Science Cheerleader

Congratulations, Missi! She came within two pounds of guessing the weight of the giant pumpkin pictured in the post below. Originally, Missi guessed “102 pounds” (which was the closest guess) but when I called to tell her she had won the prize Tshirt, she added: “looking at the picture of the pumpkin more closely, I see it’s taller than a similar one I recently grew here in Hershey, Pa, so I’d say it’s probably closer to 130 pounds.” The actual weight is 128 pounds! I’m pointing all of this out for one reason: this is a cheeky example of how local knowledge (aka “citizen input,” “participatory activity” etc.) can inform discussions in ways we just cannot predict. Let’s see how citizen input in discussions of science policy matters can better inform policy decisions.

Here’s a picture of Missi’s daughter with their home-grown pumpkin!

Pictured with me are David Guston (Professor of Science Policy at Arizona State University) and on the right is David Rejeski (Director, Science, Technology and Innovation Program, Smithsonian’s Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars). The three of us, plus Richard Sclove (Founder, Loka Institute; U.S. Advisor, Worldwide Views on Global Climate Change) are hashing out a plan to create a participatory technology assessment agency. (Read: citizen input in federal tech policy discussions.)  Very exciting stuff. I’ll keep you posted on developments.
On Wednesday, we met with at the Wilson Center with Rich Hung (Government Accountability Office) and John Wonderlich (Sunlight Foundation) to discuss this very topic. Then, Dave, Dave and I had lunch and posed with this giant pumpkin. So, how much do you think this pumpkin weighs?
After lunch, I skipped across the street to the Museum of American History where I bumped into this wax replica of Ira Remsen (1846-1927)the first Professor of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins. He pushed for the support of “pure” science for its own sake instead of the more traditional “outdoor” sciences such as natural history and geology. Remsen is credited with creating a pioneering lab at Hopkins, later modeled by other universities. These labs are considered the main training ground for American scientists.

Pix from the Phils’ previous home game. (I know, I know, I’m a freaky geek.)
Thanks for your help Phillies Phans, especially Tania! “GOOO Phillies! and GOOO Science!”

Science Cheerleader contributor, Bart, reports from todays launch of Ares I-X rocket, which marks the first time since 1981, that NASA test-launched a new rocket for human spaceflight. That’s right, Bart was there! And now he’s here, in print:
First Impressions of Ares I-X: I’ve been to rocket launches before, even Space Shuttle launches, but nothing like this. Never this close.
If you’ve never been to a launch before, it’s hard to convey the feelings.

You see the flash of fire and the cloud first. It starts as a dull rumble, nothing special. Then, when the rocket has been airborne for five or six seconds, a wave of sound hits you. You can almost see it push the air aside like a bubble. It is unlike anything you’ve quite heard before. Imagine a long, crackling roar, raised to the level of a thunder going off from a lightning bolt in your back yard. And it stretches out as the rocket ascends, rolling on and on like some magnificent bellowing. (more…)

Meet Mr. E-coli! One of many plush, stuffed MICROBES now available for order. I did a double take when someone forwarded this site to me.

Ms. Swine Flu is also available. Best sellers include: The Common Cold, The Flu, Sore Throat, Stomach Ache, Brain Cell, E. coli, Kissing Disease, Ulcer, Martian Life, Beer & Bread, Black Death, Ebola, Flesh Eating, Sleeping Sickness, Dust Mite, Bed Bug, Bookworm, and many more.  (”Say ‘nighty night’ to Mr. Ebola, Suzie” ???)

From the GIANTmicrobes website:
GIANTmicrobes are stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes — only a million times actual size! They’re humorous, educational, and fun! Each of our GIANTmicrobes comes with an image and information about the real microbe it represents. They make great learning tools, as well as amusing gifts for anyone with a sense of humor.

OpenStreetMap is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you.

OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.

Last week, I had the pleasure of organizing a citizen science project for my son’s second grade class. The teacher and students were well-prepared by the time I entered the classroom to talk about Cornell’s citizen science project called “Pigeon Watch”. The kids had already viewed the getting started video so they were aware that not all pigeons look alike. They also understood why scientists are turning to kids and adults in an effort to create a much clearer picture of the epidemiology of pigeons. Why are there so many different colors of pigeons in the world? Sure, humans selectively bred them to bear beautiful colors but once they were released back into the wild, scientists predicted they’d revert back to the colors of their wild relatives in the Mediterranean. But they haven’t, even after 400 years. No other feral animal has kept so many domestic colors for more than a few generations.

By recording observations about urban pigeons, citizen scientists, like these 2nd graders, are helping scientists understand:

* why pigeons continue to exist in so many colors
* which color morphs pigeons prefer for mates

Thanks, kids, you are terrific scientists! GOOOOOO Science!

Yale’s official mascot (known as Handsome Dan XV11, or Sherman, if you live with him) was in Philly for the Yale v Penn game so I thought I’d help give him a science makeover with the help of Discover Magazine. He’s definitely an Ivy Leaguer. (Thanks, Keli, Churchill and Dana for your participation!)

See how Yale, Discover and the Templeton Foundation partnered up to explore this question: Does evolution explain human nature.

John-the-Tourist writes:

Getting information on how individual neurons fire was, until recently, nearly impossible in animals moving around because the detection devices were too delicate.  In the October 14, 2009 edition of Nature, a team of neuroscientists have figured out how to keep a mouse’s head stationary while it runs around on a Styrofoam ball that controls a virtual environment.  Keeping the mouse’s head still allows the delicate measurements to take place.  The virtual environment is created via the open source engine for the video game Quake 2.  So, in some sense, the mouse is playing a video game.  We do not yet know if mice are subject to video game addiction.

The information gleened from experiments like this will help scientists understand how brain cells work while animals navigate their environment.

The scientific community eagerly awaits the first Wii Sports playing guinea pig to see if rodents prefer baseball over tennis.

More details can be found at Wired Science (including a diagram of the apparatus)