I’ve Got Your Missing Links Right Here (01 February 2014)
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Top picks
I’ll be giving a TED talk at TED2014 on mind-controlling parasites. I’ve been critical of some of TED’s science talks in the past, but the sci portion of this year’s line-up is particularly solid. This should be fun.
Skunkbear–NPR’s new science Tumblr–is wonderful. Fun, fascinating, and proper crediting!
Flying snakes flatten themselves into a ribbon to glide. Amazingly, they go 4.2 metres forward for every metre dropped. Wingsuits and flying squirrels only manage 2.
We know there’s Neanderthal DNA in the genome of non-Africans. But which genes are affected? 2 new studies weigh in, and I cover it for Nat Geo News.
New study shows how antioxidants speed up the growth of lung cancers. My new piece for The Scientist
Synthetic biology firms shift focus to making food additives and fragrances. Cool story by Erika Check Hayden.
Wow. Children born blind can learn to see as teenagers.
The brain of HM, the most famous neurosci patient, has been sliced, diced & uploaded to the cloud. By Virginia Hughes.
Huge congrats to the talented Jennifer Ouellette, whose new book on the science of self–Me, Myself and Why–is out now. It’s funny, intelligent, and fascinating.
Online game plugs citizen scientists into real biochem lab. See also Brendan Koerner’s wonderful piece on EteRNA
Good piece by Jonathan Eisen on the microbiology of the built environment and studying, not killing, the microbes around us.
Found Mike—a beautiful story about mental health and simple acts of kindness.
The drugs we give our pets are often based on the shoddiest of evidence. Peter Aldhous investigates and is displeased
“Evolution seems less like a march towards complexity and more like a meandering stroll.” Excellent piece by Amy Maxmen.
This leech can survive being dunked in liquid nitrogen. By Douglas Main.
An Indonesia volcano is spewing out electric-blue flames. Pics by Olivier Grunewald.
Rather than fearing bacteria, we’re trying to understand how they contribute to our built environment. By Jonathan Eisen.
News/science/writing
Try not to have a heart attack on the weekend.
People don’t “snap”, and seven other myths of mass murder.
Shirley, a patient who sits on Cancer Research UK’s clinical trials committee, talks about why she got involved
Concentration camp records suggest Nazi scientists planned to release malaria-carrying mosquitoes from airplanes
Man pleads guilty to smuggling 40,000 piranhas into NYC. Also: look how pathetic the street value of a piranha is!
How the brain responds to the tiniest fragments of speech; ignore the mind-reading hed,
First monkeys with customized mutations born; CRISPR gene-editing tech is maturing quickly.
The Evolution of the Metre
From a dead mouse to trillions of microbes.
Mysterious undersea crop circles are the work of poisonous gases and dying grass.
NASA basically made a Transformer that transforms from a rocket into a telescope
Beelzebufo–a prehistoric frog that was basically a giant hopping mouth
Science and journalism make the complex simple; in clumsy hands, simplistic. Nathan Comfort on genetic determinism.
It’s like Blackfish never happened.
DNA from a plague victim’s 1,500-yr-old tooth sheds light on the Plague of Justinian.
Tiny unicellular algae turned into beautiful, miniature works on art
Notl lotl axolotls.
Here’s an interesting piece on procrastination that you should read later.
The whistleblower who helped to expose cloning fraudster Woo Suk Hwang breaks his silence
“They created 2 strains of a hypothetical parasite…” Why ‘Sexual Mind Control’ Is Rare in Nature.
Our Fastest Cameras Are Now 10 Billion Trillion Times Faster Than the First Cameras
An even easier way of making stem cells: just squeeze them or pop them in acid.
The real Dilophosaurus had no frill or venom like Jurassic Park’s version, but looked nastier
X-ray videos of moles swimming through couscous.
Without seminal fluid, male mice can still father offspring but they’re less fertile and their kids are fatter.
“Housed in this single appliance is the most comprehensive &hard-won collection of frog skin secretions in the world”
We Discovered Too Late That Tortoises Are Expert Landscapers
Use of ‘fish aggregating devices’ could be unsustainable
Lumpsucker fish: lumpy, sticky, adorable.
Postpublication “Cyberbullying” and the Professional Self
Creation of the world’s first Peanut Butter and Jellyfish
On cold showers, loneliness, and more problems with John Bargh’s data. See also this.
Dorothy Bishop on what educational neuroscience actually is.
What it’s like to be the only female volcanologist to work in North Korea
Heh/wow/huh
Badass deer gets shot in the neck and kicks the stuffing out of the hunter
Life finds an eBay: Buy Jurassic Park Velociraptor cage, get free raptor
Videos from the hilarious Bad Ad-Hoc Hypotheses Festival are online!
The endoselfie?
CONVINCING FACTS! about vaccines. (The deficit model, not working since at least 1923)
6-Day Visit To Rural African Village Completely Changes Woman’s Facebook Profile Picture
Artist photographs himself slain by movie posters in subway to highlight depiction of violence.
If Newspaper Headlines Were Scientifically Accurate
Weather geeks have it tough.
Man vanquishes shark, stitches up leg, hits pub
Eureka is not a word that scientists say. Here’s what they really say.
XKCD: Is there any way to fire a gun so that the bullet flies through the air and can then be safely caught by hand?
XKCD on Alice and Bob
Doves of peace released by Pope is set upon by a gull and a crow.
Wonderful. National flags made from national foods. Never has patriotism been so delectable.
The Deep Dark Fears Tumblr: sweet, terrifying
Internet/journalism/society
Woman with muscular dystrophy applies for fashion model as joke gets job
Fraudster paid UK government to help promote fake bomb detectors
Deborah Blum talks about her book on poisons, film adaptation, and how she organises her research
The botmaker behind some of the web’s silliest stuff
Carl Zimmer on writing: Don’t build ships in a bottle.
Utterly terrifying aerial shots of razed Syrian neighbourhoods. They look like ashtrays.
How I lost my $50,000 Twitter username – an interesting tale of web security
Shouting “Stay With Me!” at dying people doesn’t work. Alas, Hollywood. (“Cancel the apocalypse!” would probably work.)
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
Science
- LED light treatments for skin are trendy—but do they actually work?LED light treatments for skin are trendy—but do they actually work?
- NASA smashed an asteroid. The debris could hit Mars.NASA smashed an asteroid. 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
Travel
- 2024 will be huge for astrotourism—here’s how to plan your trip2024 will be huge for astrotourism—here’s how to plan your trip
- 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