Scientific American

Barack Obama Should Call for End of All War, Not Just War on Terror

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:44:00 EST

Since Barack Obama became President, I've beaten up on him for being so hawkish, for perpetuating U.S. militarism--and hence militarism in general--as a way to solve conflicts. In a major speech yesterday at the National Defense University in McNair, Virginia, Obama took a few tiny steps toward becoming the Peace President many voters hoped he would be. But he needs to go much, much further.[caption id="attachment_1297" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Obama taking stage at National Defense University"] [/caption] [More]

Northern Elephant Seals: Increasing Population, Decreasing Biodiversity

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:24:00 EST

By Dana Handy [caption id="attachment_4011" align="alignright" width="373" caption="The male elephant seals are known to have aggressive, bloody battles with each other to obtain dominance during mating season. They use their elephant-like noses to make a loud trumpet noise that attracts mates. Photo: NOAA"] [/caption] [More]

Net Loss: How We Continually Forget What the Oceans Really Used to Be Like [Excerpt]

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

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Khalil's Picks (24 May 2013)

Fri, 24 May 2013 09:43:00 EST

The Oklahoma tornado disaster was chilling in terms of sheer power and devastation caused. In this week's picks, I highlight two articles about tornadoes. The first one, by Douglas Main , examines the underlying causes of such destructive tornadoes and the second one, by Adam Kucharski , looks at the challenge in forecasting seemingly unpredictable tornadoes.

On a more joyous note, this week's picks comprises numerous blog posts from Scitable blogs, which just relaunched this week [full disclosure: I am the Community Manager of Scitable blogs]. The blog posts span a variety of topics including physics, cosmology, evolution, psychology, geology, oceanography among others. Scitable bloggers highlighted this week are: Thomas Nguyen , James Keen , Sedeer el-Showk , Jon Tennant , Jane Robb , Sara Mynott , Bruce Braun , Dana Smith and Kate Whittington .

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#SciAmBlogs Thursday - science diagrams, mental illness art, beavers are fish, amphibian decline, cicadas, and more.

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:04:00 EST

Check out the new Video of the Week . [More]

Hip Hop Evolutionary Tales

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:07:00 EST

Video of the Week #93, May 23th, 2013: [More]

Amphibians in U.S. Declining at "Alarming and Rapid Rate"

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:08:00 EST

A new study finds that frogs, toads, salamanders and other amphibians in the U.S. are dying off so quickly that they could disappear from half of their habitats in the next 20 years. For some of the more endangered species, they could lose half of their habitats in as little as six years. The nine-year study, published on May 22 in PLoS One by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), examined population trends for 48 species at 34 sites across the country.The researchers found that on average amphibian populations were shrinking a surprising 3.7 percent per year. "Even though these declines seem small on the surface, they are not," lead author Michael Adams, a USGS ecologist, said in a prepared release . "Small numbers build up to dramatic declines with time. We knew there was a big problem with amphibians, but these numbers are both surprising and of significant concern." [More]

Marine Protected Areas and Catalina Island: Conserve, Maintain and Enrich

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:23:00 EST

By Rachel Roenfeldt [caption id="attachment_3997" align="alignright" width="353" caption="This is the logo for the US National System of Marine Protected Areas. Image courtesy of NOAA (http://www.noaa.gov/features/resources_0109/)."] [/caption] [More]

The Art and Science of the Diagram: Communicating the Knowledge of the Heavens, the Earth and the Arcane, Final Part

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:23:00 EST

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Deciphering the Strange Mathematics of Cicadas [Video]

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:00 EST

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#SciAmBlogs Wednesday - niche construction, cicadas, ageing, Moon, pirates' dodo, sick caecilians, hurricane forecasts, and more.

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:33:00 EST

- David Rothenberg - Discover the Secret of the 17-Year Cicada, But It Won't Get You Tenure [More]

Infant Tooth Reveals Neandertal Breastfeeding Habits

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:30:00 EST

The changing ratios of calcium and barium in the teeth of modern humans and macaques chronicle the transition from mother’s milk to solid food -- and may provide clues about the weaning habits of Neandertals, a new study suggests.

