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Sunday Links

Water, water everywhere, but none to drink. At least I can provide you with a flood of links--but mine don't break. Science: Found Alive: The Loch Ness Monster of the Northwest Prairie. Alas, It Disappoints More from Eyjafjallajokull Halted construction pollutes waterways: Buildup of silt floods areas and endangers wildlife Other: The trillion-dollar fraud Being Poor Exciting New Taxes Are So Much More Awesome Than The Old Ones Watching The Deficit Hounds of Hell 14 Ways a 90 Percent Top Tax Rate Fixes Our Economy and Our Country The Great Wingnut Fucksturm Financial Literacy Obama NOW puts…

What Public Speaking-Related Weirdness Do You Have?

Blogging has been kind of off recently, between catching up from vacation and putting together a talk for a seminar; hopefully, things will return to normal soon. On the subject of public speaking, one of my weird talk-related habits is that, after I've put together my slides, I'm very nervous about practicing the talk. I don't mean practicing in front of other people, but practicing when I'm by myself and nobody's around. Before the first time I run through it, I will procrastinate and get nervous. After that, my jitters are gone. This can't be stage fright. Maybe early onset stage…

Saturday Links

Happy Saturday. While I'm away, here are some links for you. Science: Significant But Wrong: Are Open Data Advocates Asking Too Much From Statistics? Hobbit version 2.0: the undiscovered hominin China, Japan and Cuba ignore science, vote against shark protection Other: Fundies don't really believe this stuff Against 'Pro-Israel' In Health Care Bill, Obama Attacks Wealth Inequality First-Ever National Study: Millions of People Rely on Library Computers for Employment, Health, and Education Transit options make District more affordable than suburbs How does the individual mandate work? Passes…

Putting Wakefield in a Larger Context

Over at DailyKos, there's a very good post about anti-vaxxer idiocy (I believe in rewarding non-science blogs with links when they take this stuff head-on). The author's motivation illustrates just how murderous this lunacy is: Part of what infuriates me about this issue is that I'm aware of a case where a child was infected with Measles before he was old enough to be immunized against it. The source of the infection was an older child at a day care whose parents decided against vaccination. The child's Measles progressed to subacute sclerosing panencephalitis from which his brain…

Tuesday Links

By the time you read this, I hopefully have been dismissed from jury duty. Science: A Case Of Classic SwiftBoating: How The Right-Wing Noise Machine Manufactured 'Climategate' Public health: flunking the test The End of Chiropractic Yogurt Enemas, Rolfing and Astral Healing for All! Limits The beckoning silence: Why half of the world's languages are in serious danger of dying out There's More Than One Way to Split an Atom Just a bit more on Merry Xmas Dr Peter Watts, Canadian science fiction writer, beaten and arrested at US border Obama's Delusion Education Rate in U.S. Declines What…

Tuesday Links

Merry Tuesday. Links for you. Science: Intensive care unit (ICU) infections can lengthen hospital stays Hospital workers fired for refusing vaccinations The science boys' club strikes again Yet another nail in the coffin of the myth that the MMR vaccine causes autism Solar Cell 40% Efficiency Breakthough, becomes Product Ready MIT Breakthrough can generate electricity w ZERO CO2 atmospheric emissions from Natural Gas In Pictures: Moose on the loose Prejudice vs. biology - testosterone makes people more selfish, but only if they think it does Other: Tiger Woods Falls Into a Trap Ten Ways to…

Sunday Links

Winter has finally arrived. Time to read links! Science: Statistics, damn statistics and well kept secrets How to report in vitro cancer studies: maitake mushroom extract doesn't "fight cancer" Because As We All Know, The Green Party Runs the World. Repeated break-ins point to 'orchestrated campaign' by climate skeptics Other: This is central to his point, I guess New Agers and Creationists should not be President Hacked E-mails and "Journalistic Tribalism": Climate coverage is imperfect, but is it ideologically biased? Michael Shermer: False profit of Libertarian education The wrong jobs…

Monday Links

Sunset in Boston is at 4:36pm today, which means, if you're in Boston and reading this, it's dark out. Anyway, to chase away the darkness, here are some links. Science: Probably guilty: Bad mathematics means rough justice An open letter to Steve Levitt Equating The Scientific Method With A Herd Mentality New York study says menu labeling affects behavior Australia: Southern Bluefin Tuna crashing toward extinction to feed sushi & sushimi market Statins for influenza. Why don't we know if it works yet? Other: From Cell Phones to Health Care -- Americans Are Rubes The Iron Cheer of Empire…

