The week was too busy to finish this on Friday. Then on Saturday the news broke that Neil Armstrong died - something I wanted to highlight as a special topic - so I decided to wait another day and give people a chance to wrote posts and articles about Neil. So, with a delay, the weekly linkfest is here!
Blog of the Week:
We are all in the gutter is a an astronomy and astrophysics group blog. The title of the blog comes from the quote “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” from Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde. Emma, Niall, Rita and Stuart are astronomers, astrophysicists, star-gazers and space geeks at various career stages, having fun with their blog, exploring the universe from every angle they can possibly think of.
Top 10:
Unless They’re Zombies, Fossils Don’t Live by Brian Switek:
I hate the phrase “living fossil.” The term should be eradicated from the vocabulary of science writers, and anyone who employs it should be promptly encased in Carbonite. “Missing link” is the only slogan that pisses me off more. My acute allergic reaction to the idiom may be a little overwrought, I admit. But, to me, “living fossil” is nonsense that obscures more than it elucidates. Take the coelacanth, for example....
Hyenas Eschew Lent, Chew Donkeys Instead by Anne-Marie Hodge:
Anyone who has ever attended a holiday parade or gone on a summer vacation knows that cultures tend to create their own seasonal patterns. In much of Western culture, December is a time of much celebrating and feasting, while similarly wintry January is relatively dreary and dull (after New Year’s celebrations subside). This raises a question: how do the behaviors and culture of a society affect the animals that depend upon that society’s garbage for their food? The progressive encroachment of human settlements into the habitats of wild animals has opened opportunities for animals to avail themselves of human refuse. A raccoon in North America is likely to find a juicy watermelon rind in July and leftover turkey remains in November. Perhaps equally enticing for a roving dumpster-diver, but by no means nutritionally equivalent....
Why Is the Night Sky Turning Red? by Amy Shira Teitel:
The idea of a red sky at night used to invoke beautiful images of vibrant sunsets, the product of warm sunlight bathing the sky near the horizon. The adage of “red sky at night, sailor’s delight” refers to a calm night ahead; a red sunset suggests a high-pressure system in the west is bringing calm weather. But red skies at night have taken on a new meaning in recent decades. As outdoor lighting become increasingly prominent, our night skies are gradually turning from black to red....
When will we find life in space? by Phil Plait:
One of the reasons I love astronomy is that it doesn’t flinch from the big questions. And one of the biggest is: are we alone? Another reason I love astronomy: it has a good shot at answering this question...
Paleo-politics: The really long view by Will Femia:
.....The other explanation is that the Cretaceous ended when, 65 million years ago, an asteroid (or asteroids) slammed into the earth, right across the future-Gulf of Mexico at the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Not only did the impact and resulting fallout from that asteroid kill the dinosaurs, it also wiped out huge quantities of marine life, including many of the "tiny marine plankton with carbonate skeletons" (I'm guessing some version of Coccolithophore? Anyone?) that would become the rich soil that slaves would farm on land their ancestors would inhabit in voting districts that would favor Democratic candidates around the turn of the second millennium of the Common Era......
What the Dark Knight knows about holding our urban lives together by Scott Huler:
There’s a lot not to love about The Dark Knight Rises, the crazyish new chapter in the latest Batman cycle: a series of actions and explosions so unconnected that they make a Rorschach test look like a syllogism by comparison; Marion Cotillard’s death scene, which lacked only her eyes rolling up and her tongue lolling sideways from her mouth to equal those put on by toddlers on playgrounds; and Christian Bale’s Batman growl — close your eyes and you think Cookie Monster is saving Gotham City....One thing the movie got right, though, is its focus on the infrastructure systems that serve as the beating and vulnerable heart of our urban existence. Every major plot point directly relates to the built environment and the networks that make every element of our lives possible....
Science For Princesses by Janet Stemwedel:
I have always known that I loved science, that delicious alliance of imagination and methodical testing that could help you figure out something about how a piece of the world worked. However, being born at the tail-end of the 1960s, I grew up in a culture that wanted me to know that girls were not supposed to like science. In fact, between toy commercials and TV shows, teachers and peers, I got the message pretty quickly that science is not something for girls. Rather, girls should turn their attention to more important matters . . . like being properly feminine. There was a way that girls were supposed to be—neat and tidy and pretty and pink and quiet and well-behaved. I was not any of those things. I didn’t want to be any of those things. I didn’t know how to be any of those things. And, as far as I could tell, trying to be those things was not going to help me get my hands on the science-y stuff that I wanted. So what was the point?....
