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kevin z | January 30, 2008
It is one biology's highest compliments to have a species named after you. But what if the above was your namesake? What does it say about your character? What does the author of that species description really think of the person it is named after? Perhaps these are the questions that geophysicist Michael Cousins is mulling over in his head after seeing Pachycara cousinsi, one 6 new species of deep-sea fish discovered in trawls from the southern Indian Ocean. His fiancé, Dr. Nikki King, was the lead author of these species. An early wedding present, or subliminal message? You decide!
cmcclain | January 30, 2008...and put on my makeup I won't have to feel guilty about it*. At the continued pestering of Oceana both Unilever and L'Oreal have promised to stop using shark liver oil, also known as squalene, in their cosmetic products.
*You can figure out if I am joking or not
petnoyer | January 30, 2008
Aaaarh. The bottom fell out of my Scienceblogs coffee mug today! Don't fear, ya' scurvies. No one was hurt. For those so inclined, I provide a photo of the fracture and a brief analysis of the structural failure. You know, just for kicks. The details will of course be accompanied by fond reminiscence.
This was always a nice coffee mug because the handle stayed cool with hot liquids, even after it went through the microwave, which is something you can't say about every mug. Other favorite mugs from far away and special places like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Burg Eltz in Germany can only…
sb admin | January 30, 2008Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC), a coal industry âastroturfâ organization, is sponsoring the Republican presidential debate tonight and Democratic debate tomorrow night, both in California and hosted by CNN. Think Progress has noticed that ABEC has sponsored three previous debates on CNN, and, in each one, there have been no questions about global warming. Thatâs gotta be some kind of coincidence, right?
sb admin | January 30, 2008Catch Devra Davis on BookTV this weekend, talking about her terrific book The Secret History of the War on Cancer. More details, including broadcast times, are here.
cortex | January 30, 2008I've got a new article on the psychology of back pain in the February issue of Best Life (the one with Jeff Gordon on the cover):
I've put the entire article below the fold:
Dr. Marc Sopher, a family physician in Exeter, New Hampshire, is drenched in sweat. He's just run eight miles on a humid summer morning and played a game of tennis. (He's going for a bike ride later, after he sees his patients.) His short hair is salted with whiteâ¯Sopher is 46â¯but he has the taut body of a young athlete. Whenever he moves, you can see his muscles flex and twitch. He shakes my hand, ushers me into his…
thescian | January 30, 2008Dilip D'Souza at Washington Post. [via sqattercity]
Because housing is so expensive, about two-thirds of Mumbai's population live in slums or on the streets. This has been true for decades and remains true in ready-for-boom-time India. Indian politicians have concocted countless schemes over the years to "redevelop" slums, which they consider eyesores. For a variety of reasons, they've never managed to deliver on their promises. But one idea that took off decades ago still fuels the construction boom in Dharavi and throughout the dizzying, maddening city of Mumbai.
The concept, called "cross-…
grrlscientist | January 29, 2008tags: Writers from across the blogosphere, blog carnivals
The latest edition of the Writers From Across The Blogosphere Carnival is now available for your reading pleasure. They included a few things that I've written, along with a mountain of other contributions that you are sure to enjoy.
grrlscientist | January 29, 2008tags: Carnival of Homeschooling, blog carnivals
The 109th edition of the Carnival of HomeSchooling is now available for your reading pleasure. They included something from me, too.
gregladen | January 29, 2008A Biology News Browser; Green Porno; Naked Mole-Rats and Chili Pepper; 3D from 2D; New View of Middle Earth Stuff
From Science Buzz:
A great biology teaching resource can be found at biologybrowser.org. Both the Biology Browser home page and their search engine are subdivided into:
- organism (animals, plants, viruses)
- subjects (biodiversity, botany, genetics)
- geography (Africa, Asia, North America)
To experiment, I entered the term "turtle" in the search box which resulted in 369 hits (the MN DNR web page entry, Turtles of Minnesota was #6).
Green Porno:
[hat tip: Bug Girl]
Naked…
grrlscientist | January 29, 2008tags: Carnival of Cities, blog carnivals
The latest edition of the Carnival of the Cities is now available for your reading pleasure.
cmcclain | January 29, 2008
This Sunday comes the second challenge! Do you remember what the first one was?
