My most recent foray down the internet rabbit hole involves the idea that we are now living in the year 1717, rather than 2013. At some point in deep early time, the theory goes, someone (accidentally on purpose?) tacked 297 years onto the calendar. It’s known as the Phantom Time hypothesis, and it was put […]
Month: October 2013
Over the last few weeks, stories of moose die-offs have made the news. The New York Times reported that one moose population in Minnesota has all but vanished and another has fallen by more than half. Similar declines have happened in New Hampshire and British Columbia. While scientists aren’t sure of the cause, they suspect […]
Astronomers irritate the hell out of me, NASA’s in particular, not the people but their press releases: never met a superlative they didn’t like, Biggest Black Hole, Farthest Quasar, Youngest Galaxy, and on and on, far into the night. The black hole’s size isn’t interesting unless it says something about how galaxies form. The quasar’s […]
Yup. So the battle is uphill and science writers are in the front lines. I do know words like “antibodies” and “herd immunity,” but as a biomedical writer, I write well about astronomy. I know this isn’t exactly what AG is saying, but it’s all I have to say: last week, I got my […]
21 – 25 October What happens to sperm and egg donors in the era of cut-rate genetic testing? Cassie discovers that anonymous donations come with a cost. A growing class of viral clips — generally misinterpreted as cute or funny — actually shows animals in anger, pain, or sexual arousal, says guest poster Whitney Robles. […]
The first major warning sign came in 2006, shortly after Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper first ascended to power. The office of the National Science Advisor was to be phased out. It was a blunt and open declaration of what would come to be called, in environmental writer Chris Turner’s new book, Canada’s War on […]
Growing up, I hated red apples. The grocery store specimens, which were always Red Delicious, looked pretty in the grocery bin, but their perfect skin tasted slightly bitter, their flesh bland and mealy. I didn’t mind varieties like Yellow Delicious, Granny Smiths, or Galas, but they still provided too little flavor to evoke desire. I […]
Joy Morgan* isn’t a mother, but she may have kids. When Morgan was 27, she decided to donate her eggs. The first time she did it for money. “I was about to go back to school, and I had been drowning in a bit of credit card debt,” she says. Eight thousand dollars is a lot […]
