Although I now consider myself a urban gal and not necessarily a green thumb, my agrarian roots continue to tug on me. Last summer, I gave in to the gardening urge and our front porch erupted in a jungle of herbs and tomatoes– tasty grape ones and some marginal Early Girls– they worked for gazpacho,…
The molecule of the week is actually a collection of 209 different possible versions of this molecule that have multiple chlorine atoms connected in different combinations along the hexagonal segments of the structure– like charms on a bracelet. Though these chemicals are highly heat resistant (used as flame retardants in electronics manufacturing until the late…
Rats and mice clearly don’t get the cute and cuddly points that most other animals get. Check out this video that accompanies this Wall Street Journal article published last weekend about improving conditions for research rodents. I interviewed Amber Alliger last year for an article I wrote for Science Careers about the challenges and moral…
For the May Blogathon Official Guest Post Day, I’m excited to host Kate Reilly of The Polka Dot Suitcase. In addition to managing the fun in that corner of her writing life, Kate’s written for magazines including Parents, FamilyFun, Family Circle, Better Homes & Gardens, American Baby, National Geographic Kids, and Woman’s Day. She’s also…
Five years ago today, I arrived in Manhattan with two cats, dreams of a new career, and a little overwhelmed by my move from the college-town Midwest. At that point, that Sarah could have told you generally what she wanted her career to look like in 5 years. But the woman who miraculously found a…
The May Blogathon is having an official guest-post day on Thursday, May 21. Webb of Science will be hosting Kate Reilly, mistress of the Polka Dot Suitcase : a world of creative fun, whimsical ideas, and interesting projects. Kate and I are trading that day, so if you’re looking for me on Thursday, I’ll be…
I’m taking a topical detour today to highlight some of the fun blogging (including some science) happening around the May blogathon. Jennifer Fink over at Blogging ‘Bout Boys posted about a Minnesota case where a judge has required that a 13-year old boy undergo chemotherapy. Talk about a heart-wrenching case and it’s not clear cut,…
The repair of the Hubble telescope has been big NASA news, but I’m impressed with the way it’s been covered in the Twitterverse through spacewalk updates, astronaut tweets in orbit, and general chatter. NASA has always had a great website and tends to go the extra mile to communicate what’s going on with the public.…
Our recovering diabetic is not having a good weekend. She’s licking and chewing on her back legs until they’re raw. But if we gave her steroids to deal with those problems, we could send her pancreas into a tailspin. So we’re stuck with the bad fashion statement and letting her back leg heal over the…
You have it, I have it. Many viruses are based on it. It’s RNA, which stands for ribonucleic acid. It’s DNA’s chemical cousin with just a few slight differences. While DNA serves as life’s genetic blueprint. RNA is more of a multitasker. DNA stores information in a kind of vault, and the cell makes RNA-based…