1a. Sign up at this post
1b. Keep reading DSN and participating in the Just One Thing Challenge
A quick additional request...please help spread the word on your blogs and websites (feel free to use the logo above)! So far we have 13 people signed up. Let's get 25 by Sunday.
1. Craig McClain
2. Kevin Zelnio
3. Peter Etnoyer
4. Sheril K.
5. Mike G
6. Farne
7. Jim Lemire
8. Kiki
9. Fish Guy Dave
10. CK
11. Karen James
12. Merisea
13. Keely
kevin z | January 29, 2008Dr. Van Dover was recently appointed the new director of the Duke University Marine Lab. Duke has put together an interesting article on her career and her research that is definitely worth reading. She's done a lot of amazing things, such as being the first female pilot of the Alvin submersible, and has been a prolific writer. I cite her work in almost every page of my dissertation. Below the fold is a video Duke produced asking Dr. Van Dover "What is it like in a submarine?"
gregladen | January 29, 2008This is the first time I've seen this argument made, in a letter to the editor in LJWorld of Lawrence, Kansas:
Senior citizens are concerned about rising property taxes due to education and a needless golf course.
With more private schools [and] more home schooling ... , why is additional funding needed? The enrollment for public schools only went up by 169 students this year.
Why do we keep ... closed schools used for storage? Sell them. The "1 percent for the arts" should be deleted from the budget as well as the Sister City program, if it is dependent on taxes. ...
...
Mary Ann Kieffer…
sb admin | January 29, 2008In his last state of the union address, President Bush glossed over the seriousness of some of the most pressing problems facing our country, and suggested they could be solved with something thatâs been in short supply during his tenure.
âGlobal climate changeâ got one brief mention, as something that the nation is committed to confronting with cleaner and more energy-efficient technology. Unacceptable rates of uninsurance and spiraling healthcare costs were obliquely referenced with a stated goal of âmaking health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans.â Bush invoked…
cmcclain | January 28, 2008Much deliberation has occurred here behind the scenes at DSN about whether to air the following clip. After much debate we have decided to educate the public but let the viewers do so at their own risk. Note below the fold is the video and it is definitely NOT SAFE FOR WORK, because it includes profanity.
We the authors of DSN note we find it horrible that someone would ruin the beauty of nature by adding such childish obscenity to a nature documentary. We are only posting this as an example of how not to conduct public outreach. We also like the seastar sequence, but putting microphones…
sb admin | January 28, 2008Earlier this month, I wrote in Restoring FOIA about recently passed amendments to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) which were signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 31, 2007. Supporters of the OPEN Government Act, including the Society for Environmental Journalists (SEJ), are hoping that these new FOIA requirements will bring easier and speedier access to government records. The new law requires the Administration to create an "Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)" to review agenciesâ compliance with FOIA…
cmcclain | January 28, 2008With three biologist on staff now our coverage tends to lean toward the biological. We do cover geology, technology, and the such but from our warped biological view. What we need around this joint is some more geology! Over at Clastic Detritus a graduate students pontificates about all rock and whatnot. His ongoing series Sea-Floor Sunday is one to keep reading. Number 9 covers the continental slope off Australia and "everybody's favorite topic" sediment transfer to the deep. Discussed is how near shore processes of sediment suspension and transfer are linked to slope processes to…
kevin z | January 28, 2008To boldy go where no man (or woman) has gone before...
Ok maybe we have been there, done that, but are doing it tomorrow? The Beagle Project is!
"In 2009, the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth we will launch a sailing replica of HMS Beagle. An icon of scientific progress, she will circumnavigate the globe in Darwin's wake, crewed by aspiring scientists and researchers. They will carry out original research both at sea and on land, updating Darwin's observations, breaking new scientific ground and relating the adventure of science to enthuse a new generation of young students."
This is an…
cmcclain | January 27, 2008George Bush this week declared war on sea mammals, officially adding whales to the dreaded Axis of Evil. The Bush administration stated whales are a threat to the American way of life, democracy, and of course freedom. Joking aside, Bush this week gave the official go ahead for the Navy to conduct sonar training off San Diego this week. The navy admits themselves that whales will be harmed by the exercise. This is occurring despite a recent win in the federal courts by environmental groups to restrict sonar use off the coast under the Coastal Zone Management Act. Bush simply issued an…