Banner
Stop eating your pet's food

Apparently people are eating their pet's food, and they're getting salmonella poisoning in return...

A scientific reference manual for US judges

Science and our legal system intersect frequently and everywhere - climate, health care, intellectual...

Rainbow connection

On the way to work this morning, I noticed people pointing out the train window and smiling. From...

Neutrinos on espresso

Maybe they stopped by Starbucks for a little faster-than-the-speed-of-light pick me up....

User picture.
picture for Hank Campbellpicture for Heidi Hendersonpicture for Bente Lilja Byepicture for Michael Whitepicture for Patrick Lockerbypicture for Mark Changizi
Becky JungbauerRSS Feed of this column.

A scientist and journalist by training, I enjoy all things science, especially science-related humor. My column title is a throwback to Jane Austen's famous first line in Pride and Prejudice

... Read More »

 Blogroll
Teddy Goes To Washington

Teddy Goes To Washington

May 13 2009 | comment(s)

Perhaps Hank is the smartest guy in the room (so was Enron), but while he and Bloggy are taking Manhattan (as did the Muppets, although apparently not well if it needs to be taken again), Teddy and I went to Washington to fix health care.
Crystal Light + grain alcohol = most successful clinical trial recruiting ever

Crystal Light + grain alcohol = most successful clinical trial recruiting ever

May 06 2009 | comment(s)

I don't qualify for the original exploratory study - I'm not 55+ or at high risk for heart disease - but I'm crossing my fingers that the initial results are promising so they go ahead with a planned larger study!

Pharmaceutical companies have said that recruiting for clinical trials is difficult, but according to the Boston Globe, "there's no shortage of people interested in participating" in a study conducted by a researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center evaluating whether a daily dose of alcohol can help prevent heart disease.
Scales Of Depravity, Part 4: The Deeb Files

Scales Of Depravity, Part 4: The Deeb Files

May 06 2009 | comment(s)

If you know anyone who grew up in Chicago or was raised there yourself, you've likely heard a classy, intellectual term applied to anyone exhibiting a wide variety of behaviors.

That's right, I'm talking about the deeb, or, in more vulgar terms, the douchebag. As urban dictionary so eloquently says, being a douchebag, or committing acts of douchebaggery, "is one of those things as easily understood by definition as it is by one's demonstrations of it." So, deebs, welcome to the scales of depravity.
Finally - a comic strip for the nerds, geeks, and dorks

Finally - a comic strip for the nerds, geeks, and dorks

May 01 2009 | comment(s)

The Far Side is a great source for science-related humor, of course - and Josh will figure out Scott Adams' take on evolution using only Dilbert strips, I'm sure of it - but for those looking to broaden their horizons, provide reinforcement for those long days in lab, or gifts for fellow geeks/dorks/nerds, please consider another tool for the armamentarium.


Dancing with the birds

Dancing with the birds

Apr 30 2009 | comment(s)

The number of species who can dance - actually get down, shake their groove thing, etc - has jumped from one (humans) to three. The other two? Parrots and elephants.

Unlike other animals, according to this NPR article, parrots and elephants are vocal mimics and can imitate sounds. Dancing, then, could be a byproduct of the ability to learn and imitate vocally.

Two papers in today's online Current Biology discuss the dancing parrot:
 
Scales Of Depravity, Part 3: Science Frauds

Scales Of Depravity, Part 3: Science Frauds

Apr 30 2009 | comment(s)

Who among us hasn't been tempted to take the easy way out? Hopefully we choose to do the right thing, but this isn't always the case. It's bad enough when your actions just affect you. But when they affect the rest of the world? And mislead people working toward collective knowledge? That puts you on the ranks of the scales of depravity.

Part 1 dealt with the Rock of Love; part 2 examined anything with "real" in the title. Part 3 lists a few of the frauds, fakers and other cheaters in the realm of science.