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Discover the Secret of the 17-Year Cicada, But It Won t Get You Tenure

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:40:00 EST

All the hoopla over the 17-year cicadas, set to emerge any day now in the Northeast, has so far missed one of the greatest facts about them. Sure, it's no surprise for grand gatherings of male animals to get together and sing their hearts out. Frogs do it, crickets do it, and we all know that humans do it. In animals it's called a lek, in humans it's called a rock band, and these words basically mean the same thing.That's what we thought 17-year cicadas were up to--they emerge only in these rare prime-numbered years after slowly growing underground to live just a few weeks high in the trees to sing, fly, mate and die. The females are just attracted to all this noise and mating then happens. [More]

The Moon has it all: Explosions, Water, and Clues to the Grand Tack

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:51:00 EST

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We Fit Nature to Us: Evolution's 2-Way Street

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:41:00 EST

It is in our nature to fit nature to us. We are best at it, but other species do it. This obvious but overlooked factor contradicts the dominant one-way-street gene-centric view of adaptation. A better framework for evolution is needed. Its shape isn't clear, but it must incorporate: extracorporeal gene effects, "gene-culture coevolution," "niche construction," reduced randomness, and intelligent influences.George Williams, a founder of the gene-centric school, claimed " Adaptation is always asymmetrical; organisms adapt to their environment, never vice versa ." He was wrong. [More]

What's Individuality, and Where Does It Come From?

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:43:00 EST

"Let's say you have an axe. Just a cheap one, from Home Depot," opens the horror-comedy novel John Dies at the End . "On one bitter winter day, you use said axe to behead a man." This blow splinters the axe's handle - so the story goes - so you get the hardware store stick a new handle on the blade.The repaired axe sits in your garage until one day the next spring, when you damage the blade while fending off "a foot-long slug with a bulging egg sac on its tail," which requires another trip to the store to replace the axe-head. Unfortunately, when you arrive home, you're greeted by the enraged reanimated corpse of the man you beheaded last year. He takes a long look at the weapon you're holding, and he screams, "That's the same axe that beheaded me!" [More]

Dividing Arcella (test construction in progress)

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:42:00 EST

A quickie post to assure y'all I'm still around. Got a few proper posts coming soon!Remember our testate amoeba friends, the arcellinids ? Here is a pair of Arcella s (Arcellae?) in the midst of division. Organic tests(="shells") rust over time, as in they turn yellow and then brown with oxidation. Based on that, you can tell that the newer test is on the bottom, as they start out clear. These cells have almost finished dividing, with a lingering cytoplasmic bridge barely connecting the two, between their mouthes (ok, 'oral apertures'). Mouth-to-mouth division. The three tiny round things at the top end of the cytoplasmic bridge look like the last organelles that will be transferred over to the younger cell -- perhaps a few mitochondria, based on their size. Don't worry, there's already plenty that have been transferred to the younger cell already! [More]

USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: An Analysis of Sargassum Horneri Ecosystem Impact

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:35:00 EST

By: Richelle Tanner Introduction: [More]

Frog-Killing Chytrid Fungus Hits Rarely Seen, Wormlike Amphibians

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:20:00 EST

Don't feel bad if you've never seen a caecilian , let alone don't know how to pronounce the word . These rare, legless amphibians--which look like a cross between a worm and a snake--spend most of their time underground, far from the prying eyes of scientists and other humans. Although some of the 190 or so known caecilian (think "Sicilian") species can reach massive lengths--1.9 meters in some cases--they are rarely studied and very little is known about them.Here's something we do know: Caecilians, like the frogs and salamanders to which they are related, are apparently now at risk from the deadly chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ), which has already caused hundreds of amphibian extinctions around the globe. [More]

Evolutionary Tales - A Hip Hop Theatre Cycle: Baba Brinkman is Back!

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:43:00 EST

It's wonderful to meet people that have an extremely unique niche in the performance world. I don't think there has been, or ever will be, an artist akin to the likes of Baba Brinkman . He is a talented rapper, writer and performer - and his work is based on the biology behind evolution. He covers topics like natural selection, sexual selection and evolutionary psychology in a manner that is part rap concert, part biology class and part stand up comedy. It's the kind of combination you'd expect to see at fringe festivals (and indeed, his work has been highlighted at many) and small town, back alley venues; however, Brinkman has managed to bring his unique acts to the mainstream. He has performed his shows to many off-Broadway audiences in New York City, he will be performing at this year's ' World Science Festival ', and he has just scored another run at the Soho Playhouse Theatre from May 31 - June 23 . In his next run, aptly titled ' Evolutionary Tales: A Hip Hop Theatre Cycle ', Brinkman will be playing a combination of his three previous works. These are: Ingenious Nature , The Rap Guide to Evolution , and The Canterbury Tales Remixed . [More]