The Evolution of Me

the-doctor-to-my-tardis:

im sobbing

(Source: kanaiii)

scishow:

coolchicksfromhistory:

Melba Roy heads the group of NASA mathematicians, known as “computers,” who track the Echo satellites. Roy’s computations help produce the orbital element timetables by which millions can view the satellite from Earth as it passes overhead.

1964

Human “computers” were often women: SciShow did a video about Henrietta Leavitt and a group of computers who worked for Harvard College Observatory calculating the distances between stars - Great Minds: Henrietta Leavitt & the Human Computers

genies:

altnonfic:

2600 people form a chain celebrating the anniversary of DNA’s discovery

this is so cool omg

neil-gaiman:

In which we learn at http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2012/08/these-rainbow-colored-transparent-ants-are-what-they-eat/ that ants change colour depending on what they’ve eaten. It’s science.

italktosnakes:

thollukthcaptor:

howardphillipslovecraft:

starscrossed:

pfdiva:

OMG, that’s so fucking cool!  Someone from the science side of Tumblr needs to come along and tell me what’s going on here!

the bubble is freezing you fucking idiot

thank u science side of tumblr

the science side of tumblr is feisty.

(Source: cineraria)

the-doctor-to-my-tardis:

twofingerswhiskey:

nightmarebc:

satanhasclaimedthisblog:

anewwhovian:

Okay so, the Doctor is from out of space but does he only breathe oxygen like everyone else? Does Gallifrey have an atmosphere like Earth’s? Because I’d never thought about it before now but he seems to be struggling just as much as everyone else and he does seem to have the same basic anatomy as a human, other than the two hearts. 

Anyone care to answer?

Gallifrey’s atmosphere is 77% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen and 2% other, which means that it’s similar to Earth’s atmosphere, but it’s a bit thinner.
The Doctor needs oxygen as well, but Time Lords have a raspiratory bypass system that allows them to go without breathing for a longer time span than humans.

Most fandoms have some pretty deep canon. The Doctor Who fandom can tell you the concentrations of gas in the atmosphere of the home planet of the main character. DW Fandom > Your fandom

This also means that Earth’s atmosphere gets the Doctor high, because it has double (or triple, I can’t do math, forgive me) the oxygen of Gallifrey. Obviously the TARDIS has an Earth-like oxygen level inside of it, which can explain why he’s so bloody hyper all the time.

this is why i fucking love this fandom

gqbrielle:

[Image description: A still from Young Frankenstein of Frankenstein standing with hands extended over his monster on the slab. End description.]

pervocracy:

gmbeowulf:

paxpinnae:

approachingsignificance:

8 Myths About Scientists

I stumbled across this in Thick Books and Thin Films by Adam Ruben. Pretty good.

Myth #1: Scientists frequently make “breakthroughs.”

Truth: Scientific discovery is agonizingly slow. The only time I’ve ever run naked through the streets yelling “Eureka!” is when I forgot to refill my prescription.

Myth #2: Scientists work in isolation.

Truth: Scientists are even prouder of setting up collaborations than they are of actual results. Most scientific talks end with a slide listing all collaborators like little badges of honor—and the less similar the collaborator’s field, the prouder the scientist. “Well, you know, I might have discovered a cure for tuberculosis,” a scientist will say, “but what I’m really excited about is this new collaboration with an Icelandic poet!”

Myth #3: Scientists possess useful skills.

Truth: Scientists possess useful laboratory skills. But you should never allow a physicist to wire your house.

Myth #4: Scientists follow the scientific method as it was taught in high school: Observation, Question, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Conclusion.

Truth: In reality, the way scientists work is more like: Fiddle Around, Find Something Weird, Retest It, It Doesn’t Happen a Second Time, Get Distracted Trying to Make It Happen Again, Go to Chipotle, Recall the Original Purpose of Your Research, Start Over, Apply for Funding for a Better Instrument, Publish Some Interim Fluff, Learn That Someone Has Scooped You, Take Your Lab in a New Direction, Apply for Funding for the New Direction, Collaborate With an Icelandic Poet, Eat Chipotle With an Icelandic Poet, Co-Write Scientifically Accurate Ode to Walrus, Get Interested in Something Unrelated, Apply for Funding for Something Unrelated, Notice That 20 Years Have Passed.

Myth #5: Experiments always yield data that teach or reveal something.

