amillikan | December 26, 2008While attempts to explain the disproportionate number of women in math and science have resulted in the conclusion that women are innately inferior to men in these areas, the methodology has often—if not always—been flawed. By analyzing chess players to explain the lack of female grandmasters, one study found the lack is mostly attributable to nonparticipation, not skill. "Increase female representation in this game and you would probably see many more prodigies rising to the fore," wrote ScienceBlogger Ed Yong from Not Exactly Rocket Science.
amillikan | December 24, 2008After an expedition through the Sarahan sands of Morocco, ScienceBlogger Darren Naish from Tetrapod Zoology has returned to share astonishing essays and photo documentation of his journey. "Our primary aim was to discover Cretaceous dinosaurs, pterosaurs and other fossil reptiles," Naish wrote in Part 1 of his four-part blogumentary, but he also encountered exotic living creatures along the way—jerboas and fennecs and agamas, oh my!
amillikan | December 23, 2008The advent of the science blogger is changing the way people talk about science. But along with new modes of communication and new rhetoric come new questions and opinions about how this evolution is affecting the scientific process. ScienceBlogger Coturnix from A Blog Around the Clock posted his views about why both scientists and science journalists sometimes rant about science bloggers, and why this is a good thing.
amillikan | December 21, 2008A group of economists and scientists are pointing to science to fix the "broken" American economy, positing that the crisis was caused by shortcomings in economic theory that scientific methods could potentially fix. But ScienceBlogger Jake Young is skeptical that this "Economic Manhattan Project" would be anything more than disastrous. "Why do we assume that scientists riding in like the cavalry will save the day?" he asks on Pure Pedantry.
amillikan | December 20, 2008Today on ScienceBlogs.com, you will notice a new feature on the site. Instead of The Buzz, we have an embedded video from Bloggingheads.tv. This feature will appear every Saturday and can be viewed subsequently here on Page 3.14, the editorial blog of ScienceBlogs.com. This week, John Horgan from the Stevens Center for Science Writings and George Johnson, author of Fire in the Mind and The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments discuss recent attempts of scientists to use functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology to display graphic images on a computer screen directly from the visual cortex…
amillikan | December 19, 2008When doctors opened the skull of a 3-day old from Colorado Springs to remove what they thought was a brain tumor, they were surprised to find a collection of organized body parts—including two small feet, a partial hand and intestines. "This was the most well-organized 'tumor' I've ever heard of," said ScienceBlogger PZ Myers, who discusses similar cases of developmental abnormalities on his blog, Pharyngula.
amillikan | December 18, 2008Coffee grounds may be able to provide energy beyond the caffeine buzz most drinkers seek, according to a study appearing this week in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The study's authors claim that the oil contained in grounds, when extracted, could produce as much as 340 million gallons of biodiesel per year. ScienceBlogger Greg Laden ponders what will happen when coffee goes to make diesel instead of lattes.
amillikan | December 16, 2008As the time of the year approaches when influenza virus is most rampantly transmitted, ScienceBloggers are assesing current influenza vaccination practices and questioning how shortcomings in them could play out in a pandemic situation, which experts predict could arise in the near future. To help prevent contracting the flu this season, ScienceBogger PalMd advises frequent hand washing.
amillikan | December 14, 2008Notable ScienceBlogs posts will now be featured daily in the Science Times section of The New York Times Online, directly below the top 10 most popular science items in the Times. Likewise, this link exchange will provide visitors to the ScienceBlogs home page one-click access to recent Science Times articles, further extending the largest conversation about science on the web.
amillikan | December 12, 2008What should humanity anticipate from WWIII? To find out, check out the Invitrogen-sponsored ScienceBlog, What's New in Life Science Research. This week our group of experts and seasoned ScienceBloggers will explore the way biological warfare is developing in our modern world as new technologies emerge—and what we should do to defend ourselves.
