Discover Magazine

Debunking the Debunker's Debunker

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:27:16 GMT

The effect of environmental contaminants on cancer should be a scientific issue, not a political one. But it is probably too late for that. Industry exploits the uncertainties (for a good account of the phenomenon see Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway's book Merchants of Doubt), but so do personal injury and mass-tort lawyers looking for the deepest pockets when they represent plaintiffs with cancer. Environmental organizations have their own agendas, and that was the problem with the Mother Jone

Staring into the Belly of the Tornadic Beast

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:36:00 GMT

I was out in the prairie northeast of Denver today with researchers from the National Severe Storms Laboratory using a drone aircraft to observe developing thunderstorms when we got the news: A tornado had touched at Denver International Airport, about 50 miles to the south of us. Interestingly, we got the news from Twitter — and that's where this awesome picture of the twister, which touched down briefly and harmed no one, turned up shortly thereafter: https://twitter.com/7Marshall/status

Molars Don't Mean the End of Nursing for Chimps

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT

Scientists overturn the long-held belief that young chimpanzees wean once their back teeth start coming in.

The Sweet Taste of Conservation | Scientist in vivo

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:57:04 GMT

According to many biologists, you don't really know your research inside and out until you've tasted what you study (there is, quite literally, a badge of honor for it). I've known biologists who have chugged shots of plankton, taken bites from agar plates, and some have even drank water that's a billion years old to attain the dubious honor. You'd be surprised* just how many times I've gotten into conversations about my research and my study organisms only to be interrupted by "that's great

Watch Out For Those Genetically Modified Hamburger Buns!

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:17:07 GMT

In this space, I've frequently shown how GMO fear mongering plays out in the media. The latest frightful example aired Monday on CNN. It was a piece about the mysterious genetically modified (GM) wheat recently found in an Oregon farm field. First, some quick background: In the early to mid-2000s, Monsanto field tested GM wheat in 16 states. But as NPR reported, "the country's wheat growers told the company that they did not want it." So Monsanto never sought to commercialize the crop and st

Book Review: Brainwashed

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:59:12 GMT

Brainwashed, by Sally Satel and Scott O Lilienfeld. Basic Books. I wanted to dislike this book. You see, I was suspicious of the fact that one of the authors is a resident scholar with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), an organization whose political values I oppose, and, insofar as it's an organization with political values, has little business going near science. Then, when I found that the book cites me (with fellow neurobloggers Mind Hacks and Neurocritic) in the Acknowl

Gorging Gudea style

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:11:21 GMT

Kevin Zelnio recently made me aware of this fascinating piece in The New York Times, For Its Latest Beer, a Craft Brewer Chooses an Unlikely Pairing: Archaeology. Here's the catchiest aspect: a microbrewery is attempting to recreate the taste of ancient Sumerian beer! Why? Though it's purportedly educational, obviously it's also the "cool" factor which is at the root of this enterprise. The brewery doesn't aim to sell this. I say why not! A few years ago Paul Boom wrote the book How Pleasure

During Cicada Boom, Birds Mysteriously Vanish

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:05:57 GMT

by Madeline Bodin With thousands of newly-hatched 17-year cicadas blanketing the Eastern U.S., residents would be forgiven for not noticing a less conspicuous absence: birds. Bird surveys have repeatedly shown a mysterious trend of a population downtick in areas of cicada emergence. It's the exact opposite of what might be expected---crows, blue jays and cardinals are among the species affected, and they feed on insects. And it's fascinated ornithologist Walter Koenig for years. “

Behold the nerdiest cocktail party ever!

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:48 GMT

There are numerous studies that investigate how drinking alcohol affects our brains. However, most of these studies take place in laboratories and medical settings that have almost nothing in common with the bars and parties where most of us drink. This raises the question of how applicable the results are to drinking in more typical settings. So, these scientists tried to measure brain activity while socializing and drinking in a more "normal" setting. To do this, they devised special elect

A stylish Syrian epistemological nihilism

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:18:01 GMT

Over ten years ago I began writing on the internet about sundry things. Mostly science. But sometimes policy, politics, and history. I still do so on occasion veer away from science (see some of the books I've reviewed and read to get a sampling of my interests). After the travesty of Iraq I vowed that I would never take for granted that those who speak with authority truly have the grounds to speak with such authority. This is one reason I occasionally post factual corrections about presupposit

