Science in the Blogosphere

In honor of this month’s political theme, I decided to survey the most political part of the world: the blogosphere. Blogging has been around for a while, it was the beginning of Web 2.0’s deluge of user-generated content. Anyone can start a blog but in my opinion, the best sites come from writers with specialized knowledge writing about their favorite topics. And when it comes to scientists, the topics seem to be science, politics, and skepticism (leaving aside mundane matters of everyday life that almost no blogger can resist writing about). If you can get past the posts on housecleaning and oil changes, science blogs have much to offer. They provide a forum for scientists to explain their research and the research of others in their own terms, targeting the audience of their choice. Blogs let scientists speak before a reporter asks a question. In fact, speaking as a former journalism student, journalists use blogs to find opinionated experts or areas of contention to write about.

Blogging can also be a useful exercise for the reluctant author. Sitting down to write once or twice a day about science or an ongoing political debate helps keeps the feeling of writing fresh in the mind. Depending on the audience, blogging can also help a researcher practice finding words to describe their research in common terms, a priceless skill.

For some, blogging is an outlet for scientific awe. It’s just a way to get to say: this finding is amazing! Can you believe how this works? Finding a good blog can be tough because it is about more than just reading good writing. The comments of an engaged and informed community around the blog add so much more.

The easiest science blog community to navigate is ScienceBlogs (part of Seed Media), a group of over 70 bloggers covering topics in the life sciences, physical science, medicine, and technology. ScienceBlogs doesn’t rank its writers, but the name does guarantee that the author has something of a science background. The front page of the site is a great place to catch up on what the science-minded segment of the blogosphere is currently discussing. Aggregation sites like this provide a place to scan headlines or delve deep into the latest debate.

Adventures in Ethics and Science is a popular site on ScienceBlogs. The author is both a philosophy professor and Ph.D. in chemistry. Her interesting posts on ethical dilemmas in biology stimulate wide ranging discussions among thoughtful commenters. See her post on the relationship between peer review and gaining truths via science for a taste of the discussion.

ScienceBlogs has political category, and clicking will bring up all posts marked “politics” from the last day or so. The expected topics such as evolution versus creationism/intelligent design, global warming, and stem cell research appear, but many ScienceBlog authors also pontificate on the gamut of politics, from the presidential race to USDA rulings.

P. Z. Myers, a biology professor at the University of Minnesota, writes one of most popular science blogs on the internet, Pharyngula, and is not afraid of treading contentious territory such as atheists’ rights and intelligent design. Visit for your daily dose of outrage or cephalopod. For more on the evolution “debate,” check out the Panda’s Thumb.

Mostly, if politics comes up in science blogs it’s lab politics, office politics, small time politics. But navigating tenure, funding, publishing, and managing a lab can be tricky. One blogger, A Natural Scientist, does a good job doling out advice on choosing a lab, running a lab on the cheap, and what to expect from a realistic advisor.

It’s hard to find consistent “science blogging,” a spot where the authors spend all their time reading research reports and handing down a considered opinion. Most blogs are a mix of personal information and science chat. Recently, a new service called ResearchBlogging.org has come on the scene. ReseachBlogging.org filters ScienceBlogs members’ posts on journal offerings and presents them all in the same place.

Blogs hosted by journals, or related to their networks, are another safe bet when it comes to seeking out like-minded science fiends. Discover magazine is home to several bloggers that cover the latest general science news. Nature Network’s bloggers are also wide ranging. Once you find something you like, check out the “blog roll” or list of blogs the blog author likes, and you are off into uncharted science blogging territory. You can find links to these blogs in our blogroll in the right-hand column.

This article will appear in the hard copy of ASBMB Today but it's appearance here blog gives readers an opportunity to respond. What do you think about science blogging? Do you think blogging could help professors interact with their students or the community? Where do you spend your internet time? If you have comments on the bloggers mentioned here or want to suggest your own favorite, email me at tekkie@asbmb.org or respond to this article with a comment.

Science Funding Makes Headlines

As the presidential race coverage rages on in the media, science funding may soon become a talking point. Some recent news reports indicate that the candidates are at odds over funding and news outlets are starting to notice.

• The Baltimore Sun has taken up the cause of increasing science funding. Full story.
  


• The Chronicle of Higher Education covered the report by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine on how to appoint scientific advisors. The story is here and the report is here.
  


• The science debate recently made it into a NY Times blog (TierneyLab) last week as well.
  


• ScienceNOW has a story today that suggests McCain will freeze science funding during his first year in office.
  


• Recent coverage by ASBMB of the canidates' answers to 14 science questions.
  


• Also, keep an eye out for our upcoming October issue of ASBMB Today where the "From the Hill" column by Peter Farnham looks in greater depth at a recent debate between the candidates' science avatars.