Saturday Links

Links for a rainy weekend. Science: The arc of evolutionary genetics is long An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All McCain's Male Voters Suffered Testosterone Drop Breaking the Link - Darwinius revealed as ancestor of nothing The arcs of evolutionary genetics always cross back CBS News on swine flu testing: Fail! Other: Feminists get married?! Gang Mentality Post's Rein thinks she knows your dreams Where Will the Jobs Come From? JOHN KERRY DELIVERS IN AFGHANISTAN.... A New Civil Rights Movement is Afoot for the Middle Class Nobel prize-winning economist…

Legalization of Pot Has Higher Approval Ratings Than GOP

That's actually true, and pretty funny. Here are some other things liked more than Republicans: --Opposing stricter gun control laws (40%) --Congress (26-40%) --The war in Iraq (39%) --Decreasing immigration levels (39%) --Privatizing Social Security (36%) --Opposing investigating the Bush administration (34%) --Opposing national, government run health insurance (32%) --Vetoing stem cell research (31%) --The Republican Party (31%) --Dick Cheney (30%) --George W. Bush (24-34%) --Decreasing business regulations (28%) --Rush Limbaugh (28%) --Mitch McConnell (22%) --Preventing the openly gay…

Twelve Good Minutes of 60 Minutes About the West Bank Occupation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_UwGgLdmdI&eurl=http://www.salon.com/op… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8KwUSQL9zc&eurl=http://www.salon.com/op… No doubt, I'll be accused of being an anti-Semitic Jew or something, but the two videos of a 60 Minutes segment (posted below) are worth watching: Part 2: And before the Likudniks blow a gasket, the founders of this country rose up against the British, and several of the grievances were: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the…

Links 10/5/10 (Educational Special)

I've got a bunch of education-related links that I'll never get around to blogging about. Maybe you will? Anyway, here they are: Has education reform jumped the shark? A teacher says 'yes' What 'Superman' got wrong, point by point Obama's Education Agenda Prioritizes "Reform" Over Resources Are charter schools really innovative? Obama Loses a Mayor: Adrian Fenty's defeat puts Washington, D.C.'s aggressive school reform efforts, spearheaded by schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, on the chopping block--and is a lesson for the president from voters. PERSISTENTLY LOW-PERFORMING INCENTIVES Left Ed…

Holiday Gift to all Evolving Parrots and other Fine or Unfeathered Friends

tags: Central Park, NYC, racoon, image of the day Central Park Racoon. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view]. The photograher writes: I am offering this image from my "Almost Too Cute For Words File." Last year my holiday offering was also of a Raccoon. That's not surprising as they are one of my favorite photographic subjects. I am not well acquainted with this particular critter though I have reason to believe that we did meet when he or she was extremely young. I had lost track of a female I knew had a newborn cub when she abandoned her den after a storm deposited broken…

Carnivalia

Here's the latest carnivalia to enjoy; Book Review Carnival, 7th edition. This is the fastest growing blog carnival I've ever seen. In just seven issues, this blog carnival has gone from just a handful of submissions to 80 -- yes 80! So if you are looking to give books as a holiday gift (or if you have a gift certificate and want to know how to spend it), may I suggest you browse this blog carnival for some ideas? Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. This is the first time I've been in this blog carnival, so be sure to peek in there and give them some support! Carnival of Family Life…

Call My Agent

tags: Central Park, NYC, juvenile cardinal, image of the day Central Park Cardinal. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view]. The photographer writes: When I pointed my camera at this perky juvenile Northern Cardinal she surprised me with her savvy and sophistication. "If you want any more images", she seemed to intone politely but firmly, "Please call my agent." Well, I guess this is the kind of thing I might have expected from any young and upwardly mobile New York City songbirds even in these tumultuous times, right? ...But seriously folks this little beauty is one of the…

Vanuatu Pencil Urchin

tags: National Geographic, Vanuatu, Pencil Urchin, biodiversity, image of the day Image: David Lane, University of Brunei. My friends at National Geographic have provided permission for me to share some of the images from the recent discovery of a huge number of new species on and around the south Pacific island of Vanuatu. Tiny Tropical Island Yields a Wealth of Species The thick, solid spines of a pencil sea urchin jut out like the writing instruments that lend this creature its name. These nocturnal animals hide in coral reef cavities during the day and crawl out after dark to forage…

