject, for example, and the New Humanist explores the idea of "unreasonable doubt." There's plenty more out there. The most provocative I've come across (thanks to Joss Garman via DeSmog Blog's Brendan DeMelle) is a 2009 paper in the journal Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics by Jeroen van Dongen of the Institute for History and Foundations of Science at Utrecht University in The Netherlands. His thesis is ideologically based denialism of…

Has the public's understanding of science devolved into a perverse worship of uncertainty?

A few years ago, Slate journalist Daniel Engber, wrote a provocative, and I think highly accurate, article describing the corporate strategy of "manufactured uncertainty" that was used for years to question the scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes cancer. Similarly, he argues, some environmental activists use the same approach to challenge the scientific consensus that the GE crops currently on the market or safe to eat and beneficial for the environment. "If private industry can bewitch the government with contrarian science, so, too, can they. ..Doubt is their product, too,…

Being a USA Science & Engineering Festival Sponsor has its Rewards

By participating as a Sponsor in the upcoming Festival, your organization will be aligned with the nation's leading science and engineering institutions that recognize the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and its impact on our country. In our most recent Festival in 2014, more than 1,000 organizations participated, including our Festival host Lockheed Martin, in addition to Northrop Grumman Foundation, Chevron, Caterpillar, WalMart, U.S. Air Force, MedImmune, NIH, NASA, NSF, State Department, DoD, USDA, EPA, CIA, Georgetown, University of…

Blazing A Sustainable Path Forward with Dr. Paul Anastas at X-STEM

If you really want to protect the environment, it's not enough just to care about it; you need to learn and really understand something in order to protect it. That's the lesson that Dr. Paul Anastas' father taught him after bulldozers had destroyed the wetlands down the hill from his childhood home, turning what was once a place for adventure and natural beauty into parking lots and an office park. Paul clearly took this early lesson to heart. Widely known as the "Father of Green Chemistry," he has devoted his career to learning about how to create a more sustainable society. For him, this…

The Future of Human Innovation

By Barri Gurau, Corporate Energy Initiatives Lockheed Martin How long do you think it took for the world’s population to reach 1 billion? It took more than a century for the world’s population to double to 2 billion, which we reached in the 1930s. Since then, the population has grown at an incredible rate to more than seven billion and by 2050, an estimated nine billion people will inhabit the earth. So how do we meet the demand for energy, food and water? The world needs new and different solutions to support the growing population and to continue to drive amazing new technologies. Doing the…

LOCKHEED MARTIN TO ACCLAIM AMERICA’S ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS AT THE FESTIVAL

By Dr. Ray O. Johnson, Lockheed Martin senior vice president and chief technology officer As the founding and presenting host of the third USA Science & Engineering Festival, Lockheed Martin returns to the 2014 Festival with inspiring, hands-on exhibits designed to drive excitement in our next generation of engineers, scientists, and technical professionals. The Lockheed Martin Experience promises to once again be a premier attraction at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, located in the nation’s capital. We will bring fresh exhibits that provide an innovative engineering and…

Women Who Changed the World Through Science & Engineering: Helen Taussig – American Cardiologist and Researcher

--Widely considered the founder of modern-day Pediatric Cardiology --Discovered the cause of “Blue Baby Syndrome” in infants, and helped ban the use of the drug Thalidomide for pregnant women in the U.S. --Battled dyslexia as a child, and deafness in the later years of her career For years, physicians were baffled by “Blue Baby Syndrome” – a  mysterious condition in which infants, either at birth or soon after, died after their skin became blue-tinted in color. The prevailing medical thought was that the condition was caused by cardiac arrest. However, a young physician and researcher named…

Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween, and I'm on my way to Toronto, where I'll be spending a most unhallowed evening giving a talk. The one thing I regret about this is that I won't be indulging in my favorite guilty pleasure for this time of year: watching an old horror movie or two. I'll just reminisce here for a few minutes over my favorites. Don't expect profundity, I admit up front that my taste is indiscriminate. All of the Hammer films — I happened to hit adolescence just as there was this renaissance of British horror, so these caught me at an impressionable age. The Abominable Dr Phibes. Vincent Price…

