I’ve got your missing links right here (13 July 2013)
Top picks
The Brain Scoop series by the incredible Emily Graslie, which I only just discovered this week, is just wonderful. I watched these for about an hour. They’re witty, infectiously energetic, and fascinating looks at natural history museums. Here are some favourites on platypus, the skinning of a wolf, giant flying squirrels, and the “overflow skull storage room, which is redundant since the entire museum is overflow skull storage”.
An insightful attempt to understand the bigfoot genome, the woman who created it, and how an honest attempt at science can go horribly wrong. By John Timmer.
Manatees, dolphins & pelicans are dying en masse in a Florida lagoon, and no one knows why. Top piece by Nadia Drake.
We have scent & taste receptors throughout our bodies that are actually smelling & tasting. By Veronique Greenwood.
The horrible psychology of solitary confinement. This Brandon Keim piece is loaded with terrifying stats.
A wonderful nerdy love song. Plus: kitten.
Stop talking about the “female Brian Cox“; here’s how to really support women science presenters. By Gia Milinovich.
Did you miss the cicada invasion? DON’T WORRY. Now, it’s time for the giant cicada-killer wasps…
17 microbe species, all new to science, that collectively nurture the immune systems of mice. By Carl Zimmer.
“When we target chemophobia, are we punching down?” Fantastic piece on science communication by Janet Stemwedel, inspired by Chris Clarke.
Do you want to read 3,000 words on the evolution of the scrotum? Sure you do.
The original Buzzfeed: bumblebees use sound to eat.
It pains me that we still need to defend the use of metaphors in science writing, but Caleb Scharf does a great job.
Lovely essay in Aeon Magazine on islands, birds, the role of selection vs. chance in evolution, and how politics and personal biases have shaped evolutionary theory. By Lewis Spurgin.
Wow. Eye-opening piece on the inability to patent magic tricks
Joss Whedon on getting stuff done.
Pancreas in the brain, livers growing on kidneys, bones growing in bowels. By Virginia Hughes.
The wonderful story behind the worst video game ever created
Interesting new studies about maternal antibodies & autism, by me in The Scientist.
Science/news/writing
Glass sponges are totally bizarre, and climate change is changing what we know about them
Prostate cancer’s got some nerve.
I stumbled across this brilliant post from last year by Trish Greenhalgh: Less Research Is Needed
Awesome! A summer programme gets kids to print + study dinosaur bones, at the American Museum of Natural History.
Mammals mums might influence babies’ sex.
“Why Has the Number of Scientific Retractions Increased?” New study tries to answer
A metaphor for science, by Ben Lillie’s cat.
Crickets fight more violently when other crickets are watching.
“Anyone can play at being a homicidal user of chemical compounds,” says Deborah Blum.
Octopus survives frigid waters via blue blood.
What Ant Colony Networks Can Tell Us About What’s Next for Human-Engineered Ones. By Deborah Gordon
Razzle dazzle ’em. An illustrated history of unbelievably camouflaged ships
All young ants are massively constipated and only poo once.
WTF? Decapitated Worms Regrow Heads with Memories Still Inside. By Elizabeth Preston.
A profile of Fiona Fox and the Science Media Centre by Ewen Callaway.
Director of heroic “Fukushima 50” dies
Good explainer on HPV cancers in men, by Maggie Koerth-Baker
Science Builds a Better Pie
Caterpillars Can “Blink” A Fake Eye
Claims of Lake Vostok fish get frosty response
Ancient Dinosaur Birds Were Infected With Hepatitis B
Making babies in space: hard to conceive? By Oli Morton.
“Coal burning in China… may have cut more than 5yrs of life expectancy [from] 500 million people”
Choir singers harmonise their voices AND their heartbeats
Turkey’s science agency says evolution is ‘too controversial’ and rejects science school.
How should doctors talk w/ patients about impossible decisions?
Exactly rocket science: Rockets are seeding the skies with clouds!
A brief history of the quest to find another Earth
Right whale wrongs surfer
While constructing additional pylons, gamers are getting a working knowledge of cancer
A sad reminder that organ engineering is still an infant science, as prone to tragedy as it is to miracles
Hawk-Eye at Wimbledon: it’s not as infallible as you think
Hipster toad has weaponised moustache
Slate published a defense of alcoholism that attacks Maia Szalavitz, the best addiction writer out there… who then eviscerated it.
1 in 1000 sea monkeys are males. Yet another mystery in the evolution of sex
Heh/wow/huh
From badass to adorable in half a second
Do not argue on the internet.
Best book cover ever
A coffee mug.
This is what the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones is *meant* to look like.
UFOs, Bigfoot, ghosts: settled.
Meanwhile, metal dinosaur invades Paris.
Heh. Genetics.
All academics should write their bios like this one – brilliant!
Images of science. A thing, made by Ben Lillie.
Just out for a nice drive in the country and WAIT WTF??!?
A Namibian dune gecko licks the dew off its eyes
Portrait of a leafy seadragon
Q: How many sharks does an average sharknado contain? How many are ejected/5-minutes? A: I can’t count that high.
Journalism/internet/society
This disaster relief ad campaign, which says that Facebook likes don’t help, has 5000+ Facebook likes
“I refuse to accept that the only good response to an imperfect technology is to abandon it” – Alexis Madrigal.
Cross-sections of bullets are beautiful and terrifying in equal measure
We’d like our $1.7 million book advance back
Evan Ratliff talks about his new e-book, The Oilman’s Daughter, and about the ambiguity that good non-fiction writers embrace.
A good beginner’s primer on Criticising Science Writing like a Pillock.
Survey shows that the UK public thinks it lives in Newspaper Land, rather than the actual world. Also the Royal Statistical Society doesn’t understand the meaning of “top”.
“How do you decide what will be a story in the first place?” Joe Palca: “The one that amuses me most.”
An ode to blankets: “How they uncover, communicate, and mediate life and death”
Skeptics shouldn’t have lined up with Mail to call psychic a fraud
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
- Follow in the footsteps of Robin Hood in Sherwood ForestFollow in the footsteps of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest
- This chef is taking Indian cuisine in a bold new directionThis chef is taking Indian cuisine in a bold new direction
- On the path of Latin America's greatest wildlife migrationOn the path of Latin America's greatest wildlife migration
- Everything you need to know about Everglades National ParkEverything you need to know about Everglades National Park