But I read it for the... articles?

A few weeks ago I found a cheap subscription to Vanity Fair. I just got my first issue:

Duck (goose?) and cover

30 book covers from Poland (from A Journey Round My Skull)

Duck and cover: The most controversial mag. covers of all time

"While some controversial covers have worked and sold more magazines, or won awards for the editors who made the decision to go to press with them, others were embarrassments that the publication had to either apologize for, or fire an editor over." (WebDesignerDepot)

O RLY?

Conservative Ideals Drive Hummer Ownership: "A team of researchers has found that Hummer owners say their vehicle choice is strongly related to their personal morals...." (wired)

The Big Picture: Dust

Dust storms in Sydney, Australia (boston.com)

New URMA issue on my desk

Volume 3, No. 1: The Fall 2009 issue of UNLV Innovation (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

New URMA issue on my desk

The Summer 2009 edition of Odyssey (University of Kentucky)

Dead Salmon + MRI = Red Herring

Neuroscientist Craig Bennett bought a salmon to test an fMRI machine and work out some protocols.

So, as the fish sat in the scanner, they showed it “a series of photographs depicting human individuals in social situations.” To maintain the rigor of the protocol (and perhaps because it was hilarious), the salmon, just like a human test subject, “was asked to determine what emotion the individual in the photo must have been experiencing.”
The salmon, as Bennett’s poster on the test dryly notes, “was not alive at the time of scanning.”

Those involved got a laugh out of the situation, until the scans came back and showed that activity was detected in different areas of the brain when the fish was “shown” the pictures. Remember, the fish was dead.

The result is completely nuts — but that’s actually exactly the point. Bennett, who is now a post-doc at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his adviser, George Wolford, wrote up the work as a warning about the dangers of false positives in fMRI data. They wanted to call attention to ways the field could improve its statistical methods.

Which is not to say that scans aren’t a useful research tool, but that they must be carefully monitored to avoid false positive results. (wired.com)

Stupid is as stupid doesn't do.

A new film about Charles Darwin and the writing of his most famous book is about to be released around the world with the notable exception of the United States of Ignorance.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6173399/Charles-Darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-America.html

Tuesday coffee break: The ghost fleet of the recession

"The biggest and most secretive gathering of ships in maritime history lies at anchor east of Singapore. Never before photographed, it is bigger than the U.S. and British navies combined but has no crew, no cargo and no destination — and is why your Christmas stocking may be on the light side this year..." (dailymail.co.uk)

Is the world getting better? (New Scientist)

New URMA issue on my desk

The Summer 2009 issue of Research in Review (Florida State University)

Science marches on: research shows men can't think after talking to pretty women

Men lose their minds speaking to pretty women: Talking to an attractive woman really can make a man lose his mind, according to a new study. (telegraph.co.uk)

Thursday coffee break: publish *this*

How to Publish a Scientific Comment in 1 2 3 Easy Steps: a somewhat long but entertaining read about one scientist's attempts to point out glaring mistakes in an article that was published in a leading journal.

New URMA issue on my desk

The Fall 2009 issue of Washington State magazine