
Some answers to “Why are there still so few women in science?”
Eileen Pollack asks in The New York Times Magazine: “Why are there still so few women in science?” And she gives a few intriguing answers. Part of what makes her article compelling is the combination of hard data from recent years and personal stories from women in science that make a …

Science Sunday: UV Light vs Bacteria
While looking for a project for this year’s science expo (or science fair as it is called in the States), I came across the most fascinating thing. Airports use UV light hand-dryers in their restrooms. Now admittedly I do not frequent airports as I rarely fly anywhere so I have …

Miss NASA Beauty Pageant: Queen of Outer Space
Mindy posted this picture from a mysterious “Miss NASA” beauty pageant on our Tumblr the other day. She is wearing a tiara and interacting with a Dalek-like machine. Although it is unclear whether she was just told to touch it and vaguely smile into the distance. According to Artifacting, who …

Mathematicians to save the Rhino?
A most interesting study group is taking place at WITS University this week. Mathematicians will attempt to find a solution to the problem of Rhino poaching. International mathematicians and graduate students will converge at Wits University next week to help solve various industry problems during the 2013 Mathematics in Industry …

Don’t Drop The Science!
Tomorrow (Thursday the sixteenth of August for those of you who are reading this another day… say, tomorrow), A whole age group in the United Kingdom with shudder with both anticipation and nerves. That’s right, it’s A level results day, the time of year where Brits aged 16-18 get their …

Science: it’s just a thing. Not a girl thing.
As hinted in our Reality Checks today, the EU has launched a campaign to convince girls to get into science. I’ve visited their website, and it’s not completely off-base. The profiles of women in science are a good idea. But the video teaser they’ve released is horrendous and offensive.

“I’ll never use it again”: A Phrase That Makes Me Sad
Tell me if this doesn’t sound familiar to you: you’re sitting in class in your usual spot, up front but slightly off to the side so you can see the board but not be too obvious about it. It’s about twenty minutes into the lecture and the white board is …

Thus Passes Venus: A Lesson in How to Handle Your Binoculars
This is probably a good time to make this confession, before I get to the meat of the article: Astronomy terrifies me. I don’t just mean that I get nervous when I think about zipping on a space suit and going into orbit 240 miles above the Earth, which I …