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March 12, 2013

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY WORKSHOP! (June 10th to 14th, 2013 University of British Columbia, Vancouver)

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Sharing this among your science minded set would be GREATLY appreciated. Every extra client means being able to deliver more (free) science outreach programming for kids.

Once again, my lab is pleased to offer our popular Molecular Biology Workshops for those who wish to get quick, professional, theoretical, practical (and enjoyable) training in the fine science of molecular techniques. Our next one is scheduled for June 10th to 14th at the University of British Columbia, in beautiful Vancouver. Although, this workshop is primarily designed for the professional life science researcher (graduate students, post-docs, faculty, industry, etc), we’ve also had great reviews from folks in fields as diverse as education, journalism, economics, politics, law, engineering, and computer science.

Cost is $1400 (discounts for group rates) for the 5 day workshop, where all funds go toward our various outreach activities. These include a menu of different field trip programs, our online projects (such as Phylomon), as well as our university undergraduate initiatives – more details about our outreach programs can be found at bioteach.ubc.ca. Note that we keep all of these initiatives free for the schools and general public!

Full details about the workshop can be found here.

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March 12, 2013

The monument to Sir Isaac Newton that never came to be. #whoa

This would have been something else, if it came to pass.

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“In an anonymous letter to the London Times in 1825, Thomas Steele of Magdalen College, Cambridge, proposed enshrining Isaac Newton’s residence in a stepped stone pyramid surmounted by a vast stone globe. The physicist himself had died more than a century earlier, in 1727, and lay in Westminster Abbey, but Steele felt that preserving his home would produce a monument ‘not unworthy of the nation and of his memory'”

Text and via Futility Closet.

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March 12, 2013

Paint plus centrifugal force equals remarkable artwork

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By Fabian Oefner, via Colossal

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March 10, 2013

Still Life a la Renewable Energies

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“Photographer Mitch Payne, Designer Kyle Bean and Art Director Gemma Fletcher collaborate on a playful still life project which visually represents different forms of renewable energy. Energy extracted from resources which are continually replenished such as Solar,Nuclear and Wind. Each image depicts a glass tank housing various setups acting as ‘energy sources’ which power a lightbulb. The series includes ‘Geothermal’ where coloured gravel is layered up to represent a cross section through earth and ‘Tidal’ where water is seen dramatically splashing like a giant wave within the glass tank.”

From Stem Agency, via Notcot.org

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March 10, 2013

Lives of Grass: oddly compelling botanical human sculptures

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By Mathilde Roussel

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March 10, 2013

Rachel Sermanni – “The Fog” #song4mixtape

More of Rachel Sermanni at www.rachelsermanni.net

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March 8, 2013

This is what photographic film looks like, when it passes through your digestive system.

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Kingston University photography students Luke Evans and Josh Lake decided to turn themselves into human cameras by eating 35mm film squares and letting their bodies do the rest. The single film segments were first ingested, excreted (in a dark room) then washed.

Via Fresh Photons.

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March 8, 2013

Mini magnetically floating cloud.

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“NUAGE EN SUSPENSION”
Kinetic sculpture. Plexiglas, Magnet, electro-magnetset, Cotton wool. 20x20x40

By Laurent Debraux, via Colossal.

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March 6, 2013

March 22nd is World Water Day: and this here, is the most remarkable video that highlights it. #brilliant

Wow.

Water ink _ BDDP Unlimited and Solidarités International – UK from BDDP Unlimited on Vimeo.

“To mark World Water Day, on March 22nd Solidarités International and its agency BDDP Unlimited will roll out a campaign to build awareness of the scourge of undrinkable water.

Today, it is estimated that 3.6 million people, including 1.5 million children under the age of 5, die every year of diseases borne by unhealthy water, making it the world’s leading cause of death.

Yet the public isn’t aware of it and political leaders do not demonstrate the drive it takes to end the terrible deaths. The campaign calls on journalists to spread awareness of this scourge and appeal to readers to sign a petition that will be personally handed to the French president during the 6th World Water Forum in March 2012.

To evoke the silent and invisible threat of unhealthy water, BDDP Unlimited opted for a minimalist approach that is both visually appealing and surprising, using water and ink exclusively. The spot shows the power of ink to reveal the invisible.

