On the cusp of Memorial Day

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/288108/river-of-shadows-by-rebecca-solnit/9780142004104/ A book recommendation: River of Shadows  by Rebecca Solnit about Eadweard Muybridge and his pioneering method of photographing motion and the times in which he lived (died ~1900.)


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/science/salamanders-newts-fungus-extinction.html?_r=0
An article in Tuesday's science times about US scientists looking for a species of chytrid fungus that has devastated the frog population. The USGS has an Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative  that is catching newts up and down the East Coast checking for infections with the fungus.


http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/computer-vision-syndrome-affects-millions/
This is from NYT on Personal Health by Jane Brody about computer vision syndrome, including burning in the eyes and double vision. This syndrome has also been detected in children and adolescents. The report was published in Medical Practice and Reviews.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/health/emmanuelle-charpentiers-crispr-dna-gene-editing.html
Another article from Tuesday's Science Times about Emmanuelle Charpentier, who was one of the three scientists "credited with starting the gene editing revolution". This is an interview with the newly appointed director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology who according to the article was barely scraping by for 25 years trying to get support for her research.



http://standuptoverizon.com/big-gains-striking-verizon-workers-new-agreement/ It looks like the verizon strike has been settled with a contract for wireless retail workers and a 12% raise over 4 years.


http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs-among-us/ I recommend the exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History "Dinosaurs Among Us". It is a beautiful thing. Here is a video loop from the AMNH website.

https://youtu.be/XAzGC89n0S4

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20160601_NJ_legislature_says_diamondback_turtle_shouldn_t_be_harvested.html
This is an article in today's Philadelphia Inquirer  about a bill that passed the NJ legislature that will make illegal the harvesting of diamondback terrapins. This brackish water turtle is captured and sold to Asian markets and this legislation should protect them.


https://www.sciencenews.org/article/scientists-dig-proteins-past

 From Science News, a report of research done at the Fred Hutchinson Center about how evolution affects proteins. This research specifically looks at the genetic ancestors of the influenza virus and speculates how the form of the protein enabled and constrained its evolution.

 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/jumping-gene-turned-peppered-moths-color-soot  Also from Science News, a report on research on the Peppered Moth, which evolved its new color "in response" to the industrial revolution's deposition of smog and soot into the environment in order to blend in. It is reported in Nature that biologists at the U of Liverpool have identified the gene, a transposable element that is found in an intron, that caused the color change. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160601132134.htm  From Science News, an announcement of the finding of the genetic cause of MS. This research was done at the University of British Columbia and is published in Neuron. The database used contains 2,000 families from across Canada.





http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/31/women-science-industry-structure-sexist-courses-careers   Why aren't there more women in research? Data obtained from the UK's Higher Education Statistics shows the numbers of females in various scientific disciplines. Women outnumber men in most disciplines, nonetheless female authorship of scientific papers has gone down since 2009.




https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2016/06/02/universities-need-communicate-much-more-effectively-about-science-essay From Inside Higher Ed blog, a communication about the need for academic and administrative leadership (funny that they are not considered to be the same!) to communicate more effectively about science to the "outside world".




http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/06/the-origin-of-dogs/484976/ An article in the Atlantic magazine recounting the origins and domestication of dogs; the latter event may have occurred more than once.


http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/cochlea  Here is an animation from Biointeractive (HHMI) about the ear.



http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-depression-helen-m-farrell A TED ED talk on depression. This is a short talk, less than 5 minutes.

http://now.howstuffworks.com/2015/11/09/ridiculous-history-vitamin-donuts From HowStuffWorks,
The government's War Food Administration allowed the Doughnut Corporation of America to market  an enriched product called Vitamin Doughnuts. (I grew up on doughnuts; don't knock 'em.)


http://www.rsc.org/news-events/175-stories/2016/may/women-in-science/  This is a post from the Royal Society of Chemistry memorializing the achievements of female scientists and their struggles for recognition.




http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-university-business-20160602-snap-story.html
From the LATimes, a column by Michael Hiltzik about the current train of thought that universities are businesses and the imitation of the private sector by the public sector and how bad it is. DeVry University is presented as an example.