How to Annoy E.O. Wilson by Michelle Nijhuis:
.......During a panel at the Aspen Environment Forum in Colorado, as she describes here, Emma piqued Wilson with her talk of making more nature — of expanding our definition of the natural world to include places humans have invaded, altered, and restored. Spending billions trying to return coastal areas like the Everglades to pre-Columbian “purity,” she added, is a lost cause. Better to invest in upslope reserves, and perhaps even learn to admire the tenacity of invasive species.....
Father’s age dictates rate of new mutations by Virginia Hughes:
With every passing year, men are increasingly likely to transmit new mutations to their children, according to the largest study yet of the so-called paternal age effect, published yesterday in Nature. The findings could help explain why older men are more likely to have a child with autism or schizophrenia than are younger men, the researchers say....
I Am Science…and a Nerd by Craig McClain:
I am a nerd. I was a nerd. I will be a nerd. Perhaps in kindergarten I wasn’t, where nerdom had difficulty establishing itself among the simple lessons of the alphabet, counting, and colors. In kindergarten, we are more or less the same in deficiencies and achievements. But after that, I am pretty confident my geek flag flew. I cannot remember ever being a bad student. Repeated straight A’s and the honor role defined me....
Special topic 1: Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong's message to the future by Amy Shira Teitel
Neil Armstrong: Ace Engineer and Hotshot Test Pilot by Amy Shira Teitel
Neil Armstrong's legacy went to waste but a new space race is on the cards by Alok Jha
Neil Armstrong: 1930 – 2012 by Phil Plait
Pow! ZOOM! To the Moon! by Phil Plait
Debunking myths about Neil Armstrong by James Oberg
Rocks remember, and so do we by Ethan Siegel
What Neil Armstrong Knew Is What We Never Will by Charles P. Pierce
Keep in mind as you put together your Neil Armstrong packages tonight… by Charles Apple
The Man and the Moon by Anthony Lane
As We Say Goodbye to Neil Armstrong, Should We Also Let Go of Our Space Fantasies? by John Horgan
For Neil Armstrong, the First Moon Walker, It Was All about Landing the Eagle by Andrew Chaikin
Neil Armstrong by Babbage
Neil Armstrong Talks About The First Moon Walk by Robert Krulwich
Neil Armstrong by Neil Gaiman
Neil Armstrong’s Last Interview by Jeff Marlow
RIP Neil Armstrong, star of the first big story of my news career by Steve Buttry
The Cold War Push Behind Neil Armstrong’s ‘One Small Step’ by Andrew C. Revkin
Rest in Peace, Neil Armstrong by Matthew Francis
Special topic 2: rape and pregnancy
Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) serves on House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology by David Kroll
Here is Some Legitimate Science on Pregnancy and Rape and What Do You Do When There is No Best Dataset? A follow-up on pregnancy and rape statistics by Kate Clancy
The sperm don't care how they got there, Rep. Akin by Emily Willingham
Sure, women cannot get pregnant from rape. Also, all mean people are ugly and puppies are immortal. by Melanie Tannenbaum
Legitimate rape, seminal priming, and preeclampsia by Jon Wilkins
Unfamiliar sperm, Tibetans, and cheese: Why evolutionary biology doesn't excuse Todd Akin by Jeremy Yoder
What people who talk about "legitimate rape" really mean by Naomi McAuliffe
Todd Akin and the Anti-Science House Science Committee by Brandon Keim
'Legitimate rape' – a medieval medical concept by Vanessa Heggie
Backstory: the reporter who interviewed Akin by Mike Hoyt
A letter to Paul Ryan about forcible rape by Dr. Jen Gunter
Pregnancy Flowchart by Adam Weinstein
Hard words: Do we know what we’re talking about when we talk about rape? by Kathryn Blaze Carlson
The Crackpot Caucus by Timothy Egan
Why Sex Education Helps End Rape by Erica Grigg
Akin breakin’ science by Phil Plait
It's trigger warning week by Laurie Penny
Rape exceptions aren’t legitimate by Irin Carmon
