Posts

May 21, 2013

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12:47 PM | USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: A New Faculty Member on the Team

By Kristen Weiss In a few short days, I will be heading to Micronesia with several USC staff and faculty members, as well as 26 bright, enthusiastic USC undergraduates. This trip is the culmination of a semester’s worth of anticipation, in which the students were trained in scientific diving skills, the physics of diving, and [...]

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2:24 AM | #SciAmBlogs Monday – eating healthfully, DSM-5, polyploidy, fecal transplants, non-identical twins, and more.

We have just started a Pinterest page – follow it, and let us know how you like it. - Patrick Mustain – Dear American Consumers: Please don’t start eating healthfully. Sincerely, the Food Industry - Gayle Sulik – Angelina Jolie and the One Percent - Kacy Karlen – Sharing Science Research in the [...]

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12:46 AM | Angelina Jolie and the One Percent

After learning that she had inherited a mutation on one of the so-called breast cancer genes, actress Angelina Jolie decided to have a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer. She also plans to have her ovaries removed to reduce her risk of ovarian cancer. It may sound like a drastic measure, [...]

May 20, 2013

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9:18 PM | A Beautiful Fungus Graveyard

Last month’s UCLA-Leonardo Art|Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) included a fabulous lightning talk from Seri Robinson, a professor of wood anatomy at Oregon State University and a wood artist. She works with wood colored by fungal pigments, exploring the interactions between different species as they grow and bump in to each other to leave behind beautiful [...]

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6:05 PM | See Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in Tightest Night Sky Cluster until 2026

Cicadas aren’t the only scientific rarity expected this month. At the end of May three planets will be visible to the naked eye in one small area of the sky. The planets Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will form “the tightest gathering of three naked-eye planets that the world will see until 2026,” according to the [...]

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1:00 PM | USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The 2013 Guam and Palau Expedition Begins

Every year we take an outstanding group of USC undergraduates through full American Academy of Underwater Sciences Scientific Diver training and then travel with them to the Micronesian Islands of Guam and Palau for investigations of marine and coastal ecosystems. On the American Territory of Guam we look at the effects of overfishing, terrestrial runoff, [...]

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12:12 PM | Sharing Science Research in the Age of Social Media

In the Facebook age, it’s increasingly clear that scientific research and innovation simply can’t be relegated to the informational vacuums or institutional silos of yore. Long before the golden era of all networks social (and even before Alan Alda had a grad program at Stony Brook in communicating science named after him), luminaries including Sagan [...]

May 19, 2013

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7:46 PM | Chimps in Uganda: Resilience

Their chorus of pant hoots gave them away in dramatic fashion. The chimpanzees we’d been looking for were nearby, and we knew exactly where to find them. Though farmland and trees blocked our view, we could hear that the chimpanzees had arrived at a particular fig tree laden with ripe fruits. As ripe fruit specialists, [...]

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3:51 PM | Dear American Consumers: Please don’t start eating healthfully. Sincerely, the Food Industry

Dear Consumers: A disturbing trend has come to our attention. You, the people, are thinking more about health, and you’re starting to do something about it. This cannot continue. Sure, there’s always been talk of health in America. We often encourage it. The thing is, we only want you to think about and talk about [...]

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1:52 AM | 33 Years Ago Today…

… Mount St. Helens exploded with a fury that surpassed expectations. Things have calmed down considerably since that day. Even the trees are growing back. To quote myself, “This is the view of Mount St. Helens from Elk Rock Viewpoint. In the center left, you’ll see Mount Adams peeking over a ridge. In the center, [...]

May 18, 2013

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3:35 PM | Physics Week in Review: May 18, 2013

So much science-y goodness this past week! First up: I have a post at the newly launched Nautilus on the physics of the blues, focusing on the work of J. Murray Gibson. It’s all about the development of the “blue note” and how music, and our perception of musical notes, can shed light on the [...]

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1:15 PM | Deadly Snakes, Ugly Critters, Leonardo DiCaprio and Other Links from the Brink

A deadly but critically endangered snake, one of the world’s rarest birds and a heavily guarded flower are among the endangered species in the news this week. A New Snake with a Sad Story: A gorgeous but extremely dangerous new snake species has been discovered in Honduras. The new palm pit viper has been named [...]

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11:55 AM | Unusual Offshore Octopods: The See-Through “Glass” Octopus [Video]

Octopuses that live in the deep open ocean are difficult enough to find. But try locating a “glass” octopus, which is nearly transparent. Floating in the dim midwaters, this gelatinous octopod looks almost like a be-suckered jellyfish. Rather than camouflaging like most known octopus species, the Vitreledonella richardi has taken this alternative approach to hide [...]

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3:40 AM | #SciAmBlogs Friday – quantum computing, rationalilty, armed Treebeard, Giant African Land Snails, invasive ladybugs, and more.

- Alan Woodward – Is It Quantum Computing Or Not? - Jag Bhalla – What Rational Really Means - Samuel Jones – Bush-crow diaries: Settling in with the Borana - Kalliopi Monoyios – Is Homosexuality Natural? Yes. So is male lactation. - Jamil Zaki – Eliminating political divides through morality: The [...]

May 17, 2013

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11:54 PM | C’mon Baby Light My (Magnetic) Fire

Living in Los Angeles for the last six years, I’ve become quite familiar with the spread of wildfires, with a corresponding deepening respect for Nature’s power. Given the devastation an out-of-control wildfire can cause, it’s not surprising that there’s been quite a bit of research into modeling the specifics of how forest fires spread over [...]

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8:39 PM | With Drones Circling, How Should Lawmakers Respond?

