How is Global Warming Affecting Your State?

The National Wildlife Federation has developed 52 fact sheets, detailing the effects of global warming on wildlife in every state, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. See the list for all areas. Download the pdf for Ohio.

From the Ohio fact sheet: "Rising temperatures and drops in lake levels in the state will likely change the makeup of entire ecosystems, forcing wildlife to shift their ranges or adapt." Each fact sheet includes solutions for global warming that are specific for the state or region.

Philica features transparent peer-review

Philica is an online, open-access journal accepting manuscripts in any discipline. It describes itself as "instant academic publishing with transparent peer-review" and currently features 121 articles and observations. Submitted papers span the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, with greater numbers of articles in astronomy, physics, biology and chemistry. Music, philosophy, political studies, anthropology, and history are just some of the other disciplines represented, so it is truly multidisciplinary.

Learn more at the Philica site, taking special note of the essay "What's the problem with academic publishing?" and the list of articles needing review. You may find a paper that you are uniquely qualified to review, and are invited to do so. To write a review, simply click the link at the bottom of the article or observation.

Open Access Papers Draw Readers' and Media Attention

Recent papers published in Public Library of Science are grabbing attention from readers and the media alike, owing to the research presented and open access nature of PLoS articles. Here's a bit from the PLoS Blog, submitted by Rebecca Walton:

In "Cryptochromes Define a Novel Circadian Clock Mechanism in Monarch Butterflies That May Underlie Sun Compass Navigation," published in PLoS Biology, Steven Reppert and colleagues reveal that the circadian clock of the monarch uses a novel molecular mechanism, heretofore not found in any other insect or mammal."

Read the story by the Associated Press in Google news as well as Walton's blog entry and papers in PLoS.

Barack Obama: Pushes for Evidence-Based Science Policy

Science considers the support for scientific research among the presidential candidates in the Jan. 4 issue. Considering the credentials of Barack Obama seems particularly timely, following his win among Democrats in the Iowa caucus.

The Science news article illustrates Barack's support for science policy and research based on factual, peer-reviewed evidence:
"Deborah Burnet, a pediatrician at the University of Chicago who studies the connection between obesity and diabetes, says Obama displayed the same evidence-based philosophy whenever she invited the Harvard Law School grad and community organizer to lecture her class on racial disparities in health. The 30-something Obama would urge her students to think about "how to use scientific inquiry to make intelligent public policy," says Burnet."

Read the full story (DOI: 10.1126/science.319.5859.28a). For on-campus users or your Oberlin login required.

Top 25 Science Stories of 2007 - from Scientific American

Scientific American extolls the top 25 science stories of the past year in their Dec. 21 Weekly Review, including "some exciting new developments and discoveries: human skin cells were transformed to stem cells; primates came within a hair of being successfully cloned; scientists found that if they killed the virus behind some cancers, they might also kill the cancer; the discovery of a new planet with the most Earth-like characteristics yet observed; and, the unveiling of the first quantum computer."

Check out the entire list, from antibiotic resistant infections, California wildfires and James Watson to the disappearance of the Yangtze River Dolphin.

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