Some days, it just isn't there–the big news that spawns blog posts and news stories everywhere and makes an important point about journalism.
That doesn't mean there are not a lot of interesting things to read. Here are a few I found while meandering:
Ed Yong at Not Exactly Rocket Science does a nice job telling the black mamba story, which begins with Yong wondering why scientists with any sense at all would study a creature that can outrun them and has some of the most potent venom of any land snake. Even so, he reports that two researchers did pursue the black mamba and discovered that its venomous cocktail contains two painkillers as effective as morphine, without toxic side effects. I kept thinking about Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill, in which the lead character, played by Uma Thurman, has the code name Black Mamba. (Yes, I am as shallow as it seems.)
Whole genome sequencing completed in only two days helped doctors make treatment decisions about four seriously ill newborns, reports Julie Steenhuysen of Reuters. Cool, right? But wait for the other shoe to drop: Only one of the babies is alive. "We basically struck out completely, for now anyway," a researcher says.
On the day of the first presidential campaign debate, Mike Wall of Space.com tries valiantly to contrast Obama's and Romney's positions on space exploration, and he partly succeeds. Obama's record is clear; Wall recaps it. Romney's? Not so clear. In a position paper called "Securing U.S. Leadership in Space," Romney promises "broad commitments" to work with international partners, strengthen America's national security, and revitalize the aerospace industry. Romney says "the details will come later."
Science, fiction, or magic? Who cares? If you're in New York, watch magician and crazy person David Blaine let 1 million volts of electricity surround his body for 72 hours. Peir 54. October 5-8. Be there. And I trust a Tracker reader will explain to us in the comments why Blaine won't die and exactly what kind of (electrified) wool he's pulling over our eyes. Thanks to the guardian.com for the heads-up.
John Noble Wilford at The New York Times writes about a paleontologist who has just now published on a new species of dinosaur he first saw at a Harvard laboratory almost 30 years ago. And Brian Switek untangles the mystery of the horseshoe crab at his Wired blog, Laelaps. Do not talk to him about "living fossels." No, sir.
-Paul Raeburn
Leave a Reply