The Scientific Method     While I was working hard on my translation of the memoire of the illustrious Ignaz Venetz, I found that the need to indulge in some hermeneutic and other…

I really want a bumper sticker that says that, with this picture: Obviously the news CotS is up! Go check it out at the Artful Amoeba--it is seriously awesome. HONK.

Life's Fall How many years can a mountain exist,before it is washed to the sea? As a rock tumbles from its perchatop a cliff into the water below,impelled by gravitational acceleration, it is…

The great thing about being a scientist is that you have more adventures than anyone else!  Today I took along the kids from the Lone Star Adventure Camp on a bug hike at the Trinity River…

One aspect of journalism that has led to a sense of entitlement among the public, and certainly those who have dissenting opinions, is the idea of 'balance' in media coverage.   That is, showing…

Oh man oh man this is really cute: It's the brand-new storefront of a shop that sells only merchandise related to this creature. His name is Ikaaru Seijin, which the Japan Times claims means Man from…

While standing outside in the middle of a cold night tending my telescope, I started wondering about how much heat is getting radiated into space under clear skys, that increases in CO2 should be…

Ashwini Kumar Alexander von Humboldt Fellow Energy Plantation Demonstration Project Centre. Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur – 302 004, INDIA Phone : 0141-2711654 (Off.) 0141-…

A quick cross link to a great article on the Higgs boson search at the super liberal web site dailykos.com. A very clear description of the issues. I particularly liked the stats. One other thing to…

Today I casually ran into a very nice figure which is perfect for an entry as "guess the plot", both because of its mysterious appearance, and because of the interesting physics it hides. It is a two…

     Alcohol is a class of organic compounds with -OH (hydroxyl) group attached to the hydrocarbon chain.  The hydrocarbon chain got its hydroxyl group through replacement of…

Giant squid are pretty cool, right? If you want to see one (without having to go fishing) then you have a number of museums to choose from. Specimens and models are abundant enough that Indie Squid…

Because this is a science site, we're going to discuss it when a taxpayer-funded agency is found to be squandering valuable dollars on junk and waste that instead could he used to fund actual…

Greetings,I came across this plot, and decided to post it here. Figure: Plot that shows the correlation between the percentage of the public the accepts evolution and the GDP per capita.(Source:…

I confess. I'm jealous of frogs, lizards and salamanders. Why? Because of their stem cells and transdifferentiation potential. Compared to them, us humans are pathetic in terms of our ability to…

I confess. I'm jealous of frogs, lizards and salamanders. Why? Because of their stem cells and transdifferentiation potential. Compared to them, us humans are pathetic in terms of our ability to…

The Economist has published a highly amusing (at least to me) and informative article about "the new robotics," inspired by the diversity of natural forms: UNTIL recently, most robots could be…

A comment thread on my last post has gotten me thinking about the summer of 2009. I lived in La Jolla for a couple of months, sorting baby squid out of old preserved plankton tows, and then…

Researchers from Cornell say that by using a bit of electromagnetics wizardry they can create a 'hole' in space and keep it hidden - spatial cloaking.   Invisible time. We see things using light…

In the beautiful hideout of Falassarna, Crete (see below), I am blogging today from the terrace of my hotel room, overlooking a wonderful beach. Although still "connected" and in touch with the…