Misc
ejohnson | July 23, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Education & Careers and Medicine & Health channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Medicine & Health. From Flickr, by conskeptical
Education & Careers. From Flickr, by SantaRosa OLD SKOOL
Reader comments of the week:
On the Education & Careers channel, Janet Stemwedel has recently had a Minor epiphany about framing. The much-debated approach to science communication, she realized, is really designed to reach mass audiences; the blogosphere and the classroom can rely on more personal interaction to…
stoat | July 23, 2008Wireless scales! Your weight beamed to your mobile! See here.
Now we just need to work out what to call it.
The wire is just the power cord to the scales, of course, not connecting the scales to the phone :-)
ejohnson | July 22, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Environment and Humanities & Social Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Environment. Drilling for oil in the Deep For Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. From Flickr, by FreeWine
Humanities & Social Science. Traffic lights at dusk in Portland, Oregon. From Flickr, by frozenchipmunk
Reader comments of the week:
In Proposed Oil Legislation: Brilliant and Pointless, the Corpus Callosum debunks a White House statement which alleges that a piece of legislation up for House debate will raise gas prices. The bill…
ejohnson | July 21, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Life Science and Physical Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Life Science. From Flickr, by jurvetson
Physical Science. Bubbles falling from a canopy of leaves. From Flickr, by jurvetson
Reader comments of the week:
On the Life Science channel, Tetrapod Zoology follows up its Sea Monster week with a teaser: The tree-climbing dinosaurs are coming. The post features the following alluring sketch to tantalize readers:
Reader Zach Miller is skeptical:
Tree-climbing dinosaurs? That's un-possible! Everyone…
ejohnson | July 18, 2008In this post: the large version of the Brain & Behavior and Technology channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Technology. Refueling a Tesla Validation Prototype 9 with electricity. From Flickr, by jurvetson
Brain & Behavior. From Flickr, by Barb Henry
Reader comments of the week:
In David Brooks on Genetics and Human Intelligence, Mike the Mad Biologist posts an excerpt from a New York Times opinion piece by columnist David Brooks; Brooks ponders over the growing intersection between science and the humanities as both strive to understand human…
ksharpe | July 17, 2008Check out the top stories of the past week at our European partner site, ScienceBlogs.de:
Homeopathy and Mystical Methods
Germany now has its first professor for homeopathy at the Berlin Charité, and the savants argue about the consequences of such an enthronement. Christian argues:
"In principle I would hope the new professorship could help to identify ineffective alternative healing methods and, if so, to inform the public about the sense and nonsense of certain methods."
At the same time, Ulrich Berger describes a miraculous machine that dries damp basements without electricity and energy…
ejohnson | July 17, 2008In this post: the large version of the Politics channel photo, a comment from a reader, and the best posts of the week.
A parade of flags at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. From Flickr, by WorldIslandInfo.com
Reader comment of the week:
In An Ethical Dialogue, Chad Orzel of Uncertain Principles provides a unique take on the PZ Myers vs. Catholic League Crackergate scandal. ScienceBloggers debated intensely in the last week about whether Myers stepped over the line when he offered to publicly desecrate the Eucharist, a wafer Catholics believe is the body of Christ. Chad…
ejohnson | July 16, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Education & Careers and Medicine & Health channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Education & Careers. From Flickr, by Duchamp
Medicine & Health. From Flickr, by jurvetson
Reader comments of the week:
In Don't Go to Grad School (in the Humanities), Chad Orzel of Uncertain Principles dipenses some sage advice for prospective grad students: "If they're not offering to pay you, don't go." For physics students but even more for humanities students, the potential payoffs are not enough, in Chad's opinion, to…
ejohnson | July 15, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Environment and Humanities & Social Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Environment. From Flickr, by chaosinjune
Humanities & Social Science. From Flickr, by (nutmeg)
Reader comments of the week:
In Is it all over for corals?, Peter Etnoyer of Deep Sea News reports a disheartening statistic: One in three species of coral faces extinction. Human activities like overfishing and agriculture, in addition to global warming, are largely to blame for the corals' decline. Is it already too late, Peter asks…
ejohnson | July 14, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Life Science and Physical Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Life Science. From Flickr, by blondyimp
Physical Science. Cooled lava on Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. From Flickr, by jakerome
Reader comments of the week:
On the Life Science channel, Tetrapod Zoology wraps up its Sea Monster week with Where are all the dead sea monsters? While undiscovered giant marine creatures probably do exist, Darren Naish concludes, none of the many legendary encounters offer compelling enough evidence of anything more…
ejohnson | July 11, 2008In this post: the large version of the Brain & Behavior and Technology channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Brain & Behavior. From Flickr, by zorilla
Technology. The workings of a Victorian machine shop. From Flickr, by Elsie esq.