New STEM Advice Corner For Parents and Teachers

Be sure to check out this great new page by Oxford University graduate student April Le about hot careers in science & engineering! It can be found on the USASEF web site under 2012 Festival/School Programs. The recent atmospheric and geological developments in the news provide an opportunity for the budding geologist or earth scientist in your family to explore a topic that imparts a clear and direct impact on their daily lives. Whether he or she enjoys "build and destroy" activities or virtual simulations of earthquakes volcanic eruptions, there are many ways for students of all ages…

Introducing the New SEEDMAGAZINE.COM

Yesterday, Seed Media Group was proud to launch a new and improved SEEDMAGAZINE.COM. The site is loaded with rich content, advanced navigational tools and display features where design and functionality are flawlessly combined to guide you through all the glorious science you could want. From the editors of SEEDMAGAZINE.COM: Science is changing our world. It is behind the transformations--social, economic, artistic, intellectual, and political--that are defining the 21st century. Through this lens, and with the newest tools of media and journalism, we aim to tell the fundamental story of our…

'Yesterday's Technologies Are Not Enough': How Private Companies Are Boosting NASA's Future in Spaceflight

A new age is dawning in U.S. space exploration: Entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos, are working to open up human spaceflight, once the domain only of governments, to the private sector and the public. Soon, anyone will be able to go to space just by purchasing a ticket on a suborbital space flight, and several companies are working on orbital space missions as well. Scientists, teachers, artists, and even kids will travel to space by the thousands and experience the wonder of weightlessness and seeing the Earth from above. "These companies are bringing the…

Mother Nature Network: Celebrate science at the National Mall

Thank you Mother Nature Network for you post about the Science Festival. ~~Jenn Savedge Celebrate science at the National Mall Love science? Take the family to the USA Science and Engineering Festival in DC this October. Wed, Oct 06 2010 at 5:56 AM EST Comments Science and Engineering Expo Photo courtesy of NASA.gov Hold on to your microscopes science lovers. The USA Science and Engineering Festival is coming soon to Washington D.C. and it's bringing with it all kinds of sciencey goodness for kids and adults of all ages. From October 10th-24th, the festival will host various science-…

Chairman Gordon's Remarks on House Resolution 1660

Read about Bart Gordon's support of the USA Science and Engineering Festival in House resolution 1660 and watch it below As prepared for delivery Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.Res. 1660, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival. I want to congratulate the gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray) for introducing this resolution. A number of much-publicized studies have shown that the mathematics and science achievement of American students is poor by international standards. There is a dark cloud over the future of…

Experience the Power and Mystery of Genetics With Illumina

Join Illumina in its quest to discover "What makes you... you?" And to discern why even though people are genetically 99.9 % similar, we look and act so incredibly different! IlStudents and adults are encouragedto participate in Illumina's interactive Expo exhibit at the USA Science & Engineering Festival to answer for themselves these tricky but intriguing questions in genetics, using tools of gene-based science and technology, including series of tests involving eye color, taste and more! Discover how genetic researchers use genetic markers to study disease and to help improve the…

Last Day to VOTE for the Spirit of Innovation Awards!!

TODAY is the last day to vote for Spirit of Innovation Awards! Have you voted yet? Check out www.conradawards.org for more information on all of the teams, their products, and to submit your vote! For the past week and a half I have posted different videos from the different divisions. The three divisions are Aerospace, Renewable/Green and Space Nutrition. Wednesday I covered Aerospace Finalists, Yesterday I covered the Renewable/Green Finalist and Today (the last day to VOTE) I am covering the finalist in the Space Nutrition category.Here are the teams that are the Space Nutrition Finalists…