Misc
maggie wittlin | September 20, 2006
Star-nosed mole has moves that put the best magician to shame
This dude, Kenneth Catania, just won a MacArthur. He may be a great researcher and all, but doesn't his subject deserve some genius recognition as well? Go to "story map" and then to "star-nosed mole theater" to watch this freak in action.
Le Vampire by Jean Painleve (1945)
"Ze leettle starfish does not despair. He ees bleesfully unaware of ze futility of life." OK, we don't speak French, but that's what we imagine him to be saying.
What's my impact on biodiversity?
Find out exactly how much you are destroying our planet. Or maybe…
maggie wittlin | September 19, 2006
Seed Video Feature: Noam Chomsky + Robert Trivers (Full Cut)
Watch two of the greatest living intellectuals discuss deceit for over a half an hour. Do you hear that tooting? That's our horn, baby.
'This Topic Annoys Me'
Female astrophysicist Janna Levin talks without an Adam's apple about her girlish desire to get beyond the gender issue and discuss the evolution of the topology of the universe.
The Incredible Story of Stumpy
Read a heartwarming tale of tarantula love (or at least goal-oriented mating) overcoming adversity. (via Joseph)
Winner of the Unintelligent Design Contest
Nothing…
maggie wittlin | September 18, 2006Welcome to the special ScienceBlogs version of Seed's Daily Zeitgeist! It's a lot like the seedmagazine.com version of Seed's Daily Zeitgeist, but it you can find it right here on Page 3.14. Feel our love for science on the web.
Royal Society Publishing - Journals archive from 1665
There have been a few worthwhile papers since 1665. Read the classics here. (via Selva)
CephaloPod
Glory be! PZ, are you in love yet?
Your Friday Dose of Woo: Acid, base, or woo?
The woo is in your urine. You always knew it was there.
Science Friday: Pale Blue Flame
Love the methane. Fear the methane.
Marry me,…
cmims | September 14, 2006Stoat
Categories: Planet Earth, Policy & Politics
William Connolley lives in Coton, UK, and works at the British Antarctic Survey as a climate modeller. In a former life he was a mathematician at SEH. He specializes in climate change in general and Antarctica in particular. He describes himself as a long-haired, sandal-wearing, weird non-conformist dedicated to staunchly defending the science on climate change--armed with logic, facts, and reasoned arguments mostly. The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mammal also known as the ermine. The fur of its winter coat is associated with…
apalazzo | September 14, 2006One 18 year old girl is dead. Eight others are in serious condition. It could have been worse, but I think that the Montreal Police learned from the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique massacre that you should try to confront and disable anyone who walks into a public area and intends to commit mass murder.
This had to take place at Dawson, of all places. I have some of my best memories there. For those of you not familiar with education in Quebec, after high school, all students are required to go to CEGEP (or college) for two years before entering university. As we have one year less of both high…
apalazzo | September 13, 2006I just heard about this. A guy started shooting at random people in the cafeteria, and then shot himself. (I was a student there in the early 90s.)
I don't get it, the murder rate in Montreal is low, but at educational institutions we've had quite a few horrible events (the Ecole Polytechnique murders, Valery Fabrikant at Concordia).
maggie wittlin | September 13, 2006When I think about global warming, I feel completely powerless. Is there any meaningful action I can take to help?
ksharpe | September 12, 2006Respectful Insolence
Categories: Medicine, Philosophy of Science
Orac is a pseudonymous surgeon/scientist, and an ardent skeptic. He holds both MD and PhD degrees, and he is board certified as a general surgeon. He's also the proprietor of the Skeptic's Circle, a blog carnival dedicated to skepticism and critical thinking. On Respectful Insolence, he blogs about surgery, biomedical research, critical thinking, Holocaust denial, and--naturally--skepticism.
Retrospectacle
Categories: Brain & Behavior, Academia
A neuroscience PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, Shelley Batts grew…
apalazzo | September 12, 2006A good friend Claudia, posted a picture on her photoblog (aroundaboutme) that reminded me of something ...
One day, summer of 2002 I think, I decided to take the day off and walk down the Hudson River by myself from the Upper Westside to ... well as far as I could go. It was a time in New York when things felt unhinged. We were all zombies, the world felt different and we were unsure of what to do next. But there was much solidarity between New Yorkers. At some point a woman who was also strolling down the river edge just started talking to me. We walked about 20 blocks together. Her son was…
apalazzo | September 11, 2006It does not seem like 5 years have gone by.
