If we're being honest in retrospect, the first decade of the 2000s was bad for science journalism. Too many journalists decided they wanted to be cheerleaders for science or, worse, had scientist envy and wanted to be included in cool discussions about the mysteries of the universe.
Basically, journalists stopped asking the awkward questions of scientists that journalists in other fields know makes their careers (see: Dan Rather and Richard Nixon). Result: While the science audience is up and science knowledge has tripled since 1988, jobs in science journalism are down. Few people read them.
Try going into a hospital room to see a newborn baby without using that annoying hand sanitizer stuff - the Frankenstein monster had an easier time with angry villagers than you will have with concerned hospital staff and family members. The hospital staff I can understand - they know people are looking for a reason to sue. Family members are more of a puzzle.
Weren't they kids once? You have to eat a little dirt to be healthy, people.
A group of German archaeologists have set off to find a priceless ancient treasure and I'd rather they not get it. Sounds like the plot of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" right?
As smashing as I look in a Stetson fedora, the reality involves no Nazis or theological death rays, instead it involves 2,156 gold tablets on which the Maya recorded their laws, which may be buried in Guatemala's Lake Izabal. But the reality does involve a treasure map, which is always fun.
Mayan expert Joachim Rittsteig claims to have thoroughly studied the Dresden Codex, a pre-Columbian Maya book which contains most of what we know about Mayan Culture, and says it details the location of this treasure.
On the face of it, Al Gore conducting a global warming conference during a blizzard a few years ago looked bad. But maybe it was a teaching moment.
The weather has always had swings and separating weather from climate is a key aspect in understanding why (a) pollution is bad and (b) we should have less of it, even if the weather is nice.
Remember when there were two well-funded start-ups competing to sell you dog food over the Internet? And AOL could buy Time-Warner?
The good old days of pretend Internet money may be back. Despite having no revenue, Twitter is supposedly valued at $10 billion. And Facebook is supposedly more valuable than Ford.
Okay, we all knew that cats manipulate women more than men but now science has confirmed it. An article in Behavioural Processes says cats gravitate toward women and it isn't just because they are easier to bilk food from. No, cats are even more devious than we previously believed.
You probably want to slap people who tell you they have pets when you ask if they have children - and, I confess, I have gotten dirty looks when people have asked me if I have pets and I tell them I instead have children, which are 'just like' pets - but the social bond that crazy cat lady has with her cats actually is like what people have with their children, say the researchers.