I’ve got your missing links right here (13 August 2011)
Top picks
Spoiler warning: spoilers don’t spoil experiences, by Jonah Lehrer
Should you have the right to be “forgotten” online? In Europe, lawsuits & talk of regulations
The science of yodelling. Pure joy by Jennifer Ouellette. I’d quote a bit, but it’s just golden throughout.
Why do people confess to crimes they haven’t committed. A must-read trio of articles
Five things you really don’t want hacked. A great piece by Veronique Greenwood
Placebo brain surgery – it’s not exactly brain surgery, but is it necessary? A great piece by Anna Katsnelson.
Susan Greenfield has been at it again, suggesting links between the internet and autism. Martin Robbins looks at what she said versus what she says she said Carl Zimmer starts a meme. And the Neuroskeptic proves that Susan Greenfield causes autism
How do you do a clinical trial of scorpion antivenom? With great, great difficulty
Bradley Voytek on “the craziest, most unethical study I’ve ever seen”
Xu Xing has discovered around 30 dinosaur species but hadn’t even heard of dinos when he was assigned to the palaeontology department.
What field do blind mathematicians tend to work in? Geometry.
Sharp Alexis Madrigal analysis on why Facebook and Google’s concept of real names is revolutionary
“I want a scepticism that queries rather than condemns” Nice piece by Suzanne Moore
Erika Check Hayden looks at Rosie Redfield’s open attempts to disprove arseniclife.
How people in science see each other. Wonderful.
How autism fundraising organisations make adults on the spectrum invisible
Small male squid cockblocks flashier males by sneaking in and placing his giant sperm near the female’s mouth. No, really
A Colorful Way to Watch Evolution in Nebraska’s Sand Dunes – Hillary Rosner on Hopi Hoekstra’s wonderful research.
On London’s riots, Vaughan Bell has an excellent piece on riot psychology and why crowd behaviour is a complex area that’s surprisingly poorly researched, and Tom Stafford writes about why the Daily Mail is so threatened by attempts to explain the British looting. Also worth reading are James Meek’s take on London: “This isn’t mixing. It’s the ingredients for something… laid out side by side & not being mixed” And some much-needed humour from the Daily Mash (A gigantic number of policemen on London streets does seem to prevent riots, it emerged last night), the Photoshopped Looter blog, and this from near my neck of the woods: “One youth arrested on suspicion of carrying a balaclava; his parents have been informed”
News/science/writing
Artificial skin made using spider silk. Hmm. Cool, but the problems seem too much trouble than they’re worth
A brief history of attempts at making antigravity devices, including Edison’s levitating pants, by Jennifer Ouellette
A record of climate changes, written in the veins of leaves
Sri Lanka elephant census accused of plotting to kidnap young elephants
Ivan Oransky asks, “Is it time for a Retraction Index?” Yes, says I.
Confessions of a medical ghostwriter. She has kids with ADHD and quit after being asked to hype an ADHD drug
There’s a wonderful thread about arachnophobia on my G+ page, following a couple of whimsical questions like “Are arachnophobes afraid of scorpions?” Most interesting tidbit: most are less afraid of tarantulas than smaller spiders.
Weirdly, cod are missing some of their immune system genes
Invasive Research on Chimps No Longer Makes Sense – Scientifically, Financially, Ethically, from Sheril Kirshenbaum
Warning! This semen is made in an environment that contains nuts!
Bloggers mostly recycle stuff dug up by Big Media, right? Uh, well… wrong.
Want to take part in a MIT Media Lab’s crowdsourced psychological experiment?
Astronomers find the blackest planet ever! None more black. Blacker than ninjas fighting panthers at night.
Will Ramadan affect outcome of Olympics? 3000 Muslims competing, many fasting.
Words “in theory” are important in this story about an experimental drug that “could kill cells infected by any virus”
Paul Bradshaw calls for arbitrary disproportionate government action. I’m sold.
Oh that’s VERY clever. Glass looks like spider webs under UV, looks normal to us but birds avoid it.
On Prometheus, regenerating livers and stem cells
This is the face of wildlife crime: a tiny, frightened mountain gorilla rescued from poachers in Rwanda.
$200k raised from 2300 people – SETI to Go Back Online
The 5 weirdest worms at the Smithsonian, including the terrifying “Grandma Moses” giant Amazon leech
Why cuts in poison-control funding endanger lives (and overload ERs)
Scientists take revenge for Titanic, commence iceberg genocide
Doctors remove brain tumour, little girl can’t stop giggling
Mysterious orange goo in Alaska are the eggs of some unknown crustacean. Or Palin. She has begun to spawn.
I love that Scientific American is basically running dinosaur fanfic, courtesy of Brian Switek.
Should science force Lady Gaga to quit music & create a social networking site or is it too hard, you big pansies? Charles Choi on whether genius is transferable.
Can animals remember past events? Great two-parter by Felicity Muth.
NYT says Japanese govt suppressed radiation data after Fukushima; Geoff Brumfiel analyses their claims
Japan tsunami broke off icebergs in Antarctica 8000 miles away
“Yes, monogamy is sweet and “booby” is an amusing name, but they are far from kind to their nest mates.” Wait, what?
EU pledges 12m euros towards infectious disease research in wake of E.coli outbreak
Ants + food colouring = art + fun http://bit.ly/ohPcvm cc @myrmecos
Researchers engineer functional anal sphincters in lab. Great. Can we PLEASE have flying cars next?
