August 26, 2011 Round-Up

Sometimes, it pays to date a Neanderthal.

(Photo Credit: Willnow/Getty)

Aye maties! On to science camp!

(Photo Credit: Donna Kiernan)

Research!America advocates for medical research, and we encourage everyone to get involved. See what you can do: Research!America advocacy

Hello Irene! Hurricane Irene hits the east coast this weekend and New Voices wants you to stay safe by following the weather.

On this day on New Voices:
2010 - New Voices takes a comic break.
2009 - New Voices salutes the late Edward Kennedy, a champion for health and research.

August 12th, 2011 Round-Up

Do your "spidey senses" help or hurt in a game of rock, paper, scissors?

EEK!! Virtual rats!

According to a recent Research!America poll, most Americans can't name a living scientist. Take this quiz from the New York Times to see how many scientists you recognize.





For all you runners out there, August can be the hottest month of the year. Be sure to be safe. Following a few simple rules might save you a world of pain.

On this day in New Voices
2010: Heather introduced the Mystery Lab Contest
2009: New Voices from around the web debated the question: Do Science and Politics Mix?

Political Discourse & Going Bananas Round-Up

On the Policy Front
Talks on the debt ceiling continue leaving some wondering, what if the climate "ceiling" got as much attention as the debt ceiling?

What words you use matter in activating groups.

Food Research & Health
A new study has shown that folks who push a cart in the grocery store make healthier purchases than those who carry baskets. Any guesses as to why?

Bananas are facing a deadly threat and genome mapping may be able to solve it.

On this day in New Voices:
2010:  We took a look inside the Greco Lab at Yale University.
2009: Heather wondered Can you name a living scientist? (this post had the highest one day traffic of any post in New Voices history.)

Signs of Research Round-Up

via The Ellen DeGeneres Show on WhoSay

This week's challenge: Create an advocacy message as effective as that sign.

Head on over to Scientific American and check out the blossoming blog network. Lots of our favorites from around the web have found new homes there, including Christie Wilcox of the renamed Science Sushi and Jennifer Ouellette of Cocktail Party Physics.

Do naked mole rats know the secret to a cancer-free life?

Parting is such sweet sorrow. This week the nation says farewell to the space shuttle program. With it goes an era of exploration that fueled the imaginations of millions of Americans.

Your iPhone now has additional capabilities, including being able to detect cataracts. Don't worry, you can also use your iPod touch and some other smart phones as well.

On this day in New Voices:
2010: We got a sneak peak at Pipetting at Harvard.
2009: The New Voices bloggers debated Health Care Reform.

Independence Day Round-Up

Concerns for All Scientists
New Voice Jaime Vernon reviews President Obama's press conference on Wednesday and wonders whether it is foreshadowing bad things for medical research in a guest blog over at The Intersection.

In the Lab

• New research shows that some genes may be able to be turned on by a burst of light.
• Is evolution the latest weapon against cancer?

From Bench to Bedside
14 universities were among the top recipients of U.S. patents in 2010.

Exciting News!

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Association will officially declare rinderpest the second disease in history to be eradicated, after smallpox. Although this disease doesn't directly afflict humans, it has led to massive famines throughout history by killing livestock.

On this day in New Voices
2010 - Alissa took us on a tour of the rest of the Barresi Lab at Smith College
2009 - Matt did a round-up of all the health holidays in July, and New Voices was advocating for an increase in funding for the NIH. Just like we are today.

New Voices will be off on Monday celebrating America's birthday. Stay safe out there amongst the barbecues and fireworks - we'll see you on Tuesday!

Five at Five

Five quick quips as we round-up the week here at New Voices...

Cancer and cancer research are always hot button issues and this week was no exception with lots of ink covering cancer from patient advice (cancer is like improv?) to new graphic warnings for cigarettes to how a sitting at work can lead to specific types of cancer.