Sundial Snail

tags: National Geographic, Vanuatu, sundial snail, biodiversity, image of the day Image: Annelise Fleddum, University of Oslo. My friends at National Geographic have provided permission for me to share some of the images from the recent discovery of a huge number of new species on and around the south Pacific island of Vanuatu. Tiny Tropical Island Yields a Wealth of Species Scientists sampled some 4,000 different mollusk species in Espiritu Santo. Mollusk expert Philippe Bouchet speculates that as many as 1,000 of these could be new species. Among the finds: this sundial snail, already…

Snow Leopard: Winner, 2008 International Photography Contest

tags: National Geographic, 2008 International Photography Contest, snow leopard, nature, image of the day Snow leopard, Panthera uncia. Image: Stephen Oachs, United States [larger view]. My friends at National Geographic have provided permission for me to share some of the images from their recent 2008 International Photography Contest. Nature Winner. The photographer writes; The incredibly beautiful snow leopard, Panthera uncia, is indigenous to the mountains of Central Asia. Their dense coats and snowshoe-like paws are ideally suited for their cold, dry, rocky native environment.…

Life after Scientology

tags: Tommy Davis, scientology, religion, cults, mind control, Thetan, silly, offbeat, beliefs, Xenu, L Ron Hubbard, television, Life after Scientology, ABC1, streaming video ABC Australia's "Four Corners" investigate the realities and impact on members and ex members, of Scientology's overtly retributive doctrine. Includes rationale from Tommy Davis. As more ex members reveal the inside workings of a cult once banned [1960's] in three Australian states, authorities again prepare to re-examine Scientology's tax exempt religious status, granted in 1983. This is a fascinating investigative…

Tour of Chirpendale

tags: Bill and Coo, Tour of Chirpendale, film, movies, silly, funny, humor, fucking hilarious, animal training, birds, parrots, streaming video I have never seen nor heard of Bill and Coo (1948), but it's a real treat. It features an all-bird cast (trained by George Burton) acting out a story involving Taxi Driver Bill Singer wooing his beloved Coo whilst fighting off a parakeet-devouring crow! This clip features a tour of the town of Chirpendale and its inhabitants. Oddly enough, the film won a special Academy award "In which artistry and patience blended in a novel and entertaining use of…

Scientology Beliefs On Soul

tags: Tommy Davis, scientology, religion, cults, mind control, Thetan, silly, offbeat, beliefs, Xenu, L Ron Hubbard, television, BBC, CBS, streaming video This is an interview with Tommy Davis, international Scientology spokesman, regarding the tragic death of Jett Travolta due to the medical neglect that their cult demands from its adherents, including Jett's parents. Davis is very scummy because he never gives a straight answer to any question asked. I also have embedded some other videos of Davis, where he reveals his less than angelic side. Incidentally, Tommy Davis (the guy being…

Two flat tires

My day has not been off to a good start. I'm supposed to fly off to New York tomorrow morning, and just to inspire worry in me, my car had a flat this morning. When just getting to the airport is a three-hour drive, hints of unreliability in the vehicle are not reassuring. Worse still, I'm having a flare-up of Achilles tendinitis. Every step sends piercing pains shooting up my leg, and unfortunately I know from past experience that not continuing some gentle stretching and exercise will lead to my whole ankle seizing up and rendering me immobile. So, I'm going to be hobbling about New York…

Mystery Bird: Leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus

tags: Leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, photographed on the Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Tucson, Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Lois Manowitz, 30 December 2009 [larger view]. You are encouraged to purchase images from this photographer. For more details, view her flickr photostream (linked) or ask me for her email address. This bird should be very challenging to identify. However, for those of you who have seen this individual, please…

Kuhl's Lorikeet Conservation: 'Ura: The Spirit of the Queen, 3

tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part three of a three-part series [8:46] If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…

Kuhl's Lorikeet Conservation: 'Ura: The Spirit of the Queen, 2

tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part two of a three-part series [8:00] If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…

Kuhl's Lorikeet Conservation: 'Ura: The Spirit of the Queen, 1

tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part one of a three-part series [8:00] If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…

I Get Books ..

