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Items tagged with: science
I was on WUNC earlier today to chat about The #Science of Kissing on NPR’s Embodied.
It was a treat to meet the other guest, Kadar Small, a photographer, director & filmmaker behind the acclaimed photo series “PDA.” Kadar photographs moments of kissing & intimacy between Black & brown queer folks in public & at home, exploring what this kind of connection looks like through his work.
Listen at https://www.wunc.org/show/embodied-radio-show/2023-05-26/our-lips-are-unsealed-exploring-the-science-culture-of-kissing-intimacy #lgbtq #art #books
Our Lips are Unsealed: Exploring the Science & Culture of Kissing
Kissing-like behaviors exist across the animal kingdom. But why? A scientist explains why humans are so drawn to each other's lips, and a photographer documents the power of a kiss.Kaia Findlay (WUNC)
Democratic Underground shared this quote from my 2009 book, Unscientific America, as a quote for the day.
It’s interesting to return to in 2023, especially given my research on scientific decision making in Congress. I’m not quite sure how I would change it at first glance, but my perspective is more nuanced 14 years later. #science #democracy #politics
We’re still discovering ancient species...
Millions of years before dinosaurs evolved, the saber-toothed Inostrancevia africana was “kind of the T.rex of their time.”
Incidentally, this apex predator was wiped out due to global warming during the Permian-Triassic Extinction. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/science/saber-tooth-fossil-south-africa.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare #science #nature #evolution
A Saber-Toothed Permian Predator From Long Before Evolution Came Up With Cats
As an extinction crisis wiped out species at the end of the Permian Period, a predatory species emerged that dominated Southern Africa’s domain.Jeanne Timmons (The New York Times)
Have you ever watched a starling murmuration?
That’s when thousands of #birds seem to dance in spectacular formation, whirling & swirling gracefully across the sky. https://youtu.be/V4f_1_r80RY #nature #science
Scientists, engineers, mathematicians, & citizen scientists have been exploring what’s happening inside murmurations: https://theconversation.com/why-do-flocks-of-birds-swoop-and-swirl-together-in-the-sky-a-biologist-explains-the-science-of-murmurations-176194 @TheConversationUS
Flight of the Starlings: Watch This Eerie but Beautiful Phenomenon | Short Film Showcase
We know a lot of factual information about the starling—its size and voice, where it lives, how it breeds and migrates—but what remains a mystery is how it f...YouTube
Born in 1919, Isabella Aiona Abbott became the first native Hawaiian woman to earn a PhD in #science.
A preeminent marine botanist, Abbott became the 1st woman & 1st person of color to become a full professor in Stanford’s Biology dept. She wrote 8 books, >150 articles & was awarded the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal by the National Academy of Sciences.
In 2005, Abbott was named a “Living Treasure of Hawaii” by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. https://woc.aises.org/content/isabella-aiona-abbott-becoming-“first-lady-limu” #HistoryRemix #history
A wee bit of personal news…
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced this year’s regional Emmy nominations & Serving up Science, the quirky PBS series I write & host, has received two - including one for host ☺️
https://www.wkar.org/2023-05-16/wkar-storytellers-receive-2023-regional-emmy-nominations #tv
You really never know where a career in #science will lead. It’s an honor to be nominated & I’m incredibly grateful to work with such a wonderful team at WKAR!
WKAR Storytellers Receive 2023 Regional Emmy® Nominations
EAST LANSING, MI; May 16, 2023 – The talented storytellers at WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University have earned 13 Regional Emmy® nominations for their productions.WKAR
“Science has had enormous trouble building a workforce that reflects the public it serves. And now, numerous state governments are trying to make it more difficult, if not impossible, at the public universities in their states & even within the scientific community, there are efforts to derail the idea that it matters who does science.”
https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/it-matters-who-does-science #science
Born in 1906, computer scientist Grace Hopper invented the first compiler for computer programming language & was among the first programmers of the Harvard Mk1 computer.
Hopper popularized the idea of machine-independent programming languages & paved the way to develop COBOL (an early high-level programming language). She originated the term "bug" to describe computer glitches & became a celebrated Rear Admiral in the US Navy.
https://news.yale.edu/2017/02/10/grace-murray-hopper-1906-1992-legacy-innovation-and-service #HistoryRemix #science #history
Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992): A legacy of innovation and service
On Feb. 11, President Peter Salovey announced that he and the Yale Corporation had voted to change the name of Calhoun College, one of the university's undergraduate residential colleges, to honor alumna Grace Murray Hopper.YaleNews
A cartoon from 2018 that I republished over the holidays: Understanding the world through careful observation of reality isn't "partisan."
#comic #climate #climatechange #climatecrisis #cartoon #science
What's the world's deadliest animal?
