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cmcclain | August 24, 2007BBC has a great game for the kids or those young of heart. Yeah I pretty much have lost a few hours of my life to this. You control a submersible and your goal is to explore.
cmcclain | August 24, 2007I don't buy it but...
In an issue of Superman released early in 1943, the superhero protects American navy ships from deep-sea creatures under the control of a Nazi agent. Superman manages to defeat the creatures and their master when the whistle used to control the monsters breaks and they turn on him.
I know a lot of deep-sea creatures, a few are even my friends, and this is just slander.
cmcclain | August 23, 2007From NG: Despite its delicate, decorated appearance, this jewel squid was found 1,650 lung-crushing feet (500 meters) beneath the surface of the North Atlantic. Scientists on a recent deep-sea expedition found the squid, called Histioteuthis, along with an abundance of other species thought to be very rare, if not unknown, elsewhere. Jewel squid are known for their mismatched eyes, one of which is larger than the other to scope for prey in the deep's darkness. More pictures here...
chaoticutopia | August 23, 2007My adventures in NY, continued: Saturday Night
Dinner: Steak and potatoes prepared in a traditional French style. After: Still awake to see the sunrise. Summary: A highly memorable experience.
...but that’s all I’m going to say about that. Every story, however backwards, needs an unsolved mystery or two, right?
cmcclain | August 23, 2007Don't blame me for not pointing it out sooner, but I have only seen Titanic once and as I recall it was an excruciating experience. Luckily, Leonardo is redeeming himself (more later). The Russian expedition planting a flag on the Arctic floor seems to be plagued with further controversy. Recently, video and movies distributed among media outlets apparently contained footage from the blockbuster movie (above). Who uncovered this? Media?
Nope, a 13 year old Finnish boy with a DVD player.
You can see the video in all of its embarrassing glory here.
cmcclain | August 23, 2007
A giant squid arrives on Italy's shore intact...reporters at scene report Cioppino needed more garlic.
First step purchase 500 gallons of formalin...next step order special-made tupperware measuring 30 feet.
Yiddish proverb...Small children disturb your sleep, big children your life...takes on new meaning as a 7 foot baby visits Mote Marine Lab
grrlscientist | August 23, 2007tags: books, AP-Ipsos poll, book reading
As you know, I am trying to learn more about your reading habits and book choices, so I was surprised to learn that one in four adults say they have read no books at all in the past year. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices. This is according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that was released Tuesday.
Several more findings in this poll include;
The average person polled claimed to have read just four books in the last year. So basically, half of the respondents read…
petnoyer | August 23, 2007So I'm buzzin' through the internet looking for inspiration towards a logo for a new project from the Harte Research Institute when I stumble upon this website touting the wonders of "Neptune Krill Oil" (NKO) - "the purest combination of phospholipids, antioxidants, omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 fatty acids." Hail distraction. Consider this a companion piece to Craig's "Why don't all whales have cancer", below.
The sweetly monikered krill-oil product from Krill Bill claims a 15:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, compared to 3:1 ratio for fish oil fatty acids. That's an impressive…
cortex | August 23, 2007You often hear scientists and philosophers of science talk about the peer-review process as if it's some epistemological magic trick, as if it automatically sifts through the mass of submitted articles and finds The Truth. Of course, if you've ever been through the peer-review process you know that there's nothing magical about it. The process can be just as arbitrary, unfair, illogical, and irrational as, well, everything else that humans do. My own encounter with peer-review left me acutely aware that scientists have big egos, and that big egos don't like contradictory data. That said, the…
grrlscientist | August 22, 2007tags: writers, writing, blog carnival
Another edition of Writers from across the blogosphere is now available for you to enjoy. Along with all the other links they have, this blog carnival includes two submissions from me that you might not have read yet.
sb admin | August 22, 2007Last April, I received this nice letter from Mark Mathis.
Hello Mr. Myers,
My name is Mark Mathis. I am a Producer for Rampant Films. We are
currently in production of the documentary film, "Crossroads: The
Intersection of Science and Religion."