Time to Submit Your Annual Meeting Abstracts

The abstract submission site for the ASBMB Annual Meeting is now officially open. You can access it at HERE and submit your meeting abstracts any time between now and November 5, 2008.

Some other meeting deadlines you'll want to keep in mind are:

• Travel Award Application Deadline: November 12, 2008. NOTE: an abstract must be successfully submitted to an ASBMB topic category by the November 5, 2008 abstract submission deadline in order to apply for a travel award.
  

• Deadline for Early Registration: February 9, 2009. You may register online after this date, however your registration fee will be higher.

• Deadline for hotel reservations: March 10, 2009 at 12:00 AM EST.

See you in New Orleans at the Annual Meeting, April 18 - 22, 2009!

Mandatory Mentoring

The 2007 America COMPETES Act, requires NSF-funded investigators to describe in their research grant applications how they would mentor postdocs funded on their grants, and it mandates that this information be evaluated under NSF’s broader impacts merit review criteria. Investigators are also required to describe their mentoring activities in their annual and final grant reports. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences may adopt a similar policy: according to its 2008 strategic plan, the institute will consider “implementing a ‘broader aims’ component of research project grant applications that explicitly evaluates an investigator’s training, mentoring, and diversity activities.”

What are your thoughts on this initiative and the implications for advisors and postdocs?

Creationists, Award Winners, and DNA Researchers: the August Issue of ASBMB Today

If you're an ASBMB member, the latest issue of ASBMB Today should be landing in your mailbox any day now. If you're not a member, or you would like a sneak-peek at what's in store in the print edition, you can check out the digital version of the magazine.

The August issue of ASBMB Today is packed with interesting and exciting content, including:

• A lively column by ASBMB President Gregory Petsko about the creationist movement's latest "assault on science," and a companion piece by ASBMB science policy fellow Angela Hvited on Governor Bobby Jindal's "Louisiana Science Education Act."
• The names and bios of the 2009 ASBMB award winners.
• The latest article in the series on publishing research in the Journal of Biological Chemistry: this month Cadmus Communications explains how best to prepare and include tables in your research paper.
• Four articles that look at what’s in store for 2009 ASBMB Annual Meeting attendees who are interested in DNA and nuclear research.
• A look at how a research assistant at biotechnology firm decided to become a marketing communications writer.
• Highlights from the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Lipid Research, and Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.
• A profile of ASBMB member Karen Vasquez whose research involves unwinding the mysteries of unusual DNA structural variants that contribute to genome instability, recombination, and gene expression.
  

I am also pleased to announce that ASBMB Today recently received a 2008 APEX Award for Publication Excellence in the category of Most Improved Magazines and Journals. We couldn’t have done this without our excellent writers, staff, and designer, and of course, suggestions from our readers. So keep sending those thoughts and comments to asbmbtoday@asbmb.org.

An Introduction

Over the next several months you’ll see posts from a variety of people on Chiral Comments. Some posts will be from invited writers who will do a single article on a specific subject, while other posts will come from ASBMB staff members who will contribute regularly to the site.

I’m one of those regular posters who you will become familiar with over the coming months. My main role at ASBMB is as the editor of the society’s monthly news magazine, ASBMB Today. I also write the introductions to the JBC Classic articles and I’m one of the editors of the upcoming ASBMB history book. When I’m not busy with those tasks I help out with whatever else needs to be written at ASBMB.

In my Chiral Comment posts I’ll keep you up to date on what’s in the latest issue of the magazine as well as solicit ideas for future magazine articles. I’ll also talk about what’s going on at ASBMB, from reports on what our committees are doing to giving you a sneak peek into the ASBMB history book. And finally I’ll be posting about the ASBMB annual meeting --telling you about what you can expect in New Orleans from science to social events and, of course, I’ll keep you abreast of the latest meeting deadlines.

First Green Labs Post

This post is the first in a series (hopefully) of green-themed ideas. The video below really struck me since I've often thought about how to make labs (where throwing away gloves, metal, glass and gallons of chemicals is a daily habit) more eco-friendly. One can forget that the lab isn't a sealed environment. Below I've spelled out the 10 recommendations presented in the video.

If you've got more suggestions please post them in the comments!




Lab Waste from Eva Amsen on Vimeo.



10 Easy Tips from the Video

1. Recycle paper products that haven't come into contact with biologicals like paper wrappers, office paper, cardboard inserts etc.

2. Wash and reuse materials that don't need to be sterile such as pipettes and plastic containers.

3. Use washable glassware whenever possible.

4. Avoid unnecessary disposables like dispo. inoculating loops.

5. Avoid excessive packaging materials. Buy lab supplies in bulk, avoid individually wrapped pipettes and styrofoam stands when possible.

6. Use the smallest amount of materials for your needs.

7. Reuse and recycle cardboard from shipping.

8. Reuse and recycle styrofoam from shipping.

9. Buy second hand lab equipment if possible.

10. Design experiments to limit the waste of time and materials.