I’ve got your missing links right here (16 February 2013)
Still travelling, but here’s a shorter-than-usual list of links to keep you occupied.
Top picks
A flurry of frog legs. Carl Zimmer on parasites, and the importance of biodiversity. And what about that first photo?!
How to tell bad evolutionary psychology from good – top-notch explainer from Kate Clancy.
Does a hooked fish feel pain? Does a lobster dropped in hot water? Researchers debate what animals can feel, and Brian Switek investigates.
Great piece by Maria Konnikova on the man who couldn’t speak and how he revolutionized psychology
Wait, the appendix evolved more than 30 times? Not quite so useless then.
Fascinating forensic problem: Normal DNA tests can’t tell the difference between two identical twins, one of whom committed a murder
Lovely piece by Philip Ball on the discovery of the microscopic world
A virus called HTVC010P may be the commonest living thing on Earth
Having trouble publishing your junk science? Just buy an old journal and rename it! John Timmer covers the ridiculous sasquatch genome “paper”. Also, I love Michael Eisen’s online tool that calculates what percentage of your genome is sasquatch.
How Google Flu got this flu season so wrong.
Redefine misconduct as distorted reporting – really good opinion piece about scientific fraud and other forms of bad behaviour.
Really good Q&A about the Russian meteorite strike, by Stu Clark.
Cameron Walker has a great take on the alligator penis paper that I blogged about. Lovely storytelling here.
Science/news/writing
Virginia Hughes on how neuroscience will fight old afflictions like blindness, deafness and more.
A New Culprit in China’s Tainted Milk Saga: Gut Bacteria – Yet *another* fantastic Virginia Hughes piece
The Argus II retinal implant, which restores partial vision in some cases of blindness, gets FDA approval
“Sweat mutation may have helped us colonise Asia”. But note Ewan Birney quote at the end
Anti-anxiety drug found in rivers makes fish more aggressive
What do prions do when not causing disease?
10 reasons why dolphins are a$$holes.
What’s it like to sleep in space?
I love it when people discover new owls. Because the owls always look cross about it.
Neil Tyson was wrong about Thor’s hammer, but interestingly so.
Here are all the bits of your body named after other people
This is cool. Competition to create best caller ID for right whales. (ID must not identify the wrong whales…)
Why are thousands of spiders swarming in the skies over Brazil? Other than, y’know, to destroy us all?
TAPAS at the dawn of life…
Does our immune system sharpen our minds?
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Surround Big Swine Farms — In China as Well as the U.S.
“It appears that there lies a large wetland ecosystem under Antarctica’s ice sheet, with an active microbiology.”
Where Do the Millions of Cancer Research Dollars Go Every Year? The call for more prevention is spot on.
It’s a worm-derful world. Nematode Roundworms Own This Place
Immune system “remembers” pathogens it has never seen before.
A tiny 3-D printed spaceship, the size of a dust mite
OMNOMcillin. Meat industry consumes 4/5 of antibiotics
It’s World Pangolin Day. The pangolin is yet another animal threatened by the nonsense of traditional Chinese medicine.
We Studied a Zoo: How Two Studies Assessed Outreach Impact
Heh/wow/huh
Why Russia’s culture of dashboard cams was uniquely suited to capturing the meteor. Also: from meteors to power plant explosions – ten amazing scenes unintentionally captured on dashboard cameras
A coin rolling on a treadmill for an hour.
The world’s most ridiculously adorable frog.
The amazing winners from the World Press Photo of the Year 2012 contest
Stunning photos of frozen trees
Two leopards encounter a mirror for the first time
What happens when you project a movie onto falling snow? Something rather beautiful.
“The order of authorship was determined from a twenty-five-game croquet series”
Matabele ants of Gorongosa
Amazing pulp magazine cover generator
Journalism/internet/society
Jonah Lehrer gives a keynote in which he sort of apologises for his journalistic misconduct in a way that manages to be both cheap and flagrantly expensive (he was paid $20,000 to do so). Taylor Dobbs captures the frustration that so many of us feel. Kathleen Raven has a classy post about her own journalism mistakes.
Red Phone Box, a “darkly magical story cycle” by Warren Ellis and many other writers, edited by Salome Jones.
How journalists can create better explainers
“Writing’s awful.” “Writing’s great!” “Writing’s awful and great.” This is self-indulgence that forgets about *all other jobs*
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
- 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?
- Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet?Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet?
- This year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning signThis year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning sign
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?
- See how ancient Indigenous artists left their markSee how ancient Indigenous artists left their mark
Science
- 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
- Every 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost timeEvery 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost time
- How do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tipsHow do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tips
- Why outdoor adventure is important for women as they ageWhy outdoor adventure is important for women as they age
Travel
- 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
- Slow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capitalSlow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capital