I’ve got your missing links right here (16 November 2013)
Sign up to The Ed’s Up – a weekly newsletter of my writing and other activities. Here’s an example.
Top picks
“’I think it’s fair to say I’ve studied more dinosaur faeces than most,’ she says modestly.” Great piece on Karen Chin, who’s the world’s leading expert on dinosaur dung. By Eliza Strickland.
Fourier transforms are everywhere. Aatish Bhatia explains what they are with amazing clarity. Man, that guy’s good.
How molecular autopsies could save the living. Fascinating piece by Jeanne Erdmann.
An essential piece on why breast cancer screening is a triumph of marketing but not of evidence-based medicine. By Amos Zeeberg.
John Hawks and Lee Berger have been doing an amazing job of live-tweeting their own expedition that’s digging up hominid fossils! Here’s a great write-up by Andrew Howley at Nat Geo, and a video.
Domestic dogs originated alongside European hunter-gatherers, from a breed of wolf that is probably extinct. By me.
“On a basic factual level, Gladwell doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about.” This one’s about the Beatles, but I love that Malcolm Gladwell refutations are now a genre.
26 stories from women who’ve had abortions. Frequently heartbreaking, sometimes uplifting, required reading.
This is fantastic. The presence of acacia trees is linked to the number of traffic fatalities.
Argentine car mechanic dreams up tool praised for enormous potential to save babies in poor countries
Why does wine get legs? Wonderful video by Dan Quinn. And Robert Krulwich’s thoughts on the video are well worth reading.
“The conflation of faith as “unevidenced belief” with faith as “justified confidence” is simply a word trick,” says Jerry Coyne.
A touching history of the taxidermy of Jumbo the elephant. Don’t miss Henry Nicholl’s new Animal Magic blog at the Guardian.
OOH, now *that’s* an interesting idea. Was Archaeopteryx in the process of *losing* the ability to fly?
HA! The brilliant Neuroskeptic goes all Ambrose Bierce on neuroscience.
Such deep roots you have: really cool study on the evolution of the Little Red Riding Hood story, by Alan boyle.
How the western black rhino went extinct, by John Platt.
Cetacean needed: Why did Russia, a country w/ so little use for whales, kill 180,000 of them, 50 yrs ago? By Charles Homans
This animated comic is utterly beautiful, and drenched in childhood nostalgia.
“Each step we take is an arrested plunge, a collapse averted, a disaster braked.” – on Paul Salopek’s epic attempt to trace the footsteps of humanity in a long walk
This chat between Ben Lillie, Ann Finkbeiner and Hope Jahren is the best ever obituary for Luis Alvarez.
Science/news/writing
You really don’t have to fear the brown recluse.
As a first step, “it will be a symbolic act but symbolism matters.” Bryan Christy on the USA’s destruction of its ivory stockpile.
Lyme bacteria show that evolvability is evolvable
Do dodo bones belong in a museum? Compelling piece by Jack Ashby argues “Not always.”
Good piece on the farcical scramble to work out what the BRAIN Initiative actually is, months after it was announced. By Helen Shen.
Scientists list the top ten irreplaceable nature reserves on Earth. I’ve been to two; eight to go.
Richard Lenski blogs about his new paper on his 50,000-generation evolution experiment
Terrifying new twist on rubber hand illusion, featuring you tongue. is terrifying stuff
Infants develop rare bleeding disorder after parents refuse vitamin K shots, CDC reports
First case of new bird flu H6N1 found in 20-year-old woman
A new study, in which a researcher let a sand flea grow inside her skin
You could totally print your own realistic, life-size woolly mammoth skeleton.
Some Dead Satellites Refuse to Go Quietly to Their Graves
A #sciencespark collection by Ben Lillie. What got people into science?
How the Mosses That Got Run Over by a Glacier Survived Their Ordeal. By Jennifer Frazer. Featuring “Will It Blend: The Moss Edition”.
Doing it right: a nice story of how a journal helped me to get a better story
“Carl Sagan means absolutely nothing to me.” Erin Podolak calls for a little less hero worship in sci-comm.
There are 636,120 ways to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (#PTSD), apparently
Chemoprevention and the race against malaria resistance in Africa, by Amy Maxmen.
So long, and thanks for all the fish. Dolphins. No.
There was once a ‘walrus whale’
How to Destroy a Pile of Chemical Weapons
Gigantic cave has its own weather
How our minds went viral
The hottest guppies stand out from the crowd.
Accusations of fraud spur a revolution in scientific publishing. “PubPeer, which is becoming the Reddit of the science world…”
To Solve a Social Problem, You Need More Than a Theory — You Need a Randomized Controlled Trial
“Just significant” results have been around for decades in psychology — but have gotten worse
Kevin Bonham very neatly considers and rebuts the arguments for GMO-labeling
“Frontiers for Young Minds” – a neuroscience journal written for & reviewed by kids:
When used to describe animal behaviour, the word “promiscuous” is unhelpful and almost never right.
