Science & Society

The Healthcare and Science business of Thomson Reuters today announced the results of its annual roundup of the hottest researchers and research papers. In its March/April issue of Science Watch, Thomson Reuters identified the top 13 authors who fielded the highest numbers of Hot Papers in 2007-2008 as well as the most-cited research papers of 2008. "Our annual list of those authoring multiple Hot Papers serves to highlight researchers who are leading modern scientific thought," said Christopher King, editor of Science Watch. "Compiled with citation data unique to Web of Science(R), this…

I've written perhaps four articles to date and I'm already tired of defining what an "allele" is.  Granted I encounter this annoying waste of writing time more frequently because I prefer to write genetics articles, but regardless of my severe biases in writing, everyone who reads science news in this day and age should know what an allele is.  Therefore, I now REFUSE to define that term in my articles from this day forward.  Needless to say, I am highly irritated because I realize that simply out of principle, basic scientific terms in…

With a group of friends, classmates or co-workers, offer to auction a $20 bill. One more rule: both of the top two bidders must pay their final bid. Imagine that person A and person B are foolish enough to join your auction, with person A bidding $0.25 and person B overbidding to the tune of $0.30. Obviously this should escalate—who wouldn’t bid $7 to earn $20, especially if this could keep you from losing money you previously bid? As bidding passes $10, you—the auctioneer— earn money. However, the auction is far from over. As the two bidders reach $20, it becomes obvious they will not earn…

In the early parts of the decade, German and British intelligence said that Iraq had acquired weapons of mass destruction and were on their way to nuclear capability.    The American CIA agreed.    Saddam Hussein, in maybe the stupidest bluff of this century (there's still a long way to go), refused to let UN inspectors investigate thoroughly, perhaps thinking if the world believed he had nuclear capability, they would lift sanctions.    His mistakes cost him a wealthy dictatorship (though gold painted fixtures remain a puzzle to anyone who visits his many…

While you're sipping that morning cup and looking for excuses to put off work, here's what's interesting in science around the web today (well, ok, not just today - I haven't done one of these in about a month): Your tax money pays for the research, so shouldn't you be able to read that research without paying an arm and a leg? Biologist Michael Eisen defends the National Institute Health policy that scientists put copies of their manuscripts in a freely accessible, public repository, as Congress plans to revisit that policy at the behest of for-profit publishers. Eisen argues the policy…

You wouldn't think that tanking an economy would make anyone happy but it puts a spring in the steps of a small group; economics professors.     If the lousy economy is cause for a party, the election of Barack Obama and more government meandering is apparently icing on the cake.    Witness Professor Panicos Demetriades of the Economic and Social Research Council's World Economy and Finance  Programme, who is today speaking at the 'Politics of Macro-Adjustment and Poverty Reduction' Conference. "The theory that, to promote financial growth, the role of government has…

The story’s Superman figure doubts if humanity is worth saving. Its Batman is impotent. Its Wonder Woman has mommy issues. And its closest thing to a protagonist also is a murderous sociopath. Welcome to the world of Watchmen, considered by many to be the greatest comic book ever written. Dalhousie University english professor Anthony Enns, who teaches the course “Cartoons and Comics,” appreciates why people feel that way. He remembers Alan Moore’s comic being a sensation from the moment it first hit shelves over 20 years ago. “If you were into comics then, everyone was taking about it, all…

Humor is a powerful communications tool with potential political implications at various levels of society, as the recent Danish political cartoon representations of Islamic prophet Mohammad and the political repercussions and resulting economic boycotts demonstrated. A new paper by Darren Purcell, Melissa Scott Brown and Mahmut Gokmen looks at humor as an important form of popular culture in the creation of geopolitical worldviews. The authors use 'disposition theory' – a framework that allows them to understand who will regard which content as funny, and how derisive humor can be seen as…

Human problems rarely occur in a vacuum, but persist as part of ongoing social interaction in which causes and effects are interwoven. One person's behavior can set the stage for what another does. A new study in the journal Family Process reveals that smoking can promote emotional connection for couples when both partners smoke. Health-compromising behaviors, such as smoking or weight gain, may sometimes persist because they preserve stability in a vital close relationship.  Researchers led by Michael J. Rohrbaugh and Varda Shoham of the University of Arizona had 25 couples discuss a…

India, the largest and most prosperous nation in south Asia, raised the legal age for marriage to 18 in 1978.   In the past 15 years, national policy efforts have been developed to increase educational and economic opportunities for girls and women, reduce child marriage and expand family-planning support.  Despite India's economic and educational reform efforts in the last decade, the prevalence of child marriage remains high. Anita Raj, PhD, associate professor of Social&Behavioral Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), says that nearly half of adult…