I receive a fair number of books to review each week, so I thought I should do what several magazines and other publications do; list those books that have arrived in my mailbox so you know that this is the pool of books from which I will be reading and reviewing on my blog. Fresh: A Perishable History by Susanne Freidberg (Belknap Press; 2009). Review copy. Falconer on the Edge: A Man, His Birds, and the Vanishing Landscape of the American West by Rachel Dickinson (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2009). Review copy. Birdsong by the Seasons: A Year of Listening to Birds by Donald Kroodsma (…

Is there a teratologist in the house?

Call me perverse, but my first thought on seeing this kid was that I desperately want to see an x-ray of the pectoral girdle. It looks to me from this one picture that the lower arm must lack a scapula or a clavicle, or at best have fragments with screwy and probably nonfunctional connections. I don't understand why the doctors are even arguing about which arm could be more functional, if the article is correct. Or why they're even considering it important to lop one off: if there aren't circulatory defects or it isn't impairing the function of the 'best' arm, why take a knife to him? Poor…

Models: what me worry?

As a sometime modeler myself it now makes my heart sink when I read about a "new" model that tells us that such and such is going to happen with avian influenza. Box's adage that all models are wrong but some models are useful is apt, but telling which ones are useful is becoming so difficult we'll need a model to help us do it. Two cases in point: a new economic model from Australia telling us not worry, the economic effects won't be that bad; and another airline model, this one that says if we shut down international air travel we'll gain time in the US -- enough time, according to the…

H5N1 and encephalitis in Indonesia

Bird flu has claimed 55 people in Indonesia, with the death of a 67 year old woman. The world's fourth most populous nation (after China, India and the U.S.), Indonesia has had 72 cases since June 2005 and the most deaths (WHO). Only Vietnam has registered more cases (93 cases), but fewer deaths (42) (WHO). A look at this bar chart shows how the epicenter of human bird flu has shifted from Vietnam (clade 1, Vietnam southeast asia, magenta color) to Indonesia (clade 2, Indonesia, yellow color). You can also clearly see the start of the new flu season. The chart does not include the three most…

That's an old rock

Geologists have just discovered the oldest terrestrial rock yet: some badly battered bit of something called a faux-amphibolite from Northern Quebec, Canada that has been dated to 4.28 billion years ago. I'm afraid most of the paper is way above my head — lots of radioisotope measurements, discussions of the details of the local geology, etc. — but I can at least note that this means Ken Ham is wrong by a factor of over 713,000. I am impressed by both the age of the rocks and the magnitude of the error a creationist can sustain without exploding into a cloud of pink pixie dust that fades to…

Around the Web: More on the University of Viginia controversy

A follow up to my post from a couple of days ago. It's nice to know that sometimes these stories have the potential for happy endings. UVa Digital Archive of Materials Relating to the Resignation of Theresa Sullivan University of Virginia Board Reinstates President University of Virginia Reinstates President After Outcry The Right Way to Lead Higher Education Through the Digital Age U-Va.: The ouster of Teresa Sullivan Disruptive Innovation: Rhetoric or Reality? Episode 89 — Strategic Humanism at UVA University of Virginia Reinstates President, But Colleges Face More Drama Ahead U.Va. Board…

Around the Web: Reboot scholarly communications, (uh oh) Transliteracy, PLoS One envy and more

Research intelligence - Rip it up and start again David Thornburg on Open-Source Textbooks "Beginnings Are Always Messy": Thoughts on Transliteracy and Inquiry from a Learning Advocate Student Blogging about Physics Follow-up: Transliteracy, Theory, and Scholarly Language Lib-Value Website Now Available The Rise of 'Convergence' Science How Will Students Communicate? Study: Labour market outcomes of Canadian doctoral graduates Predictions 2010: The Growth of Intimacy 'Saturday Night Live,' Floor Wax, and the Life of the Mind 10 Things Facebook Won't Say Going beyond a single scientific…

Best Science Books 2010: The New Yorker

Another list for your reading, gift giving and collection development pleasure. Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenberg Common as Air: Revolution, Art, and Ownership by Lewis Hyde The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu I'm always looking for recommendations and notifications of book lists as they appear in various media outlets. If you see one that I haven't covered, please let me know at jdupuis at yorku dot…