Ed Yong (again) shows us how research can be made accessible to the public with his piece on herding HIV to an evolutionary dead end.

Here at New Voices we talk about the NIH a lot, but were surprised to learn today's 27 institutes started as a one-man shop in 1887.

Good news for those who don't have time to call Congress during the day: 33 members of Congress sleep in their offices. I wonder if any of them are using hammocks to help them sleep more deeply?

On this day in New Voices
2010 - We got an inside look at the Barresi Lab at Smith College.
2009 - We talked about Engaging Audiences.

Good luck Molly Round-Up

Hooray for Friday! It means the last day of in-office work for many of you, but also the weekly New Voices round-up. (You know that's what makes Fridays so exciting!)

Unfortunately, our Friday is bittersweet this week with the departure of our newest blogger, Molly Maguire. Molly finishes her internship today and is moving on to a position as an associate at Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC. We are sad to see her go, but excited for her new adventures and looking forward to hearing about her work there soon.

In that spirit of new adventures, two federal agencies have made major announcements this week:

The FDA releases the new sunscreen guidelines in time for another fun-in-the-sun summer. Looking for some good beach reading? Seems like neuroscience and brain books are the page-turners for 2011.

The USDA releases new food guidelines, explicitly encouraging Americans to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. While raw fruits and veggies are predictable, it turns out figuring out what really has whole grains can be a bit trickier.

On this day in New Voices:
2010 - We launched our summer series, Images from Around the Lab. If you'd like to contribute pictures from your lab, drop us a line in the comments or via email at programs_at_researchamerica.org.
2009 - New Voices Matt, Takao and Rashada participated in the first blog point/counterpoint on policy related to Combating Cancer.

A Viral Round-Up

In my ideal world, a viral New Voices Round-Up would be one that is so popular it flies around the web at previously unknown speeds of electron transfer. In reality, New Voices has been quieter this week than any week since we began posting in December of 2008 because of a freakishly powerful virus that attacked my work computer.

We're glad to be back online now and even more excited to catch up on our theme-day pieces that got missed between help desk calls.

Monday is typically our day to cover science policy, so to make sure you're getting your full dose, read this article in The Hill about 12 GOP lawmakers asking their colleagues to spare NIH from massive cuts in the FY 2012 budget and then ask your senators to sign on to the Casey-Burr letter.

Thanks to New Voice Elyse for sharing a link perfect for our usual Tuneage Tuesday: a trailer for the upcoming The PHD Movie, based on the very popular (and often shown here) Piled Higher, Deeper comic strip about life as a PhD student/post doc. After you see this, you'll definitely be requesting showings at your university:


PHD Movie Trailer from PHD Comics on Vimeo.

We don't have a bunch of other links from this week (what with limited Internet access), but get your fill of New Voices with these historical posts, and we'll have quite a reading list for you next week.

On this day in New Voices:
2010 - Ryan made us aware that June is Aphasia Awareness month in his post, Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously.
2009 - Matt told us about his Experiences with H1N1 in China. Seems like E.Coli is trying to earn the same epidemic status in Europe right now.

National Doughnut Day Round Up

It's National Doughnut Day, so grab a delicious snack and settle in for this week's favorites from around the web.

Want to be inspired by getting knocked in the head with an apple? Sadly, that's no longer a possibility under Sir Isaac Newton's 400 year-old apple tree.

However, if you get hit in the head elsewhere, you can now quickly and easily find out if you have a concussion. Yup, there's an app for that. The best part? It includes data from the CDC and provides users a medium to contribute to research on youth sports and concussions.

Science Communication
If the heat is keeping you indoors, you'll definitely want to read about how the Science & Entertainment  Exchange is helping keeping what you see on TV scientifically feasible (pages 12 to 14).

Research to Improve Health
When is MRSA really MRSA? And what do new methods of diagnosing infections mean for medical research?

