These posts will be about the intersection between science and TV
Several weeks ago I was at the International Society of Behavioral Ecology's meeting, and they had a very special event: actress Isabella Rossellini did a Q&A during a showing of her recent short film, Mammas! She is not only an actress, but also a graduate student in Animal Behavior and Conservation at Hunter College in New York … Continue reading Science and art
I just watched the first episode of PBS's "Your Inner Fish", which I presume is based on the book by Neil Shubin (which is in my stack of books to read on my bedside table). It is a phenomenal piece of popular science television! I highly recommend you watch it, which you can do here. … Continue reading Your Inner Fish
One of the least glamorous (and least well-known, I think) aspects of science is how many setbacks, difficulties, and tedious tasks we scientists are faced with. However, it comprises the daily grind for pretty much all scientists, and is one of the things that makes science difficult. I've been having a rough couple of research … Continue reading Dealing with Disappointment
Doctor Who is a British television phenomenon that I've recently become (a little) obsessed with. It's a fantastic show, and if you haven't seen it I recommend you check it out on Netflix. But in the course of watching it, I realize it's actually making me into a better scientist. Here's why: 1. The universe … Continue reading Why Doctor Who makes me a better scientist
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Mayim Bialik, the actress with a PhD in neurobiology. Now, she's featured again in Nature. There's an interview with Dr. Bialik in Nature this week, where she talks about having children as a neuroscientist grad student and about her experiences on The Big Bang Theory. She's a pretty interesting … Continue reading Mayim Bialik: Again on Nature
Those of you that are familiar with The Princess Bride (which should be all of you) know that Rodents of Unusual Size (aka ROUSes) are one of the largest dangers of the Fire Swamp (other than the fire and sandpits). But The Princess Bride is pure fantasy, right? Wrong. ROUSes do in fact exist on an island of Gough. … Continue reading ROUSes exist!
If you've read the Game of Thrones series (or watched the TV series), you may have wondered why the seasons can be so long and so incredibly variable. Luckily, i09.com has put together five scientific reasons why the climates in Game of Thrones might be the way they are. Head on over there to get … Continue reading 5 Scientific Explanations for Game of Thrones’ Messed-Up Seasons
Many of you may not recognize the name Mayim Bialik, but you might recognize her as Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, or as Blossom from the 1991-1995 TV show. A couple days ago, ScienceNow did a podcast with her to talk about her science background: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/05/podcast-an-interview-with-mayim.html?ref=em In this interview, she talks about … Continue reading Mayim Bialik, PhD
A couple of weeks ago, a Bones episode, The Don't In The Do (http://www.fox.com/bones/full-episodes/14378485/the-don-t-in-the-do) focused on one of the interns' struggle to get a paper published. As I was watching the episode, it was driving me crazy that the culture around publishing in the episode was either a) misrepresented in the episode or b) drastically … Continue reading A Bone to Pick
Sarah Flanagan 