The Lighter Side of Science

The Free Scientific Resource: Evaluating the Accuracy of Wikipedia

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva

Several weeks ago, I came across an article on ScienceNews.org about how Wikipedia is becoming a scientific resource, whether we like it or not. Scientists are reading Wikipedia, the article said, and it’s affecting how they write. The article cited a study by researchers from MIT and Pitt that found statistical evidence of language in peer-reviewed articles being influenced by Wikipedia articles relevant to the topic. They concluded that journal articles referenced in Wikipedia are subsequently cited more than other similar articles, and that on a semantic level, Wikipedia is influencing the language of scientific journal articles at an astounding rate.

I was intrigued by the idea that reading Wikipedia affects how we later write about a subject. When I start writing about a new topic, the first thing I do is head to Wikipedia to gather a basic understanding before I dive into journal articles. I’ll skim through the overview and most relevant subsections, then check out the references to see what I should continue reading. However, the findings of the study imply that even though I don’t directly use information or language from Wikipedia in my work, it’s still subtly influencing how I write. Continue reading “The Free Scientific Resource: Evaluating the Accuracy of Wikipedia”

Adventure in Belize

Posted on by Promega

Today’s blog post is written by guest blogger, Josh Agate, Manager, Global CRM.

Picture from airplane approaching Ambergis Caye
Approaching Ambergis Caye.

Adventure is relative. Most people are looking for new adventures in life, and those can range from planning where to go on vacation to starting a new job. What each person looks for in an adventure and the level of thrill they seek is different. When I learned that Promega had awarded me a trip to a destination of my choice with my family for my job performance, I was excited to plan this new adventure with my wife and two daughters (ages 4 and 6). We decided on a trip to Belize.

The trip required two commercial flights, followed by a puddle jumper flight (with hand-written boarding passes), and a 30 minute boat ride before we arrived at our hotel on the island of Ambergris Caye.  This island, off the northern coast of Belize, would provide the backdrop for our family’s greatest adventure to date. The trip to get to the island wasn’t tedious travel for them; it was a wild ride that included a plane that held 12 people, flying over crystal clear waters and a boat trip, where our hair flew wildly as we were sprayed with ocean mist. Continue reading “Adventure in Belize”

Get Out and Count: The Great Backyard Bird Count of 2018

Posted on by Michele Arduengo

2018 has been designated “The Year of the Bird”, and beginning today, Friday, February 16, 2018, bird lovers around the world will grab their binoculars, fill their bird feeders, update their eBird app, and look toward the skies. The 21st Annual Great Backyard Bird Count, one of the largest and longest running citizen science projects, begins today, and you can be part of this grand event of data collection.

All it takes is a mobile device (or computer) to log your results, an account at gbbc.birdcount.org , and 15 minutes of your time during the four-day event.

Can’t tell a red-tailed hawk from a red-winged black bird? That’s okay. The GBBC web site provides a handy online bird guide.  The web site also provides a guide for tricky bird IDs, including: Which Red Finch is it, Identifying Some Common Sparrows, and Identifying Doves.

I recently spent some time talking to Brian Schneider, one of the educators at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona, WI, to get some tips for first-time birders. Continue reading “Get Out and Count: The Great Backyard Bird Count of 2018”

Promega Travel Award Blog: An Excursion to Croatia

Posted on by Promega
Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic
Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic

We invite you to travel with Bettina Bazzini-Lapin, Scientific Client Specialist, who was awarded a Promega Travel Award for sales performance and used her award to travel to Croatia and Italy. In this blog, she describes her travels.

Croatia is an Eastern European country that sits on the Adriatic Sea directly across from Italy. It has more than one thousand islands, and a third of the country is covered by forest. It is known for its beautiful Dalmatian coast line. One of the main sites for travelers to visit is the coastal city of Dubrovnik, known as the Pearl of the Adriatic. This is where my adventure began. Continue reading “Promega Travel Award Blog: An Excursion to Croatia”

The Making of a Vaccine: Preparation for Flu Season

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva

At the time that I’m writing this, I still haven’t succumbed to the “yuck” that’s been knocking out my co-workers one-by-one since November. Those of us who are still healthy were discussing how we fortify our immune systems in preparation for the flu season. All of the suggestions were pretty typical—orange juice, Vitamin C supplements, and of course, the the annual flu shot.

For all of the agencies responsible for the production of the seasonal influenza vaccine, preparation for flu season begins long before the rest of us are stocking up on Emergen-C. Continue reading “The Making of a Vaccine: Preparation for Flu Season”

The Battle for the Wall Outlet

Posted on by Alyssa Bear
student studying
Studying in the almost empty library at the beginning of the semester.