Best Science Books 2010: Star Tribune, Chamber Four, Quill & Quire

Another bunch of shorter lists for your reading, gift giving and collection development pleasure. Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Seeing Further: The Story of Science, Discovery and the Genius of the Royal Society edited by Bill Bryson Chamber Four The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Quill & Quire The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by Johan Vaillant I'm always looking for recommendations and notifications of book lists as they appear in various media outlets. If you see one that I haven't…

Seed's Daily Zeitgeist: 10/3/2006

Buying an Allerca Kitten For a mere four grand (plus one extra for shipping and handling), a beautiful hypoallergenic kitten can be yours! Stop looking at the price tag ,and start looking at those adorable selectively-bred faces below the bullet points. Welcome to the Blogger SAT Challenge Chad and Dave are pleased to announce the conclusion of official judging. Read all about it, and see how the bloggers did. to infinity and beyond Get your history of the awesomeness of calculus (and a cute number trick) from the cocktail party. How To: Dismantleâan AtomicâBomb We got your worst case…

Seed's Daily Zeitgeist: 9/25/2006

Special Feature: Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge 2006 Science features some very cool photos, illustrations and graphics. Check 'em out. Your Friday Dose of Woo: If our intestines were lungs we could drink our oxygen! We've already breathed in the woo, now we drink the woo. Next can we absorb the woo through mucous membranes? Please? Great Moments in Campus Signage Now we want to join Union's bio club. Bonus points for giving the mole a star nose. CDC's Rabies Web Page That's Just for Kids Yay! Now you can sing your rABC's! (from the depths of the tank) Science Fair SWAT…

Quick Picks on ScienceBlogs, July 18

Eight of the freshest (in both senses) from the last 24 hours: Framing Science takes a look at the relationship between hot weather, and news-media attention paid to global warming PZ Myers offers his gloss on pending stem cell legislation Pure Pedantry reports that getting enough sleep appears to lower your chances of obesity Dr. Joan Bushwell eagerly anticipates the premiere of the SciFi Network's newest series, a small-town drama with overtones of 'Twin Peaks' Evolgen conjectures about developing "a community of armchair molecular genetics data miners" Cognitive Daily wonders whether…

Stop the Insanity!

So, yesterday, politics trumped science yet again. The FDA rejected medical marijuana, again. I'm sure the FDA's decision to say so on April 20th is entirely coincidental. The Times has an excellent summary, and you can read the FDA's original press release here. In essence, the FDA appears to be throwing a very clean baby out with slightly dirty bathwater: It says smoking marijuana is harmful, and then somehow leaps from there to the blanket statement that marijuana, regardless of administration method, has no medicinal use whatsoever. This is a well-worn issue, and there's not really much…

"You are Here." Perspective on 400 ppm CO2 in the Atmosphere

Just to provide a little perspective, here are the latest data and a graph on atmospheric carbon dioxide, with information going back 800,000 years. Present day is on the far right ("You are here"). The data come from the atmospheric monitoring program of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California and can be found here. I've also noted the approximate period when homo sapiens first appeared -- thought to be around 150,000 to 200,000 years ago. During all human existence, pre-industrial levels of CO2 never exceeded around 275 parts per million (ppm). They touched 400 ppm…

Celebrating Role Models in Science & Engineering Achievement: Stephen Hawking!

Stephen Hawking: Theoretical Physicist and Bestselling Author Stephen Hawking is often regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein. He is best known for his compelling insights into such areas as Black Holes, relativity and quantum mechanics. Since bursting onto the international scene in 1988 with his bestselling book, “A Brief History of Time", Stephen Hawking has become synonymous with helping us understand fundamental mysteries of physics and our existence, such as: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if…

Role Models in Science & Engineering Achievement: Luis Walter Alvarez

Luis Walter Alvarez – Physicist, Inventor and Engineer He was one of those rare thinkers whose contributions to science impacted a wide spectrum – ranging from splitting atoms (he was part of the research team that developed the atomic bomb) and creating aircraft radar systems, to developing theories about the extinction of dinosaurs. He is perhaps best known for receiving the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physics for the development and use of the liquid hydrogen bubble chamber to discover a number of resonance particles whose classification led to the quark description of matter. His diverse thinking…

