Monthly Archives: June 2011

Geeky Grossness Gauntlet

Posted on 30 June 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Long-time readers may remember my friend Kyrsten’s famous guest post about Bob the bot fly. Bob in March 2008. Commenters’ reactions on the original post ranged from mild (“kinda icky”) to ambivalent (“horrible.

Posted in blog wars, career, freakishness, Medicine, Meta, monkeys, nature, personal, photos, science, Silliness, TMI | Comments Off on Geeky Grossness Gauntlet

Numb or Numbered? Part 2.

Posted on 30 June 2011 by Stephen

Back in April — it seems so long ago now — I wrote about the problems created in university life science courses by the relatively low uptake of maths by the student intake. It provoked a very long and thoughtful … Continue reading →

Posted in Maths, science, Science & Politics | Comments Off on Numb or Numbered? Part 2.

Not another new open access journal

Posted on 29 June 2011 by Frank Norman

Or, rather, not just any other new open access journal. The Wellcome Trust, the Max Planck Society and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have announced that they are to launch a new top-tier open access journal for biomedical and life … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal publishing, Open Access | Comments Off on Not another new open access journal

Google: how to un-personalise your search

Posted on 29 June 2011 by Frank Norman

Google never stands still. It is forever seeking to improve the way it tries to match your search request to its database, and then to show you potentially useful websites. Mostly we are not aware of how it does this, … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Searching, Social meda | Comments Off on Google: how to un-personalise your search

Visual cymbal

Posted on 29 June 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Here’s an astounding slo-mo video of a cymbal strike: Isn’t that amazing?! I mean, you know at some intellectual level that sound is a wave caused by the vibration of a solid object… but actually seeing that?

Posted in Music, science, videos | Comments Off on Visual cymbal

For Women in Science (FWIS Fellowships)

Posted on 27 June 2011 by Athene Donald

Prizes for Women? Again? What more can I possibly have to say, having written twice (here and here) in different veins on this subject already.  Tomorrow I chair the jury to judge this year’s L’Oreal/UNESCO For Women in Science UK … Continue reading →

Posted in career progression, Communicating Science, Equality, L'Oreal For Women in Science, role models, Royal Society, Women in science | Comments Off on For Women in Science (FWIS Fellowships)

Teaching

Posted on 27 June 2011 by Henry Gee

Many years ago when the world was young and I was feeling depressed with my lot I wondered, as I occasionally do, whether I could cut it as a science teacher. I have had some school teaching experience, and teaching … Continue reading →

Posted in Politicrox | Comments Off on Teaching

Seeking reader input on internal pre-submission grant review practices

Posted on 26 June 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I received the following email last week: “Hello All: As  you are aware there has been some discussion about the relevance of the form 100 as part of the grant application package. At the Department Head meeting yesterday it was … Continue reading →

Posted in career, grant wrangling | Comments Off on Seeking reader input on internal pre-submission grant review practices

Mystery Marks [18]

Posted on 26 June 2011 by KristiV

There are mystery birds, and mystery fish, and mystery skulls, and today I present mystery marks for you to identify: What made the marks on the hindquarters of this horse? Bonus points if you also identify the breed of horse.

Posted in fluff, horses, mysteries | Comments Off on Mystery Marks [18]

Libel Reform – where are we?

Posted on 26 June 2011 by Stephen

Regular readers of this blog will be probably be aware of the ongoing campaign to reform the libel laws of England and Wales. These laws have pernicious effects in many aspects of public life — including science and medicine. They … Continue reading →

Posted in ben goldacre, Libel Reform, Parliament, science, Science & Politics, simon singh | Comments Off on Libel Reform – where are we?