On this Day in New Voices
2010 - We introduced two New Voices, Alissa and Ryan. Alissa is currently in Mozambique serving in the Peace Corps, and Ryan is at the American Chemical Society.
2009 - Takao told us about Sensationalizing Science Journalism.

Thursday Round-Up

Max is back from Boston, and we're sharing the round-up today to give him a bit more time to write up his experience at the One Mind conference (look for that tomorrow). So, without further ado, here are our highlights from around the web.

Stand up for Research
Jessica Alba was on Capitol Hill this week advocating for safer chemicals. To learn more about how chemicals in products relate to your health research, check out Sarah's series on chemical exposure and public health.

Anyone who's ever tried to explain how research on the genome can improve your health, knows that skeptics can be hard to convince, but this story about how taking an at home DNA test changed a woman's life might bolster your next discussion.

Celebrating the awesome.
New Voices own Christian Torres had his first piece published in the Washington Post this week! Congratulations Christian.

Do you know an innovative neuroscientist? Nominate them for the 2011 Young Scientists' Achievements and Research in Neuroscience award from the Society for Neuroscience.

On this day in New Voices:
2010 - Sarah wrapped up her series on chemical safety with a Call to Action.
2009 - Flygal explored how competitive it really is to get a job as a researcher in her Race to Save the Lab Rats.

This Could Be Our Last Round-Up...

...but it probably isn't.

Just in case, we want to help you prepare for potential disaster.

Get started by reading about disaster preparedness.  (Information that is critical in the Midwest right now due to floods and could be essential during the approaching hurricane season. Remember: prevent injuries.)

If you need a diversion (for a quick getaway, or just from the work in front of you!) we suggest these MacGuyver strategies. While the science of MacGuyver wasn't always exact, it was ingenious.

If you need to do some fast talking, try creative messaging. NPR wasn't jesting when they took on puns as a means of explaining complex ideas.

Stay in touch with friends. New Voice Sheril Kirshenbaum has moved to the WIRED blog network, and you can follow her blogging on the Convergence of just about everything science and policy.

Finally, if you're just looking for something to take your mind off of things, two new reports have recently been released touting the NIH as an economic driver, both generally and as a leader in the Human Genome Project. Important news for advocates to help make the case against future cuts to research agencies. Or, take a look back ...

On this day in New Voices:
2010 - Sarah wrote about Cleaning Up Our Act.
2009 - FlyGal wrote From Training to Practice: Joining the Faculty.

See you on Monday?

Not-at-All-Scary Friday the 13th Round-Up

It was a scary start to the day with Blogger down, but we're back in business and this Friday the 13th isn't too scary at all. In fact, since you didn't get a post yesterday, today's round-up has a few bonus links and a new summer feature to keep you reading until we're back on Monday.

Making the Case for Investment in Research
For those who wonder why it's important to spend NIH money on global health, here's one great reason: a dramatic decrease in infant mortality. For about $208 per life, 97 families are celebrating a new member of their family. Since that doesn't include the value beyond the control of this study, in the end, it will probably cost even less per life saved. Knowledge is power, lasts a lifetime, and can make more lives possible.

Senator Shelby of Alabama is pushing to save NIH from cuts in FY2012.

Advocacy Around the Web
Research shows that people portray their personalities on social networking sites more honestly than anecdotal evidence has us believe. All the more reason to get out there and tell our science stories and defend research while being ourselves.

We're all excited for summer, but remember that with sunny days come summer sunburns. This well-done PSA - Dear 16 year old me - regarding melanoma should be shared with every teenager you know.

The Vatican has spoken out on climate change and made some strong statements about how we should take action now.

News of the Fun
As you might have guessed, kissing is a mood booster.  

Voting is open until the end of the day today on Doodle for Google, a program to encourage young Americans to put in pictures their life's ambition.You can vote once per age group, and there are many fun doodles to choose from. Also, for a country that's falling behind in math and science, it's interesting just how many of the finalists have science themes.

