ScienceBlogs Weekly Recap

8.20.07 to 8.26.07

Announcements
Welcome Zooillogix!
Please welcome the newest addition to ScienceBlogs, Zooillogix.
Brothers Andrew and Benny Bleiman author Zooillogix, "a hobby and a secret outlet of forbidden passion" that showcases their shared obsession with zoology. Check out the Bleimans' recent Gallery d'Bug Arte post, and their Video of the Week, where a male jumping spider dances for a foxy spider babe.

Homepage Buzzes
8/21: Gender Benders
Are young boys more likely to get rowdy in the classroom? Do girls really prefer pink? Yes, say a couple of recent scientific studies done by economists and biologists. ScienceBloggers point out flaws in these researchers’ assumptions and the underlying gender stereotypes they support.

8/22: Dean Hits Mexico
Wednesday, a day after unleashing category-5 gusts on the Yucatan Peninsula, a weakened Hurricane Dean hit the Mexican mainland. The storm, which killed 13 people in the Caribbean over the weekend, is the third most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in recorded history.

8/23: HIV Denialists
On Tuesday, “HIV Denial in the Internet Era,” an essay written by academic neurologist Steven Novella and ScienceBlogger Tara Smith, was published in PLoS Medicine. The authors argue that because widespread scientific illiteracy creates “fertile soil” in which denialists can easily seed misinformation, scientists must take a more active role in promoting science to the public.

8/24: Do Bloggers Do Real Reporting?
On Sunday Michael Skube, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who teaches journalism, published an op-ed piece in the L.A. Times alleging that bloggers aren’t truly journalists and don’t do real reporting. Days later, NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen rushed to bloggers’ defense in the L.A. Times’ online ‘Blowback’ column.

8/26: PRISM Fights Open Access
The growth of open access publishing has incited controversy among publishers, bloggers, and scientists. Last Thursday, an activist group called the Partnership for Research Integrity in Science & Medicine (PRISM) launched a lobbying campaign to fight open access, arguing that it would "jeopardize the financial viability of the journals that conduct peer review."

Daily Quotes
8/20:
"I guess the whole exploding heads thing is a bit of an exaggeration." -Respectful Insolence, 8/19

8/21:
“I found Star Trek pretty much unwatchable and usually turned it off or turned away in disgust.” -Pharyngula, 8/21

8/22:
“If I came over with said chemical and spoon-fed it to your newborn, I’m pretty sure I’d be looking at a 12/12 bid in the joint.” -Angry Toxicologist, 8/21

8/23:
“If you turn a rock in Iraq and find WMDs please let us all know as that would be the biggest scoop in the history of the blogosphere.” -A Blog Around the Clock, 8/23

8/24:
“The whole city is like a giant fractal, with scaling patterns in everything.” -Chaotic Utopia, 8/23

8/26:
“Does your cubicle mate play 'adult contemporary' while you writhe in agony?” -Zooillogix, 8/23

Three Most Popular Posts
1. Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted): Wild Vervet Monkeys Wreak Havoc in Kenya, 62,089 pageviews
2. Pharyngula: Lifecode: From egg to embryo by self-organization, 23,764 pageviews
3. Pharyngula: I’m gonna be a movie star, 17,820 pageviews