http://www.pddnet.com/blogs/2013/05/stem-learning-vs-pseudo-science...
STEM Learning vs. Pseudo Science

http://www.manufacturing.net/articles/2013/05/stem-learning-vs-pseu...

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/2013/06/01/can-neur...
Can Neuroscience Cure People of Faith in God? What about Faith in Neuroscience?

The Art of Communicating Science | Psychology Today
A conversation with Karl Bates,director of research communications at Duke By Jonathan Wai, Ph.D....
www.psychologytoday.com/.../the-art-communicating-science

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/books/review/curtis-whites-scienc...
Faith in the Unseen
Curtis White’s ‘Science Delusion’

http://pestcontrol.about.com/od/bitinginsectprofiles/a/Why-Are-Mosq...
Why Are Mosquitoes Attracted to Some People?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=messing-with-blood...
“Messing with” the Blood-Brain Barrier May Be Key to Treating a Host of Diseases
A new understanding of the blood-brain barrier as a living, mutable organ may revolutionize the treatment of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's

For more than a century, scientists believed that the blood-brain barrier was a sacred, impermeable wall. In fact, it is made up of ordinary blood vessels with one extraordinary property: the cells that make up their lining are packed together so tightly that they allow very few substances to cross into brain tissue.
The barrier is a vital organ in its own right, thrumming with activity as cells communicate with one another to decide which molecules to block and which ones to let through. Many more cells pass through the barrier than scientists previously realized.
To reflect this new understanding, scientists now call the blood-brain barrier the neurovascular unit.
Many believe that learning how to open and close it may be the key to curing a host of diseases.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10113610/Dont-tear-...
Stress really can cause your hair to turn grey, according new research.

The biggest scientific mystery of this year has just been solved. In February, a flock of char-grilled pigeons landed on a grassy bank in Britain and set fire to it. A witness revealed a large flock of birds landed on an electricity cable. When the 615th pigeon landed, the wire touched the one below and the flock was instantly barbecued.

There's a reasonable scientific explanation for everything. Yes, science can solve several of the mysteries!
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=5&art_id=1...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/australia-climate-chang...

Climate science debate has cost precious time, expert warns

Commission report says evidence of rapidly changed climate has strengthened

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=climate-ch...
Climate Change Getting Worse by the Minute

The world is not on track to reduce, or even restrain global warming.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=cultural-i...
Cultural Images Affect Second Language Usage

People with multicultural backgrounds may change a speech pattern in their second language after seeing an icon from their first culture.

http://fqxi.org/data/essay-contest-files/Morales_mmorales_variables...

Spin States of Selection: Predetermined Variables of ‘bit’

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/06/20/a.shot.arm.old.antibiotics
A shot in the arm for old antibiotics
Slipping bacteria some silver could give old antibiotics new life, scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reported June 19 in Science Translational Medicine. Treating bacteria with a silver-containing compound boosted the efficacy of a broad range of widely used antibiotics and helped them stop otherwise lethal infections in mice. It helped make an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria sensitive to antibiotics again. And it expanded the power of an antibiotic called vancomycin that is usually only effective in killing pathogens called Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staph and Strep. Silver allowed vancomycin for the first time to penetrate and kill Gram-negative bacteria, a group that includes microbes that can cause food poisoning and dangerous hospital-acquired infections.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/20/how-much-do-you-...
How Much Do You Really Know About Science?
Science and tech knowledge quiz:
http://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/science-knowledge/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22996054
Plants 'seen doing quantum physics' ( quantum biology).
The idea that plants make use of quantum physics to harvest light more efficiently has received a boost.
The weird world of quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics starts with the simple idea that energy does not come in just any amount; it comes in discrete chunks, called quanta. But deeper into the theory, some truly surprising - and useful - effects crop up

Superposition: A particle exists in a number of possible states or locations simultaneously - strictly, an electron might be in the tip of your finger and in the furthest corner of the Universe at the same time. It is only when we observe the particle that it 'chooses' one particular state
Entanglement: Two particles can become entangled so that their properties depend on each other - no matter how far apart they get. A measurement of one seems to affect the measurement of the other instantaneously - an idea even Einstein called "spooky"
Tunnelling: A particle can break through an energy barrier, seeming to disappear on one side of it and reappear on the other. Lots of modern electronics and imaging depends on this effect.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21150047

Quantum biology: Do weird physics effects abound in nature?

"These three things... have dispelled the idea that quantum mechanics had nothing to say about biology."