New Features
As New Voices begins its third summer, we now have enough content to feature historical posts from New Voices. The new segment will appear in round-ups, and if you like it and want it to be an even more regular feature, let us know. Without further ado....

On this day in  New Voices:
2010 - Sarah wrote about Failures in U.S. Chemical Regulation
2009 - FlyGal wrote about U.S. Competitiveness and Innovation

Mother's Day Round-Up

Here's the news we thought was interesting from around the web this week:

Thought-starters
Since we mentioned Teacher Appreciation Week, this piece where Dave Eggers and Nínive Clements Calegari take on what low salaries for teachers may be costing us in the opinion section of the New York Times caught our eye.


And speaking of the Times, here's a response to an article regarding funding for public health.

Research

Basic research is important not just because it drives the economy. It also helps make good things even better, like an HIV drug that could prevent cervical cancer.

And sometimes research coincides well with the major news story of the week, such as how DNA may have confirmed Bin Laden's death.


Folks We Love to Read
Hooray for New Voice Jaime Vernon, PhD who's subbing in for Chris Mooney over at The Intersection.

Folks We Love to Love

Our moms.

Happy Mother's Day!

Reading Roundup

Comic credit: Surviving the World

The goal line is in sight. Its' Friday afternoon, which means the weekend is almost here. But before you jump out of your chair and cheer, here are a few cool stories to check out:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a first-of-its-kind treatment for brain tumors: a device that use electrical fields to stop cancer growth.

Andrew Revkin takes a look at the debate over the debate over global warming. If there's agreement on one thing, it's that scientists and science communicators have much to learn.

Velociraptors didn't just hunt small children in amusement park kitchens; they also hunted fellow dinosaurs at night, according to new research.

Job hunting can be difficult, so here's an article that both advises and consoles you on the challenges of the real world.

The SETI Institute, which searches for and tries to make contact with extraterrestrial life, is suspending operations because of government funding cutbacks.

We all want to be experts at something, but maybe we have too many experts. Chris Mooney blogged about the potential problem of a growing scientific community.

Reading Roundup

Comic credit: Toothpaste for Dinner

Speaking of creativity, you might not realize it at first, but here you'll see one of the smartest people alive.

Did you show up late to work today? (Are you leaving early, too?) You'll think twice after reading this story about work ethic.

After a long week, we all need a pep talk. Dr. Isis has one for all the insecure researchers out there.

Lastly, let's get meta for a moment and look at the current state of the science blogosphere. Scroll through the comments and you'll see one by this blogger.

Lovely Weather, Rainy Day Reading

Comic credit: PhD Comics

The weather has been lovely this week in Washington, DC. As usual, as soon as we don't need to be at our desks (read: Saturday), the forecast turns gloomy. But, it means we'll have plenty of time to read up on stuff we missed this week. Here are five things we haven't missed (and don't think you should either):

1. Last week's budget deal made its way through Congress this week, and now awaits President Obama's signature. Read these Science stories for more on how the deal affects research funding overall, as well as the NIH and NSF in particular.
2. The royal wedding is just two weeks away, and Cell has an amusing, scientific perspective on the union of Prince William and Kate Middleton. (If you don't have a subscription, there's a summary here.)
3. Looking for a job in public service? This book tells you how you can get paid to change the world.
4. You've heard of the dot.com bubble and the housing bubble, but is there a higher education bubble? If so, is it about to burst?
5. Ed Yong explains how breast cells may be able to revert to stem cells. What would that mean for the future of stem cell research?

Finally, if you like Earth Day activities, get a head start this year and submit a photo or video to the Consumer Electronics Association's contest to show what you'll be celebrating. Submissions are due April 17th, so be sure to get yours in soon!

Happy reading and we'll see you next week!

Government Shutdown(?) Round-Up

Cartoon credit: Tom Toles

No one's sure whether the federal government is going to have a last minute save or shutdown tonight; but whether you're headed to work on Monday or not, we've got some good reads for you this weekend.

