Skulls in the Stars

There’s 12 days left to submit entries for the 23rd installment of The Giant’s Shoulders, a special edition dubbed “The Leviathan’s Shoulders”!  It will be hosted by Kevin Zelnio over at Deep Sea News, and will be a special “oceans edition” of the carnival.  All ordinary entries will still be accepted, but bloggers are encouraged to submit posts on the history of science that deal specifically with oceans and ocean life!   Entries can be submitted through blogcarnival.com or directly to the host blog, as usual.

• Dealing With “Digital Distractions” in the Classroom. I’ve certainly wondered what the best approach is to students who are using laptops in the classroom!  Krystal at Anthropology in Practice asks whether a blanket ban on them is the right approach.
• A blast from a black hole’s past. The black holes at the center of many galaxies are “active”, in that they give off tremendous amounts of energy; our galaxy’s black hole does not.  Has it always been that way?  Sarah at SarahAskew discusses observations of an “echo” that suggests that it has not!
• Peer-to-peer data storage. Finally, David at Sciencetext talks about the ups and downs of using peer-to-peer communications as a system to store and protect data!

Check back next week for more “miscellaneous” selections!

• Chimpanzees Prefer Fair Play To Reaping An Unjust Reward. We’re often told that “life isn’t fair”, but certain of our primate relatives feel otherwise: Eric Michael Johnson in The Primate Diaries describes research that demonstrates that chimpanzees have a good sense of fair play!
• A Cataclysmic Variable in the Field of the Kepler Mission. At his eponymous blog, Professor Astronomy describes his personal astronomical observation of a “cataclysmic variable” — and explains what that means!
• The Sharp Shooters of Marine Life. Katie Kline in EcoTone discusses research on the remarkable abilities of the aptly-named archerfish and pistol shrimp, and how their eyes are uniquely adapted to these abilities.  (With video!)

Check back next week for more “miscellaneous” suggestions!

• Bulletproof T-shirts? Who’da thought it was possible?  Christie over at Observations of a Nerd discusses recent successful attempts to “bulletproof” T-shirts!
• Measuring the Angular Momentum of Light. Light can carry angular momentum, and therefore can impart a “twist” into objects it illuminates, but the effect is typically very weak.  Chad at Uncertain Principles discusses an experiment that successfully measured this light-field torque… which was done in the 1930s!
• What Is Beauty? Your Kids’ Newest Art Critic.  Do animals have a sense for the artistic?  Jason at The Thoughtful Animal describes a study done to test whether pigeons can tell between good and bad art.
• Why (and How) People of a Feather Flock Together.  We’ve all been stuck in crowds before, but science behind modeling such pedestrian traffic usually makes simplifying assumptions.  David at Mind Matters explains some new research that includes an important complicating factor: the tendency of people to travel in groups!

Check back next week for more “miscellaneous” selections!