I’ve Got Your Missing Links Right Here (29 March 2014)
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Top picks
Excellent piece by Erika Check Hayden on the problems with poorly conducted mouse studies: wasted money, wasted lives, harmed patients.
Great Barrier Reef: an obituary. An immensely sad, interactive tribute to a fallen ecosystem.
The humble heroes of weight-loss surgery are stomach acids and gut microbes. Great piece by Virginia Hughes
The rise of ancient DNA is one of the most spectacular recent developments in biology. Ewen Callaway gives us a tour
EPIC! All 339 books referenced In “Gilmore Girls”. Also, god I miss those people.
How will science confirm this week’s big discovery about cosmic signals from the infant universe? Nadia Drake on the week’s big discovery.
““I had never seen a brain inside out before,” Gazzaley told me. “After that I couldn’t get back to work.” Carl Zimmer on new ways of visualising the brain.
My short feature on camouflage in the natural (and human) world, for New Scientist. Paywall.
Scientists synthesise an entire yeast chromosome from scratch (and with surprisingly heavy edits). By me.
How psychedelics are helping cancer patients fend off despair. Nice to see a piece (and research) on palliative care in cancer.
A gif of the skull of a two-faced calf, getting cleaned by flesh-eating beetles. And the video that inspired it. By Emily Graslie. Not for the faint-hearted.
Robots, robots everywhere: here’s Oliver Morton’s guide to his wonderful Economist special on robots.
“Don’t write a story that is wrong. This is harder than it sounds.” Ian Sample’s excellent tips on good science journalism.
The New Yorker on the quest to apply artificial intelligence to the Chinese board game Go
Science/news/writing
As climate change progresses, Bangladesh will face the consequences earlier than most.
FDA says almost all manufacturers agree to agricultural-antibiotic controls. End of the battle, or just more of the same?
Hypnotic Art Shows How Patterns Emerge From Randomness in Nature
Pterosaurs are amazing, but surprisingly rare. Why?
Cuvier’s Beaked Whale sets new deep diving mammal record at 9,816 ft, 2,500 ft deeper than sperm whale
Lion versus croc, in a fight over hippo
Deep brain stimulation–a tool for treating Parkinson’s, but also a new way of eavesdropping on the brain.
Google Flu has been a spectacular failure. When it comes to Big Data, you can’t polish a turd.
So, why do snakes have two penises? (Post features all the snake penis photos you could possibly want.)
Conchs foil human collectors by evolving to be smaller.
Boom! Kakapo baby boom.
260-million-year-old spider tracks
An homage to Jane Goodall, who turns 80 next week.
Scientists convince people their hands are rocks
Nadia Drake asked a bunch of astronomers to name the Solar System’s biggest surprises
Mesmeric time-lapse scenes of swarming fireflies
A “fire tornado” whirls above a prairie
“Riding, poking, prodding or otherwise harassing a free-swimming large predatory animal for fun is a bad idea.”
18th century biologists made frogs wear tiny pants while having sex
New dwarf planet discovery hints at a hidden Super Earth in solar system
Neurosurgeons successfully implant 3D printed skull
Wagenmakers to priming psychologists: “nut up or shut up”.
Here’s Radiolab on what would happen if we annihilated all mosquitoes
Two halves of a fossil turtle bone are reunited after 163 years.
The de-extinction issue wastes considerable time “debating the consequences of a science that is yet to be realized.”
Squirrels Hibernate So Hard You Can Juggle Them
This post is a hilarious look at the sort of questions that people in medical charities get.
Heh. Classic children’s books that would be ruined by modern medicine
What happens when you put a fly in a particle accelerator? You get a really cool video
Nadia Drake has given the Milky Way 4 billion years to live, unless you concede to her demands.
Jimmy Wales has told a bunch of alternative medicine people moaning about Wikipedia where to stick it
Slo-mo vid of a goshawk flying through variously-shaped small holes
Gonorrhea bacteria hitchhike among people using ‘grappling hooks’ that grab onto semen proteins.
The cost of anti-vaccine fears in a gif. More from NPR
“What is it about meditation that opens the brain up to these kinds of hallucinations?”
When lab scientists used to pipette with their mouths
Homeopathic products recalled because they might contain actual medicine.
This computer can tell when humans are faking pain. More effective torture droids on the way.
Stick insects started mimicking plants 126 million years ago
Interactive images of how animals see the world
The evidence that phthalates damage male fertility is surprisingly strong. By Deborah Blum.
“The revived moss [has] been in a state of suspended animation since the age of King Arthur.”
Rootworm evolves resistance to GM corn, highlighting importance of crop rotation.
Why are there so many frickin’ huge ants?
“It might sound strange, but a shriveling Mercury is not unexpected.”
Add carbon nanotubes to plants to supercharge photosynthesis. Okay but how would you ever apply this in practice?
Weed: a gateway drug through the generations?
Refuting MMR/autism link decreased intent to vaccinate among parents w/ unfavorable vaccine attitudes
The NYT on the new generation of programmed ‘detect and respond’ brain implants for epilepsy
Two twins, separated by space. No, really, By Space.
“As consumers, when we own a black box, we’re letting other people design our world.” The wonderful Aatish Bhatia hacks Kinect to make a dance video
“When Nature Looks Unnatural“—Sean Carroll on the recent discovery about inflation and the early universe.
10 persistent cancer myths and why there’s no evidence to back them up
What was the biggest animal gathering ever? Featuring herring, starlings, and Rod Stewart
Heh/wow/huh
“Mellow.” “Clucky.” “Stentorian grunting.” The mating calls of male tortoises
Dad turns kid vids into amazing superhero feats
Life before the internet
Bravo, Tom Whipple. You win the lede awards.
Huh. Cool things happen when you chuck sand in the air and photograph it with a high-speed camera
Onion: How a Predator drone works
“A recent study has shown that if US parents read one more think piece about parenting they will go f**king apes**t”
Dr Manhattan performs Let It Go from Frozen.
Explaining phylogeny using candy bars
Teacher spoils a Game of Thrones death every time his class gets too noisy
Close-up shots of flames mid-burst look eerily like brains
Check out the winners of the Wellcome Image Awards, from a beautiful nit to a gorgeous kidney stone
The 20 best TED talks ever. This is absolute gold. Mine is basically #17
Internet/journalism/society
A journalist tells his mental illness story
Should you give journalists metrics about their stories?
“References enable TED to fulfil its goal of hosting ‘ideas worth spreading’ rather than mere ‘stories worth telling’.”
Utterly horrifying piece on what happens to ghost flights.
Q&A from Megan Garber, explaining Oculus Rift—Facebook’s recent mega-purchase. I especially like: “Sorry, but this whole thing sounds really nerdy.”
The radiovota: a 1930s “Like” button for the radio… that took 7 hours to register
Retraction Watch is a bastion of solid, important science journalism. Help Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus with a small donation
Solid advice on story structure in book writing, and drawing inspiration from screenwriting.
Reason #7394 to kick the Daily Mail in its pathetic bigoted crotch
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
- Meet the original members of the tortured poets departmentMeet the original members of the tortured poets department
- 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’
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