You check the clock. The time is 3:36 am and you’re barely a third of the way through the material on the 11:00 am cumulative exam. Stirring the film that has formed on top of your now-ice-cold latte, you contemplate leaving the library and heading home to a warm bed. After all, you know that the custodial staff comes around with a vacuum at 4:00 am and, like a cat, you just can’t handle the vacuum at this time of day.

You take another minute and reluctantly come to the conclusion that you should get back to work. As you pull your computer onto your lap once more, you hear the terrifying beep of a low battery signal. The battery is on 5% and you know very well there’s not a free outlet in a 2-mile radius. Without an outlet, your time in the library has come to an end.

This tiny little beep has led to my own personal defeat on multiple occasions, particularly during finals season. Continue reading “The Battle for the Wall Outlet”

Where Science and Art Meet: The 2017 Holiday Card

Posted on by Karen Burkhartzmeyer
The Promega Holiday Card
The Promega Holiday Card

University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduate Celia Glime didn’t think she was creating a design for the 2017 Promega holiday card while doing lab work last winter for her introductory Chemistry 104 class. She was simply doing her homework.

Celia explains she was studying the progression of three chemical reactions in test tubes when she decided to take out her smartphone and snap some photos to use for her lab report. (Bonus points if you can tell from the photo what’s causing each reaction. Answers below.)

“I ended up creating an art project instead,” she says.

Celia, who at the time was considering a major in genetics and a minor in visual art, had been keeping an eye out for instances of science in real life. Her mentor on campus, Professor Ahna Skop, a geneticist and artist herself, had recently told Celia about the annual University of Wisconsin Cool Science Image Contest, sponsored by Promega. The contest aims to bring together the worlds of science and art by recognizing the technical and creative skills required to capture images or video that document science or nature.

Celia did exactly that.

Continue reading “Where Science and Art Meet: The 2017 Holiday Card”

Ancient Images of Dogs Include Restraints?

Posted on by Kari Kenefick
This dog is wearing a leash.

You, like me, may occasionally find youself in need of a canine control device. While I’m not a fan of the dog tie out, I do walk dogs on leash—as is required by our county and city government here in Madison, WI.

If you have read Temple Grandin’s books about dogs, you might feel a tug at your heartstrings while enduring a tug on the leash. Aren’t dogs meant to run freely? Don’t we love to watch them run? Are leashes humane?

When walking dogs I feel the need to protect them, but also a desire to let them live like dogs, sniffing, marking and other behaviors that are all limited when the dog is leashed.

When a report in Science last week showed evidence that our ancient ancestors were using leashes 8,000-9,000 years ago I was: 1) surprised; and 2) felt vindicated from self-imposed dog owner guilt.

Continue reading “Ancient Images of Dogs Include Restraints?”

Coffee and Science–A Cartoon Perspective

Posted on by Kelly Grooms

Although never actually on the lab bench,  coffee makers have had a prominent place in every laboratory I have worked in. It is because of my laboratory coffee experiences that I am able to drink coffee at any temperature and at any time of the day. The credit for my preference for really strong coffee (with cream, I confess)  goes to two Russian labmates who insisted on making the coffee every morning and went through two bags of beans a week (we had a very wide awake lab).

Cartoon depicting a coffee machine next to a next-generation sequencer.

In all the labs, keeping track of whose turn it was to buy the coffee supplies was just as important as keeping track of whose turn it was to defrost the freezers. I am sorry to say we never thought of a log book because that might have saved me some frantic early morning trips to the store.

Does your lab have coffee rules or traditions? I’d love to hear what they are.

Your Kid Can Become a Citizen Scientist with These 6 Apps

Posted on by Johanna Lee

Has your kid ever asked you what you do in the lab all day? (“Hmm…good question, what am I doing all day?”) A simplified answer might sound something like this: I observe, ask a question, collect data, and use those data to answer the question (or at least try!). The scientific method may be difficult to explain to a kindergartner, but you can always start by encouraging them to observe the world around them, ask lots of questions—and even help collect data. In fact, with the help of technology, your child can become a scientist without 7 long years in graduate school or ever setting foot in a lab. A “citizen scientist”, that is. All you need is a smart phone. Here is a list of apps that can make your kid, grandma, neighbor, anyone, become a citizen scientist by helping professional scientists collect data for their research. The apps are all free to download, easy to use and have a real impact on the scientific community.

1. iNaturalist:

Are you sick of not knowing the answer when your child asks “What’s this bug?” on a nature walk? You need the iNaturalist app. Here’s how it works: You observe an interesting plant/insect/animal, take a photo, and the app identifies the name of the species and some basic information about it. There is also the option to share your finding with other users and they can suggest an identification. iNaturalist shares your findings with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to help scientists understand biodiversity. You can even set up scavenger hunt-like activities: iNaturalist birthday party anyone?

Continue reading “Your Kid Can Become a Citizen Scientist with These 6 Apps”