Quick plug for a very interesting Second Life event coming up on Monday: the second in the Nature Darwin Debate series.

Panelists James Lovelock, Michael Meacher MP and Sir Crispin Tickell will join chair Ehsan Masood for a live debate entitled What Price Biodiversity? As before, the debate will be held at Kings Place, London (just behind the Nature building) and will be live streamed in Second Life for anyone who can’t attend in person.

The last debate was excellent, both in RL and SL and this one looks like it will be just as good. It is Monday, 7pm GMT/ 12pm Pacific time (shorter time diff than normal, our clocks go forward this weekend; Europe not until the end of the month) and all are very welcome! For all the details, see our Second Life blog.

Quick plug for a very interesting Second Life event coming up on Monday: the second in the Nature Darwin Debate series.

Panelists James Lovelock, Michael Meacher MP and Sir Crispin Tickell will join chair Ehsan Masood for a live debate entitled What Price Biodiversity? As before, the debate will be held at Kings Place, London (just behind the Nature building) and will be live streamed in Second Life for anyone who can’t attend in person.

The last debate was excellent, both in RL and SL and this one looks like it will be just as good. It is Monday, 7pm GMT/ 12pm Pacific time (shorter time diff than normal, our clocks go forward this weekend; Europe not until the end of the month) and all are very welcome! For all the details, see our Second Life blog.

After a long period of island redevelopment, Nature’s home in Second Life, the Elucian Islands, is suddenly busy again with three events next week!

Monday 9th February: The Nature Darwin Debate 1: Are We Still Evolving?

More details and times

Join a panel of scientists to tackle the issue of human evolution: Is natural selection shaping humans? What will humans look like in 1000 years from now? Is natural selection still shaping humans given that our survival is often more dependent on technology than genes? What are the implications for future generations from sedentary lifestyles, falling birth rates and older parents? What might our species look like 1000 years from now?

Join Sue Blackmore, Henry Gee and Andrew Pomiankowski for a live debate and discussion live in London and Second Life.

Wednesday 11th February: Digital Lives Research Conference: Personal Digital Archives for the 21st Century

More details and times

From 9-11th February, the British Library will be hosting the first Digital Lives Research Project on Personal Digital Archives in the 21st Century. Held at the British Library in London, UK, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the conference aims to explore a wide range of aspects of digital lives and the curation of personal digital archives.

Thursday 12th February: Encuentros 2009

More details and times

The annual meeting of Chilean Scientists in Europe at the Max-Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Gottingen (Germany). The conference aims to encourage the integration of Chilean and European science communities to strengthen collaboration in global science research. Open to all; featuring talks by Ramon Latorre and Nobel Laureate Erwin Neher

All three are free and open – all very welcome!

After a long period of island redevelopment, Nature’s home in Second Life, the Elucian Islands, is suddenly busy again with three events next week!

Monday 9th February: The Nature Darwin Debate 1: Are We Still Evolving?

More details and times

Join a panel of scientists to tackle the issue of human evolution: Is natural selection shaping humans? What will humans look like in 1000 years from now? Is natural selection still shaping humans given that our survival is often more dependent on technology than genes? What are the implications for future generations from sedentary lifestyles, falling birth rates and older parents? What might our species look like 1000 years from now?

Join Sue Blackmore, Henry Gee and Andrew Pomiankowski for a live debate and discussion live in London and Second Life.

Wednesday 11th February: Digital Lives Research Conference: Personal Digital Archives for the 21st Century

More details and times

From 9-11th February, the British Library will be hosting the first Digital Lives Research Project on Personal Digital Archives in the 21st Century. Held at the British Library in London, UK, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the conference aims to explore a wide range of aspects of digital lives and the curation of personal digital archives.

Thursday 12th February: Encuentros 2009

More details and times

The annual meeting of Chilean Scientists in Europe at the Max-Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Gottingen (Germany). The conference aims to encourage the integration of Chilean and European science communities to strengthen collaboration in global science research. Open to all; featuring talks by Ramon Latorre and Nobel Laureate Erwin Neher

All three are free and open – all very welcome!