Where Akin got the idea that rape victims rarely get pregnant by Tim Townsend and Blythe Bernhard
An Open Letter to Rep. Akin From a Woman Who Got Pregnant From Rape by Shauna Prewitt
Todd Akin's Abortion Position Reflects GOP Platform by Laura Bassett
Conservative Media Dismiss Akin "Rape" Comments As "Dumb," But Rhetoric Is Reflected In GOP Policies by MIKE BURNS & SOLANGE UWIMANA
The Problem With Men Explaining Things by Rebecca Solnit
Todd Akin and the Right's False Fact Machine by Josh Barro
Words and deeds by David Wescott
Rep. Todd Akin's statements have a familiar ring to them... by Sassquach
Legitimate takedown: Todd Akin meets the women of the Internet by Virginia Heffernan
A Canard That Will Not Die: 'Legitimate Rape' Doesn't Cause Pregnancy by Garance Franke-Ruta
The Official Guide to Legitimate Rape by Katie J.M. Baker
Todd Akin's "Legitimate Rape" Comment Was Not a Misstatement. It Was a Worldview. by Laura Helmuth
Rep. Todd Akin's Rape Remark At Odds With Science Of Pregnancy by Jeanna Bryner
What Does Todd Akin Think “Legitimate Rape” Is? by Amy Davidson
Special topic 3: superbug at NIH
The “NIH Superbug”: This Is Happening Every Day by Maryn McKenna
Genome detectives unravel spread of stealthy bacteria in a hospital by Ed Yong
Not a failure, a lesson. The NIH Clinical Center KPC Outbreak by Eli Perencevich
The NIH Superbug Story—a Missing Piece by Judy Stone
Hunting a Superbug by Deborah Blum
‘Superbug’ stalked NIH hospital last year, killing six by Brian Vastag
NIH should have notified it of superbug outbreak, Montgomery County official says by Brian Vastag
Like a Game of Clue, Genomics Tracks Outbreak, Revealing Evolution in Action by Ricki Lewis
Genome Detectives Solve a Hospital’s Deadly Outbreak by Gina Kolata
Govt. Gene Sleuths Stop Superbug That Killed 6 by The Associated Press
Best Images:
Drake equation: How many alien civilizations exist? by IIBStudio
Sunday Morning Anole Cartoon: When Lizard Biologists Compete by Rich Glor
If you were to summarise the world into 100 people, how would the population turn out? by Charlie Hilton
Conventional Wisdom by Randy Yeip
Are those pictures of Mars from the Curiosity rover? by Is Twitter Wrong?
Miss Insomnia Tulip’s Anatomical Macaroons by AnatomyUK
Votive Ear by Jai Virdi
Glow-in-the-dark cockroaches look like Jawas by Jess Zimmerman
London Zoo animal audit - in pictures by The Guardian
Animals in the News by Alan Taylor
Best Videos:
How Did Apollo-era Astronauts Sleep in Space? and Learning to Land on the Moon by Amy Shira Teitel
Amazing Color Differences In Lizard Populations Separated By Little Distance by Jonathan Losos
Can dinosaurs still be badass with feathers? by Charlie Jane Anders
Camera shutter speed synchronized with helicopter blade frequency by whataboutlarry1
Why Insect Wings Don't Fracture by Sid Perkins
The High-Resolution Life of a Neuron by Brandon Keim
Curiosity Drops in on Mars in High-Res by JPLnews
Doodling in Math Class: Connecting Dots by Vi Hart
Jessica Wise: How fiction can change reality by TEDEducation
Learning By Play by Nadja Popovich
Science:
Three Ways of Looking at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Miriam Goldstein
Thomas Kuhn: the man who changed the way the world looked at science by John Naughton
Kuhn the Irrationalist by Peter Coles
A brief history on how I became an Animal Behaviourist... by Kate Mornement
How Domed Dinosaurs Grew Up by Brian Switek
Microbes manipulate your mind by Mo Costandi
Kissing bug - the real vampire of Latin America by Samantha Price
Is solidarity a thing of the past? by Kurt Cobb
No, immunology should get the same scrutiny as psychiatry. And vice versa. by Tim Skellet
So, you've dropped a vial or lost a sample box in your liquid nitrogen container...now what? by Brian Krueger
Breeder by Melissa Wilson-Sayres
'Beam Us Up, Mr. Scott!': Why Misquotations Catch On by Maria Konnikova
Superbug Summer Books: EXPERIMENT ELEVEN by Maryn McKenna
Chemical Free Dirt (for the Fairytale Garden) and Smoked Out and No, no. Not Nicholas Kristof on Chemicals Again by Deborah Blum
