Category Archives: science!

Oh Pepperdine, the Beautiful

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Ginger Mayerson

“‘I started looking at buildings,” she says. ‘At one of my friend’s dorms, the fire burnt the grass behind it. You can see the line of black, that scorching, all along the side of the building—but the building didn’t burn. … Continue reading →

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Gat-ta-ca! Gat-Ta-Ca!! GAT-TA-CA!!!

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Ginger Mayerson

“SOON TWO biotechnology firms will begin to offer couples undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) the chance to screen embryos before they are implanted in the mother’s womb. This kind of preimplantation genetic diagnosis has, for nearly 30 years, been widely … Continue reading →

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Reasons to love California, #6

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Ginger Mayerson

Robotic squirrels: “That’s where the robot squirrels come in. To find out, Sanjay Joshi, a mechanical and aerospace engineer at the University of California, Davis, built a squirrel with a heatable tail and a flagging mechanism, each controlled separately. That … Continue reading →

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The difference between science and religion

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Ginger Mayerson

Science wins! Okay, that’s enough Terence Mckenna

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Pro bono proctologists

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Ginger Mayerson

I don’t care who this Terence Mckenna guy is, he’s got great comic timing.

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Disturbing but I still want this book

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Ginger Mayerson

You are not so smart. Tee hee hee.

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Science Kiddies

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Ginger Mayerson

How adorable: “A pair of high school sleuths sequenced the DNA from their dinners to determine that New York City sushi wasn’t always what it claimed to be.” DNA Sequences Expose Fishy Sushi, Findings Magazine, July 27, 2011

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Liberals and Conservative have different brains

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Ginger Mayerson

“Opposing political views may be linked to differences in brain structures, a new study suggests. “Researchers at University College London found that liberals tend to have a larger anterior cingulate cortex, while conservatives have a larger amygdala. “Based on what’s … Continue reading →

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Science Cheerleaders

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Ginger Mayerson

There’s no way I could make this up: (via)

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Why nature utterly freaks me out (episode #16,492)

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Ginger Mayerson

Ew. Wonder if this will ever start happening to humans. If it hasn’t already and I just don’t know about it. Ew.

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The Public Option (s/b Medicare for all, but oh well)

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Ginger Mayerson

Not all of us need the Public Option.

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More reasons to love that old species imperative

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Ginger Mayerson

Ten things you didn’t know about orgasm I think it would be highly entertaining to be her library assistant.

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Why we blog

Posted on February 15, 2009 by Ginger Mayerson

“CHICAGO (Reuters) – Brain scientists are starting to understand something poets, songwriters and diarists have long known: putting feelings into words helps ease the mind.” Words give brain handle on feelings: U.S. researcher, by Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters, February 14, 2009 … Continue reading →

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Did you know Get Your War On was ending?

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Ginger Mayerson

I didn’t. Talk about the end of an era. “In 2004, Rees announced that the strip (Get Your War On) would end with the Bush administration, and with Barack Obama assuming the U.S. Presidency on January 20, the cartoonist is … Continue reading →

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Virgin Breakfasts

Posted on December 27, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“TOKYO (Reuters Life!) – Teens who skip breakfast as middle school students tend to have sex at an earlier age than those who start the day with a proper meal, a government-backed Japanese medical researcher said on Friday.” ~snip~ “The … Continue reading →

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Killer Catfish

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“A chilling series of fatal attacks on people living alongside the Great Kali River in the border area between India and Nepal have been reported over the past 20 years. In 2007, an 18-year-old boy was dragged down into the … Continue reading →

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Well, this explains everything

Posted on November 7, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“CHICAGO (Reuters) – Brain scans of teens with a history of aggressive bullying behavior suggest that they may actually get pleasure out of seeing someone else in pain, U.S. researchers said on Friday. “While this may come as little surprise … Continue reading →

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Middle aged white women are killing themselves

Posted on October 21, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. suicide rates appear to be on the rise, driven mostly by middle-aged white women, researchers reported on Tuesday. “They found a disturbing increase in suicides between 1999 and 2005 and said the pattern had changed in … Continue reading →

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What? You mean they’re not all obese fanboys in their mom’s basements?

Posted on October 1, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“Americans, both young and old, play video games at an ever-growing rate. Today’s adults, unlike those who dropped game play in the 1980s due to public shame (Williams, 2006a), play more than previous generations. 40% of adults are now regular … Continue reading →

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61 Nobel Laureates for Obama

Posted on September 29, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“An Open Letter to the American People “This year’s presidential election is among the most significant in our nation’s history. The country urgently needs a visionary leader who can ensure the future of our traditional strengths in science and technology … Continue reading →

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Southern Californians: Vote NO on the MTA 1/2% increase sales tax

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“Popular wisdom may suggest that toll roads are unfair to the poor, but a new study shows these pay-as-you go transportation options may actually be fairer to all income levels than paying for road improvements through sales taxes.” ~snip~ “The … Continue reading →

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This is why lying is too much work

Posted on July 29, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“Can science help us determine if someone is deceiving us? “The very high-tech stuff we rely on includes functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic encephalography, and some very, very sophisticated electroencephalography—one of the techniques used to test so-called guilty knowledge. That’s … Continue reading →

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When Science and Music collide

Posted on July 2, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“Classical violins created by Cremonese masters, such as Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri Del Gesu, have become the benchmark to which the sound of all violins are compared in terms of their abilities of expressiveness and projection. By general consensus, … Continue reading →

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Zapping HIV With Lasers

Posted on June 11, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“Shaking a virus to death is not a new idea. Arizona State University physicist Kong-Thon Tsen, who pioneered the practice, conducted eight peer-reviewed studies in 2006 and 2007 demonstrating that vibrations can deactivate a number of viruses. But Tsen’s latest … Continue reading →

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Sex blogging

Posted on March 20, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

“2 Sex—what is it good for? Scientists are not sure, since asexual reproduction is a better evolutionary strategy in some important ways. “6 Barbary macaques have a distinctive way to get their mates to make a sperm donation: yelling. If … Continue reading →

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Scientists carrying on like fanboys

Posted on February 8, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

You’d think people with advanced degrees would have bigger vocabularies, but when that inner fanboy gets loose, we’re lucky they have any language left at all. I’m glad you had fun guys. Now go write some NSA grants and make … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year, everyone!

Posted on January 1, 2008 by Ginger Mayerson

I got to wake up with a sore throat, but that just means I’m getting it out of the way for the rest of 2008. And since it IS 2008, I can post this again! Journal of Bloglandia, because Blogtopia … Continue reading →

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Zombieism in cockroaches

Posted on December 20, 2007 by Ginger Mayerson

“Researchers in Chicago used drugs and manipulated genes to control the sexuality of fruit flies, making them gay and then straight again within a few hours. ‘It was very dramatic,’ said scientist David Featherstone. ‘They even attempted copulation.’ Scientists cloned … Continue reading →

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It’s not a party without you

Posted on December 16, 2007 by Ginger Mayerson
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Philosophy as commodity

Posted on December 10, 2007 by Ginger Mayerson

“But now a restive contingent of our tribe is convinced that it can shed light on traditional philosophical problems by going out and gathering information about what people actually think and say about our thought experiments. The newborn movement (‘x-phi’ … Continue reading →

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