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gregladen | July 2, 2009The best of last June
Continuing with our discussion of the Evolution 2008 conference, I'd like to relate at least the essence, as I saw it, of an excellent talk by Mark Borrello.
I've seen Mark speak at least three times including yesterday, and soon after his talk we continued on the topic in a conversation over lunch and beers, so my comments here are less a summary of Mark's talk at the Evolution 2008 conference than a more general reaction to what I believe to be his main points.
Everyone knows that history repeats itself. Or, at least, as per Samuel Clemens, if history does not repeat…
gregladen | July 2, 2009Science-based medicine = Big Pharma? You hear it all the time from the peddlers of woo, but it's rare that they disclose their own profit motives.
Analyzed at Almost Diamonds
cortex | July 2, 2009What led to the birth of human civilization? How did a naked ape manage to invent complex cultural forms such as language and art? One possibility is that something happened inside the mind, that a cortical switch was flipped and homo sapiens was suddenly able to paint on cave walls. But that doesn't seem to be the case, as UCL anthropologist Ruth Mace explains in a recent Science article:
Traits such as the creation of abstract art, improvements in stone and other tools, long-distance "trading," and the manufacture of musical instruments mark the emergence of modern humans who behaved much…
mikethemadbiologist | July 2, 2009Housing prices suck. In fact, they suck worse than they did last month. But the good news is that the rate at which the suckitude is increasing is slowing (this is the second derivative). From The Washington Post:
Home prices fell again in April, but at a slower rate, suggesting some parts of the housing market could be stabilizing, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released today.
The closely watched home index found that, nationwide, prices declined 18.1 percent compared with April 2008. That was slower than the 18.7 percent decline seen in March.
"The…
nisbetmc | July 2, 2009
If you are on Facebook, you have probably grown annoyed by the many causes and appeals that show up in your Notifications on a daily, if not, hourly basis. Like any new information technology, Facebook has generated a fair share of hype over its potential to "revolutionize" citizen participation and to ignite support for social causes. But like previous information technologies--ranging from the radio to the Internet--this initial hype is now starting to be replaced by a sense of realism about what Facebook "click through activism" can and cannot do.
Obviously, there's little doubt that…
clock | July 1, 2009Carnival of Evolution #13 is up on FYI: Science!
Festival of the Trees #37 is up on TGAW
Four Stone Hearth #70 is up on Afarensis
114th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle is up on Homologous Legs
Grand Rounds Vol. 5 No. 41 are up at Edwin Leap
Carnival of the Green #186 is up on Conserve Plastic Bags
Friday Ark #249 is up on Modulator
gregladen | July 1, 2009...One day Tashina asked to speak to me privately. "Honey, what do you do to get rid of crabs. Crotch crabs. Just tell me what to do and don't tell anyone we had this little conversation, 'kay?" I told her what to do.
Later that same day, Ron cornered me alone in the foyer. "Hey, my man, I do dee-claire I gotta bad, bad problem. How does a guy stamp out dem little bugs, dem baby micro-scopical crawdads down in the you know where, if you get my drift?" I told him what to do....
At Quiche Moraine...
gregladen | July 1, 2009
A.K.A. Karl Malden.
It may be that most people who know Karl Malden remember him from Streets (with a young rookie named Michael Douglas), but of course, he had an illustrious acting career outside of that well known and ground breaking TV series.
Speaking of Malden's original Czech last name .... as Alfred Hitchcock would always appear as a walk-on in his own movies, Malden would work the name "Sekulovich" in wherever he could. From Wikipedia:
...as General Omar Bradley in Patton, as his troops slog their way through enemy fire in Sicily, Malden says "Hand me that helmet, Sekulovich" to…
gregladen | July 1, 2009From a NASA Press Release: NASA and Japan released a new digital topographic map of Earth Monday that covers more of our planet than ever before. The map was produced with detailed measurements from NASA's Terra spacecraft.
The new global digital elevation model of Earth was created from nearly 1.3 million individual stereo- pair images collected by the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or Aster, instrument aboard Terra. NASA and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, known as METI, developed the data set. It is available online to users…
gregladen | July 1, 2009At least, Survivor's Club is a web site, certainly it is a marketing strategy for a book, and it may be a sort of middle-class-privilaged-heteronormative Christian mission. Or just modern Internet voyeurism. You be the judge.
Have a look at the web site. The videos are ... interesting.
(And they have some interesting endorsements.)
nisbetmc | July 1, 2009
The Colbert Report
Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Is it Time to Care About Soccer?
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor
Jeff Goldblum
Many of you probably tuned in over the last week to the Confederations Cup tournament as the US national team pulled off a stunning semi-final victory over world #1 Spain and then followed with a close loss in the final to world power Brazil. In trademark ugly American fashion, Steve Colbert suggests that now that we (the US) are good in the sport, it's time to pay attention to soccer. Enjoy.
cortex | July 1, 2009In the latest issue of In Character, UPenn psychologist Angela Duckworth criticizes the systematic attempt to improve self-esteem in children:
Q: Educators for some time now have put a premium on self-esteem. Schools strive to help kids develop self-esteem on the theory that other good things such as achievement will flow from increased self-esteem. Which is more important, self-discipline or self-esteem, for being successful as a student?
DUCKWORTH: Ah, how great to be asked this question! We did a study in which we followed kids for four years. We took their self-control ratings from…
sb admin | July 1, 2009by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure
Currently the only antiviral drugs effective against the swine flu (novel H1N1) virus are the two neuriminidase inhibitors, oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu) and zanamivir (trade name Relenza). Relenza is in active form at the outset and cannot be absorbed orally. It must be inhaled, leading to asthmatic reactions in some, ineffective dosage in those with breathing difficulties, and no drug at sites beyond the respiratory tract. Despite these drawbacks, it has so far produced little or no viral resistance. Tamiflu is absorbed orally and converted by…
cortex | July 1, 2009I've got a thing for things that are sweet and salty. Caramels with sea salt. French fries with plenty of ketchup. Peanut butter and strawberry jelly. Melon with prosciutto. Is there anything better to eat on a hot summer day than a ripe cantaloupe dressed with some cured meat, thinly sliced? I think not.
But why do sweet and salty sing so well together? Why do we add a pinch of salt to chocolate cake, or not fully taste the sweetness of a tomato until it's been sprinkled with sodium chloride? And why does bread without salt taste so bland?
The first thing to understand is how we perceive…
grrlscientist | June 30, 2009
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is a blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days. Currently, there are only 24 submissions for the upcoming carnival -- we clearly need more!
To send your submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right (…
grrlscientist | June 30, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 579 - 520 - 192 - 178 - 169 out of 195 candidates registered. I am in second place.
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay. Voting ends 30 September and there is one vote allowed per valid email address (registration required).
Once again, I spent several hours writing emails to the…
gregladen | June 30, 2009The best of last June
The first dinosaur bones (that we know of) to have been discovered in British Columbia, Canada, are now being reported. These are bones found in 1971, eventually making their way to the Royal British Columbia Museum, and now being reported by V.M. Arbour and M.C. Graves. The bones were initially found by Kenny Flyborg Larsen, a geologist prospecting for thorium. He was drawn to these bones because the bones themselves are radioactive, and his instruments led him to them.
(This is an update on this, as Arbour kindly sent me a copy of the original paper.)
Arbour and…
gregladen | June 30, 2009Seconds ago, Norm Coleman announced that he concedes the election to Al Franken. He just called Al a minute ago, and stepped out side his home to thank everyone and make the announcement.
It is over.