I’ve got your missing links right here (11 May 2013)
Top picks
“I was swallowed by a hippo.” A hungry, hungry hippo.
Beating parasites with parasites – Wolbachia bacteria makes mosquitoes resistant to malaria parasite
Lord have MERS. New coronavirus gets a name, inspiring a funny rant from Crawford Killian and a powerful piece from Helen Branswell on a Canadian SARS survivor who has gone to help with the new virus.
What you do is who you are – great piece by Virginia Hughes on twins, rats & the emergence of individuality
In the NYT, a new weekly Carl Zimmer column. The first one is on the imminent cicada invasion. The second one will follow in 17 years.
This moth completely smashes the record for highest frequency that animals can hear. My piece for Nature.
The Luckiest Village in the World – a beautiful tale of the small village where almost everyone won the lottery.
An exquisite, refreshing evisceration of The Great Gatsby, by Kathryn Schultz
Some English words have staying power, may go back 15,000 years to an Ice Age language.
Killer whale rams dolphin into the air with its head
“Any two Europeans are likely to have many common ancestors who lived around 1,000 years ago” – very cool research from Peter Ralph. And more from Carl Zimmer, who is unimpressed by your links to Charlemagne.
Our Solar System turns out to be deeply weird. By Robert Krulwich
With these advances, killer robots will be able to feel you trembling beneath their cold yet sensitive fingers
“An arcane & eldritch item of fashionable nonsense in the shuddering slush-pile of human evolutionary rubbish” – on the aquatic ape theory, by Henry Gee.
Wonder if we’ll survive an eventual global disaster? Check out Annalee Newitz’s new book – Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction.
Amazing macro shots of animal eyes. Beautiful. Can you work out which ones are human?
Mind-boggling footage of a falcon killing a duck in mid-air, from the falcon’s perspective.
Science/news/writing
Mercury rising, foxes descending
This is what a meaningless study looks like.
How Poachers Stole 10% of an Entire Tortoise Species…and What Happened Next
“The anthrax was the result of aural terrorism… earlier the patient had attended a drum circle”
SciCurious talks about WEIRD studies. Especially as regards…your virginity.
Research team fishes the DNA of ancient unfossilized creatures from the sea floor
Nice art project, but the science is utter bollocks. You cannot actually do this. We can barely tell someone’s eye colour from their DNA, let alone facial structure.
Whoa, red flag! The Guardian’s breathless piece says bacteria cause 20-40% of chronic back pain, and that antibiotics could cure these. A surgeon says the discovery is worth a Nobel Prize. But the Indy reveals that the surgeon runs a private spinal surgery clinic & paid for the launch? HMMM.
Mental Health Researchers Reject Psychiatry’s New Diagnostic ‘Bible’, by Maia Szalavitz. But, hang on, says Ferris Jabr. Contrary to recent headlines, NIMH is not abandoning or rejecting the DSM.
Symmetry study deemed fraud. “Few researchers tried harder than Robert Trivers to retract one of their own papers.”
“Who’re you calling a Neanderthal?”
200 million years of feather evolution in 3 minutes
Neuroscientists from Obama’s BRAIN initiative meet to say “we’ve got the cash, now what?” And a white paper with their views on the challenges facing neuroscience.
Bristly nectar-nabbing bat tongue in super slow-mo
The Atacama “alien” is a human foetus, aborted under horrific circumstances.
Huh/wow/heh
Astronauts reflect on seeing Earth from space
A really long blog post…
Bishop’s Knife Trick – Directors Cut
Google uses NASA+USGS satellite pics to show how Earth has changed since 1980s
Antarctica’s last sunset until August
Break through 2 months of Antarctic ice in 5 mins
A visit to the lab of one of the world’s leading electron microscope photographers.
“They look like upside-down cacti that are blown from glass” – on Antarctica’s icy death-fingers
Wonderful. The Onion’s guide to preventing Twitter hacks.
XKCD What If? answers the question “how high can a human throw something” in giraffe units
“Boob plate” armour: a poor choice for the safety-conscious female warrior
Bioluminescent leaves as art
Journalism/internet/society
Medium launched a tech section aimed entirely at women, edited by Arikia Millikan. It’s called Ladybits.
Nicholas Hytner’s “Othello” at London’s National Theatre, with Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear, is the best Shakespeare production I’ve ever seen. The Economist lays out why it’s great.
I talk with the Knight Science Journalism fellows on the nature and history of science blogging
Everything I thought I knew about the origins of the QWERTY keyboard was a filthy lie
“The writer’s first job is to help me understand, not to dazzle me… The lead sometimes belongs buried.”
Two fantastic pieces on a new Science Writers’ Handbook.
What a week of groceries looks like around the world — a fascinating photo essay.
Go Further
Animals
- This ‘saber-toothed’ salmon wasn’t quite what we thoughtThis ‘saber-toothed’ salmon wasn’t quite what we thought
- Why this rhino-zebra friendship makes perfect senseWhy this rhino-zebra friendship makes perfect sense
- When did bioluminescence evolve? It’s older than we thought.When did bioluminescence evolve? It’s older than we thought.
- Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?
- This pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilienceThis pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilience
Environment
- This pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilienceThis pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilience
- 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?
History & Culture
- Séances at the White House? Why these first ladies turned to the occultSéances at the White House? Why these first ladies turned to the occult
- Gambling is everywhere now. When is that a problem?Gambling is everywhere now. When is that a problem?
- Beauty is pain—at least it was in 17th-century SpainBeauty is pain—at least it was in 17th-century Spain
- The real spies who inspired ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’The real spies who inspired ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’
- Heard of Zoroastrianism? The religion still has fervent followersHeard of Zoroastrianism? The religion still has fervent followers
Science
- Here's how astronomers found one of the rarest phenomenons in spaceHere's how astronomers found one of the rarest phenomenons in space
- Not an extrovert or introvert? There’s a word for that.Not an extrovert or introvert? There’s a word for that.
- NASA has a plan to clean up space junk—but is going green enough?NASA has a plan to clean up space junk—but is going green enough?
- Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?
- Can aspirin help protect against colorectal cancers?Can aspirin help protect against colorectal cancers?
Travel
- What it's like to hike the Camino del Mayab in MexicoWhat it's like to hike the Camino del Mayab in Mexico
- Is this small English town Yorkshire's culinary capital?Is this small English town Yorkshire's culinary capital?
- This chef is taking Indian cuisine in a bold new directionThis chef is taking Indian cuisine in a bold new direction
- Follow in the footsteps of Robin Hood in Sherwood ForestFollow in the footsteps of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest