13 Saturday Oct 2012
Posted in Foraging
Tags
gender, internet, macro, photography, Republicans, science, science and society, Science in Society, sexism, space, video
I realized today that I’ve collected quite a few links, so it must be time for another Foraging post. Lots of great photos this time, as well as a few important articles about sexism and, of course, some great science writing! I hope you find something you like….have a great weekend, everyone! Continue reading
10 Wednesday Oct 2012
Posted in Arthropods, Plants
Tags
biology, dispersal, moss, Plant, pollination, Popular science, reproduction, science, Sperm, Springtail
Mosses were among the first plants to colonize land over 400 million years ago, but they never really left the water behind. Unlike seed plants, mosses (as well as ferns and liverworts) don’t enclose their sperm in pollen but release it directly. Since their unprotected sperm is vulnerable to drying out, these plants can only reproduce if there’s a watery film through which the sperm can swim. However, recent research has started to uncover a more complicated story behind the sex life of mosses. Mounting evidence suggests that mosses recruit micro-arthropods like springtails and mites to carry their sperm in the same way that flowering plants attract and reward insect pollinators.
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05 Friday Oct 2012
Tags
biology, Blond, diversity, Europeans, Genetics, Genome, Melanesians, Popular science, science, science and society, Science in Society, Solomon Islands
On the Solomon Islands in the south-eastern Pacific, it’s not uncommon to come across Melanesian children with dark skin and remarkably blond hair. While most people might take this unusual trait as a sign of European ancestry, Sean Myles wasn’t convinced. Curious to understand how the darkest skinned people outside of Africa could also have the highest frequency of blond hair outside of Europe, he led a team of scientists to unravel the genetics behind this mystery. The striking results of their research should serve as a note of caution about what we’re learning from the rapidly growing field from human genomics.
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30 Sunday Sep 2012
Posted in Language, Words of Science
Like many other fields, science has its own style of communication full of specific jargon and guided by unwritten rules. Most of the posts on this blog focus on breaching this barrier to the public’s understanding and appreciation of science. In this series, I’d like to take another approach by highlighting scientific words which have escaped the confines of jargon to reach a broader appeal because of their sound or their evocative power as metaphors. Today’s uncommon but useful word is nychthemeron. [Previous words: petrichor, alluvium]
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26 Wednesday Sep 2012
Tags
animals, Genetically modified food, Genetically modified maize, GMO, Monsanto, Popular science, Roundup, science, science and society, Science communication, Science in Society, Statistics
There’s been a great furor recently about a study which purports to show that rats fed GM corn develop more tumors than rats fed regular corn. I’m actually a bit late to this party; scientists and science writers across the web have already picked apart the flaws in this study, from shoddy statistics to poor design, and Carl Zimmer has called the whole thing “a rancid, corrupt way to report about science“. I don’t have much to add to the chorus; what I’d like to do with this post is to make clear to the layperson what we mean by “bad statistics” and why that makes the study unconvincing.
24 Monday Sep 2012
Posted in Bacteria, Microbiology, Plants
Tags
biology, Bioprecipitation, Cloud, Ice, Ice crystals, Ice nucleus, Nucleation, Popular science, science, Water cycle
Strange as it may seem, water doesn’t actually freeze at zero degrees. In fact, even at temperatures as cold as -10°C, water still needs help turning into ice. Living creatures of all stripes have learned to take advantage of this curious fact in different ways, though none have done so with quite as much style as bacteria. Continue reading
Inspiring Science 
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