jtotheizzoe:

My last post about the ocean-dwelling virus that is likely the world’s most abundant “living” thing could be accurately summarized with this GIF, no?

Might be my favorite picture ever.

A Bacterium on a Diatom on an Amphipod

I see a lot of science stuff, and it’s pretty hard to get me to say “wow” … Just kidding, I say it all the time!

Definitely said it when I saw this brain-melting illustration of the scale differences between the domains of life. In one electron microscope picture!! Just remember, there’s about a trillion of those little bacteria on and in you all the time, just that tiny.

If you like this, you’ll definitely like this interactive “scale of the universe” tool.

(tip o’ the electron microscope to my Twitter friends who shared this)

(via bewfey)

jtotheizzoe:

Good News: Girls Outperform Boys On Science Exam

Bad News: It’s Not Happening Where You Think It Is

15-year-old girls outscored boys on science exams, but not in Western Europe or the Americas. While in Eastern Europe and the Middle East girls abilities seem to exceed those of their male classmates, that doesn’t hold true in the most traditionally “scientific” nations. And that sucks.

We’ve heard this bad news too many times. Girls are underrepresented in the sciences from a young age. Despite their equal interest as youngsters, societal pressures drive a wedge in between them and the performance of their male classmates. When they have to indicate gender on a science exam, they score a full 20% lower than if they don’t. All of this translates to the continued discrimination of of women, overt and incidental, all the way up the ladder of science.

Sometimes I feel tired of repeating it. But we can’t grow tired. As frustrating as it is, every time we continue to call out the problem and raise our fists of fury, it helps raise attention and gain support for change. That change will take a long time, because scientific “establishment” moves like molasses, but only a steady push will make it budge. 

I know I’m preaching to the choir when I talk to all of you, but remember this: Every time you share science on Tumblr or Facebook or Twitter or Reddit or wherever you hang out on the internet, then that’s one more chance to reach out and grab someone who doesn’t think they’re “into” science. It’s one more chance to give a 14-year-old girl a boost of confidence (or anyone who needs a boost, for that matter). This isn’t something that can be done by a few. We need to spread this like the most contagious virus the world’s ever seen: An infectious curiosity! 

Read the full report on this study at NYTimes.com

(via sciencenote)

medicalschool:

The Revolution in Prenatal Medicine

Prenatal medical testing has long been a balance of risk with information. Submit yourself to tests and you can find out about the genetic makeup of your future child, but risk miscarriage and other complications. Omit the tests, and a pregnancy is safer, its outcome uncertain.

That’s how it used to be, anyway. Now, genetic tests are becoming so cheap and non-invasive that they could become as routine as an ultrasound. DNA from the fetus is known to float freely in the mother’s blood and can be drawn in seconds, to be later analyzed for things like Down syndrome. 

What will this mean for parents who discover birth defects or diseases in their unborn children? It’s impossible to know precisely who a child will become, but a world in which parents are informed of their baby’s genetics just weeks after conception brings with it a lot of ethical dilemmas.

Erin Biba analyzes this in one of the most interesting medical articles I’ve read in a long time, at Wired Science.

itwillalwaysgetworse:

remember to die

(via unnaturalist)

factsandchicks:

In a pinch, hand sanitizer can be used as deodorant.

source

Please don’t do this. Bacteria are your friend sometimes.