I’ve got your missing links right here (6 July 2013)
Top picks
What is it like to be a bird? Brandon Keim meets the semipalmated sandpiper and muses on animal individuality
One of the hardest parts of medicine: the waiting. By Ilana Yurkiewicz
Killer lede in this piece on an obesity epidemic… in invasive lionfish. By Christie Wilcox.
SciCurious has the dope on dopamine—an utterly remarkable chemical that gets stupidly simplified.
“The concept of a minimal genome, while provocative, is ultimately a dead end.” – Carl Zimmer.
The neurosurgeon behind the “Proof of Heaven” story has… a bit of a past. A summary, and the full story.
Brian Switek shoots Bigfoot down in flames.
Cards with smiling chimps on them are harmful and sinister, says Lewis Dean.
“I think that science can be self-correcting but it requires people to do that correcting.” Great Virginia Hughes piece on science’s self-correcting nature.
Stem-cell transplants may purge HIV but any talk of a “cure” is premature. By Erika Check Hayden.
Time and again, we see that wine-tasting is bunk.
Amazing! Retraction of 19-yr-old Nature paper reveals hidden cameras, lab break-in and evidence tampering. Two authors won’t retract, one is dead, one can’t be found.
On the noble biological tradition of eating your study animalNegative portrayal of science in sci-fi does little to affect public understanding of science.
It’s easy to write sexism off. “He didn’t mean it,” “I don’t want to start trouble,” “He really means well” Don’t do that. By Janet Stemwedel.
“It just spirals into subatomic story of pain, broken marriages, and really acidic water.” – Erik Vance on the world’s worst glass of water.
WOW. Carrier snails make their shells spikier by gluing on the shells of other snails! By Craig McClain
I love science/I hate science. A fascinating tool from Rose Eveleth, an explanation of its origins, and a very astute analysis at Skepchick.
Wonderful writing advice for scientists and… anyone. From Rob Dunn.
Brendan Maher on the quest to build a heart for transplant.
Bacterial species barrier! Removing wasp bacteria saves crossbred offspring from death
The night parrot: “They are the most secretive thing I have ever seen in my life & certainly the hardest [species] I’ve ever worked on”
Science/news/writing
A newborn infant can take steps. Why can’t she walk?
Love! The Neurocritic has created the Neurocomplimenter blog, to highlight good studies in face of fashionable backlash
Paragraph 1: Most science papers are inaccessible, because jargon. Paragraph 2: You must pay to access this article. :-/
Behold the flight of the terrifying undead skeleton bat.
Drones used to launch precision strikes… on weeds. Yes, actual weeds. That’s not just what they call the dissenting humans.
THE DINOSAURS HAVE LEARNED TO PICK LOCKS!
Starfish have eyes at the ends of their arms.
“Almost nothing they’ve done is complete.” Lab-grown liver news is preliminary
Dippy the star-spangled dinosaur – lovely piece about the NHM’s iconic exhibit
Psychology professor’s ‘obese’ tweet not part of any research project. I’m *shocked*.
Vibrating genitals may ward off predators
5 Air-Conditioning Designs Inspired by Nature
Giant freshwater turtle is down to two in wild and two in captivity. At least the captive ones mated last month
Orang-utans seem to be adapting to deforestation – they are walking on the forest floor
Whales flee from military sonar, new research proves, showing link to mass strandings
“Did caterpillars kill off the dinosaurs?” (Spoiler alert: Probably not.)
Remember that awesome gravity-defying chain of beads? Aatish Bhatia explains the physics behind it.
Get stuffed, Lonesome George. Get stuffed.
Odd-Looking Orcas May Be a Distinct Species
Storytelling science illuminates climate views
To fight monsters, we created monsters. (But to carry *those* monsters, we needed bigger helicopters)
A lionfish-print wetsuit won’t protect you from sharks, but it will reduce your chances of being taken seriously.
Etched in dirt: evidence of oldest known offering of flowers for the dead
Losing the “taste” for sperm: “knocking out receptors that regulate taste…can make you sterile? Who knew?”
That time an astronaut got a pie delivered to the International Space Station
Europe is looking at an invasion of adaptable, adorable raccoon dogs from Asia
A song of ice and lava. What happens when lava is poured over ice?
