Schmooperbowl Sunday

http://wvtf.org/post/contingent-faculty-living-academic-edge-series#stream/0
Video from WVTF about contingent faculty/

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/45153/title/The-Mycobiome/
The Scientist has a review about the role of fungi, the mycobiome, in human health.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/07/opinion/what-74-years-of-times-crosswords-say-about-the-words-we-use.html?_r=0 A "big data" analysis  of word usage in crossword puzzles as a reflection of our history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmtNRHiFkIQ  Animated explanation of CRISPR

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20160206-column.html
Article from the LA Times about the patent fight for CRISPR technology

https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/edward-snowden-in-conversation-with-barton-gellman/
LA Review of Books interview with Edward Snowden

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/science/scientists-sequence-first-ancient-human-genome-from-africa.html?_r=0
From Friday's Elk by Carl Zimmer a report of the recovering of the genome of a 4,500 year old skeleton in Ethiopia which showed that ancient DNA could survive the harsh, wet conditions in the tropics. This was reported in Science magazine.

http://www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2016/02/teach-frustration-tolerance-kids/
From PBS Parents: How to teach frustration tolerance to children. This is a blog by social worker Katie Hurley.


https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/edward-snowden-in-conversation-with-barton-gellman/
http://www.northeastern.edu/news/2015/06/researchers-discovery-may-explain-difficulty-in-treating-lyme-disease/Reported in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, discovery of a new Lyme disease causing bacterium in humans. Maybe why LD is so hard to treat.

http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/tick-genome-reveals-secrets-successful-bloodsucker
A report from the NIH about the sequencing of the Ixodes scapularis  (tick) genome. Ticks have a huge genome with about 70% DNA repeats, 20% protein coding genes unique to ticks. To be published in Nature Communications.


http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/advising-moms-not-bed-share-infants-does-not-discourage-breastfeeding  An NIH press release about a study done by the American Pediatrics Association which showed that women were just as likely to breastfeed whether or not they shared a bed with their infant. The idea is to reduce deaths due to SIDS.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/e-reader-book-students/ A report in the Journal of College Science Teaching that students prefer textbooks to E-readers. This was a study done at American University.

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/16/02/08/tests-on-fish-raise-new-concerns-on-estrogen-contamination-of-drinking-water/ From NJ Spotlight, an article about dangerous levels of estrogens in NJ water.  This was a study done on fish by the USGS.

http://thescienceexplorer.com/brain-and-body/ketamine-leads-most-significant-advance-mental-health-more-half-century
A report from Science Explorer of a clinical trial of ketamine use for severe depression at the NIMH.

http://www.un.org/en/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/index.shtml This is the UN International Women In Science Day. It is a historic occasion. Here is a graphic from the UNESCO Bureau of Statistics from a Northwestern University study.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/02/11/the-solution-to-climate-change-that-has-nothing-to-do-with-cars-or-coal/ Chris Mooney has written in the Washington Post about the solution to climate change, suggesting that deforestation is a major problem.'

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/01/pursuing-the-dream-of-healthy-aging/?_r=0 This is an article from Personal Health a column by Jane Brody, that reports a study on aging done by the Mayo Clinic about the risk factors for developing chronic diseases, aging being the primary one. The team suggests targeting with drugs the processes fundamental to aging that underlie all age-related chronic diseases.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/science/science-teachers-grasp-of-climate-change-is-found-lacking.html?_r=0 The article came from the NYT about how science teachers' knowledge of climate change is lacking.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/science/ligo-gravitational-waves-black-holes-einstein.html From the NYT, the LIGO group (a scientific collaboration) report the discovery of gravitational waves, a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein.

http://www.dailycal.org/2016/02/12/number-lecturers-campus-rise-debate-persists-role/
Article in The Daily Californian about the role of lecturers (NTT) in the university.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/12/the-crippling-thing-about-growing-up-poor-that-stays-with-you-forever/ Article about poverty and diet in the Washington Post.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossils-shed-new-light-on-human-gorilla-split/ The Life Science Blog in Scientific American posts a report of the discovery of the fossils of primitive relatives of gorillas. From examination of fossils, researchers suggest that humans and gorillas shared an ancestor about ten million years ago. This is to be published in Nature.