amillikan | December 11, 2008A group of psychologists, ethicists and neuroscientists have added their voices to the growing debate over the merits and demerits of brain droping, the use of cognitive enhancement drugs like Adderall or Ritalin to improve mental performance. Their commentary, published online Sunday in Nature, argues that any adult in full mental health should be able to use the drugs at will. "Given the many cognitive-enhancing tools we accept already, from writing to laptop computers," they ask, "why draw the line here and say, thus far but no further?"
amillikan | December 9, 2008Former US President Jimmy Carter reported Friday that his foundation has documented a drastic decline in cases of Guinea worm disease, a repulsive illness caused by an infection of the parasitic nematode Dracunculus medinensis. The worms feed off nutrients in the body and then emerge through the skin, usually the foot. If this pattern of decline continues as medical health experts predict, Guinea worm disease could be the second disease ever eradicated through medical efforts.
amillikan | December 7, 2008The subject of one of the most famous case studies in cognitive psychology died Tuesday of heart failure. Referenced by the initials "H.M.," Henry Molaison was known for losing his episodic memory as the result of an operation during which neurosurgeons removed parts of his medial and temporal lobes in attempt to curb his epilepsy. "H.M. is the basis for nearly everything we now know today about the neural basis of memory," said ScienceBlogger Shelley Batts from Of Two Minds.
amillikan | December 5, 2008This week on the new Invitrogen-sponsored ScienceBlog, "What's New in Life Science Research?" our team of experts will delve into the current issues and controversies surrounding the topic of cloning. Bloggers will address mishaps in public perception as well as the future applications of somatic nuclear cell transfer technologies and the potential benefits and risks of exploring this theoretical practice.
amillikan | December 4, 2008Our awareness of our own bodies is determined by integrating information from our senses. The complexity of this interaction leads to the feeling of "owning" our unique bodies, but a new study published in PLoS ONE has shown that we can be tricked into feeling ownership of other bodies, as well. Participants in the study wore headsets projecting the view from a mannequin's eyes, and were then stroked in time with the mannequin at the same place on their bodies. Not only did they report a feeling of being inside the mannequin's body, they responded to threats to the mannequin as if it were…
amillikan | December 2, 2008When the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and the Genesis and Creation Museum announced a combined admission offer November 30, protest erupted in the blogosphere. "I believe the Cincinnati Zoo has betrayed its mission and its trust in a disgraceful way by aligning themselves with a creationist institution," said ScienceBlogger PZ Myers from Pharyngula, urging his readers to contact the Zoo. Subsequently, the zoo and the museum have removed the offer pages from their websites and the Creation Museum's president Ken Ham issued a statement of disappointment.
amillikan | December 1, 2008Life Science
This is actually a plant. From Flickr, by josef.stuefer
Celosia cristata (Amaranthaceae) to be exact.
“Tell me you're not excited about 'Pleistocene Park' becoming a reality. Saber tooth tigers, mammoths—I'd pay anything to see that! I so hope they really do clone a mammoth. Ethics be damned!“
amillikan | December 1, 2008Video footage of a rare "elbowed" squid taken remotely from a Shell Oil Company drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico went viral this weekend. The squid is of the genus Magnapinna, has tentacles over 20 feet long, and is one of only a handful of its kind to have ever been observed by humans. It has been described as The footage may have been available for a year or longer, but only recently gained massive viewership when it was featured by National Geographic Nov 24.
amillikan | November 25, 2008In the October DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge, ScienceBlogs readers donated over $18,000 to benefit classrooms around the country that lack adequate science funding. Now, we are offering an opportunity to continue the giving--purchase a Seed magazine subscription at a special discounted rate, and we'll donate it to your local high school, or select a school for you. Find out more about how to donate a subscription at www.scienceblogs.com/donate-science.php.
amillikan | November 24, 2008Technology
The evolution of iPods. From Flickr, by D'Arcy Norman
“As sciencey and research driven as this was, you can tell the guy with the remote is totally having so much fun with his new toy.“
Zelly on Scientist 'Spy' on Whales Using Tiny Helicopters