Australia’s Blue Lake has been untouched by changes in climate for past 7,000 years
Ladybusiness Anthropologist Throws Up Hands, Concedes Men Are the Reason for Everything Interesting in Evolution
Heh/wow/huh
Awesome GIFs of science demos (not experiments)
He’s neither the extra that Gotham deserves, nor the one it needs right now.
Fish Patterns, India
From this, I deduce that bad lighting is a more powerful force for ageing than actual age
“A drab, flat, atom-thick rectangle of weaponised disappointment made from tear-stained sawdust and hopelessness.”
Ron Perlman’s kaiju remedies ad is making me love Pacific Rim that much more
Ooh. Bacterial art
Wildlife photography: you’re doing it wrong.
Journalism/internet/society
This! Economics needs a public understanding movement, similar to the science one, says Henry Scowcroft.
A lesson in misogyny, thanks to a spoof BBC Question Time Twitter account of all things.
Better than a bench! Iain Banks is getting a memorial asteroid.
Blogging fast for money, providing context, without ripping other reporters off. Colin Schultz explains
World’s leading experts say there’s a problem with false balance in journalism; Steve disagrees
Awesome 15-yr-old US student from Nigeria tells reporter that he chucked spears at zebras as a kid. There are no zebras in Nigeria.
Snowden and Assange targeted by mysterious hacker The Jester. Best. Story. Ever.
A discussion on the rise of the professional science blog network. With me, Bora Zivkovic, Alok Jha and Betsy Mason, at the WCSJ
Depressed or anxious? Read this
Twitter’s new “embedded on these sites” feature helps us discover the story behind a tweet
How to survive a seagull attack. Might not work against Steven Seagull.
Stories are all around us -you never know what will hit you on the head. Meet Open Notebook’s new serendipity feature.
“Sharing news is not the same thing as journalism.” Science reporting vs reporting science.
A recap of the session on narratives in science writing from the World Conference of Science Journalists, with me, Helen Pearson and Maryn McKenna.
Go Further
Animals
- Cougar travels 1,000 miles in one of longest recorded treksCougar travels 1,000 miles in one of longest recorded treks
- Rare gray whale spotted in the Atlantic—and it's only the beginningRare gray whale spotted in the Atlantic—and it's only the beginning
- Why 'funga' is just as important as flora and faunaWhy 'funga' is just as important as flora and fauna
- Termite fossils prove mating hasn't changed in 38 million yearsTermite fossils prove mating hasn't changed in 38 million years
Environment
- Why the 2024 hurricane season could be especially activeWhy the 2024 hurricane season could be especially active
- Mushroom leather? The future of fashion is closer than you think.Mushroom leather? The future of fashion is closer than you think.
- This deadly fungus is hitchhiking its way across the worldThis deadly fungus is hitchhiking its way across the world
- Why 'funga' is just as important as flora and faunaWhy 'funga' is just as important as flora and fauna
- This exploding mine holds a treasure that may change the worldThis exploding mine holds a treasure that may change the world
History & Culture
- See the story of Jonah and the whale like never beforeSee the story of Jonah and the whale like never before
- This ancient mosaic offers extraordinary insights into the pastThis ancient mosaic offers extraordinary insights into the past
- These are the real dunes that inspired Dune—and you can visit themThese are the real dunes that inspired Dune—and you can visit them
- Meet the only woman privy to the plot to kill Julius CaesarMeet the only woman privy to the plot to kill Julius Caesar
Science
- Women’s bodies are understudied—but that’s starting to changeWomen’s bodies are understudied—but that’s starting to change
- Hundreds of tiny arachnids are likely on your face right nowHundreds of tiny arachnids are likely on your face right now
- What's worse than a hangover? Hangxiety. Here's why it happens.What's worse than a hangover? Hangxiety. Here's why it happens.
Travel
- A taste of West Bengal, from curries to Kolkata street foodA taste of West Bengal, from curries to Kolkata street food
- Discover southeastern Spain's secret coastal regionDiscover southeastern Spain's secret coastal region
- All aboard Norway's slow train under the midnight sunAll aboard Norway's slow train under the midnight sun