I’ve Got Your Missing Links Right Here (Oct. 3, 2015)
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Top picks
Me at the Atlantic:
- The Surprising Genealogy of Your Brain
- How People Living at Earth’s Extremes Reveal the Genome’s Best Tricks
- Save the Parasites (Seriously) Alex Witze profiles four diverse voices in the debate over building a huge telescope on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea
Here’s Nadia Drake on the recent news about flowing water on Mars, Lee Billings on why searching for life in that water will be really hard, and Rachel Feltman on our reaction to science news: ” Do we really have to pick between accepting things wholesale and becoming convinced we’re being duped?”
Jamie Shreeve’s piece on Homo naledi is amazingly good.
“An Alfred Hitchcock film helped to prove one patient had been conscious while in a coma-like state for 16 years” By Tom Stafford.
Science/news/writing
“Scientists are just specially-educated versions of the guys in the coffee shops.”
Every Solar System Image You’ve Ever Seen is Wrong. Till Now.
Researchers identify a handful of genes that help bacteria in the mouse gut adapt to dietary changes.
The Ambon damselfish can tell individuals apart from their faces
Scientists warn that gene-edited micropigs may be a distraction from more serious researDAAWWWW LOOKIT SO CUUUUTE
“The organizers of a conference for stutterers argue that the condition should be considered just another way of speaking”
Bill Gates Just Gave $6 Million To Genetically Engineer An HIV Vaccine (that’s not really a vaccine)
Resting bitch connectomes are totally going to be a thing. (Some of the language in this piece is pretty troubling.)
Shell is abandoning its controversial Arctic drilling plans
“Science is a great democratizer in its way: It allows people to do what they want with the facts”
“Cormorants, it turns out, have been exasperating people in many places for many, many years”
An effort to sequence thousands of people’s genomes reaches the end of the beginning.
How a Fossil Can Reveal the Color of a Dinosaur
CT scans of Pompeii victims show that they had perfect teeth
In the absence of a blood meal, some malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in East Africa feed on an invasive weed
Bacteria in ancient flea may [probably not] be ancestor of the Black Death
Next up from climate change: shell-crushing crabs invading Antarctica
Wait, WHAT? Hawksbill turtles are flourescent?
When it comes to cancer, is one metaphor better than another?
Heh/wow/huh
Fantastic and sometimes surprising aerial photographs of London
A compilation of every time R2D2 screams.
Volcanically induced lightning is AMAZING.
The two times I’ve dialled into a press conference, this has been exactly my reaction
Nation Demands NASA Stop Holding Press Conferences Until They Discover Some Little Alien Guys
Epic work on this headline
Internet/journalism/writing
The only thing I have to add to Megan Garber’s ode to MacGyver is a nod towards the EPIC THEME SONG
The ladder at the center of a centuries-old religious tussle
“Judgmental moralizers have had a heyday with Pompeii over the years.”
How do you pitch a freelance story to a site or magazine? Some quick advice for those new to pitching
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