The most established of the three is photosynthesis - the staggeringly efficient process by which plants and some bacteria build the molecules they need, using energy from sunlight. It seems to use what is called "superposition" - being seemingly in more than one place at one time.

Watch the process closely enough and it appears there are little packets of energy simultaneously "trying" all of the possible paths to get where they need to go, and then settling on the most efficient.

"Biology seems to have been able to use these subtle effects in a warm, wet environment and still maintain the [superposition]. How it does that we don't understand."

Experiments show that European robins only oriented themselves for migration under certain colours of light, and that very weak radio waves could completely mix up their sense of direction. Neither should affect the standard compass that biologists once believed birds had within their cells.

What makes more sense is the quantum effect of entanglement. Under quantum rules, no matter how far apart an "entangled" pair of particles gets, each seems to "know" what the other is up to - they can even seem to pass information to one another faster than the speed of light.

Continuation of  "Quantum biology " -2:

Experiments suggest this is going on within single molecules in birds' eyes, and John Morton of University College London explained that the way birds sense it could be stranger still.

"You could think about that as... a kind of 'heads-up display' like what pilots have: an image of the magnetic field... imprinted on top of the image that they see around them," he said.

The idea continues to be somewhat controversial - as is the one that your nose might be doing a bit of quantum biology.

Most smell researchers think the way that we smell has to do only with the shapes of odour molecules matching those of receptors in our noses.

But Dr Turin believes that the way smell molecules wiggle and vibrate is responsible - thanks to the quantum effect called tunnelling.

The idea holds that electrons in the receptors in our noses disappear on one side of a smell molecule and reappear on the other, leaving a little bit of energy behind in the process.

A paper published in Plos One this week shows that people can tell the difference between two molecules of identical shape but with different vibrations, suggesting that shape is not the only thing at work.

What intrigues all these researchers is how much more quantum trickery may be out there in nature.

"Are these three fields the tip of the iceberg, or is there actually no iceberg underneath?" asked Dr Turin. "We just don't know. And we won't know until we go and look."

http://www.informedbynature.org/

informed by nature.org
...encouraging science learning

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-24/science/4016...
Plants do complex arithmetic calculations to make sure they have enough food to prevent starvation at night, a new study has found.

The research shows that to get through the night, plants perform accurate arithmetic division. The calculation allows them to use up their starch reserves at a constant rate so that they run out of it almost precisely at dawn.
"This is the first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation," said mathematical modeller Professor Martin Howard from the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK.

Plants feed themselves during the day by using energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide into sugars and starch. Once the sun has set, they must depend on a store of starch to prevent starvation.

Scientists at the John Innes Centre showed that plants make precise adjustments to their rate of starch consumption. These adjustments ensure that the starch store lasts until dawn even if the night comes unexpectedly early.To adjust their starch consumption so precisely, they must be performing a mathematical calculation - arithmetic division, scientists said. "The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," said metabolic biologist Professor Alison Smith.

"Understanding how plants continue to grow in the dark could help unlock new ways to boost crop yield," said Smith.

During the night, mechanisms inside the leaf measure the size of the starch store and estimate the length of time until dawn. Information about time comes from an internal clock, similar to our own body clock. The size of the starch store is then divided by the length of time until dawn to set the correct rate of starch consumption, so that, by dawn, around 95% of starch is used up.

"The calculations are precise so that plants not only prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food. If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted," said Smith.

The scientists used mathematical modelling to investigate how such a division calculation can be carried out inside a plant.

The study appears in the journal eLife. PTI

http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1265920/biomimicry-pus...

Biomimicry pushes science forward

Science constantly looks to nature for inspiration in its search for solutions to problems.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2013/06/25/science...
Science Will Protect Us from Climate Change, Obama Says

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=silver-makes-antib...
Silver Makes Antibiotics Thousands of Times More Effective

The antimicrobial treatment could help to solve modern bacterial resistance

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=human-caused-globa...
Human-Caused Global Warming Behind Record Hot Australian Summer

http://sciencefriday.com/segment/06/21/2013/e-o-wilson-s-advice-for...
EO Wilson’s interview

http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Young-Scientist-Edward-Wilson/dp/0871...

http://www.livescience.com/36999-top-scientists-world-enders.html

9 Real Ways the Earth Could End

Solar energy from deserts:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=challenges-for-des...

Is Anything Stopping a Truly Massive Build-Out of Desert Solar Power?