Truth: Let’s say you’re doing an experiment with five mice. These particular mice will turn either yellow or blue. So you walk into the lab expecting to see five yellow mice, which will point to one explanation, or five blue mice, which will point to the other. Instead you would see one yellow mouse, one green mouse, one striped mouse, one plaid mouse (dead), and one mouse that has somehow sewn himself a little blue jacket, though he doesn’t wear it all the time.

Myth #6: A personal tragedy can turn a scientist evil.

Truth: Very few scientists are legitimately evil, though the number rises if you ask graduate students to characterize their advisers. Besides, it’s hard to be truly evil when you don’t have any practical skills.

Myth #7: A scientist can be proficient in all branches of science.

Truth: Exactly what discipline did the professor from Gilligan’s Island specialize in? Chemistry? Mechanical engineering? Coconut-based transistor radio construction? Any time a problem needed solving or a device needed building, the professor knew exactly how to do it. That guy could make anything. Except a boat.

People who don’t understand science assume that scientists can master any subfield. That’s why we’re often asked for our opinions about scientific news items, and we can only reply, “Uh … sorry … I know I’m a molecular phylogeneticist, and this story was about molecular phylogenetics, but, well, I’m a different kind of molecular phylogeneticist.”

Myth #8: Scientists are not sexy beasts.

Truth: Scientists are indeed sexy beasts. Not only do our lab coats make us look dapper and charming, those same coats look even better strewn unceremoniously over a standing lamp while we make passionate love to you.

Truth #5 is the most accurate thing I’ve ever read in my entire life.

Scientists, like pretty much everyone else, have no idea what they’re doing, and are hoping no one notices.

Fortunately for humanity, science actually does work, so a decent amount of that stumbling around does eventually create progress. As opposed to, say, politics.

#3 has been a recurring issue in my life, as a physicist will often claim they know how to wire your house.  It is important for non-scientists to set clear boundaries when a “but I understand electrons, how hard could it be?” situation is developing.

#8 has been a delightfully recurring issue in my life.

callmeshirlie:

This is the Asian Pangolin.

The pangolin is the only mammal on the planet that bears actual scales.
It is also the only carnivore that does not have teeth. 
Plus, it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Just look at it.
It rolls itself into a ball to protect itself from predators, like an armadillo; and it invades large, often infesting insect nests with an incredibly long pink tongue, like an anteater.
But they’re not related to any of those things. In fact, they are so unique, scientists put them in their own biological order: Pholidota. 
It’s adorable.

But there’s a problem. It’s also two other things:
1) One of the least scientifically-researched mammals on earth. Therefore, it is one of the least known by the public.
Nobody knows what a pangolin is.

2) It is one of the most commonly poached animals in the world.

Prized for its scales, which are fabled to promote menstruation and lactation, treat rheumatism and arthritis, and reduce swelling, the pangolin is captured en masse in Southeast Asia and China. Now, there are even ridiculous claims that their scales can cure cancer.

Fact: their scales are made of keratin, which is the same exact thing that your fingernails are made of.

And, like your fingernails, pangolin scale has absolutely no medicinal benefit. 

Nevertheless, in 2011, about 60,000 pangolins were stolen from the wild… in Vietnam alone. TRAFFIC, the anti-illicit trade organization, estimates that this is only 10% of the entire Asian industry.

Only a few are ever rescued, and if they are, the trauma of their experience actually kills them after a few weeks. Pangolins become easily overstressed, and literally cannot be held in captivity. Those few who do survive cannot reproduce.

The Chinese and Sunda Pangolins are on the Endangered list. The Indian and Indonesian Pangolins are Near Threatened. But the industry has not slowed down.
The only pangolin species that is not severely poached is, surprisingly, the African Pangolin. But as Asian species begin to become more and more rare, conservationists are worried that Africa will be the next main supplier.

Before this happens, you should know about the Pangolin.

Yesterday, February 16, was INTERNATIONAL PANGOLIN DAY. Though the holiday is over, you can still signal boost, and make sure that more people at least know about this incredible animal.

Thanks for reading.

amordragon:

Since her death in 1979, the woman who discovered what the universe is made of has not so much as received a memorial plaque. Her newspaper obituaries do not mention her greatest discovery. […] Every high school student knows that Isaac Newton discovered gravity, that Charles Darwin discovered evolution, and that Albert Einstein discovered the relativity of time. But when it comes to the composition of our universe, the textbooks simply say that the most abundant atom in the universe is hydrogen. And no one ever wonders how we know.

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, a truly extraordinary woman.