Google is claiming that it has scanned 10% of the books ever published. Google Ngram Viewer is a tool to see how often the phrases have occurred in the world's books over the years.  Users can…

In the 'government employees become so entrenched in their bureaucracy they lose common sense' department, a group of people who rescued a deer from an icy river were given tickets by a "natural…

In the 'government employees become so entrenched in their bureaucracy they lose common sense' department, a group of people who rescued a deer from an icy river were given tickets by a "natural…

On his Reference Frame site, contrarian physicist Luboš Motl uses Google to determine the 'reading level' of some science blogs, with, he says, "Basic" being 1 star, "intermediate" 3 stars and "…

Although people may not feel particularly overheated after this week’s Midwestern snowstorm, data from NASA show that the 12-month period from November 2009 to November 2010 was the warmest on record…

Although people may not feel particularly overheated after this week’s Midwestern snowstorm, data from NASA show that the 12-month period from November 2009 to November 2010 was the warmest on record…

The largest known volcanic eruption in human history, 74,000 years ago, was at Mount Toba in northern Sumatra.   Researchers believed this cloud of millions of metric tons of volcanic ash and…

The largest known volcanic eruption in human history, 74,000 years ago, was at Mount Toba in northern Sumatra.   Researchers believed this cloud of millions of metric tons of volcanic ash and…

Sigh. I was going to write with lyric beauty about a dream I had last night, in which I was finally, finally successful in feeding baby squid. I watched them stuffing copepods into their mouths with…

There exists a tendency in nature to reduce complexity via modularization. This tendency grows when more modules become available. Finally this tendency enables nature to create intelligent and very…

Martin Gaskell did not get a job as the director of a new student observatory at the University of Kentucky and says he thinks his religion is behind it. So for all those who say academia is too…

I just returned from Environment and Climate Change Summit held at New Delhi. After 3 days of round table discussion and intensive brainstorming the final result was that every participating nation…

It's rare that a government commission won't take the opportunity to increase its authority and its importance.  It's good job security and makes people feel relevant, even if it's not only…

This is the last of the four part series about the Edge discussion between Lee Smolin and Leonard Susskind. I previously discussed the physics and the philosophical issues. You will have by now…

While we’re on the joint subject of cars and security, I should dredge up this item that I’ve had hanging about for a few months. It’s from Ars Technica, and reports that researchers have hacked…

A million years is a blink of an eye in evolution but that doesn't mean newer genes matter less in life itself.     New genes that have evolved in species as recently as one million years…

A geophysicist has made the first-ever measurement of the strength of the magnetic field 1,800 miles underground - inside Earth's core. The magnetic field strength is 25 Gauss, they say, 50 times…

While you sit there, I am simultaneously providing this blog post, this podcast, and this AGU talk.  All on the same topic-- how can we get scientists to provide science for public consumption.…

News of the California market squid fishery closure is spreading. "We have had a banner year for market squid this year," said Dale Sweetnam, a Fish and Game marine biologist who oversees the…

It's become so commonplace for large science endeavors to be over budget and long-delayed that both budgets and time frames seem almost meaningless.   The James Webb Space Telescope might as…