Blowin' in the Wind: More and More Sickening Dust

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:23:49 GMT

At the end of a long journey back from Cambodia last week, I had my face glued to the window as the plane passed low over Colorado's Front Range on its way to a landing in Denver. The scenery is always spectacular, but I was also looking for something specific, and I found it: dust on snow. A lot of it. Check out the picture above and you'll see it: beige coloring on what would otherwise be bright white snowpack. This isn't just a curiosity. The relatively dark color of dust causes

Reminders of Home Make Us Forget Our Second Language

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:00:34 GMT

When living in a foreign country, immigrants often find comfort in seeing things and people from home. But new research suggests that such familiar surroundings can also decrease one's ability to speak the language of that foreign country. Putting Language to the Test Researchers conducted a series of experiments with Chinese immigrants now attending a university in the United States. Chinese participants had simulated conversations in English with both Chinese and Caucasian classmates. Whil

Can wearing sunglasses make you less of a jerk?

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:16 GMT

It's easy to see that our feelings change our facial expressions. But can your facial expression change how you feel? Previous studies have suggested that this is the case, and that getting botox might actually make you happier because your resting facial expression is more pleasant. This study explores whether the frown-like face you make in bright sunlight can make you more aggressive. Turns out, it does--but fortunately, this effect can be prevented by wearing sunglasses. Sun-induced f

Ancestry should not be subject to privacy restraints

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:21:02 GMT

In my earlier post on Prince William's mtDNA lineage, and its possible Indian provenance, I didn't address the issue of genetic privacy in much detail. The discussion is relevant in this case because BritainsDNA inferred his lineage by looking at distant relatives. Assuming that the biological pedigree we have for William is correct, he must share the mtDNA of his relatives who descend in an unbroken line from a common female ancestor. A concern about the breach of privacy emerged almost imme

The Tuatara genome

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:26:33 GMT

The whole "genome paper" genre is probably in decline now, as sequencing is so easy that there is little value in just throwing out data with no questions attached. That being said I think the new project to sequence the Tuatara genome is pretty worthwhile. The reason is evident to the right, as this lineage represents an outgroup to many other reptiles. Not only that, but there is now dedicated blog devoted to the project. It's nice to see science which aims to be out in the open. I wish the pr

The four Da Bomb hot sauces

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:09:13 GMT

Recently I tried four of the Da Bomb hot sauces. I was prompted by a story in The Los Angeles Times about a student who got in serious trouble for putting Da Bomb: The Final Answer into the marinara at a cafeteria. Coming in a >1 million Scoville units I can see why this is a serious offense. But Da Bomb features other lines as well. Here are the four I tried out recently with some friends: - Da Bomb Ghost Pepper. This is a relatively mild sauce, and is more notable to me for its saltiness

A true global village: the end of privacy in so many ways

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:19:29 GMT

Gina Kolata's piece in The New York Times, Poking Holes in Genetic Privacy, is stirring a lot of debate. In the wake of the NSA leaks that makes sense. And genetic privacy has always been a "hot button" issue for obvious reasons, as personal genomics transforms from a futuristic projection to a ubiquitous part of our lives. It seems to me that there's a spectrum of reasonable objection here. I don't think it's a big deal if you are exposed for your "true ethnicity." Yes, if we lived in Nazi Germ

How opposed to nuclear energy are liberals?

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:19:58 GMT

The New York Times has a piece with the title A Rebel Filmmaker Tilts Conservative. What conservative tilt is being displayed here? It's Pandora's Promise, a film which serves as a sort apologia for nuclear power from environmentalists concerned about climate change. What confuses me is that I don't understand the specifically conservative tilt here, as I have many friends who evince a nuclear-friendly tilt without seeming politically conservative. Perhaps a generation ago anti-nuclear sentiment

Open thread, June 16th, 2013

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:47:07 GMT

It's father's day. I stated earlier I can't remember what it was like to not have my daughter in my life, but it is still strange to me that I'm a father, of all people. For the record, I don't think we should intervene in Syria at all. Most Americans seem to agree with me. But it may not matter. The establishment may force intervention.

Perspectives on being a father

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:36:06 GMT

It's been about a year and a half since I officially became a father. I put the official qualifier there because I knew I was going to become a father about two years ago, and many of the psychological changes probably began then. My own reflections and lessons are obviously influenced by my own specific situation. I am not the primary caregiver. It would be too pat to say that our family is the typical college educated sort in all its details, but it is not that far from the truth. My daugh