The answer may surprise you. https://www.gatesnotes.com/Most-Lethal-Animal-Mosquito-Week #science #nature
The deadliest animal in the world
Bill Gates introduces Mosquito Week on his personal blog, the Gates Notes. Everything posted this week is dedicated to this deadly creature. Mosquitoes carry devastating diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis.gatesnotes.com
Many folks on Mastodon follow me bc I share the stories of trailblazers & pioneers in & out of #science who don’t get enough recognition, but changed our world in remarkable ways.
So it should be no surprise that I’m thrilled to receive “On The Shoulders of Giants” by Brian Lenahan & Kenna Hughes-Castleberry about 10 women & men you may not have heard of who shaped our understanding of quantum physics. (Yes, that’s my blurb on the back). https://kennacastleberry.com/#books
kennahughescastleberry.com
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is a writer, podcaster, and science communicator. She currently works as the Science Communicator at JILA, and is the Editor-in-Chief of their journal Light & Matter.kennahughescastleberry.com
The “Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity” division at the @mpi_grav
in Potsdam is looking for a Scientific Programmer:
Born in 1902, botanist & cytogeneticist Barbara McClintock became a pioneer in modern genetics by changing our understanding of inheritance.
She proposed that genomic replication does not always follow a consistent pattern, which wasn’t widely accepted at the time. She also contributed new cytogenetic research techniques & was the first scientist to correctly speculate about epigenetics.
In 1983, McClintock was awarded a Nobel Prize. https://www.nobelprize.org/womenwhochangedscience/stories/barbara-mcclintock #HistoryRemix #science #history
The Nobel Prize | Women who changed science | Barbara McClintock
Throughout her career, Barbara McClintock studied the cytogenetics of maize, making discoveries so far beyond the understanding of the time that other scientists essentially ignored her work for more than a decade.www.nobelprize.org
Today I learned the word ‘scientist’ was coined in 1834 to describe Mary Somerville, replacing the term ‘man of science’.
https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/12/26/mary-somerville-scientist/
Meet Mary Somerville: The Brilliant Woman for Whom the Word “Scientist” Was Coined
How a Scottish polymath forever changed the course of gender in science and made a high art of connecting the seemingly disconnected.The Marginalian
Beatrix Potter is best remembered for her charming tales of Peter Rabbit, but did you know she also studied #science?
Potter collected & examined beetles, butterflies, plants, bird eggs, shells, rocks, fossils & especially fungi. She conducted experiments & wrote a scientific paper with her own illustrations, presented at the Linnean Society of London. However, as a woman in the Victorian era, she couldn’t even attend the meeting. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/arts/design/beatrix-potter-peter-rabbit-science.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare #HistoryRemix #history #art #books
Beatrix Potter Is More Than the Creator of Peter Rabbit
An exhibition in Nashville of Beatrix Potter’s works explores her love of the world of science and the challenges facing women of the Victorian era.Tanya Mohn (The New York Times)
Rosalind Franklin update!
“A new paper based on long-lost documents confirms that DNA discoverer Rosalind Franklin should be credited for discovering the double helix.”
https://www.livescience.com/health/genetics/rosalind-franklin-knew-dna-was-a-helix-before-watson-and-crick-unpublished-material-reveals?fbclid=IwAR3AhaUWlB4QejBW6ESk1IAn-IPKqF8PUUs4KHPbZ2jMnQcCgCDcGPOjA74#lgymp4kotadc1a3pafg #HistoryRemix #history #science /2
Concerned about the potential use of nuclear weapons during WWII, Moussa organized the Atomic Energy for Peace conference.
She was likely assassinated at age 35 in a case that remains unsolved. More by Kenna Hughes-Castleberry https://arstechnica-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/arstechnica.com/science/2023/04/the-strange-tragic-story-of-egypts-foremost-female-nuclear-scientist/amp/ #HistoryRemix #science #history
became the first Black woman to graduate from medical school in the U.S.
Despite facing extreme racism & sexism, she practiced medicine with a focus on women & children. She also provided medical care to freed slaves.
In 1883, Dr. Crumpler published her Book of Medical Discourses, which was one of the first medical publications written by a Black author. There are no existing photos of her. https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_73.html #HistoryRemix #history #science
For ~50 years, these flightless #birds were presumed extinct, but they were rediscovered in 1948.
Today there are less than 500 takahē left, but numbers have been increasing through successful conservation measures.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/takahe/ #SharedPlanet #conservation #science
In 1889, Picotte became the first female Native American to earn a medical degree in the U.S. She raised funding & opened Wathill Hospital in 1913 - the first private hospital on a reservation. https://drsusancenter.org/dr-susan #HistoryRemix #history #science
Weighing almost 40lbs (18kg) with a wingspan up to ~10ft (3m), they likely feasted on the gigantic moa birds I described in an earlier post. Maori oral tradition also suggests they may have attacked human children.
