I’ve Got Your Missing Links Right Here (4 April 2015)

ByEd Yong
April 04, 2015
3 min read

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Top picks

Welcome the wonderful Maryn Mckenna to the Phenomena network, with her new blog—Germination—on antibiotics, food, agriculture, and more. Here’s her first post on whether Easter chicks are bad for you.

“When the customer returns for dinner, the manager presents the live pangolin to the table.” Sad story by Rachel Nuwer on one of the world’s most trafficked animals.

The hunt for cute viral content is driving cruelty to wildlife. Consider that before sharing those photos of dancing frogs.

New Facebook App Wants To Test Your DNA. Will the FDA get involved? By Virginia Hughes

Thomas Gray lived six days, but his life has lasting impact.” An amazing story on organ donations by Michael Vitez

The fungus “pretends, on separate occasions, to be both to be a flower and a pollen grain, and its acts are so successful that it manages to fool both the bumblebee and the blueberry bush.” By Jennifer Frazer

The dystopian lake filled by the world’s tech lust. By Tim Maugham.

“Can two forces threatening the sustainability of sharks—the fishermen of Mexico and consumers in China—help the fish survive?” By Erik Vance

Great account by John Platt on how zoos acquire endangered animals, like orang-utans, that were bred in captivity

“I started giving these flies funny names: this one’s genitalia look like bunny ears, I’ll name it ‘Bunny’.” Emily Hartop on how she discovered 30 new species of flies in Los Angeles.

News/science/writing

Did A Soviet Psychiatrist Identify Autism In 1925?

What the “Swiss cheese model” of error can teach us about medicine, featuring the wonderfully named Dr Reason.

Are Microbes the Taste-Makers of the Future?

Along Roadsides and Power Lines, Hope for Bees and Butterflies

Largest Rhino Airlift Ever to Move 100 At-Risk Animals

“[They] chose the Greek name Kryptonia because it means hidden or secret, and because it evokes Superman”

Unpowered boots improve on evolution, reduce costs of walking by 7%.

I’m going to interpret this as evidence of flute-playing hyenas.

Amazing tiny birds fly without landing for three days

Red Meat Is Not the Enemy

“The overall effect is of a lobster tail that’s out for revenge on those who drew butter against it.”

Mini enzyme moves gene editing [a tiny bit] closer to the clinic

Smarter people make better teachers … or do they?

Glowing tampons are an important scientific tool to detect water pollution

Moths Fondly Remember Plant Species Where They Lost Their Virginity

The universality of human experience at 7pm.

NYC ants have a taste for junk food

Depression isn’t what you think it is.

Johns Hopkins sued for $1 billion over role in 1940s experiments that infected 1000+ Guatemalans with syphilis

Why floating balls might make your babies act like little geniuses

Tracking the origins of prostate cancer. Fascinating about the metastases created by union of of different clones.

God, talk about the cure being worse than the disease…

Internet/society/journalism

The horror of Amazon’s new dash button.

“Were We Too Hard on Jonah Lehrer? A new book says yes. The facts say no.”

Cards Against Humanity science expansion pack

Beware of Franzen high places. The Audobon Society on Jonathan Franzen’s disingenuous letter on climate.

 

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