I remember waking up that morning in our apartments in Washington Heights. I was washing the dishes and there were all these sirens. I looked out the window and saw police cars, firefighters and ambulances going down the Henry Hudson Parkway. I was thinking that there must be some big fire somewhere and that we would hear about it later in the day. Then I got a phone call from my father in Montreal. A plane crashed into the Twin Towers he told us. Strange. That Friday we were suppose to see the Cirque du Soleil performing a free show in the Twin…
ksharpe | September 10, 2006Neurotopia
Categories: Brain & Behavior, Philosophy of Science
At Neurotopia, brains are always on the menu! Your host,"Evil Monkey," serves up a heaping portion of the latest neuroscience news, plus a side of social commentary expertly seasoned with action potentials and cognitive functions. The fare here is garnished with general thoughts on science, ethics, and evolution, and chased by a sickeningly-sweet understanding of human behavior. The pseudonymous author of Neurotopia holds a PhD in neuroscience, often gives vent to his politically progressive tendencies, and believes that a…
ksharpe | September 8, 2006Living the Scientific Life
Categories: Biology, Academia
GrrlScientist is an evolutionary molecular biologist with a BS in microbiology (specializing in virology), and a PhD in zoology (specializing in ornithology and hormone receptors). She blogs about evolution, the environment, birds, dinosaurs, avian influenza, conservation, and literature.
The Loom
Categories: Biology, Medicine
Carl Zimmer is a science writer whose work appears regularly in the New York Times and many magazines. He is also the author of five books on science. (For more details, go to http://www.carlzimmer.com/author.…
ksharpe | September 7, 2006Gene Expression
Categories: Biology, Philosophy of Science
Razib has a degree in the life sciences and works in information technology, but he also nurses a strong interest in evolutionary genetics and paleoanthropology. Gene Expression deals primarily with the intersection between new developments in molecular and evolutionary biology, and older established fields such as systematics and paleoanthropology. In person, Razib is an 'adult kid' who doesn't plan on growing up any time soon, and his non-science interests span from ancient Chinese history to science fiction.
Good Math, Bad Math…
ksharpe | September 6, 2006What's up with organic foods? What are the main arguments for buying organic? Is it supposed to be better for me, or better for the planet, or what? Are organics, in any sense, worth the higher price?
ksharpe | September 6, 2006Evolgen
Categories: Biology, Academia
RPM has been blogging since November, 2004; he started because he thought the blogosphere needed an entry in evolutionary genetics, the subject in which he's pursuing a PhD. Then he discovered Gene Expression, and realized the blogosphere already had one. Then he found out Gene Expression also had a lot of stuff on psychology and human culture, and once again he felt unique. RPM writes about evolution and genetics. Some of his posts take on a formal tone. Others are laced with sarcasm. Every once in a while he'll write something funny. He tries to stay…
ksharpe | September 4, 2006Discovering Biology in a Digital World
Categories: Biology, Academia
Sandra Porter earned a BS in Microbiology from the University of Minnesota, and an MSc and PhD in microbiology from the University of Washington. She did a postdoc at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and spent a decade leading the biotechnology program at Seattle Central Community College. Now she engages in "semi-random acts of teaching" while also working for a bioinformatics company called Geospiza. She writes about how bioinformatics can be used as an educational tool, and what and how we can learn from it.…
ksharpe | September 1, 2006The Cheerful Oncologist
Categories: Medicine
After earning a BA in English from Iowa State University, Craig Hildreth went on to acquire an MD from the University of Iowa, complete a medical oncology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and become a partner in a five-doctor private cancer-care practice in St. Louis. In 2004, the experience of caring for a friend's parents as they both died of cancer nudged the bibliophilic doctor back to his literary roots. The Cheerful Oncologist began as a way to write about the world of cancer, both to spread encouragement and provide…
apalazzo | August 31, 2006A couple of days ago I wrote a rant about how painful it was to deal with the Massachusetts and the federal government. In contrast, civil servants in the Quebec and Canadian governments have often gone out of their way to help me out ... and boy did I ever need their help (maybe someday I'll write about it). T. Price, an American Postdoc living in Montreal, then left his own story in the comment section. It got labeled as junk by TypePad and I just "unjunked it". It illustrates much of my rant and I would like to share it with you:
Your rant is spot on. I don't even speak the language of the…
ksharpe | August 30, 2006I read this article in the NRO, and the author actually made some interesting arguments. 'Basically,' he said, 'I am questioning the premise that [global warming] is a problem rather than an opportunity.' Does he have a point?
ksharpe | August 30, 2006The Periodic Table of the ScienceBlogs rolls on, with a brief description of every blog in the system. Use it to find your new favorite.
A Blog Around the Clock
Categories: Brain & Behavior, Biology
Bora Zivkovic, better known online as 'Coturnix,' created A Blog Around the Clock as a fusion of his three old blogs: Science and Politics, Circadiana, and The Magic School Bus. Bora was born in the former Yugoslavia, where he trained horses, got his black belt in karate, and studied veterinary medicine. In 1991, he emigrated to the USA, settling in North Carolina and earning an MS degree in…