From Dr. John: To mark the 40th anniversary of the Internets, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced the DARPA Network Challenge, a competition that will explore the role of social networking in communication, team building, and group mobilization. The challenge is to be the first person to submit the locations of 10 8-foot, red, weather balloons at 10 fixed locations in the continental United States.

Here’s how it works: The red balloons will be deployed on Saturday, December 5, in readily accessible locations and visible from nearby roads. Teams and collaborators will have approximately 9 days, until 12:00 PM (ET) on December 14, to collect the locations of the balloons and submit their entries.  All locations must be submitted in latitude and longitude coordinates. The event is open to individuals of all ages irrespective of nationality or residency (except Federal employees and their spouses and dependents), but first you must register your team on  the DARPA Network Challenge website.

Find the red balloons. Win $40,000. Do you have what it takes to be the next Balloon Boy/Girl?

Amber, a subscriber, tipped us off to this free resource: “100 incredible lectures from the world’s top scientists.”

From the website:

Unless you’re enrolled at a top university or are an elite member of the science and engineering inner circle, you’re probably left out of most of the exciting research explored by the world’s greatest scientists. But thanks to the Internet, and our list of 100 incredible lectures, you’ve now got access to the cutting edge theories and projects that are changing the world.

(Thanks, Amber!)

My dad found this video on one of his favorite sites. How very, very cool. (Thanks, Dad!)

Science Cheerleader contributor Stephen Zachary explains, among other things, why citizen scientists are so damn cool (and “creative” when it comes to our uncommon use of certain words). He manages to fit me, Franklin, Stalin, Steve Jobs and Jane Goodall in one brief essay!

Facets of Citizenship

Between the growing public involvement in tackling climate change and our new President, who is looking to promote continuing adult education and a reinvigorated national research agenda, it seems like this “citizen scientist movement” we have here is on the up-and-up. Successful grassroots campaigns, businesses, and politicians preach that if you’re ever going to rebrand, do it on the way down; nevertheless, it may be time to turn a critical eye on our current moniker, lest we fail to capitalize on some of the abstract principles that brought us to this point in the first place.

Even though the present usage of “citizen” is meant to signify something innocuous along the lines of “layperson,” it can sometimes carry with it the aftertaste of concepts like obedience and conformity. Yet here we are on a website founded by a cheerleader turned scholar turned activist — clearly an atypical set of roles, blended together in the hopes of shaking up the relationship between science and society. Alexander Graham Bell, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs (among many others) have autodidactic backgrounds to thank for their success and their canonization in what might be called a “Citizen Scientist Hall of Fame,” so quite a few forerunners of this movement took unusual paths as well. A trademark of many autodidacts is fervid individualism, which serves the dual purpose of overcoming the social challenges of being self-taught and promoting the type of resiliency that helps ideas weather the storms of criticism and misfortune. Franklin, a revolutionary in the truest sense, obviously thought of citizenship as a fluid concept and had a healthy respect for dissent.

This isn’t to say that the people we call “citizen scientists” should act as rogue agents or subversive forces against institutionalized science. A certain amount of swagger, though, seems appropriate, because it is the unique perspective fostered through non-traditional education that gives the citizen scientist her strength. For instance, anthropologist Louis Leaky chose a woman without a college background to study primates in the wild, his intuition being that the task at hand called for a person without any academic prejudice. As a result, Jane Goodall got her start in science and was on her way to becoming a famous primatologist. Though she would later attain a doctorate degree, Goodall’s innovative viewpoint was born and fostered during her stint as an amateur.

In addition to individualism and freedom from bias, autodidacts also show a great deal of creativity. A subtle mark of self-taught individuals is that they tend to use certain words in uncommon ways, on account of the fact that they lack a shared learning environment that, for the rest of us, reinforces socially prescribed uses and misuses of nuanced terms. As a result, the literature produced by autodidacts tends to be vivid and provocative. This creativity extends beyond the world of poetry and novels and enters the scientific realm with the effect of bridging ideas, exploring previously overlooked questions, and even the development of new fields. Walter Pitts, a cognitive scientist informally associated with MIT, taught himself mathematics, logic, and neuroscience, putting that knowledge to use later when he played a role in the emergence of artificial intelligence theory and cybernetics.

Of course, most people can only contribute to scientific advancement through incremental steps that promise virtually no prestige or glory. This being the case, why are so many people working to bring science literacy and activism to the public? One fundamental reason behind all the effort is the desire to shrink the ever growing information gap between scientists and the public at large. The amount of knowledge accrued and passed down over human history is impressive, to say the least, but what’s staggering is that new gains are added at a seemingly exponential rate every generation. We’re at a point where the renaissance man may be an endangered species, if only for the fact that the human brain is not a limitless encoding and storage device. Doctorates commonly take seven or eight years; and, even after the degree is conferred, committed scientists can still have a difficult time keeping up with the volume of new findings in their field of expertise.

And while some have blamed the structure of academia for the information gap, that suggestion doesn’t hold much water. Even if we admit that academics run in somewhat incestuous circles, that seems to be the nature of the beast when a knowledge base grows so large that hyper-specialization becomes a necessity. Colleges and universities are reaching out to the public to share their content through programs like MIT’s OpenCourseWare and YouTubeEDU, so it seems like academia is at least making the effort to close the information gap. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not the public at large will do their part by taking advantage of the growing number of resources available to them. What does seem clear is that reliance on the trickle down effect — to the extent that one exists in the advanced sciences — won’t be enough.