The spot, created by BDDP Unlimited, produced by Hush and directed by Clément Beauvais, a young director, illustrator, musician and photographer. His multiple talents and mastery of various techniques enabled him to both create the drawings and direct the spot.

The campaign will be seen from mid-March on TV, in cinemas, on the Internet and in print. A dedicated web site,votregouttedeau.org, will gather signatures for the petition.”

From BDDP Unlimited and Solidarités International.

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March 6, 2013

Finally a reason to mount a blaster on Hubble: Hubble finds a Space Invader.

Do you see it?

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There it is…

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From N. Rose (NASA & ESA.), via Bad Astronomy.

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March 6, 2013

Teachers: if you care about science education, check out this survey. via @NCSE

This in from the folks at COPUS:

As you probably know, the earth’s natural system is changing. Many of the aspects of how, where and when is well known within the scientific community, yet the public is slow to accept the science behind these global changes.

In response to the need for a better informed and scientifically literate populace, the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) and the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) received funding from the Moore Foundation to develop a web-based resource for educators and the general public that will provide rigorously-vetted, non-partisan, scientific information on global change, specifically how the earth’s natural systems are changing.

We need your help! We would like to have a better sense of how teachers (at all grade levels, in both formal and informal settings) view global change, the importance of teaching it, and the resources available for doing so. Don’t teach about global change issues? We want to know that too!

The following anonymous survey is being conducted by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and should take you less than 15 minutes, but will help hundreds of thousands of educators and students for years to come!

To participate in the survey, follow this link:

UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL CHANGE SURVEY

If you have any questions about the survey, please email ugcinfo@bscs.org.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and time with us. We (UCMP, NCSE, and BSCS) will thoughtfully review all responses and use the information to develop the best web-based resource on global change issues possible.

p.s. US teachers only. Now, Canadian teachers can play too! ~Dave

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March 6, 2013

Creature art on top of antique celestial maps

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By Louise McNaught, via Visual News

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March 6, 2013

Food combinations as depicted with PANTONE designations

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By David Schwen, via My Modern Met.

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March 6, 2013

On microbiology and good parenting. #funny

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From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, via IFLS.

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March 4, 2013

Turns out the petri plate makes for a very nice canvas.

Not technically microbial art (which would have been very very impressive), but still pretty cool nevertheless…

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By Klari Reis, via NotCot.org

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March 4, 2013

This Tyrannosaurus graphic is hilarious

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Available at Redbubble, via IFLS.

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March 4, 2013

How about a tea in the ribcage of a fully articulated 95-foot bowhead whale skeleton?

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“In 1831 the skeleton of a 95-foot bowhead whale was displayed in a pavilion at Charing Cross, as part of a tour that had also touched Ostend and Paris. Visitors could ascend a flight of steps to a stage set within the ribcage, where they could sit at a table and write puns in the guest book. (“Why should we be mourned for if killed by the falling of the bones of the whale? We should be be-wailed.”)”

Text via Futility Closet.

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March 3, 2013

This piece is called “Even the air and the water obey (the Laws of Thermodynamics). Part 1” #hotartcard

Thinking of entering my own art at the upcoming #hotartcard event. Although to be honest, I’m more of a “I only draw/paint because my walls look a bit empty, and I’m actually a scientist, so feel a little funny calling myself an artist” kind of artist.

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Even the air and the water obey (the Laws of Thermodynamics). Part 1
(pastels and charcoal)

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March 1, 2013

Goodnight everyone… #song4mixtape #radiohead “4 minute warning”

Melancholy perfection…

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March 1, 2013

The sun is gorgeous? Yes, it is: especially when viewed under different wavelengths. #wow via @kejames

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“Yellow-green light of 5500 Angstroms, for example, generally emanates from material of about 10,000 degrees F (5700 degrees C), which represents the surface of the sun. Extreme ultraviolet light of 94 Angstroms, on the other hand, comes from atoms that are about 11 million degrees F (6,300,000 degrees C) and is a good wavelength for looking at solar flares, which can reach such high temperatures. By examining pictures of the sun in a variety of wavelengths – as is done through such telescopes as NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) — scientists can track how particles and heat move through the sun’s atmosphere.”

Images and text from NASA, via @kejames.

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