I’ve got your missing links right here (7 May 2011)
Top thirteen picks
This Pulitzer-winning series on a desperate bid to identify and treat a rare genetic disorder is incredible science writing. Truly incredible. You have to read it (and the story behind the story).
BLOODY HELL!! Those are whale sharks! 420 of them! Read Al Dove’s take on his own paper for a textbook example of a scientist blogging their own work.
“Charles Darwin was the original crowd-sourced scientist.” Carl Zimmer on the wonderfully named “Evolution Megalab”
Forget arseniclife. Here’s Deborah Blum with a moving tale of arsenic death
If you read one thing this month on the challenges of live, real-time, breaking news, read this by Emily Bell.
I loved this New Yorker profile on David Eagleman and his research on how the brain deals with time
This is why it’s important for journalists to get it right first time round: Vaughan Bell on why retractions fall on deaf ears.
“Are there circumstances in which feeding kittens to boa constrictors might be morally acceptable?” by Emily Anthes
Do we reason to find truth or simply to create more persuasive arguments? Jonah Lehrer on a compelling new hypothesis
Don’t read this in company. You will cry. “Here it is. I’m dead, and this is my last post to my blog”
“To my credit I neither screamed nor vomited [but] for a yr I couldn’t eat garlic” Great post on delusional parasitosis
Jason Stephany can play rugby, but he can’t donate blood. Because he’s gay. By Cassie Willyard
What was Triassic Park like? Alex Witze on the dawn of the dinosaurs.
Science/news/writing
“Before I break your heart with a magnificent demonstration of naked, forlorn, magnificent passion, I should tell you a thing or two about the male jumping spider.”
205 million gallons of oil went into the Gulf – where would it have gone otherwise?
Parents’ ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’ Help Toddlers Learn New Words
The League of Extraordinary Extremophiles goes to space.
82% of people agree that “science is such a big part of our lives that we should all take an interest in it”. More stuff from the Public Attitudes to Science 2011 poll.
The Independent and Telegraph claim that Daniel Craig is replacing David Attenborough as the voice of BBC nature films. No, he’s not.
Leafsnap – not a simpler name for Venus’s fly trap, but an app that identifies plants by their leaves
Here’s a typically sharp analysis of the latest news on Marc Hauser by David Dobbs
Welcome to SCIENCE: 101, the NEURON, by SciCurious
Hearts Beat as One During a Fire-Walking Ritual
A really cool example of the power of reader response: Robert Krulwich on a Cosmonaut’s Fiery Death
The story of Nefertweety the mummified chicken
Why people sometimes have to redistribute themselves about an empty plane
Does Revenge Serve an Evolutionary Purpose? By Katherine Harmon
These ARE the droids you’re looking for: Cooperative robots obey evolutionary law
Darwin’s vast trove of letters to be published in full by 2022.
How that lonely grey whale ended up off the coast of Israel last year
GIANT HEAT-SEEKING ANTS! As big as a (small) bird!
High-speed videos show how hummingbirds really drink
Giant Squid Are Killed By Ocean Noise Pollution
Around Chernobyl, black is the new orange
A very good piece on the science of insomnia by Kristina Bjoran
More on XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome – another negative result, not that it’ll change anyone’s mind…
Swarms of tasty cicadas don’t help the birds — why not?
Brian Switek reconstructs a glorious sea-monster battle
9/11 memorial groups names by social bonds
Thoughts of death increase the appeal of Intelligent Design
Brightly coloured bird feathers inspire new kind of laser
Check out my transient Discover blogger Jamie Vernon post on the birth of a new denialism – Osama “deathers”
Heh/wow/huh
Behold Brian Switek’s thorough, scholarly and comprehensive debunking of the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis
I think this may be the greatest comic book panel of all time
Creepy and mesmerising Man’o’war video.
Best. Zoology. Exam. Question. Ever
And the award for most hilarious Osama bin Laden tie-in goes to the Lonely Planet
Pink fluffy cat-ear hairband that wriggles in response to brainwaves.
Acupuncture needle found in ex-South Korea president’s lung
Hijack a car, get a bunch of poliovirus-ridden poo. Crime really doesn’t pay.
“Then Thor slaughters every last one of them wearing a wedding dress and fabulous jewels.“
On science metaphors. About physics, but could apply to anything really
Journalism/internet/blogging
Fellow writers, let us pin this to our desks with notes that say: “If you ever write like this, your hands are forfeit”
On Monday morning, the British papers had no mention of bin Laden. Meanwhile, someone livetweeted the raid…
Have you ever had the experience of ‘life flashing before your eyes’ when in danger? Vaughan Bell wants to hear from you
Reflections from a veteran journo after blogging for a year
Ivan Oransky on tips for PRs on interacting with journalists
The Atlantic picks almost 100 pieces of amazing journalism from the last year. Instapaper the whole lot.
A skin-crawling example of attempt to buy health care news coverage – $100 if you run our news release!
Why journalists should think twice about Facebook
The 7 Stages of News in a Twitter and Facebook Era. I personally love the fifth stage.
Welcome Seth Mnookin’s arrival at PLoS’s mighty network
WSJ launches its own WikiLeaks
“Workers were asked to sign a statement promising not to kill themselves and pledging to “treasure their lives”
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) “seeks to regulate press Twitter feeds“. This is massive news because it means the PCC will actually plan to regulate something.
Go Further
Animals
- Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them?
- Animals
- Feature
Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them? - This biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the AndesThis biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the Andes
- An octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret worldAn octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret world
- Peace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thoughtPeace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thought
Environment
- Listen to 30 years of climate change transformed into haunting musicListen to 30 years of climate change transformed into haunting music
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?
- Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security, Video Story
- Paid Content
Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security - Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?
History & Culture
- Strange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political dramaStrange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political drama
- How technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrollsHow technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrolls
- Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?
Science
- The unexpected health benefits of Ozempic and MounjaroThe unexpected health benefits of Ozempic and Mounjaro
- Do you have an inner monologue? Here’s what it reveals about you.Do you have an inner monologue? Here’s what it reveals about you.
- Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of yearsJupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of years
- This 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its timeThis 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its time
Travel
- How to plan an epic summer trip to a national parkHow to plan an epic summer trip to a national park
- This town is the Alps' first European Capital of CultureThis town is the Alps' first European Capital of Culture
- This royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala LumpurThis royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala Lumpur
- This author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomadsThis author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomads