Latest posts

Frequent Flyers

Posted on 8 August 2011 by Steve Caplan

Somewhat upset by the expensive airline tickets I recently purchased, I decided to post on some of my favorite frequent flyers seen recently in our backyard.

The House Finch--spoiled by the garden feeder

 

These black-capped chickadees have a very pretty song

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Posted in angry cardinal, back garden, birds, butterflyology, frequent flyers, ornithology, science, visitors | Comments Off on Frequent Flyers

A momentary lapse of reason—prologue

Posted on 7 August 2011 by rpg

As promised…

Freesia
“Thank you for the coffee.” He nudged the door open with his fingertips and sniffed. A sharpness in the evening air promised a late frost. Continue reading →
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Book Review – Misha Angrist Here is a Human Being [1]

Posted on 7 August 2011 by Erika Cule

I was reading this book on a train. My friend and fellow passenger asked me what I was reading, and then, whether it was for work or for pleasure. I was momentarily flummoxed. There’s meant to be a difference?

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Posted in book review, book reviews, Fun, genetics, genomics, Here is a human being, Misha Angrist, personal genetics, personal genome project | Comments Off on Book Review – Misha Angrist Here is a Human Being [1]

Whoever Said Life Is Fair?

Posted on 7 August 2011 by Athene Donald

Any parent will be familiar with a child’s endless whine that ‘it isn’t fair’ – that their sibling got the larger slice of cake or that their classmate’s bedtime is half an hour later than theirs. And the parent’s logical repsonse is to say something along the lines of ‘whoever said life is fair?’ That life isn’t fair applies just as much at Continue reading →

Posted in Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships, Equality, funding, Science Funding, the Royal Society, University Research Fellowships, Women in science | Comments Off on Whoever Said Life Is Fair?

Gloom

Posted on 6 August 2011 by Henry Gee

No wonder Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look pensive.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, recently.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, looking pensive. Recently.

Posted in algorithm, eschatologically, hermeneutics, heuristic, paradigm, Politicrox, Silliness, Standard and Poors, triple-A rating, US debt crisis | Comments Off on Gloom

Egocentric and Eccentric–scientists and politicians

Posted on 6 August 2011 by Steve Caplan

Scientists are well known for the eccentricity. Bill Bryson’s wonderful book “A Short History of Nearly Everything” gives some wonderful accounts of the scientists whose seminal findings these past 400 years are the basis of modern science. As one example, he describes the brilliance of Lord Cavendish, a man who was on the one han Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Bryson, David Levy, great frigate, humor, jokes, Lord Cavendish, pufferfish, Research, science, scientists | Comments Off on Egocentric and Eccentric–scientists and politicians

For we all, like sheep

Posted on 5 August 2011 by rpg

Here the UK we have an “e-petition” website, where you can get get a bunch of like-minded people to sign up to your latest crazy idea and if you can find another 99,999 crazies then the Government has said it might consider debating your proposal. There was a lot of fuss yesterday, on twitter and in the news, about a petition to bring b Continue reading →

Posted in abortion, death penalty, rants, wibbling, you | Comments Off on For we all, like sheep

Science, fashion and the best stem cell dress you’ll (n)ever wear.

Posted on 5 August 2011 by Richard Wintle

A shameless cross-post from a topic I started at the Lablit forum.

Stem Cell Fashion

This wonderful dress is part of an exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre, entitled The Beauty of Stem Cells – Fashion Inspired by Stem Cell Research. Unfortunately, I completely failed to photograph much else of it (or to be accurate, took a few other photos that can be chari Continue reading →

Posted in art, education, fashion, Ontario Science Centre, OSC, science, stem cell, The Beauty of Stem Cells, Why not?, Would you wear this? | Comments Off on Science, fashion and the best stem cell dress you’ll (n)ever wear.

A momentary lapse of reason

Posted on 4 August 2011 by rpg

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Before Experimental Heart was published, a discussion at the LabLit fora centered on whether it was possible to write an exciting story that remained true to real lab life. I maintained that it could, and in the best traditions of empiricism set out to prove it by experiment.
Freesia
This led to a collabor Continue reading →

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Science, it’s a bloody marvel [1]

Posted on 4 August 2011 by Stephen

Michael Brooks has scratched beneath the glossy surface of science to write a revealing and thoroughly entertaining book about its practitioners. By cutting so close to the scientific bone that it spills blood, his “Free Radicals” departs violently from the textbook image of white-coated professionalism.

In eight gritty and gripping cha Continue reading →

Posted in book review, History of Science, Michael Brooks, Science & Politics, Scientific Life | Comments Off on Science, it’s a bloody marvel [1]