Blogs About Science

There are a number of places on the web that collect some great science blogs.  The topics of these blogs are written by practicing scientists in their respective field or by accredited reporters.  Regardless of the source, both provide citations and helpful links to past blog posts and scholarly research.  Below I list a few places you can find blogs to follow.

Scientific American Blogs:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/

The blogs found on the Scientific American Magazine website happen to be my favorite source to find blogs about just about anything science related.  They are updated frequently and the wide range of topics available make it a great source.

Discover Magazine Blogs:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/

Discover Magazine is also a great source for a variety of reporter and scientists alike.  While the set up for both Discover and Scientific American Blog pages are similar I tend to favor Scientific American.  My bias could come from the fact I find Scientific American magazine to be a better science magazine. Despite my bias both sources are great place to skim new blogs or find a blog to follow.

Smithsonian Blogs:
http://nmnh.typepad.com/100years/

A final site that I like to look over is the Smithsonian Blogs.  These blogs are quite lengthy and often provide insights into the experiments and finds of scientists associated with the museum.  The one draw back to these blogs is they can be very specific and may dissuade a casual reader.

Hopefully you read or follow some of these blogs as it is a great way to keep track of the latest developments in various fields of science.

Invasive species...coming to a town near you

Invasive species are a significant problem world wide.  Invasive species can displace native species, disrupt sensitive ecosystems, and cause serious economic damage to important agricultural goods. While the list of invasive species is quite large in the United States, I would like to highlight two examples of invasive species found in the state of Ohio.

 Invasive species #1: Zebra Mussels

Zebra mussels were first introduced in the Great Lakes from ship ballast from western Europe.  These mussels are prolific reproducers and have few if any natural predators.  Zebra mussels adhere to various substrates and clog water intake pipes and other man made structures.  They also have displaced a number of native mussel species.  A brief summary of some of the damaging effects of zebra mussels can be found here: Zebra Mussels in Lake Erie

Image of Zebra Mussels on a Current Meter (image credit: NOAA)

Emerald Ash Borer

Invasive species #2: Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald ash borers are beetles in the family Buprestidae that are native to Asia. As the name implies, emerald ash borers bore holes into the wood of  ash trees.  Eggs of emerald ash borers hatch from crevices in the bark of trees and larvae burrow into ash trees making galleries in the wood.  Larvae feed on tree phloem and disrupt the ability of trees move nutrients.  Emerald ash borers are found in all parts of Ohio and the moving of firewood is a common way in which eggs and larvae are moved into new areas that may not have been exposed.  A number of reporting and identification cites exist.  See here: Ohio Dept. of Agriculture and here: Ohio State Extension Office

For more information on invasive species in Ohio see here: Invasive Plants and here: Ohio Department of Natural Resources (Invasive Species)

Bacillus thuringiensis...more than just for corn.

One of the hot button issues among the general public is the use of  bio-engineering to modify organisms or GMO's.  While genetic engineering can take many forms, plants intended for human consumption are commonly the most scrutinized GMO's.  Perhaps the most infamous of these is Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn.  Bt Corn is corn that has been modified with genes from the endotoxin producing bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).  This bacterium and it's various strains have been used directly as a biopesticide (endospores) for a number of years with different strains proving to be more effective at insect suppression than others. In most cases, as can been seen in the table below, Bt is not spliced into a plant genome but applied to plants and other surfaces with the purified endospores sprayed much like a traditional pesticide.

Table 1. Primary strains of Bacillus thuringiensis used in managing insects.

Bacillus thuringiensis strain (Common name)	Susceptible insects
aizawi	Many Lepidoptera larvae
kurstaki	Many Lepidoptera larvae
israelensis	Larvae of mosquitoes, black flies, fungus gnats
japonensis	Larvae of scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
tenebrionis (san diego)	Larvae of leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomeldiae)
CrylAb delta-endotoxin1	Many Lepidoptera larvae
Cry3Bb1 variant1	Corn rootworm larvae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

¹Only used in production of genetically modified crops (Cranshaw, 2014)

The application of  Bt as a sprayed biopesticide and not spliced into plant genomes may be surprising  to some individuals.  In fact, Bt is the most widely used biopesticide in the world. An excellent overview of how and when Bt is used is provided here: Bt fact sheet.  Also, despite many people's fear of Bt crops, endospores of Bt have been applied to organic and commercial crops for years.  For even more details about Bt visit: Bt & Organic Crops.  

Despite the  long safety record for Bt products fear of eating or using products with Bt remains.  Hopefully, this blog post provided a short factual introduction to the uses of Bt in modern agriculture for the uninitiated.  

Scooby-Doo and Using Observations

  I'll admit I'm a bit skeptical about this whole "blogging" business.  Is it just a journal or diary?  I suppose it could be, but I believe it can be a tool for sharing relevant ideas and opinions about science.  Seeing as I am requiring my students to keep and maintain a blog (sorry kiddos), I figured I should have to keep one as well.  I intend to post at least once a week about a some topic in science I find interesting or controversial.  For my first post I want to talk about Scooby-Doo.  Yes, the cartoon with the talking dog and the Mystery Incorporated gang.  What does a talking dog and a bunch of badly dressed teens have to do with science?  Aside from the impossible escapes from the "monsters" and the talking dog, Scooby-Doo and the gang (minus Shaggy & Scooby) don't believe that actual monsters are responsible for any of the crimes or hauntings.

Instead they question and try to find rational observation based evidence to describe what is occurring.  In my opinion, this is one of the critical aspects of all sciences; to provide observable and measurable descriptions of natural phenomena.  

What do you think?  Am I completely off my rocker? (likely) Or can Scooby-Doo actually help young kids realize that natural phenomena can be explained by natural means instead of the supernatural?  If you're feeling nostalgic go and watch an old episode of Scooby-Doo and see how they look for clues, gather evidence, and explain the mystery as really just a natural phenomena.  

If you're really into Scooby-Doo check out some of these Scooby-Doo and science links:  

Scooby-Doo's speech disorder.

The Corruption of Scooby-Doo