By
Neuroskeptic |
May 19, 2013 8:29 am
A new paper in the journal European Neurology reports on a remarkable case of perceptual distortion that’ll please any connoisseur of neurogothic:
A 48-year-old woman woke up one morning without knowing where she was. She recognized her husband and finally realized that she was at home, but reported that she felt that all surroundings appeared ‘strange’ to her. She did not report any changes in the shape of furniture, rooms and people, but complained that voices and noises were ‘dinos …
By
Keith Kloor |
May 17, 2013 1:29 pm
Mark Bittman, the popular food writer for the New York Times, has written a column that is almost beyond parody for its unintentional irony. The only way to fully appreciate his lack of self-awareness is to stop and marvel at numerous passages. Let’s start at the top:
Things are bad enough in the food world that we don’t need to resort to hyperbole to be worried or even alarmed.
This is some chutzpah. Here’s Bittman from September 15, 2012:
It’s not an exaggeration to say that almost everyo …
By
Seriously Science |
May 17, 2013 12:00 pm
This article originally appeared in the 2005 BMJ holiday issue, which is known for its tongue-in-cheek “studies”. However, we think this one could easily have been in a mainstream journal, especially certain psychology journals which shall remain nameless… (cough cough).
From Shakespeare to Star Trek and beyond: a Medline search for literary and other allusions in biomedical titles.
“Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To document biomedical paper titles containing literary and other allusions. …
By
Kate Greene |
May 17, 2013 11:54 am
One month down.
On Wednesday we had a party to celebrate. We listened to a retro playlist of The Who, Missy Elliott, Alanis Morissette, and the Monkees. We made spam musubi and chocolate cake. We drank lemonade spiked with dehydrated raspberries, mangos, pineapple and papaya. (Alas, alcohol is not allowed on the mission.) And at sunset, we unveiled a window installed earlier that day, a porthole to lava fields, distant volcanoes and a glorious orange globe. We toasted to the window, to th …
By
Crux Guest Blogger |
May 17, 2013 11:01 am
by Richard Schiffman
The recent boom in fracking has turned America into the Saudi Arabia of natural gas, almost overnight.
Proponents say that this burgeoning industry has ensured U.S. energy independence for years to come, and created a more climate-friendly alternative to dirtier-burning fuels like coal and gas. It has arguably also hastened the demise of the coal industry, as power plants switch in large numbers to the cheaper gas, resulting in U.S. CO2 emissions sinking to their l …
By
Corey S. Powell |
May 17, 2013 11:00 am
After more than four years in space, restlessly searching for planets orbiting other stars, NASA’s Kepler space telescope may have met its demise.
The Kepler project is typically described in terms of raw numbers. As of the last official announcement, it had found 2,740 likely new planets–including 1,200 Neptune-size planets, 350 Earth-size planets, and at least 4 planets that orbit within the “habitable zone” where liquid water can exist. All of those numbers are sure to increase, as mo …
By
Tasha Eichenseher |
May 17, 2013 9:32 am
A paper published this week in Science reviews what we know about the water quality impacts of shale gas development and hydraulic fracturing. And the conclusion is… still not that much.
This despite the fact that “fracking,” as it is commonly called, has been in play since the 1940s – for nearly 80 years – to extract hard-to-reach natural gas deposits.
In their paper, Radisav Vidic, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, and his c …
By
Neuroskeptic |
May 16, 2013 4:09 pm
Is it always good thing to know your limitations?
Over at Scientific American, Samuel McNerney writes about the dangers of learning about common human cognitive biases. The problem is that it’s easy to find out about, say, confirmation bias, and think “Well, it affects other people, but now I know about it, I am immune to it” – and then proceed exactly as you did before, suffering the bias but now with misplaced confidence in your abilities.
I fear that a similar thing is at work in sc …
By
Christie Wilcox |
May 16, 2013 3:52 pm
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!
By
Rebecca Kreston |
May 16, 2013 2:57 pm
This week, I was honored with a Best Life-In-Science Award from ScienceSeeker for my article on the earliest known cases of HIV/AIDS, “The Sea Has Neither Sense Nor Pity: the Earliest Known Cases of AIDS in the Pre-AIDS Era.” There were some serious heavyweight contenders in this inaugural contest and I am beyond delighted that this fascinating story was recognized. It’s nice to be acknowledged (and rewarded!) for work that is largely spent in loud cafes while drinking bitter espresso long gone …
