Archive for February, 2010

Hollywood science: A tale of abuse and inspiration

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Last week we covered a good chunk of a talk about science in the movies, but there’s still a bit more I want to touch on.

If you didn’t read the last post, here’s a recap of points made by scientists and Hollywood folks at a panel hosted by the Science and Entertainment Exchange:

  1. Science portrayed correctly in movies and TV shows more ‘em more plausible
  2. More plausibility means better, more profitable productions
  3. Scientists are cool if Hollywood distorts one or two big scientific concepts for a good story — but good science should always follow
  4. Hollywood (and the Internet) can influence millions more science-curious people than any professor in a classroom

National Academy of Science's Science and Entertainment ExchangeIn short, more accurately portrayed science in Hollywood benefits everyone. Mo learnin’, mo money.

That’s not to say that Hollywood elites and scientists have donned flowered garlands and are frolicking together barefoot in a Utopian garden of peace. Far from it.

Hollywood writers/producers and scientists may never get there, and you may shrug your shoulders at the notion. Yet I feel — and I know scientists do as well — that this is not just a fun, cerebral discussion for shits and giggles. It’s super important stuff. (more…)

Trekkin’ across the Ukraine

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Dave Mosher's Ukraine 2009 Flickr galleryTo take a break from science for a moment, and touch on the exploratory elements of being a Cosmopolitanaut, I want to share something my world-traveling brother James has put together.

Last June (that’s June 2009 for the archivists), I hopped on a 10-hour flight out to Ukraine to visit James, who was wrapping up his two-year commitment to the Peace Corps.

Call it ultra-busyness or laziness, but I haven’t managed to get around to hashing out a proper account of what that trip was like. Some day, some day…

I could say things like: amazing, eye-opening, entertaining, exhausting, frustrating (damn you Ukrainian hiking trails), humbling, stunning, etc., but they have no context.

Thankfully, James has created that context for us all. He also happens to be a fantastic storyteller/writer, so don’t miss his three posts about our journey across the country at his visually rich blog, inconsistenc: (more…)

David vs. Norovirus

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

I imagined doing a lot more at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Life such as it is, I drew a very short straw this weekend.

Instead of attending a hefty list of  scientific sessions and blogging about them, I attended the porcelain god worshiping panel in my hotel bathroom.

Micrograph of Norwalk norovirusesThis makes the second time in three years that I’ve contracted a vicious stomach bug during transcontinental travel, and in both cases my symptoms were the smoking gun for the norovirus, aka Norwalk virus (named after a town in my home state of Ohio, where a notable outbreak occurred).

Unless you’re very young or old, the critter isn’t typically deadly. Nevertheless, it’s a highly contagious kick in the guts: norovirus is thought to be responsible for 90 percent of all cases of the “stomach flu” and half of all “food poisoning” incidents.

How did I come to serve as the ungracious host for this lifeless* nanospeck of protein and nucleotides? (more…)

Who watches the watchmen? Scientists do

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Watchmen movie posterScience is a ragdoll in Hollywood: a plot device that’s carelessly tossed around and repeatedly abused for entertainment value. (Well, I tortured my sister’s Raggedy Ann for fun… can’t speak for the rest of the planet.)

But hope has been brewing thanks to organizations such as the Science and Entertainment Exchange, an outfit designed to hook up Hollywood producers with enthusiastic scientists.

It also happens to be led by Jennifer Ouellette, a really great blogger I asked to join Discovery in 2008. She held a panel today at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) called “Watching the Watchmen and Cheering the Heroes: The Science of Superheroes.”

The purpose of the exchange goes like this: (more…)

(Nerd) party in the U.S.A.

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

American Association for the Advancement of Science logoScience nerds across the U.S.A., it’s that time of year again: the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

This year the party is going down in sunny San Diego, California — no impenetrable banks of snow, face-numbing temperatures, or nasty salty crust all over my pants, thanks very much.

Since you’re a nerd, though (who else would read this blog?) you already knew about the meeting. But if you’re not familiar, it goes something like this… (more…)

Sonar on the brain

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

No matter how you dice ‘em, brains are tough to study. And while many of us (aka myself) would like to know what the heck is happening there, the whole cutting-open-the-skull-and-poking-around thing isn’t necessarily appealing.

Thankfully, painless and quick brain scannin’ technology exists.

Neuroscientists recently gave me a rare (and free) opportunity to view my brainstem in real-time via the magic of ultrasound — yep, same technology OB/GYN doctors use to look at a fetus in mommy’s tummy. (more…)