What is Natural Selection?
Hurray! There is another video in the “Stated Clearly” collaboration with Bird and Moon Comics explaining evolution! Enjoy. You might also like their earlier video, What is Evolution? »
Science
Balls for Cancer
So I have this totally terrible idea that involves ping pong balls and a bunch of kids with cancer and I’m going to need you to give me $30. I promise it’s going to be… well, mostly just stupid and ridiculous. But still probably worth it. You see, one night, around 9 months ago, I was sitting in my house, drinking too much and watching Twitter while my husband and one of our friends watched ... »
AI: Florida Teen is Charged with Felony Because of a Science Experiment. Fair?
Ok, ok I get it. We are all understandably on edge because of the horrible Boston bombings and we are still reeling from what feels like constant attacks on our schools with premeditated, planned attacks that have changed the way we look at the world. Kids, LITERAL KIDS are getting their hands on semiautomatic weaponry and using them to get back at a world that has somehow, in their eyes, let them... »
Cross Post: Science Education – An Endangered Species?
This post was originally posted on School of Doubt on 1 May 2013. I can’t even begin to wrap my brain around the attacks on science and science education that have been dog-piling on since the sequester began. It is as if everyone has just lost it all at once. What’s going on? Phil Plait does a nice job of detailing the latest attacks on science in Congress as well as the proposed R... »
Differentiating the Good from the Bad in Stem Cell Research
When it comes to stem cell research and treatments, consumers are often considered to be the group most likely to be taken advantage of by snakeoil salesmen. However, having your MD or PhD does not guarantee immunity to the tricks of scam artists, especially in the competitive, financially-motivated world of research publishing. Thankfully, a few organizations and companies are coming up with ways... »
Blowing on Bats. For Science.
In Bug Grad School I learned about a crazy group of flies called Hippoboscidae, or louse flies. These flies have adopted an ectoparasitic lifestyle, which means they live on other animals much like a tick or a louse. Most have lost their wings in the evolutionary scrabble to live on fur or feathers. Having only ever seen these preserved in jars, or from engravings, I was very excited to find a vi... »
EVENTS This Week—Rebecca at NECSS, plus Skeptech, NC Science Festival & More
The Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism (NECSS) starts tomorrow, with great speakers and mini-events, including a live SGU, a science/improve mashup with George Hrab, Steve Novella, and others. Meet Rebecca, Eugenie Scott, Jon Ronson, Julia Galef, and many more special guests. UpDATED: Or if you’re in the Midwest, join me and Teen Skepchicks Kate Donovan and Olivia James at Skeptech, a ... »
Early 19th Century Dinosaur Hoax Uncovered!
As of late, I have taken time away from chemistry as I got bored with the mundane nature of chemical bonding. Instead, I have focused my investigative effort to understand the truth about dinosaurs. Hopefully, I can adequately explain the conspiracy that has been unfolding. The short of it is dinosaurs never existed. Sir Richard Owen, the paleontologist that ‘discovered’ the first dino... »
