- Read the chapter from Deborah Blum's Field Guide for Science Writers and be ready to discuss it next week in class.
- Start reading through some science blogs to find ones that you like, and ones that you don't like. I'll post soon with ideas on how to find blogs to read.
- Use Google Reader to start following your favorite blogs. This RSS reader will be important as you follow each other's blogs and when looking for post ideas.
- Leave a comment to this post with the name of the best blog you find during the week and what it is about it that you like.
What Happens in HIV
12 years ago
The best blog that I have discovered this week is called "Thus Spake Zuska: A Blog for All and Noone". I like this blog because Zuska speaks about issues that deal with science, as well as things that are happening in this country. I believe the writer is a women, so her views are helpful to say, another women, but I'm not sure if a male might want to read what she has to say.
ReplyDeleteThe blog I like the best is "The Conservation Report" which I found through Nature Blog Network. It mainly covers environmental stories but also have variety of scientific posts. What I liked about this blog was its easiness to read. The way the writer uses pictures, links, colors, indents, etc is very attractive and never makes me tired to read through. Some of his posts have only 1-2 sentences and still it's so interesting!
ReplyDeleteerv is still my favorite blog for pure science, but maybe that's due to my interest in virology and pathogens in general. But PZ Myers and Ed Brayton are by far the most interesting overall blogs. They deal with science, but have a much more broad educational "scientific thinking" focus. I think it's far more important (and interesting) that people learn how to think critically than that they keep up with the latest science news.
ReplyDeleteOn a note related to that: in class last week everyone said they understood the scientific method well. I was skeptical, and my suspicions were confirmed when I asked some students around the department some basic questions about herbs and alternative medicines. Their responses were not factually wrong (it wasn't that they didn't understand the hard science) but they manifested a poor understanding of important scientific methodology concepts like control groups and the placebo effect. (Granted, I didn't ask anyone in this class, so maybe seniors have developed a better grasp of such concepts.)
BTW, this is an excellent example of Myer's explaining a difficult concept to a lay audience (I think the author's of our reading would approve):
ReplyDeletehttp://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/04/basics_how_can_chromosome_numb.php
So today after searching through several blogs via ScienceBlogs I found one that was mildly interesting under the name of "Angry Toxicologist". The author touched on several areas of interest such as science communication more so the communication between the government and the public. He also provided advice to a pregnant woman on what foods to avoid, specifically deli meats containing nitrates and the possible adverse effects it could have on the woman.
ReplyDeleteThe blog was interesting but I have a feeling there are more out there.
Dr Posner,
ReplyDeleteOne interesting blog that I found was http://10000birds.com/. The reason why was because I feel that birds of any kind are very interesting and powerful creatures. I feel without these creatures, the wildlife world would not be the same.
One blog that I found was called "The Wonderful World of Physical Therapy." I like this blog a lot because it is more of a answer and get several responses blog. It doesn't seem that one person is running it, just that anyone and everyone can ask questions pertaining to the are of physical therapy such as what classes to take or how to look good on an application. I think it will be very helpful to me in my future endevors. Here's the link... http://community.livejournal.com/phys_therapy/
ReplyDeletep.s. sorry I made so many gramatical errors in my post... my major is Biology not English...
ReplyDeleteIt is always a good idea to preview your comment and look it over before posting.
ReplyDeleteI found the blog "Of Two Minds" through the Blog Carnival site. Out of the ones I sampled, I found this blog to be the most humorous and interesting. The writers include many bizzare things occurring in science (or just in general) that I had never heard of. For example, one post was about PETA asking Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream to use human milk instead of cow's milk in their product. How crazy/disgusting is that?! This blog site definitely peaked my interst and made me want to read more. If it sounds appealing to you too, you can find it at:
ReplyDeletehttp://scienceblogs.com/twominds/2009/01/would_you_take_this_intro_psyc.php
After look through a few blogs, I found one that I liked in my area of interest.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.seriousblogging.com/anesthesia/
Since I'm pursuing a career in this area, I found some of the topics to be very interesting. They haven't posted on that blog in 2 months, but the whole list of posts is pretty interesting.
I found the blog "Laura's Animals/Wildlife Blog". I found this blog to be interesting because she focuses on many different species of animals which is something I'm interested in.
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking to see if there are others out there that will catch my eye.
I found an interesting blog that talks about diverse topics in ecology ranging from politics in the rainforest to saving rare and endangered species. I'm not sure how often things actually get posted to this so I'm still looking for other blogs as well...but for now here's the web address:
ReplyDeletehttp://theinfinitesphere.blogspot.com/2008/11/oekologie-returns.html
In my search for an appropriately entertaining and informative blog, I've found a plethora of educational devices. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html is one of my most recent favorites.
ReplyDeleteAs we spoke in class about science in public culture, we brought up the media by which science is revealed to the public. I found a blog that just may serve to grab the public's attention long enough to dose them with a little science. The blog http://science.easternblot.net/ relates science to art and daily life. The blog's manifesto explains what it's about better than I can: "Science is involved in everything we see and do, and there is an aspect of non-science in all scientific research.
Easternblot.net points out both sides of the story, by highlighting the science behind news items or everyday things, or by pointing out the social or artistic aspects of science."
I found a blog on the 2008 competition list called Green Gabbro which looked interesting. This one doesn't exactly have anything to do with biology, but it has a very cool post in which he describes the formation of igneous rocks by comparing it to home-making icecream.
ReplyDeletehttp://scienceblogs.com/greengabbro/
Lauren, I also came across the blog "Angry Toxicologist" and if I may, uprade your "mildly interesting" reference to interestingly entertaining. The way he critiques current issues in toxicology is not only informative, but also an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteHe also feels anyone can comprehend science regardless of the complexity once they get past all the jargon. I found this interesting considering it directly relates to what we are talking about.
Along with giving his affirm opinions on various topics in toxicology, he gives suggestions about what to do as Lauren also stated with the pregnant women and what to eat.
In my looking for an interesting blog to comment about and maybe start fallowing I came to across one called Southern Fried Science. It has a writer on there called WhySharksMatter.
ReplyDeleteI am really interested in the idea of shark conservation, they are just miss understood and do need help just like every other animal in need.
I ended up coming across a blog called SciencePunk that seemed to have a information tid-bit format. They would begin a story and give a brief synopsis of attention-grabbing information and then you had the option to read further. This way I could browse several stories and chose ones that peaked my interest.
ReplyDeleteOne in particular that had a note of shock value was a new procedure for kidney removal for females. Apparently at John's Hopkins they are testing out a vaginal removal path which would result in less of a scar and less pain overall. Yeah. That one got my attention.
I found a blog that I really like and it is called Oh, for the love of science! I really enjoy this blog because it talks a lot about animals and unique facts about different species. I find this interesting because I love animals. The blog is also very easy to read and understand.
ReplyDelete