Drones come in a variety of shapes, sizes and capabilities that could greatly improve surveillance for law enforcement and public-safety purposes, whether it’s monitoring forest fires or providing reconnaissance for search-and-rescue operations. This technological diversity has served the U.S. military well, but it has a dark side in threats to personal privacy—and makes drones difficult [...]

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7:56 PM | #DispatchesDNLee: Giant African Land Snails

I see these magnificent shells littered on the ground – in the woods, on lawns, everywhere. It’s the shell of the Giant African Land Snail. In Tanzania, they are native – living in terrestrial habitats or on land. But back in the United States they are an invasive species. Not only do they devour vegetation of most [...]

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2:17 PM | Bush-crow diaries: Settling in with the Borana

As time goes on and as I had expected might be the case, the Bush-crows continue to surprise and perplex me both in their character and peculiarity. This is hardly surprising, however, considering the historic and still very current confusions surrounding the species. Catching birds has proven to be very successful and the sample of [...]

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2:01 PM | Is It Quantum Computing or Not?

This week I had a fascinating discussion on BBC Radio 4 with Dr Geordie Rose, the CTO of DWave, triggered by the news that NASA and Google are investing in DWave’s “quantum computer”. The idea is to set up a facility that is used by both NASA and Google but also allows academics to book [...]

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12:59 PM | Bora’s Picks (May 17th, 2013)

Protecting South America’s Crown of Biodiversity by Anne-Marie Hodge: Visiting a rainforest can be an exercise in challenged expectations. Everyone knows that rainforests are full of life: they teem with species, act as stages for unimaginably intricate food webs, and provide refuge for rare and even undiscovered organisms that exist nowhere else in the [...]

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12:08 PM | Is Homosexuality Natural? Yes. So is male lactation.

As Gwenn Seemel points out in her richly illustrated book, Crime Against Nature, the non-human animal kingdom is chock-full of examples that challenge many of our deeply held beliefs about what is “natural” behavior in everything from sexual preference to lifestyle choices to gender roles and even gender identity. A third gender, male pregnancy and [...]

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2:19 AM | #SciAmBlogs Thursday – Mathematical Organisms, DNA Sequences, Frontal Cortex, green spaces, and more.

- Joselle Kehoe – Quantum Mechanical Words and Mathematical Organisms - Dennis Waters – Why Do Sequences Think They Are So Special? - Kyle Hill – Death By Lens Flare: Drink Into Darkness - Scott Barry Kaufman – Gorillas Agree: Human Frontal Cortex is Nothing Special - Maria Konnikova – Want [...]

May 16, 2013

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8:52 PM | GoPro Passes Grizzly Test

Ever imagine what it would be like to stare down the mouth of a grizzly bear? Well, thanks to Brad Joseph and his GoPro, you can find out. Just look at those teeth and claws! Plus, bonus footage of grizzlies catching fish!

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1:30 PM | What Do Tigers and Kiwi Have in Common? The Answer Lies in Their Genes

At first (and probably second) glance you wouldn’t think that tigers and kiwis have all that much in common. Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) live in India and the surrounding countries, where the predators can weigh more than 220 kilograms. Little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii) live exclusively in New Zealand, where the flightless birds weigh [...]

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1:00 PM | Summer of the Mosquito

I remember last summer as the summer of the mosquito. I wasn’t prepared. Those buzzing, itching, carbon dioxide-seeking missiles chased my family out of the backyard. The long anticipated lazy days laying in the backyard turned into short backdoor jaunts of necessity. No one wanted to take the chance. Mosquitoes were everywhere. So were warnings [...]

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12:26 PM | Quantum Mechanical Words and Mathematical Organisms

Are thoughts more fundamental to our reality than particles? “Well, how can you talk if you haven’t got a brain?” Dorothy asked the scarecrow. And after a moment’s glance toward the sky, he replied honestly, “I don’t know.” Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, an influential mathematician and philosopher, whose work spanned the late seventeenth and early eighteenth [...]

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12:04 PM | Why Do Sequences Think They Are So Special?

We know that the living world depends on sequences of nucleic acids for its existence and ongoing operation. We also know that humans evolved the ability to create, manipulate, and copy acoustic sequences, and later to commit those sequences to the more permanent medium of writing. Finally, we know that our advanced technological civilization is increasingly dependent on storing, moving, and processing bit strings—sequences of zeros and ones. So what is it with sequences? […]

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5:51 AM | Charges dropped against #KieraWilmot, now let’s shower her with science love

#Solidarity4Wilmot prevails. Thank you! Charges dropped against Kiera Wilmot. Yes! And YES!! Anyone else doing backflips? This news, combined with her full expulsion from school (for next year) being over turned makes me very, very happy for her. (Though I’m thinking ahead – would returning to Bartow High School be in her best interest? Others [...]

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3:21 AM | #SciAmBlogs Wednesday – smart dogs, vanishing frogs, cognitive chickens, spotted kiwis, memorable slugs, and more.

Enjoy the newest Video of the Week! - Karen Lips – What if there is no happy ending? Science communication as a path to change - Jag Bhalla – Tools Are In Our Nature - Samuel McNerney – The Bias Within The Bias - Jason G. Goldman – Cognitive Chickens and Memorable [...]

May 15, 2013

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8:46 PM | Goldbach Variations

On Monday, Harald Helfgott of the École Normale Supériure in Paris posted a proof of one of the oldest open problems in number theory to the preprint repository arxiv. The ternary Goldbach conjecture, like so many questions in number theory, is easy to state but hard to prove. Every odd number greater than 5 can [...]