Why are languages so different—and disorderly? by Philip Ball
Aphids, carotenoids and photosynthesis by Ian Le Guillou
Do Be a Dick (sometimes): Emotions and Skeptics by Ashley F. Miller
Tesla’s Revenge: Filmmakers Kickstart Electrifying Docudrama About Cult Genius by Hugh Hart
The neurology of Psalm 137 by Vaughan Bell
Book review: Connectome by Sebastian Seung by Moheb Costandi
TGIPF: Penis in My Head by Christie Aschwanden
First US stem cell trial for autistic children launches today by Kathleen Raven
Stem cell clinical trial for autism: proceed with caution by Emily Willingham
Is a trial of stem cell therapy in autism scientifically and ethically justified? by Orac
Would Rachel Carson Embrace 'Frankenfoods'? - This Scientist Believes 'Yes' by Pamela Ronald
Debunking the Hunter-Gatherer Workout by Herman Pontzer
Morality and Basketball by Sean Carroll
Republican spending plan casts shadow on science by Amy Maxmen
Making Liquor Recommendations by Dr24hours
Richard Dawkins in Playboy by Faye Flam
Amateur Scientists Discover Asian Needle Ant Has Expanded its Range by Thousands of Miles, Unnoticed by Rob Dunn
Dogs Chasing Their Tails Are Akin to Humans With OCD and Celebrating 1,447 Years of the Loch Ness Monster and Go to Sleep, All-Nighter Cram Fests Don’t Work and Want to Avoid a Mid-Life Crisis? Get Friends and Crafty Bonobo Shows Humans Aren’t the Only Stone Tool-Makers by Rachel Nuwer
Asperger’s Doesn’t Make You an Asshole by Heina
Bodies in art, art in bodies by John Hawks
NASA's Amazing Gliding Gemini Capsules by Amy Shira Teitel
Can Identical Twins Get Away With Murder? by Brian Palmer
What can survive on Mars? by Steven A. Edwards
How to Learn a Language Nobody Speaks and Lance Armstrong Surrenders Against Doping Charges and Will be Banned for Life by Rose Eveleth
Rockstars, Ethograms and Behavior (Problems) by Julie Hecht
Planetary alignment pyramid scheme by Phil Plait
We Can Save the World by Eating Bugs and Drinking Urine by Erin Biba
Clothes Make the Man—Literally and The Neuroscience of Optimism by Jordan Gaines
Wasps Follow Order of Succession When Queen Dies and The Shambulance: Zero-Calorie Noodles? by Elizabeth Preston
Friday Weird Science: This quail has a cloth fetish by Scicurious
Vowel Movement: How Americans near the Great Lakes are radically changing the sound of English. by Rob Mifsud
How to Teach a Horse the Rules of the Road by Miriam Kramer
Remnants of a stellar suicide pact and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Scientific Talk by Matthew Francis
Helium-Breathing Gibbons Sing Like Human Sopranos by Tanya Lewis
Siberian Princess reveals her 2,500 year old tattoos by The Siberian Times reporter
The birthplace of English? by Tim De Chant
Anti-Terrorism Campaigns and the Criminalization of Public Non-Conformity by Gwen Sharp
Hormones Explain Why Girls Like Dolls & Boys Like Trucks by Natalie Wolchover
The Nature of Consciousness: How the Internet Could Learn to Feel by Steve Paulson
New Morbid Terminology: Coffin Birth by Katy Meyers
Are You a Hero or a Bystander? by Sue Shellenbarger
Invasive species provide important lessons for surviving climate change and New species of barbet discovered in Peru by GrrlScientist
Just how big were dinosaurs? by Dave Hone
How Plantain Trees Could Become an Energy Source by Rhitu Chatterjee
Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist by Ann Finkbeiner
WWWTP? Time's Aspirin Structure Causes Headache by See Arr Oh
Candidates clam up on climate by Curtis Brainard
Overlooked and Underfoot: Sidewalk Cleaning in New York City by Ashley Taylor
Spawning coral monitored for effects of climate change by Melissa Gaskill
10 Myths About Space Travel That Make Science Fiction Better by Charlie Jane Anders
Goo-eating snakes and the eggs that evade them by Andrew Durso
Bonobo Stone Tales: The Making Of A Story by Charles Choi
Replacement Parts and Newly discovered rat that can’t gnaw or chew by Ed Yong
