aliquot's Open Salon Blog

For your inner NERD - the best of science 2011

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:12:37 -0500

Its time for a round-up of my favorites from 2011.

Best of the year

1. Wired Magazine - still the reigning champion of interesting reads related to science and technology

2. The Scientist - almost disappeared in 2011 but was saved from the brink. This broad-scope, very accessible, trade journal remains at the top of its game, see this list of top science scandals of 2011.

3. longform.org - best science writing 2011

4. OK, this is technically 2010, but Open Laboratory is a fascinating compendium of online science writing from the people at scienceblogs.com

5. My new favorite Science Blogs (sponsored by a major news site, that is): Speakeasy Science - my new favorite science blog, hosted by PLOS and written by the author of The Poisoner's Handbook (also highly recommended). Neurophilosophy from The Guardian is also quite good, and gave a great wrap-up of the Society for Neuroscience 2011 conference.

6. brainpickings.org - ok, its not all science (although it has a healthy dose), but this is a fantastic example of a website that curates lists of things we must know about. Its mind-expanding and fulfilling in a variety of fields (art, design, philosophy).

7. Along the lines of the Open Science post I did recently, I also support the idea of open courseware (such as the extensive collection of online courses offered by MIT), which are nicely curated at Open Culture.

8. Looking for gifts for that Nerd on your list? Look no further than Nerd Holiday.

9. A nice combination of a TED lecture and a DIY website, Do Lectures is a source of inspiration, such as this tutorial on how to build a solar farm.

10. From science nerds in the U.K. comes the new online magazine Guru, a great combination of (free!) articles on science and culture. (and a much needed replacement for the loss of SEED). Guru can be printed or read on various online platforms. Genuisly with the times.

** Bonus shout-out to sister-publications Boing Boing and Make magazine - both sources of much-needed geekdom online.

** Bonus link: Free PDF on how to debunk myths and bad science beliefs, from skeptical science

Worst of the year:

1. Science Cheerleaders (ugh, really? Do we need to use sexy youths to sell the idea of science to young girls?)

2. The science babe. Again, I know sex sells, but do we need this? (however, the physics of stilettos was certainly interesting)

Science-friendly indie bookstores

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:12:50 -0500

I'd like to make a shout-out on behalf of science-friendly independent bookstores. Their staff-picks and overflowing shelves always house the latest and best in science topics and trends. You'll find the book you just read a review of in your favorite scientific journal, as well as a must-read that hadn't yet hit your radar.

My favorites, across the country:

Powell's - Portland, OR

Elliott Bay Book Company - Seattle, WA

Strand, NYC

Raven Books (various locations, Massachusetts)

Harvard Bookstore (Cambridge, MA, but not associated with Harvard University - a treasure trove of staff picks upstairs and used books downstairs)

Longfellow Books, Portland ME

Should medical research be OPEN?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:12:00 -0500

Science has managed yet another intersection with our everyday lives (and Aliquot loves these intersections). More and more, research findings and fundings are becoming open-access, aka: transparent, available, and closer to society.

Researchers have begun publishing their findings (even high-impact findings that could otherwise go to Nature or Science, prestigious journals requiring expensive subscriptions or pay-per-article fees) in open-access journals, such as PLOS One and PLOS Biology. These findings, in their original, data-laden forms, are thereby available to the public in their entirety, removing the requirement for a journalistic filter in order to become public knowledge.

"Open-Science" now also includes new funding streams to cover research costs, removing the grant-writing hindrance of fitting research aims into the narrow scope of federal funding agencies such as NIH or NSF, or of myopic private foundations focused on a single disease or disorder. In the spirit of Kickstarter, some scientists are looking to crowd-sourcing to fund their orphaned projects, which lack a grant proposal home. These difficult-to-fund, but scientifically promising, projects may include such essential research as sleep, sex, or other basic biology not currently covered by the scope of available funding sources (ie: NIH funding, one of the largest sources of federal scientific funding, requires a direct link to human health in the experimental goals, thereby eliminating funding of basic processes such as sleep or sex).

Open Science (or Open-Source Science) also facilitates controversial research, cutting-edge experiments, or other science that has trouble getting off the ground (but just like most pursuits, this high risk may often result in high pay-off). While we all want scientific research to be fruitful, leading to a deeper understanding of our world, or cures for diseases, 'safe science' is the norm these days for funding agencies. However, safe science stifles creativity and limits the possibilities of scientific advancement. Funding of certain high-risk, creative projects, even those not directly linked to NASA or NIH goals, deserve funding consideration from some source. The concept of Open Science helps these goals become possible.

Open Science also refers to a new era of collaboration among scientists, where, for instance, a novel tool or reagent may be patented by the researcher who first creates or discovers it, but instead of turning a profit, that researcher may decide to 'hand out' the reagent or tool to colleagues around the world, thereby sparking a flurry of new data and quick publications -- a faster, though less lucrative, route to new knowledge or a cure. All the while, the findings may be deposited into public databases, open-access journals, or other means of making the research transparent and accessible to the public.