Engineers and industry agree that although challenges abound in utility-scale solar in the sunniest places on Earth, we have the technology to go big in the desert

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=prakash-blind-chil...
Blind Children in India Receive Gift of Sight [Video]

Cataract surgery lets blind children see at an advanced age, giving scientists new insight into the brain’s adaptability

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/bonemarrow-transplants-le...
Bone-marrow transplants leave men ‘HIV-free’

http://siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/28308-esof2012-science-g...
Science Gallery Dublin to spawn new science gallery in London (with science and art innovation) and at Bangalore , India too.
Science Gallery to spawn its innovative formula in London, with new €8.2m funding
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/33322-science-galler...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-art-...

The art of teaching them to love science

More pupils are choosing arts subjects over chemistry, physics and maths. But a new initiative aims to bring scientific topics to life – and help secure our economic future. Will it help?

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Any_parasite_that_caused_extincti...,,
Any parasite that caused extinction of its host species ever?

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/07/04/climate.change.deniers....
Climate change deniers using dirty tricks from 'Tobacco Wars'
Published: Thursday, July 4, 2013 - 12:21 in Earth & Climate

Fossil fuel companies have been funding smear campaigns that raise doubts about climate change, writes John Sauven in the latest issue of Index on Censorship magazine. Environmental campaigner Sauven argues: "Some of the characters involved have previously worked to deny the reality of the hole in the ozone layer, acid rain and the link between tobacco and lung cancer. And the tactics they are applying are largely the same as those they used in the tobacco wars. Doubt is still their product."

Governments around the world have also attempted to silence scientists who have raised concerns about climate change. Tactics used have included: the UK government spending millions infiltrating peaceful environmental organisations; Canadian government scientists barred from communicating with journalists without media officers; and US federal scientists pressured to remove words 'global warming' and 'climate change' from reports under the Bush administration.

Writing about government corruption in the Indian mining industry, Sauven says: "It will be in these expanding economies that the battle over the Earth's future will be won or lost. And as in the tobacco wars, the fight over clean energy is likely to be a dirty one."
Source: SAGE Publications

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jul/07/rational-heroes-saul-...

Saul Perlmutter: 'Science is about figuring out your mistakes'

The man who discovered that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate reveals why he isn't afraid to fail

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6140/1574
Temperature Drives the Continental-Scale Distribution of Key Microbes in Topsoil Communities

Ferran Garcia-Pichel, Virginia Loza, Yevgeniy Marusenko, Pilar Mateo, Ruth M. Potrafka
Global warming will likely force terrestrial plant and animal species to migrate toward cooler areas or sustain range losses; whether this is also true for microorganisms remains unknown. Through continental-scale compositional surveys of soil crust microbial communities across arid North America, we observed a latitudinal replacement in dominance between two key topsoil cyanobacteria that was driven largely by temperature. The responses to temperature of enrichment cultures and cultivated strains support this contention, with one cyanobacterium (Microcoleus vaginatus) being more psychrotolerant and less thermotolerant than the other (M. steenstrupii). In view of our data and regional climate predictions, the latter cyanobacterium may replace the former in much of the studied area within the next few decades, with unknown ecological consequences for soil fertility and erodibility.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/07/10/i-dont-kn...
“I Don’t Know If I’m a Scientist”: The Problem with Archetypes

Michio Kaku who said that "extraordinary scientific claims need extraordinary support".

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323936404578579753341...

Science Is About Evidence, Not Consensus

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?annotation_id=annotation_115652&...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jul/11/fracking-water-inject...

Pumping water underground could trigger major earthquake, say scientists

New studies suggest injecting water for geothermal power or fracking can lead to larger earthquakes than previously thought

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/07/bacteria-that-live-in-the...
The power of microbes

Bacteria that live in the gut may help define species
bacteria A large group of single-celled microorganisms, including some that cause disease.

evolution The process by which different kinds of living organisms developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of Earth.

gene Information that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.

germ Any microbe, usually a one-celled organism such as a bacterium, fungus or amoeba. Germ may also be applied to viruses. Germs are defined on the basis of their size, not on whether they affect health.

gut Colloquial term for an organism’s stomach and/or intestines. It is where food is broken down and absorbed for use by the rest of the body.

microbe Short for microorganism, it describes very tiny — typically one-celled — living organisms or viruses.

species A group of similar organisms capable of producing offspring.

larvae The immature form of an insect, especially one that differs greatly from the adult and is part of the stage between egg and adult.

http://io9.com/awesome-new-ted-ed-videos-explain-the-physics-of-sup...
Awesome new TED-ED videos explain the physics of superhero powers