I’ve got your missing links right here (03 September 2011)
Top picks
Via the IOM’s report on vaccine safety, we have “lost yet another battle in the war over vaccines” says Erika Check Hayden
Plumes & Pathogens: Human fascination w/ birds can jeopardize our health, by Rachel Nuwer, reporting from Asia’s wildlife markets
NYT on how the psychology of misidentification is forcing an overhaul in police lineup procedures
Can there be anything nerdier than calling out Simon Pegg on the etymology of the word nerd? No.
Aussie farmers killed the thylacine because they thought it’d kill their sheep. Except it couldn’t have
Must-read post by Sean Mcarroll: Ten things everyone should know about time
What do whale sharks eat? While studying the giant fish, Al Dove stumbled onto a cool mystery
How would you explain the meaning of right and left to an alien, without pictures or gestures?
“Scary Disease Girl” Maryn McKenna describes life on the infectious disease beat. Much wisdom here for aspiring writers.
Does neuroscience threaten the concept of free will & do philosphers care? Great feature by Kerri Thomas
Spider mites disable host plant defenses, then spin their own
India’s attempting the biggest biometric project of all time, involving all 1.2m of its people. Is it worth it?
Science/News/Writing
How to Make a Transparent Mouse with a Few Simple Ingredients
In female-empowered cultures, gender gap in spatial reasoning vanishes
From a behavioral economics point of view, the field of financial advice is quite strange
Cancer-killing viruses zero in on tumor cells. Phase I trial only, but cool method
Coming soon to a procedural drama near you, the “body liquefaction unit”. From cadaver to mush in 3 hrs.
Happy words trump negativity in the English language. British people not trying hard enough.
Hurricane Irene from start to finish, in timelapse satellite images
Fighting the scourge of boring ledes
How bacteria travel round the world
Specific parts of the human brain are tuned to the sight of animals
Boarding a plane by row is the worst possible way, worse than random boarding. What’s better?
Polio returns to China, and it probably came from Pakistan. Neither of those facts is good.
On Steve Jobs and the creativity of anger, by Jonah Lehrer
Adventures in British roadkill
The Golden Ratio: lies and more lies.
How would you feed astronauts on a five-year Mars mission?
Vaughan Bell beautifully explains what a “we’re-simulating-the-brain” project is *actually* going to do
Are antibiotics killing off beneficial bacteria for good?
Et tu, Science Magazine? A chemical free crusade from Deborah Blum.
Why do women get more autoimmune diseases than men?
On vaccines: scientists can’t stop doing science because of crazy people, says Hannah Waters
Keep your frozen heart beating inside a box. Then sneak it under the floorboards of a literary convention
Big prehistoric cheetah killed next to ancient humans. And that’s it.
NASA orbital debris office is struggling to keep up with space junk problem. Space broom deemed unfeasible
The US considers wild chimps to be endangered but captive chimps to be threatened.
Yeah, yeah, let’s capture the asteroid and mine it. What could possibly go wrong?
The balloon volcano is the world’s first major geo-engineering field-test
“We had Kate Winslet learning how to pipette“. Contagion Spreads Truths about Bioterrorism
Heh/wow/huh
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. Is brilliant. For fans of the Devil’s Dictionary and the Meaning of Liff
I wonder if Alex Wild is seeing too much in this “moth with mural wings” but do let’s have that PhD project!
On the coastal walk I did this week, I found *thousands* of these tiny snails clinging to grass stems on the path
If you’ve never run through a room filled with white balloons, you haven’t lived.
The Onion’s take on the “8.7 million species” story is about as sensible as much of the actual news reporting on it
What an amazing world we live in – winners of BBC’s annual ecology photo prize
In which Matt Parker proves – PROVES, I say – that Captain America films cause natural disasters in New York
Best conflict of interest statement ever: “I have no conflict of interest and I am also not Jack the Ripper”
Internet/journalism/society
Newspapers, and thus journalism, are saved! YAY! Because we’ll burn it for fuel! Er…
Darren Naish says Inside Nature’s Giants (Raw Anatomy in the US) “might actually be the only thing on TV worth watching.” He’s not wrong.
Having declared war upon pseuds, Google is now tackling that most nefarious of social groups – children
Why a lot of people don’t understand Creative Commons
“As web content [gets] dumber, the market for high quality content away from the web will continue to grow”
Amazon’s new @author feature changes (just a bit) what a book is all about
Casting calls for hosts of two new sci/engineering shows specifically call for *men* aged 25-45. Seriously. It’s 2011!
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 nanobreweries are shaking up Portland's beer sceneHow nanobreweries are shaking up Portland's beer scene
- 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