At your convenience I would like to discuss our project with you and to see
if we might be able to schedule an interview with you for the film. The
interview would take no more than 90 minutes total, including set up and
break down of our equipment.
We are interested in asking you a number of questions about the
disconnect/controversy that exists in…
grrlscientist | August 22, 2007tags: SciBlings, montage
Here's a montage of all the SciBlings that went to the bash in NYC, courtesy of my friend, fellow SciBling and occasional houseguest, Chris;
[wallpaper size]
tqa | August 22, 2007
In yet another moment guaranteed to make you wonder if there's been a mass defection of writers from the Daily Show to the White House, President Bush is expected to argue later today that the war in Iraq is, in fact, very similar to the war in Vietnam. Before you drop to the ground in shock, I should probably add that this does not appear to indicate in any way, shape, or form that the White House has suddenly discovered the appeal of reality. The comparison with Vietnam is apt, according to White House-released excerpts from a speech that the president will deliver later, because we…
cmcclain | August 21, 2007
Knowing my fascination with body size variation among organisms , Peter sent a link along for a new paper, "Why don't all whales have cancer? A novel hypothesis resolving Peto's paradox." Included in the email was a gentle prodding to post on this unique paper.
Peto's paradox is that cancer is fundamentally different across mammals. If all mammalian cells have an equal probability of developing a mutation leading to cancer, all else being equal, then larger sized organisms with more cells should have a higher incidence of cancer. Equally, because larger organisms are longer lived then the…
tqa | August 21, 2007
It's good to take the train every now and then. It lets you get a taste of something special, something that you don't find much any more. Modern air travel sucks the soul out of the journey. It takes the process of getting from Point A to Point B and boils it down to the barest essentials. You drive to the airport, sit down on a plane, read a book, watch a movie, get a little work done, get off the plane, and leave at another airport. The airports even look the same. They've all got the same vendors, the same stores, the same seats, the same overpriced conveniences, and the same indifferent…
cmcclain | August 21, 2007As predicted, the bandwagon is rolling. Steven Milloy, of the ironically titled junkscience.com, writes in the Canada Free Press about us "alarmists". One study questions one aspect of global warming and the whole theory is thrown out.
Why is it when someone highlights a real problem they are labeled an alarmist? ...Mr. Smith I don't mean to cause you grief but the the cancer has spread...Well Doctor I believe your an alarmist so I am ignoring you.
Steven ends his article with "Does it really make sense to regulate first and ask questions later?" as a direct rebuke of the Precautionary…
tqa | August 20, 2007
Here's a few pictures from the New York event. I might post a couple of more in the next couple of days, but most of the pictures I took are really similar to the stuff some of my other Sciblings have posted.
Professor Steve Steve was not only kind enough to attend, he brought a puppet friend of his own.
Janet was very, very careful when she made the jukebox selections. Almost as careful as she was with the shots.
Josh decided to do a quick strip before the filming session started.
Grrl and Mo were bad on the way home, so they had to go stand in different corners.
grrlscientist | August 20, 2007tags: brain, blog carnivals
There are two blog carnivals that were published today that focus on the brain. The first one, Brain Fitness Carnival: August 2007, is a collection of links from around the web on topics related to brain fitness, neuroscience, mental development and a bit more. The second one, Brain Blogging, published its fifteenth edition today. Be sure to support both of these carnivals by popping in to each and reading their selections.
grrlscientist | August 19, 2007tags: medicine, blog carnivals
Medicine 2.0, is now available for you to enjoy, if you can rip yourself away from watching tacky YouTube videos, that is.
tqa | August 19, 2007
If you read the blogs here, you probably noticed the lack of posts on Friday and Saturday, but you definitely shouldn't tale that to mean that things were quiet in the Scienceblogs world. A large group of Sciblings got together here in New York this weekend for two days and long nights of fun. The results included some truly legendary karaoke (which I unfortunately missed); the consumption of Indian food (some of us ate more than others; I didn't have any); fun at a museum (thanks again, Sheril); several great parties with good food, good drink, and good ideas; and a minimum of one truly…