Cookbook ecology
“Trophic level” is a measure of how far up the food chain an animal is. It’s generally used in ecological studies to show how much […]
Science
Science Art: Aghatis Dammars, Nordisk familjebok
This is Agathis dammara, the tree from which we get dammar gum, used as a varnish on paintings, a glaze on food or an ingredient […]
Quantum drum beats without beating.
Nature reports on the first object large enough to see that’s been put into the quantum state of neither moving nor not-moving: Cleland and his […]
Shrimp that should not be!
The Associated Press plunges into the icy waters of the unknown to present us with an unspeakable creature… a shrimp that should not be: Six […]
Lose a gene, gain a limb.
PhysOrg shows you how to arrange the swap: The absence of this single gene, called p21, confers a healing potential in mice long thought to […]
Geek Pop: Interviewing Kepler
Yes, I interviewed (briefly) the legendary astronomer backstage at GeekPop ’10. The full text is up here, at the geekpop site.
Last one alive wins.
Science Daily takes a close look at how psychopaths’ brains are shaped by rewards: Previous research on psychopathy has focused on what these individuals lack […]
Science Art: Plate IV. Tapeworms by William Miller, after P. Syme
Another engraving by the Scotch Quaker, mentioned here previously. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Fire from ice.
Discovery News finds a strange new source of energy – gas hydrates, solid chunks of frozen natural gas better known as combustible ice: In China, […]
“If it doesn’t exist then they don’t have a favorite planet.”
Hate Mail From Third Graders is NOVA’s tribute to Pluto’s lost status as ninth planet. The letters (to Hayden Planetarium director Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson), […]
Flu’s in your head.
BBC has an interesting report on the psychological dimensions of flu: While it seems obvious that we feel under-par when we are ill, Dr Harrison […]
Oxytocin and roses….
New Scientist recently got all romantic with an intrepid researcher’s chemical expose of her big fat geek wedding: WE’D booked the venue, chosen the bridesmaids’ […]
Science Art: “Rocket Ride Is New Planetarium Exhibit,” Popular Science Monthly, April 1938
Click to embiggen slightly Hey, look! PopSci just put 137 years of back issues on the internet for free. Science-aesthetic treasure! They’re at Google Books, […]
Evolution made us conservative, not smart.
LabSpaces shares some interesting research on the role of novelty in human development: An earlier study by Kanazawa found that more intelligent individuals were more […]
Beethoven isn’t Beethoven any more.
Slate has a great piece on why the piano we hear now ain’t the instrument great composers wrote on – and how that changes the […]