Artist Patricia Olynyk inspired by light pollution by Casey Rentz
Scoop: A preview of Romney’s energy plan by Philip Bump
Neuroscience: Solving The Hard-On Problem by Neuroskeptic
Every Step You Take by Wendy Lovelady
Fighting the stereotype that math is only for boys by Patricia Valoy
The Wall Street Journal Does It Again: Another Whopper Of A Lie On Climate Science by Dana Nucitelli
It's all about objective multiples... by Mia Cobb
Medieval Women as Physicians by Tracy Barrett
Was Vincent van Gogh Color Blind? It Sure Looks Like It by Colin Schultz
Ego v. Efficiency at the U.S. National Science Board by Jeffrey Mervis
The Science of Bad Neuroscience by Neurobonkers
Social Position Drives Gene Regulation of the Immune System by Daniel Lende
Q&A: Alexandra Cousteau by Emily Fisher
The evolutionary history of dragons, illustrated by a scientist by Annalee Newitz
Egg-ceptionally Bad by Cassandra Willyard
The Free Will Confusion (1): On “My Brain Made Me Do It!” by Stephan Schleim
Should we teach algebra? by Paul Raeburn
The Rats of War: Konrad Lorenz and the Anthropic Shift by Liam Heneghan
Why College Binge Drinkers Are Happier, Have High Status by Maia Szalavitz
How many species are there? by Zen Faulkes
Media, Publishing, Technology and Society:
How to Succeed in Journalism when You Can't Afford an Internship by Alexandra Kimball
Who are the offline-academics? by Katie Wheat
Sick of Impact Factors: Coda by Stephen Curry
Taking the Impact Factor seriously is similar to taking creationism, homeopathy or divining seriously by Bjoern Brembs
There are cons to open acces? Really? by Bjoern Brembs
“You’re not entitled to your own facts” vs. That’s your opinion. Kiss my ad. by Jay Rosen
Twitter rewrites the script for political conventions by Martha T. Moore
Barbara Mack: best media lawyer I ever worked with by Steve Buttry
Ask A Writer: “How Do I Write What The Audience Wants To Read?” by Chuck Wendig
The End of My Writing Career / Author Sharon Potts by Clay Stafford
Research As You Go by Steven Johnson
The ridiculous SVP embargo is back again by Ross Mounce
Intellectual power and responsibility in an age of superstars by Daniel W. Drezner
Coming in the side door: The value of homepages is shifting from traffic-driver to brand by Adrienne LaFrance
Google Hiring Data Reveals Two Things Women Can Do To Get Hired And Promoted More by Nicholas Carlson
A Day In My Life As A Freelance Science Writer by Charles Choi
Turn Off the Phone (and the Tension) by Jenna Wortham
Adulthood, Delayed: What Has the Recession Done to Millennials? by Derek Thompson
Why Are Young People Ditching Cars for Smartphones? by Jordan Weissmann
The Cheapest Generation by Derek Thompson and Jordan Weissmann
How Wikipedia Manages Sources for Breaking News by Heather Ford
Ex-NPR Hill reporter: Lied to daily by Patrick Gavin
Report: Social network demographics in 2012 by Pingdom
6 questions journalists should be able to answer before pitching a story by Tom Huang
Plagiarism, defamation and the power of hyperlinks and The billion-dollar question: What is journalism for? and Why it’s better for fact-checking to be done in public by Mathew Ingram
Rutgers Professor's Research Shows Social Network Sites Foster Close and Diverse Connections by Lisa Intrabartola
Don’t blame Twitter when journos tweet stupid things; blame stupidity by Steve Buttry
How long-form journalism is getting 'a new lease of life' in the digital world by Rachel McAthy
Why fact-checking matters by Emily Willingham
Rotary Dial by Ftrain
The closing of American academia by Sarah Kendzior
Be More Productive. Take Time Off. by Jason Fried
Journalist Of The Day: SciAm’s Bora Zivkovic talks about the evolution of social by Chao Li
Blogs of the Week so far:
May 11, 2012: Academic Panhandling
May 25th, 2012: Better Posters
June 8th, 2012: Tanya Khovanova’s Math Blog
June 22nd, 2012: Parasite of the Day
June 29th, 2012: March of the Fossil Penguins
July 6th, 2012: Musings of a Dinosaur
July 21th, 2012: Life is short, but snakes are long
July 27th, 2012: Science Decoded
