Science Made Cool

Life Imitates Art

A team of Russian scientists are boring through miles of ice into a twenty million year old lake in Antarctica. They haven't been heard from for a week now.

It's pretty obvious that the Shoggoths have gotten them.

(Note: Lovecraftian humor aside, I hope that nothing actually has happened to these brave researchers, and that they succeed in getting uncontaminated samples from Lake Vostok.)

Update: As of February 13, they're reporting success, and no Shoggoths. (Of course, that's just what they would say if the Thing has replaced them all.)

It’s Been Really Quiet ‘Round This Blog -- Here’s Why

Dear Blog:

 I know we used to post a lot. Jim and I were coming back to you again and again to share our observations about science: I’d describe the journal article I’d just read, Jim would chime in with snarky comments about new tech. But lately, we’re just not stopping by as often, and when we do we’re far more likely to leave a 150-word calling card than to stay for a 1000 word visit. Do you feel abandoned? I don’t blame you. 

 No, it’s not you. Jim and I are as fond of you as ever. Time is just a commodity we’re short on these days, and when we actually have some to spare we’re usually too exhausted to put together a coherent string of words. You see, I’ve spent the past year doing neuroscience research on an NIH fellowship. And since I knew next to nothing about neuroscience when I started, I’ve spent a lot of time feeling like my brain was going to explode from the pressure of the new information I’m cramming into it. I’m finally getting some great data, but (and I’m sorry about this) I can’t share it with you until it goes through peer review. Early on I thought I might be able to squeeze a visit in at lunchtime, but then I got tapped for a committee and that slot vanished. I know that Jim had all sorts of good intentions about picking up the slack by stopping by to visit more often, maybe bring a cake, but he’s been writing a novel. That’s surprisingly time-consuming, too. 

I can’t say that our workload is going to ease up anytime soon, but I do want to get together again regularly. There are a lot of interesting citizen science projects popping up that I want to chew over with you, and my file of journal articles to share is bulging at the seams. It may not be the newest news, but I guarantee that it’ll be interesting. So, are you free for coffee next week? 

 

Much love, 

Diane

 

 

The Ultimate Accolade

A pioneering geneticist has recently been awarded one of the highest honors in modern science. That's right: Gregor Mendel got a Google Doodle.

 

In other news, 42 years ago humans first left Earth bound for the Moon. Right now nobody's actively working on a return visit. Evidently six manned missions and a handful of landers have studied the Moon so completely that there's nothing new to learn.

 

 

Best Toys List

I love this. Jonathan Liu at Wired's GeekDad posted a list describing five classic traditional kids toys. The kinds of things kids have played with for a century or more. Your grandfather -- heck, your great-great grandfather probably played with these. 

His list? 

1. Stick

2. Box

3. String

4. Tube

5. Dirt

I do note the absence of that perennial classic, Rock. Maybe there were too many liability issues to include it.

Heading to ScienceOnline 2011

Tomorrow morning I'm flying down to North Carolina for the ScienceOnline conference, a lovefest of science bloggers and digerati. I suppose it's only fitting that my carry-on bag is full of gadgets to help me navigate the sessions.

 

(Right to left: portable digital camera + USB cord, iPod touch + USB cord, cell phone + charger, continuous glucose monitor + charger, all on top of laptop and airplane entertainment DVD.)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like . . . NORAD

In just over 6 hours, as I write this, the phased-array radars and Keyhole look-down satellites of North American Air Defense Command will begin performing the task for which they were really created -- you didn't fall for that whole "Cold War" cover story, did you? Yes, on Christmas Eve the NORAD Santa Tracker system goes on line once again. And now you can even get updates to your mobile device, in case you feel like following Santa around in person.

And to all, a good night.

 

 

Thursday Pointer

The incomparable Mary Roach is guest-blogging at BoingBoing in support of her new book, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Her first post focuses on the problems of childbirth in zero gravity. The suggested solution is... well.... just go look. I can't do it justice.

Bad Idea? Or WORST IDEA EVER?

A pair of M.I.T. grad students have devised the Cornucopia, a "food printer" which uses 3-D printing technology to create . . . well . . . I don't know what. 

Fortunately for everyone, the Cornucopia currently exists as nothing more than a concept and some groovy renderings. There isn't a working model yet, and let us all hope there never will be. Why am I being so harsh? Because this is the worst idea (not devised by politicians) I have seen in a decade. Apparently Amit Zoran and Marcelo Coelho, the inventors of the Cornucopia, live entirely on intravenous glucose solutions or something, because they seem to have a very odd idea of what food is and what qualities are important.

Best. Title. Ever.

Here's a pretty good press release from the PhysOrg site about an upcoming talk by a British skeptic about Paul, the famous World Cup predicting octopus. It has the most awesome title ever:  "Professor Risk Vs. the Psychic Octopus."

It's a damned shame Lester Dent isn't still around to write that story.

The Evolution of Grandicrocavis viasesamensis

Mike Dickison (formerly at Duke University, now at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand) studies the evolution and allometry of flightless birds. Here, he presents his results from a side study on a giant flightless bird native to New York City. 

(Thanks, BoingBoing!)