The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

ex scientia, sono

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Month: February 2016

So we’ve made sperm. No man necessary.

29 February 2016 grant 0

Nature cuts my last potential for productivity to the quick with news that researchers have made mouse sperm in a dish:

Researchers in China say that they have discovered a way to make rudimentary

… Read the rest “So we’ve made sperm. No man necessary.”

Science Art: Contour plot of Rastrigin’s function in two variables, by Tos

28 February 2016 grant 0

Rastrigin Contour by Tos
Click to embiggen

I don’t have the math language to explain what’s going on here very well. It’s a diagram of the Rastrigin function, which is, ahem, “a typical… Read the rest “Science Art: Contour plot of Rastrigin’s function in two variables, by Tos”

Celebrating happy accidents with The Golden Mole

25 February 2016 grant 0

NPR’s Skunk Bear turns us on (in general, but specifically with this) observing the outsized influence of unanticipated consequences – singling out for awards all the times… Read the rest “Celebrating happy accidents with The Golden Mole”

SONG: Janssen

23 February 2016 grant 0

SONG: “Janssen.”

ARTIST: grant.

SOURCE: Based on “Scientists just analyzed the atmosphere of a ‘super-Earth’ for the first time,” Washington Post, 16 Feb.… Read the rest “SONG: Janssen”

Modern Milgram Experiments: plumbing the horror of only following orders

22 February 2016 grant 0

Nature reveals a new generation of Milgram experiments – the 50-year-old psychological tests that had subjects electrocute (or believe they were electrocuting) other people … Read the rest “Modern Milgram Experiments: plumbing the horror of only following orders”

Science Art: Figure 4, Neopteroplax conemaughensis, 1963

21 February 2016 grant 0

Boy, is this prehistoric predator happy to see you!
Click to embiggen

Such a winning smile….

Neopteroplax was, at one point, something like a crocodile of salamanders – an amphibian about 3 meters long (that’s nigh onto… Read the rest “Science Art: Figure 4, Neopteroplax conemaughensis, 1963”

Modern humans and Neanderthals go back further together than we thought.

20 February 2016 grant 0

Science Daily talks about our ancient brothers, the Neanderthals who were us, 100,000 years ago:

Today in Nature the team publishes evidence of interbreeding that occurred an estimated

… Read the rest “Modern humans and Neanderthals go back further together than we thought.”

Alien atmospheres

17 February 2016 grant 0

Washington Post unveils our first observations of the atmosphere on an Earth-like planet outside the solar system:

For the first time ever, scientists are sniffing out the secrets of a

… Read the rest “Alien atmospheres”

Coffee (and pepper) of the dinosaurs discovered.

16 February 2016 grant 0

Discovery News hypes the headline a little here (but forgivably) by declaring that a 45-million-year-old prehistoric coffee has been discovered preserved in amber:

Named Strychnos

… Read the rest “Coffee (and pepper) of the dinosaurs discovered.”

A new generation of anti-Alzheimer’s drugs

15 February 2016 grant 0

BBC News covers the preventative medicines that act like statins for your brain:

Statins are taken by people to reduce the risk of developing heart disease and the Cambridge research team

… Read the rest “A new generation of anti-Alzheimer’s drugs”

Science Art: VII. Scientific Literature, by Finnish artists.

14 February 2016 grant 0

Finlandinthe19thCentSCIENCE

Click to embiggen

This is a chapter heading from the book Finland in the Nineteenth Century: by Finnish authors, illustrated by Finnish artists, published in 1894.

Reaching for the stars,… Read the rest “Science Art: VII. Scientific Literature, by Finnish artists.”

*Ants* have the speed… when it comes to boxing.

11 February 2016 grant 0

I’m reading a EurekAlert report on entomologists sitting ringside watching the fastest boxers in the world – trap-jaw ants:

In a new study, entomologists at the University

… Read the rest “*Ants* have the speed… when it comes to boxing.”

Obama tries to boost science funding on his way out.

10 February 2016 grant 0

Nature reports on the outgoing president’s attempt to boost research & development funding by a mandatory four percent:

With less than a year before he leaves office, US President

… Read the rest “Obama tries to boost science funding on his way out.”

Chinese tokamak makes fusion happen – for more than a minute.

9 February 2016 grant 0

Wired reports on the successful ignition of a fire three times hotter than the sun:

The march to sustainable nuclear fusion appears to have made serious progress, after a Chinese research

… Read the rest “Chinese tokamak makes fusion happen – for more than a minute.”

SONG: Heavy In My Head

7 February 2016 grant 0

SONG: “Heavy In My Head.”

ARTIST: grant.

SOURCE: Based on “Anxiety can impact people’s walking direction,” Science Daily, 19 Jan. 2016, as used in the… Read the rest “SONG: Heavy In My Head”

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Honorary Troubadours
  • Jonathan Coulton, Contributing Troubadour for Popular Science.
  • Laura Veirs, who knows her way around a polysyllable.
  • Thomas Dolby, godfather of scientific pop.
  • Squeaky, fact-based rock about fusion containment & rocket science.
  • Cosmos II, a.k.a. Boston University astronomer Alan Marscher.
  • Dr. Fiorella Terenzi, astrophysicist who makes music from cosmic radio sources.
  • Dr. Jim Webb, astronomy professor and acoustic guitarist.
  • Artichoke, the band behind 26 Scientists, Vols. I and II.
  • They Might Be Giants, unrelenting proponents of scientific popular song.
  • Symphonies of Science, the people who make Carl Sagan and others sing.
  • Giant Squid, doom metal about the sublime horrors of marine biology.
  • Gethan Dick,6 scientists, 6 musicians, 1 great album
Related Projects
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