http://science.typolis.net/bits, reviews and comments on scienceennoemail@noemail.org (martin_ (mailto:info@euroscience.net))Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:52:46 PDThourly12000-01-01T00:00:00ZThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to copyright and fair use. (ms)http://science.typolis.net/stories/21838/communication, physicsmartin_Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:52:46 PDThttp://science.typolis.net/stories/21838/Theoretical physicists around Martin Plenio from Imperial College, London, propose to introduce into research papers by short videos that highlights the essentials of the paper and the results. The video is self-made by a small webcam and posted to the Quantiki portal. The video may be linked to the pre-print server arxiv.org, where researchers in the branches of mathematics, theoretical physics, and astronomy are used to deposit their papers in advance to publication. The main goal is to give users an easier access to research, to expand the audience and to push scientists to explain their research to a broader readership. The video is essentially a presentation with maximum 6 minutes length.typolis: EuroScience.NetCopyright © 2009 martin_http://science.typolis.net/stories/18675/communicationmartin_Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:35:04 PSThttp://science.typolis.net/stories/18675/Cristine Russell shows in her contribution for the Columbia Journalism Review (14.11.2008) how the press staff with universities, organisations and industry triggers science stories picked up by news reporters. And take it the other way round, science editors become dependent on the news release outlets - there's only the science in your paper delivered by Science, Nature, Eurekalert et al to your doorstep.typolis: EuroScience.NetCopyright © 2008 martin_http://science.typolis.net/stories/17473/in the media, communication, mathematics, science policymartin_Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:26:34 PDThttp://science.typolis.net/stories/17473/Impact factors and citation indices are a somewhat gold standard to measure quality and productivity of a scientist. But critics question the validity of these measures. Now, Jürgen Kaube writes in FAZ (24.7.2008) about a statistical report on impact factors commissioned by the International Mathematical Union (among others). The conclusion is, the significance of these citation measures like the impact factor or the Hirsch index is poor, if not nil.typolis: EuroScience.NetCopyright © 2008 martin_http://science.typolis.net/stories/17233/in the media, communication, environmentmartin_Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:16:22 PDThttp://science.typolis.net/stories/17233/Lisa Margonelli reviews in the NY Times (15. June 2008) the book "Bottlemania" by Elizabeth Royte. The message: "So why did Americans spend nearly $11 billion on bottled water in 2006, when we could have guzzled tap water at up to about one ten-thousandth the cost? The facile answer is marketing, marketing and more marketing." We know, tapped water is as good as bottled water, or even better. Royte gives now a broader picture, including political, economic and cultural background. I guess, all speaks for the tap.typolis: EuroScience.NetCopyright © 2008 martin_http://science.typolis.net/stories/16577/in the media, disaster, materialsmartin_Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:45:46 PDThttp://science.typolis.net/stories/16577/William Broad investigates for the NY Times (15.4.2008) whether the Titanic sank in 1912 because the ship's builder used not the best available material for the thousands of rivets but second choice.typolis: EuroScience.NetCopyright © 2008 martin_http://science.typolis.net/stories/16107/emerging diseases, medicinemartin_Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:57:48 PSThttp://science.typolis.net/stories/16107/The hotspots for the risks that new infectious diseases emerge are located in India, China, tropical Africa and Central America, states a report in the journal Nature and a related Nature News story (20.2.2008) by Michael Hopkin. But also the western part of Germany, NL, BE, and the UK are at risk, according to deep red spots on the map. High population density is a main risk factor, explains Kate Jones of the Zoological Society of London. In the supplementary information of the paper there's a list of all 335 new infections diseases emerged since 1940, and a lot came first on the stage in western Europe.typolis: EuroScience.NetCopyright © 2008 martin_http://science.typolis.net/stories/15902/education, spacemartin_Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:42:40 PSThttp://science.typolis.net/stories/15902/Now, when the Space Shuttle Atlantis is visiting the International Space Station (ISS), swapping crew members and extending hardware by attaching the space lab Columbus, it's time to tell your kids about human space flight, what this people are doing on-board, and what all this fuzz is about. Thus, cock your head and watch the sky. The space station is visible very good just after sunset as a bright straight moving spot (it takes 91 minutes for one orbit, its altitude is around 340 kilometers). ESA provides a nice mash-up of ISS's present position on a Google map, although no future advice for a sighting at your home town is available. That's done by a website of NASA, showing the possible sightings for the next days. Click on "Sighting Opportunities" and go ahead for your country and nearest town.typolis: EuroScience.NetCopyright © 2008 martin_