I’ve Got Your Missing Links Right Here (15 May 2016)
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Top picks
From me at the Atlantic:
- The Genetics of Staying in School
- The White House Launches the National Microbiome Initiative
- Climate Change Is Shrinking Earth’s Far-Flying Birds
Megan Garber’s epic piece on the history, technology, and sociology of high heels has a superb line in virtually every paragraph. It’s utterly fascinating.
This piece on a (perhaps quixotic) quest to get someone to run a marathon in under 2hrs is full of gold nuggets. By Yannis Pitsiladis
“Leave it to the youngest person in the lab to think of the Big Idea.” Great story about some critical Zika experiments. By Pam Belluck.
I’ve been reading Geoff Manaugh’s A Burglar’s Guide to the City and it’s incredible.
A repeatedly fascinating piece on post-mortem sperm donation by Jenny Morber.
Yes, the ongoing bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef is bad. But it isn’t dead or dying — yet. By Hannah Waters
The Computer Virus That Haunted Early AIDS Researchers. Kaveh Waddell on ransomware that was delivered by floppy disk.
A neuroscientist threatened to sue Jesse Singal when he asked about his side business selling brain tonics
John Oliver does p-hacking, bad science reporting, and oxytocin bullshit. It’s glorious
Computer gleans chemical insight from lab notebook failures
Science
Concerns About Folate Causing Autism Are Premature
The 17-year cicadas are emerging
What Hillary Clinton Says About Aliens Is Totally Misguided
Did a teen discover a lost Mayan city? Not exactly.
This lab is trying to get more ethnic minorities into research studies
Sign language gloves? Not quite
How dust from the Sahara fuels poisonous bacteria blooms in the Caribbean
Siddartha Mukherjee caught some serious flak for a New Yorker piece on epigenetics. Michael Eisen has a good explanation: “Any sufficiently convoluted explanation for biological phenomena is indistinguishable from epigenetics.”
How disease and public health efforts shaped fashion trends
“She has a particular fondness for Iapetus, exomoons, words, and champagne”. Congrats to Nadia Drake for winning this award.
Oh look, 1,284 new Kepler planets
Parasite turns Alaska king crabs into zombies
Elephants winning the war against drones.
Untrue Grit: Daniel Engber versus Angela Duckworth’s self-help-ish psychology book?
BBC’s David Attenborough app will offer over 1,000 clips free
Will Jasha McQueen’s fight for her frozen embryos threaten abortion rights?
The worst-case scenario in using genetically modified mosquitoes to fight Zika is that it won’t work
Does online tool overstate the risk of heart attack and stroke — and the need for statins?
Two countries read the same evidence base on e-cigarettes and come to radically different policies
Mount St. Helens Is Recharging Its Magma Stores, Setting Off Earthquake Swarms
Miscellaneous
Medieval re-enactor takes out drone with spear
This ‘smart typewriter‘ is supposed to free you from your computer
How Dogs Make Friends for Their Humans
What are the most common kinds of coincidences people experience?
Social networks as the seven deadly sins
“Hostile architecture” aims to keep unwanted – homeless, skaters, teens, junkies – from using urban space
On Facebook’s unprecedented cultural power
How Rival Gardens of Eden in Iraq Survived ISIS, Dwindling Tourists, And Each Other
US Army fact-checks fan theory about how much back pay Captain America is due
Go Further
Animals
- Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them?
- Animals
- Feature
Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them? - This biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the AndesThis biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the Andes
- An octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret worldAn octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret world
- Peace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thoughtPeace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thought
Environment
- 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?
- Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security, Video Story
- Paid Content
Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security - Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?
History & Culture
- Strange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political dramaStrange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political drama
- How technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrollsHow technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrolls
- Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?
Science
- The unexpected health benefits of Ozempic and MounjaroThe unexpected health benefits of Ozempic and Mounjaro
- Do you have an inner monologue? Here’s what it reveals about you.Do you have an inner monologue? Here’s what it reveals about you.
- Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of yearsJupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of years
- This 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its timeThis 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its time
Travel
- How to plan an epic summer trip to a national parkHow to plan an epic summer trip to a national park
- This town is the Alps' first European Capital of CultureThis town is the Alps' first European Capital of Culture
- This royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala LumpurThis royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala Lumpur
- This author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomadsThis author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomads