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Items tagged with: science
It’s #EarthDay & I’m giving a talk all about the global food system & its impact on the environment.
The agricultural sector is one of the most significant + immediately scalable places to have impact.
Since my talk isn’t public, here’s a great piece from @globalecoguy & the good folks at Project Drawdown. https://drawdown.org/news/insights/how-food-and-farming-will-determine-the-fate-of-planet-earth
#climatechange #science #food
How food and farming will determine the fate of planet Earth
Agriculture has disrupted the planet more than anything we have ever done, including burning fossil fuels. A sustainable future depends on recognizing this fact – and radically changing how we farm and eat.Project Drawdown
Born in 1750, Caroline Herschel worked as assistant to her astronomer brother William. But she also made her own discoveries of nebulae, stars & 8(!) comets.
In 1787, King George III employed Caroline as her brother's assistant, including a small salary that made her one of the first women paid for their contributions to #science.
Caroline submitted over 550 stars to the existing star catalog & received honorary membership in the Royal Society. https://www.space.com/17439-caroline-herschel.html #history
Caroline Herschel Biography
Caroline Herschel was the first woman to discover a comet. She made several contributions to the field of astronomyNola Taylor Tillman (Space)
Just saw that #OpenAccess publication charges at some Nature publishing group journals are >$12,000 (!!!)
This is just getting crazy - APCs have really gone off the rails. These fees can't possibly be sustainable in the long term...
Powerful eruption occurring now at Ruang volcano in Indonesia's North Sulawesi Province. Hundreds evacuated so far.
Photos show the lava flow, huge ash cloud, and volcanic lightning.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hundreds-evacuated-after-indonesias-ruang-volcano-erupts-2024-04-17/ #volcano #science #nature
Most members of my lab are international, and I'm often surprised at the expansive bureaucracy they have to work with just to attend some meetings or visit home.
"Citizenship privilege harms science"
"Researchers from the global south face often-distressing immigration bureaucracy that most from the global north do not"
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01080-x
Citizenship privilege harms science
Researchers from the global south face often-distressing immigration bureaucracy that most from the global north do not. Six steps can begin to counteract this inequity.Joseph, Tiffany
So cool!
#Science
#Ocean
Great pics of new ocean species recently discovered!
Research team discovers more than 50 potentially new deep-sea species in one of the most unexplored areas of the planet
An international group of scientists, co-led by researcher Ariadna Mechó of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center—Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), observed 160 species on seamounts off the coast of Chile that had not yet been known to liv…Science X (Phys.org)
Ben Barres was a trailblazing transgender neurobiologist who promoted equity & diversity.
His pioneering research on glial cells changed science & he became the 1st #trans person admitted into the National Academies of Science.
Barres was a strong advocate for women, early career scientists & the #LGBTQ+ community at a time when few people openly discussed gender identity. https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2017/12/28/mourning-ben-barres-the-transgender-scientist-who-changed-neuroscience/ #history #science
Excerpt from his autobiography: https://stanmed.stanford.edu/ben-barres-autobiography-transgender-scientist/
Transgender scientist Ben Barres’ book excerpt describes transition decision | Stanford Medicine
In an autobiography released after his death, transgender scientist Ben Barres describes the emotional process of becoming a manPatricia Hannon (Stanford Medicine Magazine)
Our little show about the science behind what we eat & its impact on the planet made the ‘Championship Round’ of the local PBS ‘March Madness’ brackets…
If you have an Instagram account, this is the last time I’ll request support from the fediverse https://www.instagram.com/wkarofficial?igsh=ZjBqZ3E0azd3N294 (click on the profile icon for stories)
The competition is just for fun of course, but I do love that we’ve made it this far with a family program about #science ✨
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.www.instagram.com
When I post about #science & #history, I tend to highlight the trailblazers we don’t usually read or hear about in #HistoryRemix.
But tonight I want to share this beautifully composed piece about Nikola Tesla.
While his inventions are legendary, you may not know how Tesla’s OCD shaped his approach to science & ultimately led to his world-changing ideas. It also left him isolated & alone. But he still experienced deep connection by caring for birds. https://nautil.us/teslas-pigeon-460446/
In My Defense
It’s been a few months since I posted here. In that time, I’ve been able to give several talks about how our “unelected representatives” - the senior staffers shaping policy behind the scenes in Congress - make decisions.Sheril Kirshenbaum (Unelected Representative)
Several of us overly online biologists spent years quietly doing an experiment on Twitter, trying to find out if tweeting about new studies from a set of mid-range journals caused an increase in later citations, compared to set of untweeted control articles.
Turns out we had no noticeable effect; the tweeted papers were cited at the same rate as the control set.
Our paper, headed by Trevor Branch, was published today in PLOS One:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292201
Controlled experiment finds no detectable citation bump from Twitter promotion
Multiple studies across a variety of scientific disciplines have shown that the number of times that a paper is shared on Twitter (now called X) is correlated with the number of citations that paper receives.journals.plos.org
Upper Cretaceous. Approximately 100.5 million to 66 million years ago. When alive, this creature lived in warm, shallow seas and had a very short tail, which was fitted with a venomous stinger. Discovered in Haqil, Byblos, Lebanon. It just happens to look like an ancient space alien. #science #fossil #archeology #evolution #photo #nature #biology #wildlife
On Friday morning, I will defend my dissertation.
The research explores how congressional staffers make #science policy decisions at the national level. I used to work in the Senate, which inspired this journey into the social sciences.
(Friday is also the first day of my kids' Spring Break, so they'll be coming along which should be interesting).
For those curious about the topic, I share a bit about the research on my substack. More results will there soon https://sheril.substack.com/p/a-dissertation-on-democracy
A Dissertation on Democracy
Consider this the Cliffs NotesSheril Kirshenbaum (Unelected Representative)
I have an article out today in the new issue of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance.
“Barriers to Serving in Senior Congressional Staff Roles May Limit Representative #Science Policymaking” https://www.sciencepolicyjournal.org/article_1038126_jspg230203.html
Beatrice ‘Tilly’ Shilling was born in 1909 in Hampshire. She became an aeronautical engineer & daredevil motorcycle racer.
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://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling #science #history
Want to hang out next Thursday night (or Friday depending on where you live)?
I'm joining the one & only @bschillace for a live conversation about #science #politics & culture.
We may discuss why so many people believe things that aren't true. Or explore how we got into this predicament. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieOEPE92MBE
The Pecular Book Club is "a safe haven of nerdery for all peculiar people w bizarre interests." https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/a3ev1p20acc?si=H8Q35vWytgmC9m9K
This should be fun!
14-MAR: SHERIL KIRSHENBAUM, UNSCIENTIFIC AMERICA
The earth is not flat. Vaccines work and they don’t make you magnetic. Global warming is real. Covid is airborne. But you will hear a great deal to the contr...YouTube
“Engravings, first in Arabic script, then in Hebrew, tell the story of how knowledge was created, shared & developed by Islamic & Jewish scholars living & working side by side.”
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/05/extraordinary-islamic-and-jewish-science-merge-in-11th-century-astrolabe #history #science
‘Extraordinary’: Islamic and Jewish science merge in 11th-century astrolabe
Instrument was adapted, translated and corrected by Muslim and Jewish users in Spain, north Africa and ItalySam Jones (The Guardian)
Latest cartoon on Alabama decision that IVF embryos are people
#theorcracy #reproduction #ivf #health #medicine #science
Wonderful! I love the runner-up, 'The Scholar's Dream', on browntail moths, to the music of Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFwRMZKODbc
Overview & other category winners here: https://www.science.org/content/article/kangaroo-research-wins-dance-phd-contest
#DanceYourPhD #moth #kangaroo #epigenetics #circadian #dance #zoology #science #SciComm #SocialScience #biology #chemistry #physics
The Scholar's Dream- Dance Your PhD 2024 [𝓡𝓾𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓻-𝓤𝓹]
[2/27/2024: I had a sudden jump in views- turns out my video was a runner-up for Science's Dance your PhD and "might have won the whole thing if not up again...YouTube
Every year, students around the world submit videos to a "Dance Your PhD" contest. The goal is to "explain your research through interpretive dance."
This year's fabulous winner, Weliton Menário Costa, explores kangaroo behavior & promotes diversity. It is, by far, the best I've ever seen.
Go watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoSYO3fApEc #science #dance #art #animals
WELI - Kangaroo Time (Club Edit) (From Dance Your PhD 2024 - OVERALL WINNER)
Subscribe. My EP "Yours Academically, Dr. WELI" out on March 1st.Official video for WELI “Kangaroo Time (Club Edit)” made for the 2024 'Dance Your PhD' Thesi...YouTube
There are massive differences in the GHG emissions of different foods & "local" isn't always best for the environment.
This chart continues to be a great reference I return to in my work. Source: https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local #science #climate #food
You want to reduce the carbon footprint of your food? Focus on what you eat, not whether your food is local
“Eat local” is a common recommendation to reduce the carbon footprint of your diet. How does the impact of what you eat compare to where it's come from?Our World in Data
Five dazzling new species of eyelash vipers discovered in Colombia and Ecuador
Scientists have discovered five dazzling new species of eyelash vipers in the jungles and cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.ScienceDaily
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 #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
Sorry I missed this symposium at the #Denver #AAASmtg. If there’s interest, I can send the transcript of a similar event during the 2019 #Tennessee #STEAM Festival; “From Plato to #CRISPR : Communicating #Science through Story-telling.” #STEAMfest #SciComm
From Plato to CRISPR: Communicating Science through Storytelling — Andrei Codrescu
Third Annual Tennessee STEAM Festival @Middle Tennessee University Through his talk, From Plato to CRISPR , Andrei brings light and heat to the space between science and artAndrei Codrescu
Tis the season…
I spoke with The New York Times about my book, The #Science of Kissing https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/13/science/archaeology-sumeria-kissing.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VE0.Ku_7.vxJnkibLUVQB&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare #ValentinesDay #GiftArticle #books
If anyone is headed to #AAAS this week, I’m in 2 sessions so come say hello 👋
Friday at 10am - https://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2024/meetingapp.cgi/Session/31685
How scientists can connect w legislators & staff, inform decisions & collaborate to address global challenges.
Sat at 2:30pm - https://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2024/meetingapp.cgi/Session/31830
Sharing stories about #science & scientists can promote evidence-based thinking, counter misinformation, lead to a more diverse & inclusive workforce & create transdisciplinary opportunities to meet global challenges.
Counting citations hasn't been a reliable measure of scientific impact for a while, especially on platforms like Google Scholar that compile info from random documents. Hyper-authorship, predatory journals, etc have all contributed to the problem.
This preprint just drives home how important it is to measure scientific impact more carefully and without reliance on automated metrics
Google Scholar is manipulatable
https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.04607
#science #academia #publishing #citations
Google Scholar is manipulatable
Citations are widely considered in scientists' evaluation. As such, scientists may be incentivized to inflate their citation counts.arXiv.org
“Only in America do we accept weather predictions from a rodent but deny #ClimateChange evidence from scientists.”
I share this meme every year on February 2. #science
Spent the day with so many adorable young scientists!
PBS Kids Day was a treat. I love meeting curious kids & watching them marvel at #science. Children ask the best questions.
Ever wonder how pickling works? https://youtu.be/gw6YpN2oRog?si=Bv8DW9o6iqcBaW29
Four years ago our PBS team created this fun explainer on all different types of pickles! And it's still one of my favorite episodes. #food #science
How Does Pickling Work? | Serving Up Science
Pickling! It's that salty, briny process that makes foods taste so strangely good. The pickle garnishes our favorite foods, from burgers & hotdogs to turkey ...YouTube