DC
bioephemera | December 16, 2008FYI, to those in the DC area, tomorrow Dr. Bulent Atalay will be giving the monthly history of medicine talk at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda.
"Leonardo and the Unity of Art and Science"
Dr. Bulent Atalay, University of Mary Washington
The speaker examines science through art, and art through science, and approaches the larger goal of achieving a synthesis of the two fields. The qualities of timelessness and universality in Leonardo's miraculous works speak eloquently for themselves. With Leonardo's model providing the unifying thread, however, it becomes possible, first, to…
bioephemera | December 10, 2008This coming June, the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research is holding a three-day course entitled "Medicine in the Media: The Challenge of Reporting on Medical Research." The agenda is here. Amazingly, course registration is free, and meals and lodging are provided - all you have to do is get yourself to Bethesda, Maryland.
What's the catch? Well, the application process is competitive; only 50 spots are available, and in recent years, only 1/3 to 1/2 of applicants have gotten in. So if you're a science journalist whose "primary target audience is the general public" - and yes, that…
bioephemera | December 7, 2008
UK Reef (detail) - with candy striped anemone by Ildiko Szabo (foreground) and anemone grove by Beverly Griffiths (background). Photo by George Walker.source
This afternoon at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, physicist Margaret Wertheim of the Institute for Figuring will be giving a lecture and workshop on crocheting coral reefs with the "hyperbolic crochet" technique. While her creations can't replace the real reefs that are rapidly disappearing, they are purdy, and some of the forms are remarkably similar to real species of coral, diatoms, and anemones.
More about the crochet…
bioephemera | December 1, 2008
Smithsonian Castle
The US Botanic Garden is once again having its annual holiday exhibit, "Windows to Wonderland." There are two parts to this exhibit: first, there's a collection of adorable replicas of the monuments made out of bark, pinecones, leaves, gourds, etc. Second, there's a delightful room of trains running across elevated bridges and through fantasy villages with names like "Gremlin Corner" and "Caterpillar Garden."
The Capitol
The mini Capitol was pretty impressive, but it lacked its north and south wings, which went on at the same time as the current dome. So historically, it…
bioephemera | November 6, 2008
Onlookers filed past the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue Wednesday night, viewing approximately 80 front pages from U.S. and world newspapers - all of which paid tribute to President-elect Barack Obama.
Related:
Useful Post-Election Links
Wow.
bioephemera | October 13, 2008
The National Library of Medicine just opened a new exhibition, "Harry Potter's World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine."
"Harry Potter's World" explores the plants, animals, and magic featured in the Harry Potter book series and their roots in Renaissance traditions that played an important role in the development of Western science. The exhibition incorporates the works of several 15- and 16th-century thinkers mentioned in Harry Potter and looks at topics such as alchemy, astrology, and natural philosophy, as well as the ethical issues faced by both the fictitious characters from…
bioephemera | September 25, 2008
For some reason, Ben Folds has decided to make giant rotating skulls and brains part of his latest tour - this is the scene on stage last night in DC. There was a "brainwashing" theme in the first few songs, and I think that guided the choice of images, but darn, it was kinda weird!
bioephemera | September 18, 2008
Vernon Grant, 1944
If you enjoyed the vintage public health posters I wrote about a while ago, you might want to stop in and see the National Academies' new exhibition, "An Iconography of Contagion." (Such a great title!)
Over twenty public health posters from 1920-1990 will be on display until December 19. Michael Sappol of the National Library of Medicine (and curator of Dream Anatomy) will give a free gallery talk tonight at 6pm.