I’ve got your missing links right here (19 May 2012)
Top picks
Manta rays depend on forests. Carl Zimmer on top form.
The evidence for precognition was staring us in the face all along. Hilarious satire of psychology’s problems.
How a professor who fooled Wikipedia got caught by Reddit – implications for ”truth” online. Great story by Yoni Applebaum.
Not allowed to have a small heart: great long read from Greg Downey on Tourette Syndrome
Living photography. This is as cool as it sounds
Committee assesses ethics of trial, in which kids would get an anthrax vaccine unlikely to ever be necessary. But Project “Dark Zephyr”?? Are you kidding me? With a straight face? What about Project “Shadow Mistral”. Or “Hot Air”
My BBC column “Will we ever….?” now has guest stars. First up: John Pavlus on the Turing test.
Helen Pearson talks to The Open Notebook about her seriously good profile of protein-resurrector Joe Thornton
Doctors ‘rewire’ hands of paralysed man. Great story by Ian Sample
This tiny sphere is all the world’s water. (And as usual, America is hoarding it ;-p)
“Not all neurons are exactly alike. The brain contains multitudes.” – a new series on neurons by Ferris Jabr, which continues, with a look into the various types of neurons.
Is the Purpose of Sleep to Let Our Brains “Defragment,” Like a Hard Drive? Great piece by the Neuroskeptic.
When an Autism Diagnosis Comes as a Blessing – when Steve Silberman writes book reviews, you know it’s going to be much more than that.
“They look like yearbook portraits from a sanitorium.” Darwin’s creepiest experiment recreated online
With a book on life’s origin & a radio series on extinction, Adam Rutherford is doing life from both ends. So to speak. Listen to his docu.
Tapeworms in the brain are surprisingly common. I warn you: Carl Zimmer has found an image that made even me feel ill
Remember the weird placental jellyfish thing? Here’s some amazing footage of it – Deepstaria enigmatica
Our innate hotness might explain why we’re not being wiped out by fungal blights like bats or frogs. Very cool idea
Deborah Blum christens her new digs at Wired with a post about poisoning the Dalai Lama
Stunning story. How disruptions to the National Children’s Study are hitting the parents who signed up for it
Restoring sight with wireless implants. Very interesting differences to current approaches using retinal implants. Very cool!
“In science, if no one else can make the experiment work, it didn’t happen” – John Hawks riffing on my Nature replication piece
Read Holly Bik’s great post about microbes at sea. I’m never getting on a ship again
Pretty! Trapped in amber, the earliest evidence of pollination
YAWN! Jason Goldman on contagious yawning and empathy
“Analyzing an exome to understand a disease is like reading the CliffsNotes version of a classic book.”
“People are quick to assume that what they do is “natural” simply because they don’t know where things are done differently” – Eric Michael Johnson on breastfeeding
Maurice Ward & his secret material Starlite – by Richard Fisher
Why Octopuses Should Run Our National Security Infrastructure
A platonic Tube? World’s subways converging on an ideal form
Fearsome as they are, pliosaurs can still fall victim to churnalism
The penultimate para of this Maryn McKenna piece on drug-resistant bacteria will chill your blood http://t.co/yfDIpw9s
Plants…. in SPAAAAACCCCEEEEE
Coffee story in The Atlantic. I winced once at “really does”, twice at “after all” and just wept openly at the rest. Do. Not. Like. Much better in the Boston Globe: Some NEJM editors didn’t want to publish the study on coffee and longer life because of flaws.
Christie Wilcox’s editorial in The Biological Bulletin on why social media is good for scientists.