Is the next Einstein a 12 year-old from Indiana? It doesn't look like he's tipping the balance for Indiana, but you may be interested to see where your state ranks in a new study about education standards; is your state smarter than a fifth grader?

And speaking of young people, Neil Degrasse Tyson has some advice for young science communicators.

Developing a scientific worldview is important whether you work at a lab bench of have moved on to, say, representing New Jersey's 12th district and taking on IBM's Watson in a Jeopardy! challenge.

If you're interested in science communication/journalism theory, Alice has an interesting post on taking science journalism upstream.


Finally, here are two great examples of translating research publications for public consumption by two terrific bloggers:

1. Tara Smith of Aetiology reviews Michael Willrich's Pox: An American History.
2. Ed Yong of Not Exactly Rocket Science looks at a study on the origins of life started in 1958.

Happy reading everyone!

10 Minute Drill

If you only have ten minutes to spend online this weekend, this is where you should be headed to read up on some fun and interesting research-related news.

For lovers of Academy Award winning films and speech impediments.

Is being honest really just about willpower?

Maybe it's because I recently finished reading Water for Elephants, but either way there's something to be said about the intelligence of these giant mammals.

In the policy/job hunting arena, take a look at potential effects of recent patent reforms on small biotechs.

And finally, a discussion on what really makes a PhD a PhD.

Friday Round-Up

There's plenty to round-up this week, so without further ado, here are our little found gems of the week:


With the 2012 elections already a point of discussion in most political circles, the idea has again been floated for a PAC to support scientists who want to run for office. And speaking of 2012, make sure you take a look at the President's FY2012 budget request. For more on the budget, check out Christian's Budget 101 post.

New Voice Joe Hanson has a well-written piece on how and why he communicates about science.


Worried about how your online presence and social media might effect your job? When you're updating your online profiles, consider following this well-balanced example from Ricardo Dolmetsch which is personal, yet explains all the pertinent scientific details. Then check out how one expert fixed a Twitter snafu and helped her organization gain a partner.

We absolutely love Jill Hummels' piece, A Geek is a Terrible Thing to Waste, especially as it relates to Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. Speaking of love, check out this study on how technology is impacting love and sex.

And for space lovers, Discovery's landed from its last scheduled voyage off-planet and NASA's done some really interesting research involving our view of the Sun.

2011 Thus Far News Round-Up

 It's hard to believe we're almost two months into 2011 already. Time for a round-up of what's been going on, starting with news related to your very own fellow New Voices:

After reading Kate's series on the Economic Impact of R&D, a bunch of folks have shared this article with me on Looking to the Future of the Biomedical Workforce. Thoughts?

New Voice Cathy Vrentas led a study on obesity last year, and one of her teammates - Nikki Kasper from the University of Michigan - takes an interesting visual look at obesity in Detroit that makes you think about where your closest grocery store is located. And speaking of maps, I'm absolutely loving these maps of the continental United States (MOCUS).*

Speaking of women who happen to be making waves online, a wave is rippling through the science blogosphere, and Christie from Observations of a Nerd has a really articulate post on being both a woman and a blogger.

Know any great science bloggers of either gender? Nominate them for the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative. This is your chance to let the world know about some of the most awesome science communicators, and it isn't restricted to online mediums, click through for more information including nomination deadlines.

We talk a lot about getting more research into mainstream media on New Voices. One component of the discussion that hasn't been brought up much though is not having full access to the scientific information being reported on. This big think piece on the Death of Monogamy, Greatly Exaggerated closes with an argument that's hard to refute.

Who wants to participate in this science journalism jargon-free challenge? Anyone willing to participate is eligible for some great science communication prizes.

Finally, we officially missed National Delurker Day 2011, but better late than never. You don't have to have anything substantive, just give us a shout in the comments to say hello and let us know you're here!


*Post corrected 2/24/2011 to give appropriate credit.