Granville T. Woods -- African American inventor

Granville Woods --  born in Columbus, OH in 1856 and who taught  himself electrical and mechanical engineering while working in railroad machine shops and steel mills -- is perhaps best known for inventing a device called the " Multiplex Railway Telegraph." This variation of the "induction telegraph" allowed for messages to be sent from moving trains and railway stations -- enabling greater railroad safety by allowing dispatchers to know the location of each train.  Twice Granville defeated a lawsuit by Thomas Edison that challenged this patent. Later, Granville even turned down Edison's…

Uppity octopus

This is my kind of beast. Otto the octopus of the Sea Star aquarium in Coburg likes to cause trouble. "We knew that he was bored as the aquarium is closed for winter, and at two feet, seven inches Otto had discovered he was big enough to swing onto the edge of his tank and shoot out a the 2000 Watt spot light above him with a carefully directed jet of water." … "Once we saw him juggling the hermit crabs in his tank, another time he threw stones against the glass damaging it. And from time to time he completely re-arranges his tank to make it suit his own taste better - much to the distress…

Don't Miss the Festival's Who Wants to Be a Mathematician!

America's most fast-paced and fun math contest will be the finale for day one of the 2012 USASEF. Eight area high school students will compete for $4000 in cash and prizes in Who Wants to Be a Mathematician on Saturday, April 28 at 5:00 on the Carver Stage. Students from DC, MD, VA, DE, and WV are eligible to compete. Teachers who are interested in having their students participate in the qualifying process should write paoffice@ams.org, with the subject line WWTBAM USASEF. Include your name, school, courses taught this semester, and phone number in the body of the message. See descriptions…

A New Science Video Series From Nifty Fifty Speaker Ainissa Ramirez

AT&T sponsored Nifty Fifty program speaker and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science at Yale University Ainissa Ramirez has created a new YouTube video series entitled Material Marvels from her lab at Yale on some pretty cool materials used in space, robots and even in your mouth! Her titles to date are Space Shuttle Tiles, Shape Memory Alloys, Solar Cells and Quasicrystals. Here is the first in her series: Ainissa Ramirez is perhaps best known for discovering a universal solder that can bond metals to ceramics, glass, diamonds and the oxide materials used…

The Buzz: Aquatic Apes? Not Likely

Were our human ancestors ocean-dwelling? In a TED talk on Greg Laden's Blog, writer Elaine Morgan makes the case that human traits like subcutaneous fat, nearly hairless skin, and bipedalism—traits which distinguish us from chimpanzees and other close relatives—evolved during an aquatic stage in human history. ScienceBloggers, however, spare little belief for this Aquatic Ape hypothesis. On Pharyngula, PZ Myers says that there is "no evidence anywhere for such a stage." And Greg Laden points out that while no current hypothesis for human evolution is flawless, this one in particular doesn't…

The Buzz: Was Darwin "Wrong?"

ScienceBloggers are up in arms about the cover article of New Scientist which boldly proclaims "Darwin was Wrong." The article, authored by Graham Lawton, explains that occurrences such as horizontal gene transfer and hybridization transform the shape of Darwin's famous tree into something more like a thicket with criss-crossing branches. But some argue that new information in genetics doesn't render Darwin's model obsolete, and, moreover, that the headline is misleading and could be used as a tool for Creationists. "Very few readers will read your article. But everyone will see the cover,"…

Cognitive Enhancers: Yay or Nay?

Last Wednesday, Nature released the results of an informal survey about cognitive enhancers—drugs known to improve concentration and counteract fatigue. Twenty percent of the 1,400 international respondents said they had used cognitive enhancers (such as Ritalin and beta blockers) for non-medical reasons to stimulate their focus, concentration or memory. Eighty percent thought that healthy adults should have the option of taking these drugs if desired. This week, we're polling our own readers: Should healthy adults have the option of taking cognitive-enhancing drugs for non-medical reasons…

Kavli Top 10 Finalist Michael McRoskey "The Appliance of Science"

Entry: The Appliance of Science Michael McRoskey What is your age? 14 Where do you go to school? Saint Augustine HS in San Diego. I did the video while I was a student at Saint James Academy in Solana Beach, Ca. What is your favorite subject(s)? Math What do you plan to study in college? Computer engineering or computer science Can you tell us what inspired you to make this video? I found inspiration for this video from my science teacher, who had always made science fun and encouraged me to find science in everything after our weekly "Science in the News" assignments. Anything else…