Month: February 2013

Hatching the Birdphiles

Hatching the Birdphiles

By Michael Wheelock, @MSWheelock I like birds. Not in the casual “oh yeah, penguins are cute” kind of way, but in the “wow, look at the iridescent purple on that Northern Starling” kind of way (side note: Shakespeare introduced the Starling to North America. Well, […]

Fiscal Cliff Part II: What can scientists do to protect the future of basic science research?

Fiscal Cliff Part II: What can scientists do to protect the future of basic science research?

By Christina Pyrgaki, @CPyrgaki In Fiscal Cliff Part I, I talked about how the fiscal cliff will affect science and what citizens should do about it. Part II is for scientists: how can we protect the future of scientific research? Researchers are trained to write […]

Notes in the Margin: Beatrice Tinsley

Notes in the Margin: Beatrice Tinsley

By Carol Feltes In recent years, it has been so gratifying and interesting to see female scientists finally revealed, their contributions to knowledge noted, and the tribulations of their careers in a gender-biased bureaucracy made known. Princeton Press’s new book, Heart of Darkness: Unravelling the […]

A 3 Billion Dollar Mistake: Why the American government should think twice about a Brain Activity Map (BAM)

A 3 Billion Dollar Mistake: Why the American government should think twice about a Brain Activity Map (BAM)

Update: The United States government has released more information about the specifics of their brain mapping project, now called the BRAIN Initiative. I break down the details and discuss the pros and cons here.   By Gabrielle Rabinowitz, @GabrielleRab In the 2013 State of the […]

On the Importance of Fun

On the Importance of Fun

By Dan Gareau, @LASER_Beam Science is a creative process and scientists are creative people who like to have fun… but scientists are not known for being flashy. A paper in Cell or Nature is typically where scientists stop and where the threshold of “success” has […]

Surfing the Wave of Ocean Exploration with Dr. Robert Ballard

Surfing the Wave of Ocean Exploration with Dr. Robert Ballard

By Simona Giunta In November, oceanographer Sylvia Earle, leader of the first all-female team of aquanauts, amazed the RU community with a personal account of her underwater experiences.  Naturally, this excitement was amplified when Robert Ballard visited RU as the guest of honor for the […]