Science & Society

Big Data Tackles How Urban Movement Is Linked To Social Activity

If you live in a city, some of your movement around town is social in nature. But how much, exactly? Around 20 percent, according to a new paper that used anonymized phone data to reconstruct both people's locations and their social networks. By linki ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 27 2015 - 12:31am

Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson Awarded National Academy Of Sciences Public Welfare Medal

The National Academy of Sciences is presenting its 2015 Public Welfare Medal to astrophysicist Dr.Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History, in recognition of his "extraordinary role in exciting ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 27 2015 - 11:10am

Arctic Apple Gets USDA Approval, Then Gets Acquired

The Intrexon synthetic biology company announced today that it is acquiring Okanagan Specialty Fruits, the science start-up behind the non-browning Arctic apple, for $31 million in Intrexon common stock and $10 million in cash. ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 27 2015 - 5:23pm

The Law has Failed, Not Forensic Science

It’s quite revealing that Karen Kafadar and Anne-Marie Mazza (LiveScience Op-Ed on February 24, 2015, titled "Using Faulty Forensic Science, Courts Fail the Innocent") demand more research in forensic science while ignoring one of the most signi ...

Blog Post - John M. Collins - Mar 2 2015 - 7:37pm

The Diversity Challenge Facing Universities

Academia could take some lessons from Silicon Valley about diversity. Credit: Wikimedia Last week, MIT released a report that closely examines the state of diversity within the university. The report considers MIT’s diversity not just in terms of students ...

Article - The Conversation - Mar 1 2015 - 9:00am

Teens At Risk For Synthetic Marijuana Use

Synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"), with names like Spice, K2, Scooby Doo and hundreds of others, are often sold as a safe, "legal" alternative to marijuana but that is just marketing by drug dealers. Synthetic marijuana was ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 2 2015 - 10:30am

Climate Change Drought Linked To Syrian Civil War

A new paper believes that a record drought in Syria from 2006-2010 and the 2011 Syrian uprising is not a coincidence. The rebellion was stoked by ongoing man-made climate change, they write. The drought, the worst in modern record-keeping, destroyed agricu ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 2 2015 - 4:28pm

Science Is Changing- And Sharply Segregated Expertise Is Obsolete

The world's challenges demand science solutions- and fast- but it doesn't need the old style of detached experts, write a team of scientists in, ironically, one of America's most prominent and detached corporate science publications; Science ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 3 2015 - 9:45am

The First Big Challenge For A New Scientist Is Finding A Job

The typical biography of a scientist might look something like this: At a young age, a boy or girl discovers a love for science. Their dream is to become perhaps a geologist, a chemist, or a marine biologist. ...

Article - The Conversation - Mar 3 2015 - 10:35am

Avoid These 3 Risk Factors, Gain 13 Years Of Quality Life

A recent study found that people without three risk factors by age 45 were diagnosed with heart failure 11 to 13 years later, on average, than people who had those risk factors. Heart failure, a chronic condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 4 2015 - 6:39pm