Why you should take hyperventilating headlines about CO2 with a grain of salt — but still be quite concerned

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Back in late April, there was a spate of hyperventilating headlines and news reports about the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This one in particular, from Think Progress, should have made its author so light-headed that she passed out: The Earth just reached a CO2 level not seen in 3 million years Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide hit record concentrations. That story and others were prompted by measurements at Hawaii's Mauna Loa Observatory showing t ...read more

Drinking makes you feel less pain: proven fact or old wives’ tale?

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Before the advent of anesthesia, patients undergoing surgery were often given copious amounts of alcohol to help make them more comfortable. But is there any scientific proof that alcohol can actually dull pain, or is the person simply too drunk to care? Surprisingly, previous studies on this topic have been mixed, so these researchers performed a meta-analysis to get to the bottom of the matter. By systematically reviewing 18 studies on over 400 subjects, they found that yes, alcohol not on ...read more

Citizen Science Recruitment, Retention, Research & Evaluation Workshop at Citizen Science Association Conference

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

The SciStarter 2.0 Research and Evaluation team will host a hands-on workshop on May 17, the first day of the Citizen Science Association conference.  (Note: there’s still time to register for the conference and workshop!) When: Wednesday May 17, 2017 11:30am – 12:30pm Meeting Room 11 With an Advancing Informal STEM Learning (Pathways) grant from the National Science Foundation, SciStarter, Arizona State University and North Carolina State University (in collaboration w ...read more

Sergio Canavero: Will His Head Transplants Roll?

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Will the first human head transplant happen soon? According to Sergio Canavero, it will - and he'll be the man to do it. In 2015, Canavero announced his intention to carry out the pioneering operation, with the head being that of a Russian man, Valery Spiridonov, who has a muscle degenerative disease. The source of the donor body was never specified. More recently, Canavero has said that a Chinese patient will be the first to have their head transplanted. So who is Sergio Canavero, ...read more

I am Lionfish, hear me ROAR!

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Ok, well maybe more like grunt or drum. Still, this recording comes from the first study to document that lionfishes—the invasive, venomous scourges of the Atlantic and Mediterranean—make sounds. [audio wav="http://christiewilcox.com/lionfish_roar.wav"] Many fish species use noise to communicate—so many, in fact, that their sounds can create a morning chorus on a reef akin to the wakening melodies of birds. There is even an entire family of fishes, the&n ...read more