Dolphin-Killing Virus Spreads South, May Be Infecting Whales.
Sleep: when you literally rinse the crap out of your brain.
A Living Sabertooth
Johnson “advocates for scientists to use more stringent P values of <0.005″. Boom.
Why do humans hate poo so much?
Animals often move in ways engineers find counter-intuitive, like this incredible glass knifefish
What happens when an entomologist develops a fear of bugs?
US courts see rise in defendants blaming their brains for criminal acts
Nice, thoughtful piece from PZ Myers about how far research has come over the years
Are there words that are universally understood, across all countries and cultures? Linguists proposed one: “huh.”
Heh/wow/huh
Scientific paper title gets ever so slightly out of hand. Also: The bluntest title I’ve ever seen in an academic journal.
Globular springtail walks through a magical forest of slime mold. [photo: Dmitri Pavlov]
Watch the guy in the white shirt on the bike at the top-centre of the screen. Don’t stop till the very end.
Entire Alphabet Found on the Wing Patterns of Butterflies
When people say they’ve gone for a run, I ask if a predator was chasing them. Say it enough times…
Tiny green sea umbrellas!
Dinovember, when your plastic dinosaurs come to life
An amazing Masterchef parody.
A rabbit with some good life advice
First ever vid of rediscovered moss-mimicking mantis
I hope that Ross Piper’s new coffee-table book on the animal kingdom comes with glossy paper because I intend to drool all over it.
XKCD on dumb articles about how tech will change us
List of eponymous laws
Society/internet/journalism
Epic analysis of films that pass/fail the Bechdel test, by year, genre, director, country & more.
“For the First Time Ever, a Prosecutor Will Go to Jail for Wrongfully Convicting an Innocent Man”
“Ruin porn resonates with us today because it is an unmediated experience in a mediated culture.”
Competitive laughing? Ironically, this just makes me want to cry
“How feminism hurts men”. A satirical role reversal that shows how ludicrous this sentiment is.
Before Twitter was named “Twitter”, suggestions included Throbber, Smssy, and Friendstalker
Brendan Koerner storyboards his narratives. Here’s how
I like Annalee Newitz’s theory of viral journalism and the “valley of ambiguity”
Man ate dog who saved him from bear.
Look, a shadowy cabal that decides whether buildings are tall. They’ve just decided on this.
Soon, you won’t need Internet access to read Wikipedia. You can get it by text message.
Aeon are making documentaries now?!? Is there no stopping those fine people?
The world’s oddest jobs, including a dinosaur duster.
Go Further
Animals
- These 'trash fish' are among Earth's most primitive animalsThese 'trash fish' are among Earth's most primitive animals
- These photos are works of art—and the artists are bugsThese photos are works of art—and the artists are bugs
- The epic migration of a 6-foot long, 200-pound catfishThe epic migration of a 6-foot long, 200-pound catfish
- Frans de Waal, biologist who studied animal emotion, dies at 75Frans de Waal, biologist who studied animal emotion, dies at 75
Environment
- Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet? The answer isn't clear-cut.Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet? The answer isn't clear-cut.
- This year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning signThis year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning sign
- The U.S. just announced an asbestos ban. What took so long?The U.S. just announced an asbestos ban. What took so long?
- The most dangerous job? Inside the world of underwater weldersThe most dangerous job? Inside the world of underwater welders
- The harrowing flight that wild whooping cranes make to surviveThe harrowing flight that wild whooping cranes make to survive
History & Culture
- Meet the powerful yokai that inspired the demon king in ‘Demon Slayer’Meet the powerful yokai that inspired the demon king in ‘Demon Slayer’
- A surprising must-wear for European monarchs? Weasels.A surprising must-wear for European monarchs? Weasels.
- Meet the woman who made Polaroid into a cultural iconMeet the woman who made Polaroid into a cultural icon
- Inside the observatory that birthed modern astrophysicsInside the observatory that birthed modern astrophysics
- See how Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr around the worldSee how Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr around the world
Science
- NASA smashed an asteroid with a rocket. The debris could hit Mars.NASA smashed an asteroid with a rocket. The debris could hit Mars.
- Humans really can have superpowers—scientists are studying themHumans really can have superpowers—scientists are studying them
- Why engineers are concerned about aging infrastructureWhy engineers are concerned about aging infrastructure
- The benefits of eating the peels on your fruits and veggiesThe benefits of eating the peels on your fruits and veggies
- The island of Santorini is hiding an explosive secretThe island of Santorini is hiding an explosive secret
Travel
- Play and stay in the mountains of eastern Nevada
- Paid Content
Play and stay in the mountains of eastern Nevada - This couple quit the city to grow wasabi in Japan's mountainsThis couple quit the city to grow wasabi in Japan's mountains
- This Swedish overnight train takes you straight to the northern lightsThis Swedish overnight train takes you straight to the northern lights