How to Talk to Kids About the Higgs Boson
It’s going to happen. Someone in your class is going to bring up the Higgs announcement. This is great, it is the start of a discussion initiated by students. But what should you talk about? Dot Physics blogger Rhett Allain has the answers.
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Superbug Summer Books: DINNER: A LOVE STORY
07.08.12 | I have a small private belief — for which, despite being a science writer, I can produce no data — that much of the complex difficulty of the American food system would vanish if people knew how to cook. When I say “cook,” I don’t mean mimicking “Top Chef” theatrics, or reproducing the transglutaminase excesses [...] Read moreAntaeus Orbiting Quarantine Facility (1978)
07.07.12 | Mars Sample Return has been high on NASA's list of favorite Mars missions since the 1970s. For many, however, the mission concept raises a crucial question: how can we be sure that the samples won't contain Mars microbes that could harm life on Earth? In 1978, 16 professors from across the U.S. met at NASA Ames Research Center to consider this question. Their answer: the Antaeus Orbiting Quarantine Facility. Read moreStartups that Catalyze Science
07.06.12 | There is an increasing trend within science: companies or organizations that aim to accelerate science itself. Science can only progress if you can navigate its rapidly growing landscape, measure it properly, or even share data. Happily, there are a lot of startups and non-profits that are stepping into this niche and working to make science [...] Read moreEruptions Update – Summer Storm Edition (Pt. 2)
07.06.12 | Just thought I would offer a second update – this week’s unexpected vacation/evacuation to Massachusetts has flown by and now we’re heading back to Ohio tomorrow. It appears that much of Granville has its power back, meaning the outage was roughly 6 days, but some houses near our house are still out, so we’re not [...] Read moreHiggs For Mere Mortals
07.06.12 | The science video community has been hard at work providing you with the best explanation of the Higgs boson. Watch some of Dot Physics blogger Rhett Allain's favorite explainer clips. Read more
Featured Blog: Elemental
A Poison for Assassins
07.05.12 | Radioactive elements make for some effective poisons. With a new investigation into the possible-poisoning of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, our chemistry blogger Deborah Blum looks into the history of radiation assassinations. Read moreTiny Fireworks
07.03.12 | “Is that thunder?” I asked my husband on Saturday night. I hoped it was, actually. It hasn’t rained here for so long that our lawn crunches like burnt toast. But, no. “That’s the big fireworks show,” he answered. “Oh, right.” I always forget that show because our July 4th family tradition is one of tiny [...] Read moreThe Curious Case of the Poisoned Cows
06.29.12 | One morning in early June, a Texas rancher turned 18 cattle out to graze. Within a few hours, only three were still alive. Elemental blogger and poison aficionado Deborah Blum explains the curious chain of events that led to the inadvertent cull -- and the widespread misconceptions of the cause. Read moreThe Curse of the Lead Bullet
06.25.12 | For the past 30 years, the California condor -- the largest bird in North America -- has been returning from the cliff-edge of extinction. But Elemental blogger Deborah Blum explains how regular poisoning of their habitat is imperiling the condors’ comeback. Read moreA is for Arsenic (pesticides, if you please)
06.19.12 | In the early 20th century – enthusiastically supported by the U.S. government – the most popular pesticides were arsenic compounds. How popular? In the year 1929, almost 30 million pounds of lead arsenate and calcium arsenate were spread across this country’s fields and orchards. And how enthusiastic was the government? Well, in 1935, on [...] Read moreA Toast to Mike the Durable
06.15.12 | A ragtag group of Prohibition-era schemers tried to kill a local drunkard with poison alcohol, but their plan backfired. Elemental blogger Deborah Blum retells the classic story of what happened next. Read moreThe Arsenic Diet
06.08.12 | In late May, the organic baby formula maker Nature's One announced a goal of "zero arsenic" in its product. Good, you say, but why is a poison like arsenic, of all things, an issue in baby formula? Elemental blogger Deborah Blum retraces the origin of this unfortunately common trace poison. Read moreIs Arsenic the Worst Chemical in the World?