So what happened to this fierce apex predator? Once the moa disappeared due to excess hunting after the arrival of people, Haast’s eagle followed around 1400. https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/haasts-eagle. #SharedPlanet #science #nature
In 2016, data scientist Randy Olson optimized the route of 14,498 miles (23,333 km) which would take 2+ months. He even designed the journey as a circle so you can begin at any point & direction.
All the details: https://randalolson.com/2016/07/30/the-optimal-u-s-national-parks-centennial-road-trip/ #science #data #nature #travel
Dr. Randal S. Olson | The Optimal U.S. National Parks Centennial Road Trip
Randy Olson shows how to create an optimized road trip that visits the U.S. National Parks.randalolson.com
Living in the forest canopy, the Talaud bear cuscus eats leaves & fruit. It also helps to limit invasive plants.
We know very little about this quiet & rare species, which scientists believe inhabits just 4 Indonesian islands. I hope we work to protect it before it disappears forever. https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/to-win-island-wide-conservation-indonesias-talaud-bear-cuscus-needs-to-win-hearts/ #SharedPlanet #nature #science
To win island-wide conservation, Indonesia’s Talaud bear cuscus needs to win hearts
In northern Indonesia dwells a shy and overlooked species: the Talaud bear cuscus. Critically endangered and found on only a few small islands, the marsupial faces a decline due to hunting and habitat loss.Philip Jacobson (Conservation news)
In 1936, Shilling joined The Royal Aircraft Establishment. 5 yrs later, she led a team that designed a device to prevent Merlin plane engines from stalling during flight, which helped the Allies win WWII.
Shilling was also the 2nd woman to earn a Brooklands Gold Star for lapping the track at >100mph. https://www.wes.org.uk/sites/default/files/u82/Magnificent%20Women%20-%20Beatrice%20Shilling.pdf #HistoryRemix #science #history #women
It’s now part of the National Science Policy Network - a network of advocates for science, built by & for young scientists. They will carry the mission forward, pressing U.S. candidates to address #science #policy issues like #ClimateChange, #energy & public health before the 2024 election.
I’m so excited to watch them shine!
For more on how to volunteer or get involved: https://www.scipolnetwork.org/science-on-the-ballot
At this scale, humans emerged so recently that we could be filed off from a microscopic slice at the very tip of a fingernail.
Infographic by Katie Scott from original article in Nautilus. Details at https://ncse.ngo/deep-time-really-really-deep-man #space #time #science #SharedPlanet
Deep time is, like, really, really deep, man | National Center for Science Education
Have you heard the joke about the museum guide who, when asncse.ngo
Fascinating new research using microphones captured ultrasonic crackles from plants that are water-deprived or injured. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00890-9 #nature #science
Stressed plants ‘cry’ — and some animals can probably hear them
Microphones capture ultrasonic crackles from plants that are water-deprived or injured.Marris, Emma
Eventually, she began experimenting & writing about #science. Her interests spanned fields from astronomy to chemistry to physics. Mary published articles & books & is now celebrated as a mathematician, scientist & writer.
Along with Caroline Herschel (see earlier #HistoryRemix post), she became one of the first 2 honorary members of the Royal Astronomical Society. https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.3817
It's Coming For FL
FL may be doomed....as If that Wasn't Obvious for other Reasons
#Science #Events #FL
The Continent-Sized Algae Blob That’s Coming for Florida
Get a free bag of fresh coffee with any Trade subscription at http://drinktrade.com/haiGet a Half as Interesting t-shirt: https://standard.tv/collections/hal...YouTube
Meanwhile, there are ~70 thousand million, million, million stars in the observable universe - a figure vastly surpassing all of those grains of sand. The universe is immense, breathtaking & beyond imagination ✨
“A leak of a draft of the Intergovernmental Panel on #ClimateChange (#IPCC) report..has been particularly enlightening when it comes to just how much how delegations negotiate, watered down & delete scientists’ findings.”
https://qz.com/ipcc-report-on-climate-change-meat-industry-1850261179 #science #food
The meat industry blocked the IPCC’s attempt to recommend a plant-based diet
A leaked draft revealed how the meat industry is obstructing efforts to curb climate changeAurora Almendral (Quartz)
Titanoboa was massive, estimated to grow up to 50 ft (>15 m) long, over 2,000 lbs (>900 kg) & 3 ft (~1 m) wide. It could have easily devoured animals as large as alligators. https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100years/titanoboa/ Image: Smithsonian Channel
#nature #science #SharedPlanet
Titanoboa
Titanoboa, discovered by Museum scientists, was the largest snake that ever lived. Estimated up to 50 feet long and 3 feet wide, this snake was the top predator in the world’s first tropical rainfo…Rare, Beautiful & Fascinating
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