This movement will certainly have its detractors: those who do seek monetary gain from their science, or others who fear being 'scooped' by competitors in the race for an experimental finding. Still others may wish to curb the reach of open-science so as to prevent journal reviewers from being unmasked, an extent of transparency which may actually sabotage a process of ensuring scientific rigor. But taken together, I find this movement to be inspiring and representative of today's ultra-networked, open society. I'm staying tuned for the next big discoveries to come out of Open Science.

For more:

The Open Source Science Project

Open Source Science

CoLab

HubZero

Science Creative Commons

An article on open science and non-profit pharmaceutical companies

** Image taken from this fantastic blog post on Open Science

Decode the headlines: 5 science updates to understand news

Mon, 16 May 2011 13:05:33 -0400

Five Science Updates to help you understand current news headlines

RADIATION Between the anniversary of Chernobyl (only xxx years until we can return!), the radiation scare after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and the radiation emitted from new airport body scanners, there is a lot of information and disinformation floating around the web and blogosphere. As a skeptical scientist, here are my personal picks for the most reliable, fact-based, trustworthy sources.

The Radiation Scare, science reading list:

- From Slate, learn about what level of radiation is safe

- ABCs of Nuclear Science from Berkeley National Lab

- Radioactivity of coal ash vs. nuclear waste (from SciAm)

- Japan-specific news (from Science Daily)

- Airport body scanners and radiation (from NPR)

Citizen Science is a new buzz-word, a catch-all term to cover any great science projects undertaken by citizen volunteers around the globe. And it’s a fantastic new movement, made increasingly possible due to the internet and mobile technologies like cell phone apps.

- Coverage by Boing Boing writer David Pescovitz

- Science for Citizens

- Citizen science from NSF

- The Wild Lab (mobile technology for citizen scientists)

Bedbugs and Lyme Disease are the two creepy-crawly scares in the news right now. Best to get your information from a reputable source, but my favorite tips are to check between your two mattresses when you get to a hotel (you should be able to spot any bedbugs hiding there), and if you get bit by a tick, its OK to ask your doctor for a prophylactic shot of antibiotics to ward off a potential lyme disease threat.

Resources:

- Ticks, beyond Lyme disease (from Wired)

- Institute of Medicine Lyme Disease information

- Ticks and Lyme Disease

- Bed Bugs (from Science News)

- Bed Bugs and Pesticides (from EPA)

Tornadoes

- Natural disasters, from National Geographic

- The complicated science of tornadoes and climate

- The Science of Tornadoes (from SciAm)

Meditation Science. While it may still sit slightly in the fringe, meditation is one of the so-called complementary/alternative aspects of medicine which is now being appreciated through evidence-based studies.

- How meditation changes the brain

- Meditation and cognition

- Meditation and the brain (Science Friday)

Has Science Been Saved by Pop Culture?

Fri, 6 May 2011 08:05:24 -0400

Many polls and studies have been done to assess how science is doing in society. Most show a disappointing view of the success of science education, the perception of scientists, and commonly held beliefs about the ethical uses of science in technology. But in recent years, many pop cultural phenomena have gone a long way to improve the esteem and coolness-factor of science and the people who do it. Here are my favorite ways that Pop Culture has Saved Science:

1. T.V. The Big Bang Theory. This TV show is hotly debated, but in my view it does a lot to support science and to popularize scientists as interesting people. This group of physicists and engineers bring humor and humanity to the life of a scientist. Bonus: guest appearances by real-life geeks and scientists.

2. Music. 'Science' is 'popping up' in many band names, song names, and album names.... just a few: Coldplay - the Scientist, We Are Scientists (band), Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E., They Might be Giants -Here Comes Science. It can't be a bad thing, science as pop culture meme.

3. The movies. OK, Hollywood does get it all wrong a lot of the time, but I think the mere fact that science and scientists are portrayed in blockbuster or indie films is doing a lot for this field of work. One of my recent favorites was the searching-for-a- medical-cure storyline of Extraordinary Measures. But I'm also a sucker for the big science dreams of movies like Inception orEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. At least they get us thinking, and maybe they even ignite a passion for science in today's youth.

4. Art. The intersection of science and art has long fascinated me (of note, see my list of links to the left of this post). Recently, several museum exhibits have taken the idea of science as art-form to a whole new level. (Case in point, the DNA gel as art image above)

5. Food and Cooking. Nerd-chefs are the new it-chefs, and geeky cookbooks are the new best-sellers. See my partial list of nerdy cookbooks here, and read about nerdy chef extraordinaire, Heston Blumenthal, here.

These five topics are just the tip of the pop-culture iceberg, as it were. Magazines like Geek, Seed, and other media outlets are also spreading the science-is-cool message. The possibilities are limitless for changing the perception of science and scientists as socially awkward, unethical, and uninteresting.