The climate-change-denying Heartland Institute’s ties to the tobacco industry
The more you know about breast cancer, the more inaccurate your perception of risk
Aquatic dinosaurs? Darren Naish has a thorough take-down
Scientist resigns from board of journal that restricts access
More on Chabris vs. Lehrer & provisional nature of science + science writing (with a mad Gladwell blurb)
Goblin shark FTMFW! A list of awesome sharks you should get to know
Absolutely wicked visual illusion – beautiful people turn ugly
Guppies lust after killer orange prawn
ADHD Behavioral Therapy May Be More Effective Than Drugs in Long Run (but more expensive)
Explore your microbiome. Absolutely *stunning* graphic (although possible errors)
Block one pit viper eye & the opposite heat-sensing pit, and its strike accuracy gets *really* bad. Now you know.
This long-predicted superweed problem with GM crops has arrived.
SCIENCE! Antarctic Ice Sheet Collapse Recorded In Octopus DNA
A great hilarious video from Virginia Hughes explaining a time-saving technique in neuroscience
We need to talk about Michael. Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?
Why are harps harp-shaped? What does the big curve on the top do?
“The invasion of the Can’t-Help-Yourself books.”
This will go really badly: parents are buying their own oxytocin in attempt at DIY autism ‘treatment’
Which country wants to medicate a prisoner so they can execute him sane? Yep.
What’s actually interesting about covering climate change?
“Childish, misguided and disproportionate” – James Wilsdon on protests about death of British science
Dodgy study about a gene linked to post-traumatic stress syndrome. I didn’t report this after advice on methods from geneticists. Likely to be a false-positive.
Everything you need to know about the scientific controversy that could change Triceratops forever. Not sure about that last bit, but if it means that Triceratops absorbs other species, that’s fine.
Livestock bacteria are as old as the livestock they kill
The pen that lets you draw electrical circuits
Skilled liars make great lie detectors
A brain litmus! fMRI could be used to measure the acidity of the brain
Critical point: mental health diagnoses don’t just categorise behaviour, but *affect* it
Map calculates Roman travel times
Crows recognize familiar human voices
Chimp testing – beginning of the end? Good fair coverage of complicated debate
Man behind a “gay cure” study apologizes. A really good read.
Next to giant snake, a giant-snake-proof turtle
Science’s special issue on conflict, free with registration.
What would count as an alternative form of life? A smart essay by Gerald Joyce
Heh. XKCD on the arse-clenching awfulness that is Klout
Bodes poorly when a reviewer must translate text of a sci e-book for readers. But awesome when it’s Veronique Greenwood.
The Secret to Success Is Giant-Jawed Snake Babies
Heh/wow/huh
I’d always wondered about this. Good to see science tackling humanity’s most pressing problems
Collaged images from encyclopedias and nature books suspended in plexiglas
Disappearing hand trick wins illusion of the year. If I’d known it would be that easy, I’d have brought my hacksaw
Amazing. “Above is Andy eating his own brain.” How to make a chocolate model of your brain
Online comment-writers to get own internet. Masturnet – “pics of things w/ ‘Why do you hate this?’ underneath”
100% accurate charts of sea creature anatomy
HA! “France surrenders to Thor”
XKCD nails Apple’s biggest problem
LOVE THESE! Photo project memorializes fallen insects
When unrelated tweets just work together
Journalism/internet/writing
TED: Ideas worth spreading… unless they piss off rich people
It’s 22 years since Jim Henson died. Which means, The Saddest Photo In The World
Hey, remember when Google did search? So have they.
Aw. Reddit Users Surprise Terminally Ill Man With Random Acts of Kindness
Excellent trolling of bad journalists by an American athlete, using a pair of platypus
Sugar makes embargoes stupid, and doesn’t do wonders for a press release, either
Why promote young writers? An interview with Bora Zivkovic.
Your daily WTF: Kodak had a weapons-grade nuclear reactor in its basement, full of uranium
Stimulating. Can a new and improved vibrator inspire an age of great American sex?
I’m an article about the internet that you repost on the internet.
Tip for journos: try to do things that can’t be done by a robot. Enslave humanity: out. Narratives: in.
Who are the people who use ResearchBlogging? (Very weird to see my own name in a journal paper)
Megan Garber looks at what made Shutterstock so successful.
Pre-release torrent leaks actually benefit album sales
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