By nature.com Communities Team on 31 Jan 2011
This year on “Of Schemes and Memes” we plan to provide more editotial content in the form of overview and discussion pieces that cover key scientific events and issues. We’ll start off with a very topical overview of women in science which aims both to round up some recent blog posts and reflect on some archive material. If there is something you would like us to cover in a future post, please email your suggestions to network@nature.com. Read more
Posted in Uncategorized |
By nature.com Communities Team on 28 Jan 2011
Blogs Barbara Ferreira kicks off this week with a fascinating blog post all about synthetic biology, featuring goats that make spider silk. Her post considers the ethical issues and moral dilemmas associated with the flourishing field. Furthermore, an informative comment thread discusses the potential the synthetic biology field has to offer us, such as cells that produce diesel and silkworms producing spider silk. Barbara reveals that: This may seem like a science fiction story, but it is not the product of anyone’s imagination. It is work made possible by the achievements of science and engineering, in particular by the development … Read more
Posted in Weekly round-up
By nature.com Communities Team on 24 Jan 2011
Unless you’ve been completely unplugged from the scientific blogosphere, you’ll probably be aware that just over a week ago the ScienceOnline 2011 conference organised by Bora Zivkovic and Anton Zuiker, took place in North Carolina. Over 400 people including bloggers, scientists, journalists and those interested in examining how the internet can be used to disseminate science, assembled at the Research Triangle Park for a packed few days of activities. These included talks, panel discussions, workshops, lab and museum tours, as well as the opportunity to put faces to the colleagues and friends that they interact with online during the year. Read more
Posted in SpotOn London (SoLo) | Tagged #solo11 |
By nature.com Communities Team on 21 Jan 2011
Blogs Barbara Ferreira starts off the week on ‘Blue Monday’, apparently the most depressing day of the year, with a post about laughing. It explains how laughing your socks off could potentially encourage the immune system, help the heart, and even aid fertility: Scientific evidence that comedy can strengthen the immune system dates back to 1985. A study published that year showed that the levels of salivary immunoglobulin A — a immune-system protein that is one of our bodies’ standard defenses against infection — increased after individuals watched a humorous video. Research done in 2003 pointed to an “apparent relationship” … Read more
Posted in Weekly round-up
By nature.com Communities Team on 14 Jan 2011
Blogs Nature Network is delighted to welcome our newest blogger MuKa, whose blog US and my Mind got off to a terrific start this week. MuKa’s blog is focused on his ambition to find a psychology postdoc position in the States. His first post What do you do, considers the ineptness associated with trying to explain your scientific career goals at a party. I would struggle to come up with a succinct and interesting reply when asked the latter question. What do I do? I’m doing a psychology PhD where I’m looking at how people make decisions in response to … Read more
Posted in Weekly round-up
By nature.com Communities Team on 07 Jan 2011
Blogs The New Year started with an event anticipated by astronomers and scientists all over the world; a solar eclipse. Barbara Ferreira has been discussing the history and science behind the astronomical celestial alignment: A total eclipse can only happen if the moon is in a position such that it’s apparent size is larger than that of the sun. When it is smaller, the moon’s umbral shadow does not reach the Earth. Instead, what is called the antumbra shades a portion of the Earth’s surface. Observers in the antumbra see an annular solar eclipse, a phenomenon in which the moon … Read more
Posted in Weekly round-up