Skulls in the Stars

• 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!

• Have the hunting habits of leopards shaped primate evolution? Brian at Laelaps looks at fascinating research which investigates how the hunting of primates by leopards may altered the evolutionary path of said primates.  (Also check out his post on Australopithecus sediba.)
• The Language of Science – it’s “just a theory”. It’s a topic of constant consternation amongst scientists of all fields: the misuse of the word “theory”.  S.C. Kavassalis at The Language of Science looks in detail at the multiple meanings of the word and their significance.
• Eps Aurigae’s dark secret (interferometry rules!). One of the most fascinating astronomy stories recently is the mysterious eclipse of the star Eps Aurigae by an invisible binary companion.  Sarah at SarahAskew describes the observations and their interpretation, and includes video!
• Suess effect II: corals sing an isotopic song. Callan at Mountain Beltway talks about an unusual indicator of our changing atmopshere: variations in the quantity of carbon isotopes in corals.

Finally, let me point out this interesting little post by Roberta at Journal Watch Online, regarding Inuit contributions to the study of climate change!

Check back next week for more “miscellaneous” selections!