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A Breakdown of Scientific News Reporting
This is really scary… It’s supposed to be a parody, and it rings true. Is it any wonder the average reader is completely uninterested in science news. It certainly explains why it is increasingly difficult to find news reports on the latest in science efforts and achievements. This is a news website article about a…
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Houston, We Have a Trash Problem
Sean Cooper Wired Magazine, issue 15.05 Outer space is becoming a garbage heap. Some 15,000 pieces of debris, ranging from fingernail-sized paint flecks to 10-ton rocket stages, are hurtling through Earth’s orbit at 5 miles per second — about 10 times as fast as a speeding bullet. And the junk is multiplying, Asteroids-like, as large…
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Skeptics Discount Science by Casting Doubts on Scientist Expertise
from ars technica, via Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour (ep.64) [show notes]… Most surveys of the US public indicate that scientists are popular, trusted figures. The same, however, cannot be said about some of their conclusions, as topics like climate change and evolution remain controversial with many segments of the population. A recent Pew survey gives…
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Polymer Porn
Being a polymer scientist, I can’t look at porn or nudity. So I have to get creative. See the entire series here. (Potentially NSFW if your boss is against, um, polyamory.)
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It’s Alive! (With Your Help)
Jamie Lu Dunbar, the creator of BANG! The Universe Verse, is planning a sequel which will explore the origin and evolution of life on Earth. Where BANG! was fine in black and white (being mostly about space), IT’S ALIVE! would be much more compelling in color. Creating the required color illustrations will require an upgrade…
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Scientific American Science Slideshow
Scientific American Magazine celebrates its 165th anniversary this month, and they’ve put together a slideshow illustrating “the march of progress as seen through the magazine.” Their progress doesn’t appear to march in chronological order, and some of their choices for articles representative of said march seem a little peculiar, but with 165 years of magazines…
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Last Supper with Scientists
Larger version and a description of each scientist at Rational Crank.
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Earth is “Much Younger” Than Previously Thought
For values of “much younger” that are probably only meaningful to geologists. New research suggests that previous estimates of the time needed for Earth to accrete may have been too short. It had been thought that the process would have taken about 30 million years, but an analysis of isotopes from meteorites seems to indicate…
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Lung on a Chip
Researchers at Harvard University have created a functioning, respirating human lung on a chip. It’s about the size of a pencil eraser. That is kind of awesome. (via Unreasonable Faith)
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Earth from Top to Bottom
Our Amazing Planet put together this astonishing infographic showing Earth from 36,000 feet above the surface to 36,000 feet below the ground. It includes the depth to which the Deepwater Horizon rig drilled before the explosion, which is sort of mind-blowing. (via Weird Universe)