06.01.12 | Is arsenic the worst chemical in the world? Elemental blogger Deborah Blum investigates the effects of lethal high doses, as well as chronic low doses of arsenic and reveals the frightening fact that even in this country, millions of people may be drinking arsenic-contaminated water and could be suffering health consequences because of it. Read moreNicotine and the Chemistry of Murder
05.25.12 | In the 1850s, murderers learned of a fast-acting, incredibly lethal and virtually undetectable poison: nicotine. Science writer and Elemental blogger Deborah Blum unravels the toxic nature of this naturally occurring alkaloid -- and how it led to the advent of modern forensic chemistry. Read moreChemistry by Candlelight
05.24.12 | This essay is cross-posted from Download the Universe, a website dedicated to reviewing e-books. ”There is no better, there is no more open door by which you can enter into the study of natural philosophy than by considering the physical phenomena of a candle.” It was the above line that first caught my [...] Read more
Featured Blog: Superbug
Superbug Summer Books: DINNER: A LOVE STORY
07.08.12 | I have a small private belief — for which, despite being a science writer, I can produce no data — that much of the complex difficulty of the American food system would vanish if people knew how to cook. When I say “cook,” I don’t mean mimicking “Top Chef” theatrics, or reproducing the transglutaminase excesses [...] Read moreNot Your Usual Holiday-Danger Warning: Don’t Eat the Grill Brush
07.04.12 | Everyone knows to shield their eyes from sparklers and bottle rockets on the 4th of July, but another less obvious thing to beware of is the wire brush most of us use to clean our backyard grills. Read moreNews Round-Up: Meat, Superbugs, Denmark And Big Food
07.02.12 | I was off-line for a week with family issues, and while I was gone, news broke out. (It senses your absence, news does. This is the real reason why coups and major foodborne outbreaks happen in August.) So while I dive into the bigger stories that seem to be happening — and get some fun [...] Read more“Science: It’s a Girl Thing”: Lab Barbie, Extra Lipstick
06.22.12 | (Update: Mid-afternoon June 22, US time, the video was “made private by uploader” on YouTube, making both video and many derisive comments by women inaccessible. I’ve put a screengrab from it above. Second update: Thankfully the original was mirrored. Embed restored below.) (Update, June 25: The almost-universal outrage over the video had the desired effect. [...] Read moreCDC: Superbug NDM-1 Spreads Within a US Hospital
06.21.12 | Thirteen cases of the NDM-1 superbug, which originated in New Delhi, have been documented in the United States. Superbug blogger and author Maryn McKenna reports how a hospital spread at least one of these infections. Read morePeople Want to Eat Meat Raised Without Excessive Antibiotics. Wouldn’t You?
06.20.12 | A new Consumer Reports poll shows that 86 percent of shoppers in a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults said they wanted meat raised without antibiotics to be available in their local supermarkets. Superbug blogger Maryn McKenna reports. Read more9-Year-Old Who Changed School Lunches Silenced By Politicians
06.15.12 | Nine-year-old student Martha Payne took photos of her school lunches in western Scotland, but had to shut down her blog because she's now forbidden to take a camera into school. Superbug author and blogger Maryn McKenna reports. Read moreBeyond Factory Farming: Creating An Appetite For Pastured Poultry
06.11.12 | I get this a lot: “I understand that the things you write about are important — but they’re so depressing. Couldn’t you write some, you know, good news, for a change?” So here you go: a solutions post for once, instead of another problem. (But I can’t promise to make a habit of it.) I [...] Read moreThe Superbugs In Your Dinner: A Storify
06.07.12 | As I said Wednesday would happen, I participated in a Twitterchat today about antibiotic-resistant foodborne illnesses arising as a result of agricultural antibiotic use. This is the subject of my investigative piece in the June issue of SELF Magazine. Chat participants were me and blogger and cancer survivor Lisa Bonchek Adams, with many constant readers [...] Read moreDrug-Resistant Gonorrhea: WHO Agrees It’s An Emergency
06.06.12 | The World Health Organization has weighed in on the growing threat from antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, saying in a statement this morning that the scourge requires "urgent action." Superbug blogger and author Maryn McKenna reports. Read more