Closing the information gap isn’t a question of sharing knowledge for knowledge’s sake: modern scientists are increasingly focused on refurbishing and transforming the world in which we live, and a simple comparison of daily life across the last six or seven decades makes that crystal clear. So the issue is whether or not the world of the future, shaped by the scientific advancements of today, will be something that’s handed to us or something that we help shape by being informed and vocal.

Which brings us back to the semantic issue. Along with the Stalinist incarnation of “citizenship” — characterized by deference to authority — comes another, more appealing, connotation: the citizen as a meaningful and engaged participant with a stake in what lies ahead. “Citizen scientist” is probably a perfectly fine expression — it’s up to the public to decide, however, what the phrase really means.

Andrew, who just launched happier.com, thought we’d enjoy hearing about the Small Science Collective whose intention it is to get everyone thinking about and communicating science through cheap and handy one page zines, (like the one pictured on the left ).  He read about this on Discover’s The Loom.

From the Small Science site: “These zines and pamphlets are distributed in subways, benches, coffee shops, and any place someone might least expect them.  Perhaps catching the attention of strangers who might what to learn something new about ants, spirals, food, or genetics? Whatever else, it is at least something to read while you wait for the bus. Pick one up, print one out here, read it, and leave it somewhere random for some unsuspecting stranger to pick up and learn something new. The science is yours to share.”

 A snake for a toddler? How about lead-ridden Hannah Montana necklace instead? Check the Healthy Toys website to find out which toys contain unsafe levels of lead, mercury and PVC. Best toys and worst toys are among the 1,500 tested items. If a hot item on Santa’s list is not among those tested, just fill out the online request form and ask for the toy to be evaluated.

This brief overview provides a nice summary of the list and, in the spirit of the holidays, points you to 5 Ways To Green Your Tree. 

(Um, unless you live in Japan, Greece or Portugal where most women are more financially dependent on men.)

What’s your waist-to-hip ratio? A long-held belief had women convinced that men prefer a 0.7  or lower ratio  (waist much narrower than hips), a la Marilyn Monroe. But new evidence suggests something different.

Men who want their mates to be strong,  economically successful and politically competitive, are looking at more cylindrical than hour-glass figures. From LiveScience.com

“That’s because the hormones that make women physically stronger, more competitive and better able to deal with stress also tend to redistribute fat from the hips to the waist. So in societies and situations where women are under pressure to procure resources and otherwise bring home the bacon, they may be less likely to have the classic hourglass figure, Cashdan hypothesizes in the December issue of the journal Current Anthropology.”

Read about the science behind this: Best Female Figure Not an Hourglass.

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to know. Each week, the EPA posts a Question of the Week along with supplemental resources and quick tips, like this one:

“If all decorative light strings sold in America this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save over 2 billion kWh per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to nearly 300,000 cars!”

Find more simple EPA suggestions on how to celebrate an environmentally friendly holiday.   

This week, the EPA wants to know how you dispose of prescription drugs.

“Drugs and pharmaceutical products include powerful chemicals that have saved or improved countless lives. But even small amounts of drugs need to be disposed of carefully so they don’t pollute the environment or harm human health and wildlife.”

In early 2007 the government set guidelines for disposing of drugs:

• Take unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs out of their original containers and throw them in the trash.
• Mixing prescription drugs with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter, and putting them in impermeable, non-descript containers, such as empty cans or sealable bags, will further ensure the drugs are not diverted.
• Flush prescription drugs down the toilet only if the label or accompanying patient information specifically instructs doing so.
• Take advantage of community pharmaceutical take-back programs that allow the public to bring unused drugs to a central location for proper disposal. Some communities have pharmaceutical take-back programs or community solid-waste programs that allow the public to bring unused drugs to a central location for proper disposal. Where these exist, they are a good way to dispose of unused pharmaceuticals.

My close friend Ame and I met the first day of college. An unlikely pairing we would realize years later: Ame, the non-partying, Jewish sorority sister; me, the blonde cheerleader who held a beer bong record (outpacing even the TKE frat boys). We’re almost grown up now and after 20 years together, we’re practically sisters. The most obvious difference between us is my affinity for–and Ame’s lack of interest in–science. 

On Monday, Ame’s world was turned upside-down. The unthinkable happened.  Her 7-year-old daughter, Morgan, was sent home from school because she felt tired and said her “heart hurt.” Within hours, she was diagnosed with cancer. As her parents kept a bedside vigil, Morgan’s white blood cell count climbed to 136,000. As sick as she felt, Morgan greeted me with her trademark “Hi, Dar!”  and never let her daddy out of her sight.

Yesterday, I sat with Morgan’s parents–Ame and Gene–and listened as the doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia  explained what type of leukemia Morgan has and detailed treatment options. I could barely comprehend the complicated charts and data despite the gentle tone and soft words the doctors carefully chose. “How will I translate all this for Ame?” I thought to myself. My arrogant thoughts were interrupted when she said: “So, Morgan has a high risk type of PreB A.L.L. We’re relieved it’s not AML.  We’re looking at 2.5 years of treatment between induction and maintenance. I understand the possible side effects of the various medications. I’d prefer a Pic to a Port–heard a nurse talking about Pic….”

Ame personified what science literacy experts preach: “average” citizens can understand complex science information when the information is relevant and meaningful and the sources are trusted. 

I returned to Morgan’s hospital room where she’ll spend the next month or so. “Dar! Look at my sticker book!” Spirits were lifted. Hope prevailed. Mostly because of Morgan’s cheery smile but also due to the encouraging words from her doctors. Many, many children survive her form of leukemia.

Today, in addition to giving thanks to God for my family and friends, I’d like to give thanks for Morgan. And all who love her are grateful for the scientists and engineers who have devoted their careers to finding ways to keep Morgan in our lives for many years to come.  

Happy Thanksgiving.