Every day I tell people about Second Nature who say “How cool! Where can I find out more?” and I’m torn between giving them a SLURL they won’t know what to do with or a blog which is not a lot more than a list of upcoming events.

With this in mind, I’m pleased to introduce a new site on nature.com:

https://www.nature.com/secondnature

Something of a work in progress, we hope this website will be a starting point for newcomers, an introduction to what Second Life’s all about and what we’re doing there, as well as providing listings of all our upcoming events and guides to the best places to see in Second Life. Obviously this is just the first version, but we will be regularly adding to and rotating the content, so if you know a good science-y place in Second Life, by all means send it over and it’ll pop up there sometime.

Most importantly, we hope this will make it easier for people who have heard of Second Life to see what it can be used for and to help experienced users follow activity. Please do take a look: any feedback is very much appreciated from any perspective – in the comments or direct to me at j.scott @ nature.com.

PS: Any SL-experts out there – next on the to-do list is to use the Reg API to allow registration through the website. Anyone got any experience/advice on that?

Every day I tell people about Second Nature who say “How cool! Where can I find out more?” and I’m torn between giving them a SLURL they won’t know what to do with or a blog which is not a lot more than a list of upcoming events.

With this in mind, I’m pleased to introduce a new site on nature.com:

https://www.nature.com/secondnature

Something of a work in progress, we hope this website will be a starting point for newcomers, an introduction to what Second Life’s all about and what we’re doing there, as well as providing listings of all our upcoming events and guides to the best places to see in Second Life. Obviously this is just the first version, but we will be regularly adding to and rotating the content, so if you know a good science-y place in Second Life, by all means send it over and it’ll pop up there sometime.

Most importantly, we hope this will make it easier for people who have heard of Second Life to see what it can be used for and to help experienced users follow activity. Please do take a look: any feedback is very much appreciated from any perspective – in the comments or direct to me at j.scott @ nature.com.

PS: Any SL-experts out there – next on the to-do list is to use the Reg API to allow registration through the website. Anyone got any experience/advice on that?

In the next event in the series, George Monbiot, British environmentalist, journalist and author is coming to give a talk on Second Nature on Thursday. For those of you that don’t know him, George is the author of Heat: How we can stop the planet burning and his talk will cover all his ideas about what needs to be done, including a 90% reduction in carbon emissions, if we’re to avoid reaching the tipping point.

Date: Thursday 21st February

Time: 9am SLT, Midday EST, 5pm GMT

Location: Second Nature Island

Full details at Nature Network – all welcome!

In the next event in the series, George Monbiot, British environmentalist, journalist and author is coming to give a talk on Second Nature on Thursday. For those of you that don’t know him, George is the author of Heat: How we can stop the planet burning and his talk will cover all his ideas about what needs to be done, including a 90% reduction in carbon emissions, if we’re to avoid reaching the tipping point.

Date: Thursday 21st February

Time: 9am SLT, Midday EST, 5pm GMT

Location: Second Nature Island

Full details at Nature Network – all welcome!

Want to see what this Second Life business is all about? Save a large, unfeasibly cute marine mammal? Both?

The first event on Second Nature of 2008 is taking place this Monday, 18th February, 9am PST/5pm GMT. All welcome to join us with CeAire and Hawc Decosta who will talk all about their work in Florida with the endangered manatee: what it is, what put it on the endangered list to begin with and what’s being done to save it.

Full details and help for SL beginners over at Nature Network

Want to see what this Second Life business is all about? Save a large, unfeasibly cute marine mammal? Both?

The first event on Second Nature of 2008 is taking place this Monday, 18th February, 9am PST/5pm GMT. All welcome to join us with CeAire and Hawc Decosta who will talk all about their work in Florida with the endangered manatee: what it is, what put it on the endangered list to begin with and what’s being done to save it.

Full details and help for SL beginners over at Nature Network