Copy Writing & Copy Editing
As a staffer, I was a professional, full-time science editor for more than eight years.
The Fruit That Hit Newton’s Head Is Down With the Fruit of Darwin’s Head
Discover, September 22 2010.
Apple may not allow porn on its product line, but it has no problem with another source of controversy: evolution. A new, free iPad/iPhone application called Timetree, distributed by Arizona and Penn State Universities, allows users to map how long ago two living.. →
Hackers Infect Twitterverse With Worm Using Old, Known Bug
Discover, September 22 2010.
Yesterday’s Twitter meltdown was caused by a known flaw that resurfaced with the help of a 17-year-old Australian and a Scandinavian developer, among others. The boy, Pearce Delphin, and the developer, Magnus Holm, discovered the JavaScript vulnerability,.. →
Does a Common Cold Virus Boost Chances of Childhood Obesity?
Discover, September 21, 2010.
A study of children has discovered a correlation between obesity and prior infection with a cold virus, called Adenovirus 36. While the link is fairly weak, the tantalizing research suggests a new front on the war on obesity.
The study participants included.. →
FDA Committee Punts on Question of Biotech Fish
Discover, September 21, 2010.
An FDA advisory panel has decided what it thinks about genetically modified salmon, and its decision is to not make a decision. The committee says it doesn’t have enough data to fully support approving the biotech salmon, which would make it the first such.. →
It Has 3,700 Facebook Friends, 1,800 Twitter Followers, & It’s a Tree
Discover, September 21, 2010.
This 100-year-old tree wants to tell you about its day. The tree, an English-speaking Belgian, shares pictures, videos, audio, and comments about it’s day to day life with the world via its website, twitter feed, and Facebook page. But don’t try.. →
A Happy Global Warming Side Effect: Less Bubonic Plague
Discover, September 21, 2010.
Climate change might have one teensy good effect, at least in the United States: changes to weather patterns may make it harder for the bubonic plague to survive in rodent burrows. Bubonic plague is spread by rodents, like the chubby little prairie dog over there.. →
Found: A Part of the Brain That Knows When the Brain Is Wrong
Discover, September 20, 2010.
The size of a small part of the brain, right behind the eyes, is connected with a person’s ability to gauge how likely they are to be right about factual questions, according to a study published in Science last week. This faculty is important in many.. →
An iPhone App, a Refractometer, an Objectively Perfect Cup of Coffee
Discover, September 20 2010.
A new iPhone app, linked with a refractometer and decades of coffee science, can help you brew the perfect cup, for only $350. Don’t believe that such a thing is possible? Gizmodo sums up the natural inclination against believing that science can tell us.. →
Given the Choice, Liberals Would Rather “Kill Whitey”
Discover, September 20, 2010.
Recent work by David Pizarro at Cornell is shedding light the role that race and ethics play in politics, by asking people to sacrifice the lives of either Tyrone Payton or Chip Ellsworth III.
OK, they didn’t really have to sacrifice anyone, but.. →
Scientist Dance Styles: Glee Episode, Spanish Whodunnit, Internet Love Orgy
Discover, September 17, 2010.
In its third year, the Dance Your PhD contest is proving that maybe, just maybe, scientists can dance. From the contest’s website:
The dreaded question. “So, what’s your Ph.D. research about?” You take a deep breath and launch into the.. →