This first ran 12/17/2012. The subject is timely and so is the take-home: don’t be too ready to hand over the keys. It was hardly the first time a ref had gotten it wrong. But the error at the 2010 World Cup was the last straw. Germany (the machine) was only beating England (the perpetual […]
This first ran on Nov. 18, 2011, before Sally took indefinite leave. We just know you’re missing her so here’s the next best, the redux Sally. A transatlantic phone call ended badly the other day. “You can just turn left at the next light,” I heard my friend tell the New York cab driver over […]
This was first published on December 23, 2011. But microbes seem hot these days so we hope this will add to your knowledge about their manifold hotnesses — which apparently encompass radioactivity (hot? get it?) and spiders. Maybe not spiders. Anyway, the post is now, somewhat reliably, UPDATED. Last week, the Augusta Chronicle reported that […]
March 17 – 21 This week, Ann interviewed Will Storr about his new book. The conversation turns to the dangers of congratulating yourself excessively on your own intelligence. Accidental rewilding or inadvertent resheepling? Michelle investigated. Helen dissected the persistent rumour that penguins need sweaters. But penguins made of sugary Peeps? They definitely need a knitting […]
March 10 – 14 This week, Christie told us that story she doesn’t tell. Then lots of other people flocked to the comments to tell theirs. Guest poster Daniel O’Connell asked if there’s gold in them thar evolutionary hills. Cameron wondered if deep-sea species will be soon be forced to have their own reality show. […]
March 3 – 7 This week, Ann’s love letter to the capital weather gang made me want to understand far more about the weather. You can either be totally secure, or you can be plugged into a network. Pick one, says Abstruse Goose. Helen says art about the Artic ice melt is beautiful and awful, […]
February 17 – 21 This week, Ann shed light on the connection between the lawn chairs littering wintery Baltimore streets and Lord of the Flies. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like inside Biosphere 2, Michelle can give you the tour! Scientists are on a quest to find the Neil Peart of the […]
February 10 – 14 In the wake of this week’s mammogram research, Christie said it’s no longer a question that increasing the number of cancers detected is the wrong objective: “we should be aiming to save lives, not create as many cancer patients as we possibly can“. Cassie looked back on scientists acting as their own […]