NASA is testing a robot designed by students to explore Greenland called GROVER (For Greenland Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research). Early results look promising: GROVER’s radar emits a signal that bounces off the different layers of the ice sheet, allowing scientists to study how snow and ice accumulates in Greenland. The team wantedContinue reading “NASA researcher dreams of army of polar robots”
Category Archives: Science
Why you don’t want to be drinking cyanobacteria: ALS
This story by a writing mentor, Wendee Nicole, just won a best science story of the year award from the Society of Journalists and Authors. It's horrifying (but fascinating too) to think that a bacteria could be paralyzing people, or giving them Alzheimer's, and the revelation of that story; well, it's jaw-dropping. A small sample:Continue reading “Why you don’t want to be drinking cyanobacteria: ALS”
David Perlman, the science reporter who just won’t quit
A few years back the science writer Chris Moody suggested we need to see scientists less as nerds and more as rock stars. Yes, and by the same token, great science reporters too. In that vein, here's a lovely look at David Perlman, who has been reporting on science for the San Francisco Chronicle forContinue reading “David Perlman, the science reporter who just won’t quit”
Why we melodramatize the fate of polar bears: Zac Unger
Great excerpt from a book on the fate of polar bears, including a super-thoughtful discussion of why even highly reputable scientists turn to melodrama, in the under-appreciated Pacific Standard. Called: The Fuzzy Face of Climate Change. Highly recommended. Speaking of excerpts, here's a couple. The set-up question: Are polar bears threatened with extinction? Actual dataContinue reading “Why we melodramatize the fate of polar bears: Zac Unger”
“Every hurricane is a fluke” — Atmospheric scientist
"Every hurricane is a fluke, to some degree," said Adam Sobel, an atmospheric scientists at Columbia in New York, in a fascinating discussion around the question: Is New York becoming a hotspot for tropical cyclones? Short answer (from Will Oremus) is: No. Here, via Wikipedia Commons, is an image of hurricane tracks in the Atlantic, 1851-2005. HowContinue reading ““Every hurricane is a fluke” — Atmospheric scientist”
The Disruptors: The plastic invasion of your body
Think this is the most complex story I've ever tried to report, and one of the biggest. Hope to stay on it. From the VC Reporter: A revolutionary change overtook America beginning in the l960s, and it’s one that had nothing to do with the usual suspects — long hair, war, sex or rock and roll.Continue reading “The Disruptors: The plastic invasion of your body”
The sexiness of a stupid woman, according to science
In Slate, a science reporter specializing in sex, Jesse Bering, reports on a new study that finds that women who look drunk and/or stupid are especially attractive to straight men. The study has problems — for one, a lack of a good control sample. For another, the hypothesis (that men find women who appearContinue reading “The sexiness of a stupid woman, according to science”
Understanding the extreme weather/climate change link
At Dot Earth, Andy Revkin takes another whack at the link between recent extreme weather events and climate change. He begins as I did a couple of posts back, with the debate between Rahmstorf/Coumou at RealClimate and Marty Hoerling at NOAA. He doesn't put the March heat wave into the mix, but does add usefulContinue reading “Understanding the extreme weather/climate change link”
Global warming stresses bird marriages
Scientific American has been a surprisingly sexy magazine as of late, with Jesse Bering's classic ode to semen, and now a cheeky look at global warming and bird biology. The headline: Climate Change increases mate-swapping in birds A study by Carlos Botero et al in PLoS ONE reveals that, the mag says: . Birds typicallyContinue reading “Global warming stresses bird marriages”
Biz mag publishes climate science: Heartland burned
One of the most fascinating revelations from the internal docs leaked from the Heartland Institute is about the business journal Forbes, which recently has begun publishing real honest-to-God climate science news. Unlike the Wall Street Journal. Wrote Heartland in its "Climate Strategy" doc: Efforts at places such as Forbes are especially important now that they haveContinue reading “Biz mag publishes climate science: Heartland burned”
Kit Stolz 