Places and Things

Do People Who Enjoy Science Have a High Tolerance for Disturbing Ideas? What do you think of this month's cover image? We had a bit of a debate about it here at Scientific American's virtual HQ. The illustration is based on scanning electron microscope images of Aspergillus fumigatus, a ubiquitous fungus that can infect the lungs. Continue Reading . . . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-who-enjoy-science-have-a-high-tolerance-for-disturbing-ideas/

Biden Names Top Geneticist Eric Lander as Science Adviser US president-elect Joe Biden has chosen decorated geneticist Eric Lander as presidential science adviser and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Continue Reading . . . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biden-names-top-geneticist-eric-lander-as-science-adviser/

11 great sci-fi books from 2020 to check out on your new Kindle It’s not easy to make it to a library right now, and with a long winter stuck at home looming ahead for many of us, there’s never been a better time to hunker down with a good book. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/22187387/best-sci-fi-books-new-kindle-e-reader-top-2020

New Pen-and-Ink Method Draws Health Sensors Directly on Skin A handful of stencils and three pens sound like materials for a child’s art project. But researchers have now used these tools to draw functional heart monitors directly on human skin. Continue Reading . . . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-pen-and-ink-method-draws-health-sensors-directly-on-skin/

Awareness of Our Biases Is Essential to Good Science In a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Lawrence Krauss bemoans what he sees as contemporary science’s “ideological corruption.” He blames this corruption on humanities scholars for pointing out how science can be “tainted by ideological biases due to race, sex or economic dominance. Continue Reading . . . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/awareness-of-our-biases-is-essential-to-good-science/

The sheer number of new science-fiction and fantasy books published in any given year can be overwhelming, and it doesn’t help matters that both genres are so series-heavy. from https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/best-fantasy-book-series-sci-fi-science-fiction https://assets3.thrillist.com/v1/image/2844653/size/gn-gift_guide_variable_c.jpg