Sleep improves memory. Are you surprised? Probably not. (EurekAlert: “Study shows how sleep improves memory”)
Birds of America, c. 1840
The 1840, seven-volume edition of John James Audubon’s Birds of America is now avaiable online. Granted, it’s not as useful as modern field guides, but it’s certainly interesting for the historical context (and the illustrations, of course.) (via LII)
Posted by Ben on July 3, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/birds-of-america-c-1840/
The World, unveiled
Google unveils Google Earth, previously known as Keyhole, for free. Of course you can upgrade to get additional features, etc. etc., but the free product itself is fairly impressive. Essentially, Google Earth is a program that combines the standard Google Map functions with satellite view and a couple other goodies (like 3-D rendering of buildings […]
Posted by Ben on June 29, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/the-world-unveiled/
Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy
…is a new, open-access journal available online. Only online, in fact. In its own words, Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy is a new peer-reviewed, open access journal that provides a platform for the dissemination of new practices and for dialogue emerging out of the field of sustainability. I hope to see some interesting—and, ideally, useful—things […]
Posted by Ben on June 23, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/sustainability-science-practice-and-policy/
Astounding new scientific advantages
Maggots. They may not ever be the life of the party, but now they are qualified by the FDA for use in medical treatments. (via BoingBoing) Time travel. …is now okay. Which is to say that researchers have finally gotten around to speculating that, in the event of time travel at any point in the […]
Posted by Ben on June 20, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/astounding-new-scientific-advantages/
The Point of Death
Execution by lethal injection may not be the painless procedure most Americans assume, say researchers from Florida and Virginia. They examined post-mortem blood levels of anaesthetic and believe that prisoners may have been capable of feeling pain in almost 90% of cases and may have actually been conscious when they were put to death in […]
Posted by Ben on June 9, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/the-point-of-death/
See bat. See bat run.
It should come as no surprise that bats tend to be poor runners. What should come as a surprise, however, is how well vampire bats can run. Riskin started out studying how bats of various species move across a surface, which they generally do badly. The least effective of them “just smack their wings against […]
Posted by Ben on June 6, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/see-bat-see-bat-run/
Cue ominous music
I’ve been putting this off for a while, mostly because the end of the world seems as good a thing as any to put off till later. But ladies and gents, The End Is Near. Or might be, anyway: After analysing the eradication of millions of ancient species, scientists have found that a mass extinction […]
Posted by Ben on May 13, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/cue-ominous-music/
Them
The radiation may make ants grow, but the heat from global warming is liable to shrink them, new research suggests. (Though in fairness, the research speaks only of the latter effect. TV land speaks of the former.) (New Scientist: “Global warming could trigger ant invasions,” by Shaoni Bhattacharya [March 21, 2005])
Posted by Ben on May 12, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/them/
Let me tell you about my great enormous backlog of links
Going all the way back to mid-February, WorldPress Review carried an interesting story about the US Military’s recruitment schemes, both historical and contemporary. And did you hear about the starquake? Oh. You did. Well, did you hear that women are “less likely to get quality heart attack care,” or that cancer-stricken rats live longer if […]
Posted by Ben on April 14, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/let-me-tell-you-about-my-great-enormous-backlog-of-links/