Female Science Professor

Virginia DeBolt — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:18:36 -0500

has been right up at the top of my reading list lately. It's at http://science-professor.blogspot.com/

Virginia DeBolt
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Science Medley: Now with Boob Sweat

Leslie Madsen Brooks — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:41:48 -0500

It's time for another edition of Science Medley, your round-up of women's writing about science in the blogosphere. Here we explore the nitty-gritty of weird and wonderful science news and find answers to questions we didn't quite realize we had.

Exhibit A: Boob sweat. The women of the Beauty Brains blog answer the question, "Is it OK to put antiperspirant under the girls?" Recent other posts there have explored the pH of skin toners and whether pricier skin toners are actually better, the ten strangest ingredients used in cosmetics (not for the squeamish--placenta, anyone?), and whether your shower products should be free of sulfates.

One ingredient you won't be seeing soon in cosmetics: dinosaur tissue. That's in part because, as Tara C. Smith of Aetiology reports, it's not clear if the "tissue" harvested from a Tyrannosaurus femur is actually tissue from the dinosaur or if it's a bacterial biofilm. A really interesting read--be sure to check it out.

Kambiz Kamrani reports on a newly discovered population of 125,000 gorillas in the Republic of Congo but reminds us that 48% of primates are threatened with extinction--and especially orangutans, thanks to shrinking habitat.

So, say you donated blood marrow to a marrow bank years ago. How would you feel if researchers used some of it on a new research project without informing you? Would you be OK with that, or would you want to sign off on the project? Janet Stemwedel discusses the ethics behind just such a case. At issue: Who has the right to use these "legacy samples," and under what conditions?

The Biotech Weblog reports on a faster route to producing vaccines against cancer. The secret? Growing the antibodies in plants--in this case tobacco. Ah, the irony. But it's about time for tobacco plants to give back to society, n'est-ce pas?

But Leslie, you ask, where are the fabulous photos of insects and invertebrates? Bootstrap Analysis brings us some fabulous photos of a banana slug and pollinators, and Burning Silo brings us photos of the beautiful (pink!) evening primrose moth, bizarre but awesome mantidflies, and some of the most beautiful little beetles I've ever seen--they look like jewelry. Burning Silo's photos are so beautiful that even insectophobes might consider studying entomology. My favorite photo featured in this medley, however, is from an issue of Birds in the News; click through to see a Common Merganser carrying her chicks on her back.

Field Notes from an Evolutionary Psychologist ventures a bit outside her field to report on the possibility of launching paper airplanes from space. The experiments, if successful, could influence the design of the next generation of space probes and re-entry vehicles.

Finally, no round-up of women writing about science would be complete without mentioning Scientiae, the carnival of women science bloggers. There's some good stuff in there--definitely go check it out.

What science news are you reading these days?

Leslie Madsen-Brooks develops learning experiences for K-12, university, and museum clients. She blogs at The Clutter Museum, Museum Blogging, and The Multicultural Toy Box.

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Female Science Professor

Science Medley: Now with Boob Sweat