To help get us in the mood for Halloween, our most recent SCInema target was the psychological thriller The Silence of the Lambs.
Some participants may have found the ease with which they could put their thesis advisor’s words into the mouth of a psychopathic killer a bit disturbing, that should not take away from your enjoyment of the sciencified quotes one bit.
This was what was missing* from the movie Epic. I only wish we had acquired this treasure in time to donate it to the production of Stalking Squirrels for Science.
*Also missing, doing anything nearly as clever as the mouse being like grizzly bear thing to play with the stereotype of insects and bats being creepy and evil.
Giving the amount of fungal growth in my yard, I wish I was one of those people who could tell which mushrooms you can eat and enjoy*. In retrospect, perhaps I should have seen the pretty orange color of this one as a bad omen for my St. Louis Cardinals.
*No, I will not be trusting any of your opinions on the matter either. I know too many people who comment on blogs to trust any of you.
This week, Science for the People is looking at the intersection of race, history and genetics in science writer Nicholas Wade’s 2014 book A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History. DNA researcher Jennifer Raff and science journalist David Dobbs share their critiques of the claim that differences between genetically distinct “races” are responsible for global divergence in cultural and political structures. Blogger Scicurious walks us through the (delicious) basics of the scientific method with Cookie Science.
*Josh provides research help to Science for the People and is, therefore, completely biased.
The lab course I am teaching at Coker College does not have access to the newest and fanciest equipment for microscopy imaging (nor should it*). If your drawing skills are not up to snuff, however, a smartphone camera, a steady hand, and a bit of patience can provide a useful substitute for standard light microscopy.
The Finch and Pea 