I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this science/pop culture goodness.
I have marked the must-read/see with a ∞. Enjoy.
DEATH BY ANTLION!
“Dorey’s claim about the medical literature linking vaccination and autism is pure, unadulterated baloney.”
Can’t help thinking of US asteroid impacts…A great comparison: The Scale of the Moon
Fascinating new Minutephysics video: Why is The Night Sky Dark? Characteristically clear and concise
Don’t Step in That Sh*t: How the GMO-Study Authors Played the Media by David Dobbs
Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL battle station! via Joe Hanson
I wouldn’t wish this on even my worst enemies–Parasitic wasp emergence. I think I’m gonna be sick
Some crazy-good mimicry here: This ant is a spider.
Awe.some. This Hubble shot shows a plasma jet shooting out from a supermassive black hole near the center galaxy M87
Where does misinformation come from, and what does it do? Analysis from an information processing perspective (my field)
A good explanation of a classic myth–Why aren’t my kids hyper after binging on sugar?
∞ A skeptical and disturbing TED talk on how publication bias in medicine harms patients right now, by Ben Goldacre – Bad Science
For the Halloween season: visualizing other animals with human skeletons is creeeeeeepy
I can’t sleep at night knowing that my paper can have 3 sides: Hexaflexagons
Dear Anti-Vaxxer: Yes, I do the research
Octopus gets through 3 zip ties while wrestling a shark with one arm to steal a bait canister
Global warming is going to f*** up my Australian snorkeling vacation, oh, and also destroy a critical ecosystem.
Studying plant roots with see-through soil.
Any biologist followers know what these baby stingray “legs” are?
Forget the title, but Richard Dawkins can definitely sort out the old “atheists have no morals” canard
∞ In my latest for Scientific American, I explore how we can best communicate worldview-shaking messages to those of the “Creation Persuasion”
Plasma waves in radiation belts make our planet sing: Earthsong
Galapagos finch, I choose YOU! Darwin totally would have caught them all.
Fermilab’s 570 mega-pixel dark energy camera is almost more beautiful than the photographs it takes.
3/4 of journal retractions are due to misconduct, study finds: A rising problem in science culture.
Holy balls these images of Icelandic rivers flowing across volcanic ash are pretty.
Someone turned XKCD’s “Click and Drag” into a game. Enjoy if you haven’t already.
Energy Drinks: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
XKCD answers what would happen if you poured water on the sun, and other quick physics goodies.
These machines are *much* cooler naked.
Michele Bachmann was completely wrong about the HPV vaccine? How odd: Study of ~190,000 given HPV vaccine finds no safety concerns.
“The Unbelievable Time Required to Cover Immense Distances of Space“-1918
What are those black spidery things on the surface of Mars? Krulwich wonders
Jane Goodall would be fascinated if Bigfoot existed, as would any skeptic.
The perfect crime–Oregon farmer eaten by hogs last Wednesday. How often do pigs murder owners? EXPLAINED
“The exception tests the rule.” Or, “The exception proves that the rule is wrong.” That is the principle of science – Richard Feynman
∞ Daniel Loxton with a fantastic post on skepticism and recognizing mental illness
The Cheetah: Nature’s Speed Machine
“Internet-Use Disorder” is now officially a thing (maybe)
I spent about 1-minute on this article on premature ejaculation before questioning the evolutionary premises
A cuttlefish mimicking a leaf is as cool looking as you think
Modeling black holes with magnetic fields and super computers
How Bill Nye became the science guy, and why he’ll take on anyone about creationism
In the wild, a black mamba would probably kill you. In the lab, it might ease your pain better than morphine
Watch a Hidden Leopard Suplex a Running Impala. How could you not click on this?
The vampire squid, far from draining blood, harmlessly feeds on marine snow by Ed Yong
Ohhh…way cooler than I thought! Starfish tube feet DON’T work like suction cups…
Who knew that a urinating caterpillar could be so beautiful?
∞ In my latest for the James Randi Educational Foundation I try to answer a simple question, “Are Surveys Scientific?“
Posted because Sagan looks awesome in it
∞ On vaccination and climate change (and other “contentious” issues), no, you’re not entitled to your opinion.
Great animal leaf-mimicry here, if i was a bird I would totally not recognize them and fly off, defeated
This is objectively the coolest Rube-Goldberg machine. It’s human powered, involves full shipping containers and parkour
Pretty time-lapse of Australia’s new telescope array. A good video to decompress tonight with
SPACE PORN-Rosette Nebula
“Breast clouds” look like breasts, unsurprisingly
<Through a smoky haze> What happens in your brain after smoking a doobie, dude?
Watch the simulation: How dangerous is space debris? Extremely. Hit w/ sugar-cube of space debris equals grenad
The legality is tricky, but we should tighten vaccine exemption laws if opposition stems from misinformation
Wow. This guy *represents* people: “Evolution, embryology, the big bang theory…lies straight from the pit of Hell…”
Are gay men happier? Interesting research blogging post
Heh. Fifty Shades of Quackery: “What ________ Doesn’t Want You To Know!”
I could watch this gif of a dummy testing an inflatable helmet all day
Actually, this is my new favorite ultra-concise study
Concise and awesome–Great moments in science: This research paper abstract is a model of brevity.
I’d rather look at these MRI gifs of fruits and vegetables than of brains
New study shows how opposing both free birth control and abortion is a lose-lose position
Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense – Carl Sagan
If you know the metric system, you know just how much wood a wood chuck could chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood
Nightmare fuel–The scariest animal that will never hurt you