Reader comments of the week:
In Kids and Happiness, Jonah Lehrer of the Frontal Cortex reports on new evidence which contradicts a widely held notion- that adults with children are happier than those without. A handful of studies have shown that being a parent may actually lead to a greater risk of depression, and that…
ejohnson | July 10, 2008In this post: the large version of the Medicine & Health channel photo, a comment from a reader, and the best posts of the week.
A triathlete races to the finish in the IronMan Germany competition. From Flickr, by Novecentino
Reader comment of the week:
In Swallowing nutrition myths hook, line, and sinker, PalMD of denialism blog takes a New York Times article to task for its unfounded claims. The article lists 11 'super foods' which are claimed to have health benefits such as lowering cholesterol, controlling blood sugar, and fighting cancer among other things, but PalMD points out…
ejohnson | July 9, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Education & Careers and Politics channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Politics. From Flickr, by art_es_anna
Education & Careers. From Flickr, by Irish Typepad
Reader comments of the week:
In Scientific Virtue, Jonah Lehrer of the Frontal Cortex shares an excerpt from an interview with Steven Shapin, author of The Scientific Revolution and the upcoming The Scientific Life. Shapin criticizes the supposed differences between "true" academic scientists and scientists working in industry and government,…
ksharpe | July 9, 2008Feast your eyes on the top stories of the past week at our European partner site, ScienceBlogs.de:
Wrapping Up Lindau
Last Friday the Nobel Laureates Meeting at Lindau finished with a nice trip to the Isle of Mainau and a lovely farewell ceremony. Beatrice shows us many images of that beautiful day. During the trip we became eye-witness to a new kind of speed dating, which we'll call Nobeldating! These dates lasted during the whole meeting: Different groups of young researchers and somewhere in the center a Nobel laureate. (See the picture of Nobelist Douglas Osheroff, surrounded by young…
ejohnson | July 8, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Environment and Humanities & Social Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Environment. A saguaro cactus in the Arizona desert. From Flickr, by .Larry Page
Humanities & Social Science. Checking out the surf at Fort Point, California. From Flickr, by Dawn Endico
Reader comments of the week:
In Do We Need Leatherback Turtles?, Sheril Kirshenbaum responds to a question posed by Andy Revkin in the New York Times about the urgency of protecting the severely endangered species. Why should we be so worried…
ejohnson | July 7, 2008In this post: the large versions of the Life Science and Physical Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week.
Life Science. From Flickr, by atomicjeep
Physical Science. From Flickr, by blondyimp
Reader comments of the week:
On the Life Science channel, Laelaps delves into an 18th century quibble in Thomas Jefferson's All-American incognitum. The American incognitum, which can be seen in an 1816 Edouard de Montule painting included in the post, is now known as the American mastodon, Mammut americanum. Back in 1781, however, Thomas Jefferson used the…
apalazzo | July 7, 2008In the next couple of posts I'll quickly recap some parts of my trip. (Hey it's my freakin' blog and I get to post on whatever subject I want!)
The story begins when we landed at Charles de Gaul Airport. From there we met up with old friends and drove off to Caens, Normandy, birthplace of Guillaume le conquerant (aka William the Conqueror.) The term Normands is derived from the words "north men" and refers to the fact that this area was settled by viking tribes in the times of Charlemagne. Besides October 14th 1066, another important date in Normand history is June 6th, 1944 aka D-Day. And so…
apalazzo | July 5, 2008Sorry about the incredibly long delay in posts. I've been away. Specifically Brittany, Paris, Bavaria, and Iceland to experience the white nights.
Now I'm back and I'm not travelling for awhile. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.
ksharpe | July 2, 2008From June 29th through July 4th, 25 Nobel laureates and over 550 young scientists from all over the world are gathering in Lindau, Germany, at the 58th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. This year's meeting is dedicated to physics.
Beatrice Lugger, managing editor of ScienceBlogs.de, is in Lindau and will be sending her impressions of the meeting daily through July 4.
ScienceBlogs.de is also running a German-language blog covering the meetings. We will be airing short videos in English, of Nobelists at Lindau on the ScienceBlogs homepage, and archiving them at Page 3.14. Here are the first,…
ksharpe | July 1, 2008From June 29th through July 4th, 25 Nobel laureates and over 550 young scientists from all over the world are gathering in Lindau, Germany, at the 58th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. This year's meeting is dedicated to physics.
Beatrice Lugger, managing editor of ScienceBlogs.de, is in Lindau and will be sending her impressions of the meeting daily through July 4.
ScienceBlogs.de is also undertaking a German-language blog covering the meetings, here. Additionally, keep an eye out for short video interviews, in English, of Nobelists at Lindau on the ScienceBlogs homepage. Here are the…