Census of Marine Life led to an unprecedented database of marine biodiversity, won’t be funded phase 2
Dense but very interesting take on mirror neurons and the problems with neuroscience.
What was eating Protoceratops? Bone-boring beetles, apparently
Crap. Weeds acquire genes from engineered crops
Was the King Tut ancestry buzz just a way to sell DNA kits?
What’s round and black and helps you sleep at night? By Frank Swain.
Wikipedia’s List of Riots: 44 BCE- Assassination of Julius Caesar to 2011 – Riots in Tottenham, London,UK
A review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes points out that the chimps aren’t violent enough to be realistic
“We’ve no evidence that antioxidants are beneficial in humans. (Though if you’re a Sprague-Dawley rat, there’s hope)”
Heh/wow/huh
Sesame Street issues formal statement on nature of Bert & Ernie’s relationship just in case you were crazy.
Amazing. Wally/Waldo found in giant Gigapixel. Look closely.
The Angry Birds were the result of a sinister muppet cross-species breeding programme
If Male Superheroes Posed Like Wonder Woman. The Alan Moore will haunt my nightmares
Your dose of schadenfreude: a Tumblr of brokers with hands on their faces
Beautiful slo-mo owl landing
Dear BBC, I’d like my licence fee back please.
Great gallery of award-winning bird pics from last year’s Audubon awards. I love the sinister Count Snowy von Owl.
I love Haeckel. You get the feeling that the drawings really shouldn’t work and yet they do
Meh. Seen one astronomy photograph, seen em al… OOH PURTY
11 countries, 60 seconds, one lovely musical video (although, I do sort of maybe want to smack that guy, just a little)
Gents, brace yourself. The science of a man shrugging off a 22mph kick to the groin
“You have your giant fossil rabbit neck all wrong.”
A breathtaking gallery from new BBC series Ocean Giants
The Micropolitan Museum – The Institute for the Promotion of the Less than One Millimetre
Want a coin with the Queen’s head on one side and Chewbacca on the other? Go to Niue
Internet/journalism/society
Drainspotting – a fascinating look at Japan’s beautiful storm drain graffiti culture
Nothing says I love you like an overpriced stone clawed from the mud by slaves working in a torture camp
The Onion (no joke!) is erecting a paywall
With great power comes great… reportage? 10 examples of comics as journalism
Fascinating documentary about the secret tattoo code of Russian prisoners
Neuroscience blogger Mo Costandi joins the Guardian network.
Cameron considers blocking criminals from social media, like a complete moron. He would be more effective if he chased them around with a muzzle. Or tried to tie their shoelaces together.
Laughing at student exam howlers is offensive and smug says Alice Bell. She’s right, and the 3rd commenter NAILS it
“When choosing a restaurant, the first thing I want to know is, Can the chef sign his name?” Slate on why restaurant websites are so bad.
Why not put a theme park inside a skyscraper? It’d be like the Empire State Building but less rubbish.
The human spirograph
98yr-old Keiko Fukuda becomes 1st ever female judo 10th-dan, one of only four still alive.
Go Further
Animals
- These 'trash fish' are among Earth's most primitive animalsThese 'trash fish' are among Earth's most primitive animals
- These photos are works of art—and the artists are bugsThese photos are works of art—and the artists are bugs
- The epic migration of a 6-foot long, 200-pound catfishThe epic migration of a 6-foot long, 200-pound catfish
- Frans de Waal, biologist who studied animal emotion, dies at 75Frans de Waal, biologist who studied animal emotion, dies at 75
Environment
- Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet? The answer isn't clear-cut.Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet? The answer isn't clear-cut.
- This year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning signThis year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning sign
- The U.S. just announced an asbestos ban. What took so long?The U.S. just announced an asbestos ban. What took so long?
- The most dangerous job? Inside the world of underwater weldersThe most dangerous job? Inside the world of underwater welders
- The harrowing flight that wild whooping cranes make to surviveThe harrowing flight that wild whooping cranes make to survive
History & Culture
- Why Swedish children celebrate Easter by dressing up as witchesWhy Swedish children celebrate Easter by dressing up as witches
- Meet the powerful yokai that inspired the demon king in ‘Demon Slayer’Meet the powerful yokai that inspired the demon king in ‘Demon Slayer’
- A surprising must-wear for European monarchs? Weasels.A surprising must-wear for European monarchs? Weasels.
- Meet the woman who made Polaroid into a cultural iconMeet the woman who made Polaroid into a cultural icon
Science
- LED light treatments for skin are trendy—but do they actually work?LED light treatments for skin are trendy—but do they actually work?
- NASA smashed an asteroid. The debris could hit Mars.NASA smashed an asteroid. The debris could hit Mars.
- Humans really can have superpowers—scientists are studying themHumans really can have superpowers—scientists are studying them
- Why engineers are concerned about aging infrastructureWhy engineers are concerned about aging infrastructure
Travel
- Why you should try beach-hopping by boat around Paxos, GreeceWhy you should try beach-hopping by boat around Paxos, Greece
- Mansion museums show visitors the gritty side of the Gilded AgeMansion museums show visitors the gritty side of the Gilded Age
- 2024 will be huge for astrotourism—here’s how to plan your trip2024 will be huge for astrotourism—here’s how to plan your trip