Archive for August, 2009
August 31, 2009 at 11:10 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Over at the Columbia Journalism Review, Curtis Brainard previews some of the major themes and proposed initiatives in a major new paper on science communication appearing at the American Journal of Botany. The article is scheduled for the October issue as part of a special symposium on science education and communication. A pre-publication author proof is available with the final paper online later this month. If you have been following the recent blog debates over science communication but have been looking for more substantive sources, this paper is probably for you. It’s also a good introduction to the relevant research in the area.
From Brainard’s article at CJR:
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Original post by Matthew C. Nisbet none@example.com
August 31, 2009 at 11:01 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Be careful if you dive in a Canary Island underwater cave called the Tunnel of Atlantis.
Researchers from the Institute for Animal Ecology and Cell Biology in Hannover, Germany were exploring the cave, which happens to be the world’s longest underwater lava tube, and came across an eyeless crustacean previously unknown to science.
What distinguishes this eyeless crustacean from others found in underwater caves is its powerful fangs, which function like hypodermic needles injecting poison into the sometimes larger prey.
Despite its lack of eyes, this crustacean is apparently quite successful in its evolutionary niche. The German scientists believe these creatures may be survivors of an ancient group of crustaceans that were widespread in the Mesozoic oceans more than 200 million years ago.
Photo courtesy Ulricke Strecker via National Geographic News
Link
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.
Original post by Queuebot
August 31, 2009 at 10:11 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Judging by the comments, it would appear that I wasn’t as clear in my last post as I should have been. I apologize. Let me try again.
Here’s what PZ wrote:
I think I’d have a few questions for this pope. Like, “What about over-population, Ratzi dear? What’s the devout Catholic plan for dealing with that rather serious environmental issue?” and “Hey, have you noticed all those hell-holes of destruction in Africa? How does catholicism help people achieve economic and individual autonomy, huh?”
I read that as covering two separate points: overpopulation, and the major problems faced by African (and by implication other developing world countries). Some of you appear to have read both as dealing only with birth control, and, since I just plain forgot to get back to the topic of birth control in the original post, I added to the confusion by never actually saying anything about at least half [...]
Original post by Mike Dunford none@example.com
August 31, 2009 at 10:11 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
With sound sources bouncing off walls and other surfaces, how is the brain able to sort out from what direction and distance sound is traveling? Robert Goodier explains:
In an April study, neuroscientists led by Sasha Devore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tested the widely held hypothesis that specialized cells in the brain actively suppress neuronal response to echoes. Using electrodes in a cat’s midbrain, researchers measured cells’ responses to a sound and its reverberations. They found that the cells that sense a sound’s direction of origin responded more strongly to the first 50 milliseconds of sound waves than they did to the later waves—their activity simply tapered off after the onset of the sound. The tapering response, a much simpler mechanism than the earlier theory of suppression, allows the brain to easily tune in to original sounds and pinpoint who or what is making noise.
Link
Image by flickr user [...]
Original post by John
August 31, 2009 at 9:55 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Image: Robert Thom, University of Michigan Health System
One hundred years ago to this day, German doctor Paul Ehrlich developed the first effective chemotherapy drug. Specifically, he was trying to find a cure for syphilis:
Ehrlich and Japanese student Sahachiro Hata produced their 606th preparation of an arsenobenzene compound in 1907. Ehrlich watched on Aug. 31 two years later, as Hata injected chemical No. 606 into a rabbit with syphilitic ulcers. The next day, no live spirochetes could be found on the animal’s ulcers, and within three weeks, the ulcers were completely gone.
After testing the drug on mice, guinea pigs and many more rabbits, Ehrlich and Hata sent their miracle cure to the chemical firm Hoechst, which marketed it under the name Salvarsan. The drug became an almost instant success around the world, although many criticized Ehrlich for creating a chemical that might encourage promiscuity.
Link
Original post by John
August 31, 2009 at 7:59 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Sandwich Tern, Sterna sandvicensis, photographed at the Bolivar Ferry, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 August 2009 [larger view].
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Original post by "GrrlScientist" none@example.com
August 31, 2009 at 7:39 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Good morning and welcome to another installment of “The Falsehoods.” Today’s falsehood is the assertion that the poor have more babies than the rich, or that the poor just have more babies to begin with. In comparison to … whatever.
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Original post by Greg Laden none@example.com
August 31, 2009 at 6:42 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
JohnKit posted a photo:
Original post by JohnKit
August 31, 2009 at 6:23 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, which includes 5,000 comic book characters, including Spiderman, Captain America, the X-men, and the Fantastic Four.
Under the terms of the agreement and based on last week’s closing price of Disney, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own.Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the total transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.
Get ready for plenty of speculation on what this will mean for the comics. Link -via Fark
Original post by Miss Cellania
August 31, 2009 at 6:18 pm · Filed under 20770
(YouTube link)
Thousands of people turned out for an attempt to break the world record for the number of people doing a simultaneous Thriller dance in Mexico City. Organizer Javier Hildago says 12,937 participated on Saturday, which would have been Michel Jackson’s 51st birthday. Officials from the Guinness Book of World Records will take some time to determine whether all those people completed the entire dance routine. The current official record is 242 dancers from the College of William & Mary. Link
Original post by Miss Cellania
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